​Malaysian Danish Business Council (MDBC) held its first ever Webinar on Friday 17th April, meeting online due to the Movement Control Order. We actually found that it worked out really well and we will do more of these in the near future. Going forward also when we are again able to meet face to face, we will likely continue with a mixture of online and face to face events.

​We found that there is great value in a small, more intimate forum where the speaker is free to express opinion and estimations and be queried and informed by the direct experience of a small audience.

We found that there is great value in a small, more intimate forum where the speaker is free to express opinion and estimations and be queried and informed by the direct experience of a small audience.

We will be inviting Shazwan back again very soon as this fluid and important situation develops daily.

to ​stay tuned on ​upcoming events, insights and much more!

​Dear members,

2020 is proving a very challenging year for us all. Business and livelihoods are threatened, lives upended with kids home from school, families in some cases split across continents. For some it is even more consequential, with health and lives threatened. I hope that in a relative sense, you and yours are well under the circumstances. 

​Online Board ​Meetings

The board of directors have now moved board meetings online and held one meeting in March and another one in April. We do not know when restrictions will be lifted but we know that things will not entirely go back to the old ways afterwards. We are adjusting to this new reality and will starting next week, be offering on-line alternatives to our erstwhile Business Breakfast Briefings or evening cocktail sessions.

Latest events

For MDBC, we managed to hold two events during Q1 before we had to stop the face to face activities. We had the brewery tour at Carlsberg in January and the Fastelavn family gathering in February, Both events well attended with upwards of 50 participants each. 

​Join the zoom webinar: The future Impact of Government change and MCO to Malaysia

The topic next week, a Zoom Webinar on Friday 17 April at 9am titled “The future Impact of Government change and MCO to Malaysia”, will be for members only; free of charge and deal both with the very significant event in Q1 of Malaysia getting a new government, as well as with ramifications of the current MCO caused by the Covid-19 crisis. We hope you will join this event and possibly also share inspiration and requests for other online events you would like us to arrange.

​The Challenge for Malaysia: 

Political ​manoeuvrings and the fight against COVID-19

​​No face to face events during first half of 2020

We have determined that regardless how long the MCO eventually plays out, currently running until 28^th April, MDBC will not be holding face to face events during the first half of 2020. Therefore, the earliest we now expect is to resume our event calendar with physical meetings in September 2020. We expect that Sep-Dec will see a Novo Nordisk company visit, an inter-chamber 2021 budget event and the EU Sustainability Awards gala.

​​​We are still available for support!

Meantime, if you are seeking support or advice on how to adjust your company to the new reality, other members and the board are available so feel free to drop a mail to the secretariat at any point if you have concerns or would like MDBC to champion a case also towards authorities. We continue, in collaboration with EUMCCI, to give input to MITI on initiatives and stimulus packages that the government may take in order to keep the wheels going and your insights and concerns are much welcomed.

On behalf of the board of directors, I hope that you stay healthy and positive and wish you the very best for your business in these trying times. For some it will prove a new beginning, new opportunities.

Stay safe!

Allan Jensen, Chairman, MDBC

​Monday, April 29th, 2019 Political scientist and policy advisor Mr. Yin Shao Loong graced MDBC for the third time in as many years, sharing insights into how the Pakatan Harapan government have fared during their first year of operation. 

Mr. Shao Loong offered an interesting insight into differences between ministerial cultures and challenges with a financial situation worse than originally anticipated but above all, he send a message of hope, highlighting that Malaysia is constructively moving forward, step by step. 

There is much to celebrate, not the least a proven, peaceful transition testifying to a stable democracy and the rule of law. PM Dr Tun Mahathir is astutely navigating through stormy waters in search of a way to not just achieve personal legacy, but to put Malaysia right, especially for the bottom 40%, reducing inequality. Structural changes take time, but there have been frank assessments and the country is slowly and surely moving forward, regaining its footing. 

​It will be interesting to see where the dialogue goes the next 6 months on reshaping industrial policy, putting more emphasis on manufacturing and generating jobs, and we hope to have Mr. Shao Loong back before long, sharing insights on how that consultative process is progressing.

Thank you to all who joined us and a special thanks to Uhrenholt for once again providing us with delicious Danish cheeses.