MAFTA passed by the Australian Parliament

One of the last items of business for the Australian Parliament before it went into recess for the Summer last week was passing the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement through the Senate.

It has been a long time in the making, and it has to be remarked that there are so many other agreements out there that sometimes one is left wondering whether it really is worth putting so much effort into establishing bilateral agreements, as opposed to multilateral agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership or the ASEAN Australia New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.  When talking to trade officials about these differing treaties, they always suggest that business entities can really choose which ones suit their own circumstances the best.  So, there is a point, and ultimately it is up to businesses to realise the potential of the varying trade instruments.

Trade Minister Dr Craig Emerson appeared on the ABC's Business Today to talk about the MAFTA.  The first link is the interview itself, the second link is to the Minister's media page where I sourced the transcript from.  The transcript is also copied below - for those of you who just want a quick scan to see what was discussed.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-30/australias-craig-emerson-on-new-trade-deal-with/4401064?section=business

http://www.trademinister.gov.au/transcripts/2012/ce_tr_121130_abc_business_today.html#

Subjects: Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement; Doha; Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Transcript, E&OE

30 November 2012

WHITNEY FITZSIMMONS: The dairy, automotive, and wine industries are all expected to reap the benefits of a free trade agreement with Malaysia that’s been passed by the Senate. Under the deal, almost all Australian goods will be able to enter Malaysia free of duties. In return, Malaysian exporters will enjoy duty-free entry to the Australian market. Malaysia is Australia’s third-largest trading partner in ASEAN and its 10th largest partner overall, with exports of $5 billion and imports of just over $9 billion last financial year. And for more on this deal with Malaysia and other trade-related issues, I’m joined by Dr Craig Emerson, from our Canberra studios, who’s the federal Trade Minister. Craig Emerson, welcome to the program.

CRAIG EMERSON: Thank you, Whitney.

FITZSIMMONS: So this deal with Malaysia appears to be a positive for Australian exporters. But why has it taken so long to get over the line?

EMERSON: It has taken a long time, that is true, but in March of last year Prime Minister Gillard hosted Prime Minister Najib from Malaysia here in Australia. And they called me aside, and they said to me that this had been going on for a long time under the previous government and under this Government;‘let’s give it every chance to be done within a year’. We got there, Whitney; we had agreement one day short of a year, and then, of course, you need to do all the legal work; put it in front of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, which we did; get it through the House of Representatives, which we did; and, symbolically I guess, the very last Bill that passed the Senate last night in the last day of this sitting was the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

FITZSIMMONS: I’m sure it’s something that you probably breathe a sigh of relief, having had that passed last night as you say. But Independent senator Nick Xenaphon has said that our free trade deals must be conditional on Australia’s support for free and fair elections, particularly in countries like Malaysia. What do you say to that view?

EMERSON: Well, there goes, I suppose, a free trade deal with China, and probably with a very substantial proportion of the countries around the world if the Xenaphon view were accepted. Should we really say to our farmers ‘sorry, we won’t trade with, and reduce our trade barriers with, countries with whose political systems we disagree’? That would be an extraordinary constriction on the capacity of Australian farmers, manufacturers and service industries to be able to gain access to markets overseas. Senator Xenaphon can have these views because he knows they’ll never prevail - and thank God for that.

FITZSIMMONS: But Dr Emerson, can free trade deals be used as leverage in other areas of political discourse?

EMERSON: Well, we don’t think that they should be used in areas such as the political system that applies in particular countries. I mean, that would be unbelievable, in fact, and very few in the Parliament would believe that you seek to change a political system on the basis of a free trade deal. I know where those countries would tell Australia to go, by the way. We do have provisions in trade deals ordinarily, and we will increasingly have this in relation to the environment and to labour standards. These aren’t meant to be trade-restricting provisions, but there is an argument that you wouldn’t want, in a sense, a race to the bottom in countries if they didn’t adhere to basic environmental standards and the core labour standards as set out, for example, by the International Labour Organisation. So, we’re okay about that. But insisting that countries change their political systems in order to do a trade deal with Australia I think is pretty silly.

FITZSIMMONS: What about the criticisms that the free trade deals can put Australian producers at a disadvantage? Because they’re competing with countries that, you know, don’t have the same stringent compliance laws and also environmental standards.

EMERSON: That’s why on the environmental front we were just having a conversation about, countries agreeing to reasonable environmental standards, but again…

FITZSIMMONS: How likely is that really to happen? It’s a very difficult…

EMERSON: I’ll give you an example: in the Trans-Pacific Partnership those negotiations are going on. That partnership, involving 11 countries, embraces 30 per cent of the global economy and there will be labour and environmental chapters in that. So it is realistic, Whitney. But again our tariffs here in Australia, in terms of what trade deals would do to us, are either zero or 5 per cent for some items and some textiles; clothing and footwear products are coming down to 5 per cent. So in terms of access to our market, much of it is duty-free access anyway.But are we really saying, as Australian producers, that we don’t want improved access to the markets of the fastest-growing region on earth? That we don’t want improved access to the marketsof Japan and China and Indonesia? I mean, that would be an extraordinary statement.

FITZSIMMONS: I don’t think producers are saying that necessarily. I think that they just want a level playing field.

EMERSON: So this is the idea: they say, if this is the proposition,‘we want improved access into their markets, but we must not give any improvement in access to our markets’. Well, again, that would be a very short negotiation, ending up with an answer ‘n-o, no’. We actually have to offer something in free trade negotiations. And to suggest that an Australian Trade Minister, whether Labor or Coalition, should just go over to other countries and insist on them opening up their markets while at the same time saying ‘well our 5 per cent tariff on a few items is absolutely sacrosanct’ would lead to no deal, to no deal.

FITZSIMMONS: Dr Emerson, Pascal Lamy, WTO Chief, has said that free trade deals can lead to policy fragmentation and also promote protectionism. Is there validity in these comments, or is he just protecting the interests of the WTO?

EMERSON: Well, I support Pascal Lamy in his work, in Geneva, in seeking to advance the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations. Indeed…

FITZSIMMONS: But is what he’s saying, is the validity…

EMERSON: I know. I’ll come to that. But, indeed, Prime Minister Gillard, on behalf of Australia, has mapped out new pathways to the completion of those negotiations - that’s been accepted by all members of the WTO. I think people don’t realise the enormity of that achievement. But in terms of Pascal’s view about free trade, about bilateral and regional free trade agreements: if they’re truly liberalising,if they don’t excessively cut other countries out of the deal, then they can actually contribute to the momentum for multilateral trade negotiations being completed. But I fully support Pascal’s suggestions that low-quality trade deals, done for political purposes, are not productive. And that’s what we have set out in our trade policy statement of April 2011. We will not complete trade deals just for the sake of having a trophy sitting up on the national mantelpiece. What we will do, Whitney, is we’ll do high-quality deals, and we have participated just a week ago in the launch of a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiation, again in this case involving ASEAN countries and six trading partners, including China, India, Korea, Australia and New Zealand and Japan.So we will participate in those. But I agree with Pascal: you shouldn’t just have these fragmented deals that are low-quality and detract from the negotiations in Geneva for the World trade liberalisation.

FITZSIMMONS: Let’s move on to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or the TPP as it’s been called. Given the broad nature of such a deal, is it in danger of becoming another Doha?

EMERSON: Well, I think its gaining real momentum following the re-election of the Obama Administration in the United States. Indeed, at that same venue in Phnom Penh only last week President Obama chaired a meeting of the leaders of those members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership who were in Phnom Penh. And he was indicating to us that he is not interested in a low-quality deal; he’s interested in a high-quality deal to put to the Congress and we’ve all signed up to that. We are going hard to do that now as quickly as possible. I think it is easier under a second term US President, and he has given a very strong commitment to that. So I don’t think it’s going to suffer the same fate as the Doha round has suffered, which has been going for 11 years now. But I do have renewed hope in the Doha round as well, having come back from Geneva…

FITZSIMMONS: Do you think you’ll get expediency on it as President Obama wants?

EMERSON: Well, President Obama wants high ambition and that’s what we have argued for, New Zealand has argued for: high ambition. So, it’s not simply …

FITZSIMMONS: High ambition takes time though.

EMERSON: Well this has already taken some time. And what we’re doing is making sure that we deal with what are called the 20th Century issues as well as the 21st Century issues. If I just quickly can explain that: there are still tariffs on goods and we want them eliminated over time - they’re the remainder of the 20th Century issues. Twenty first Century is information technology, services in particular, investment - and that’s where you get that extra ambition as well. And we are very keen to create a trading area in the Asia-Pacific. And the thing about all this is that both the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership are pathways to the ideal in our own region for a free trade area for the Asia-Pacific. All this, by the way, is set out in our Asian Century White Paper and the region really appreciates the fact that we have done that work.

FITZSIMMONS: Dr Emerson, thank you for joining the program and we wish you well in a well-deserved break.

EMERSON: Okay. Thanks very much, Whitney.

Lunch with Rudy Khairudin, Malaysian Agricultural Consul, 4th October

The group enjoying lunch and conversation.

The AMBCQ is always busy, but sometimes it gets super busy.  We have been assisting with Talent Corp's upcoming programme in Brisbane, and have also spent many days helping to arrange a 60 person strong ministerial delegation from Sarawak that is arriving next week, plus the upcoming Citra Malaysia festival in Brisbane's King George Square, and a visit by the Mayor of Kuching all happening in rapid succession.  New baby and I are going to have to miss out on everything next week, but there's still plenty to do and organise in the meantime.

Our group fitted nicely in the private dining room
of Hilton Brisbane's Vintaged Restaurant.

Last Thursday, Rudy Khairudin, the Malaysian Agricultural Consul, came to Brisbane and we had a round table lunch in his honour.  Although we have been engaging with Rudy since he came to Australia last year, it was our first opportunity to meet Rudy (like most of the trade consuls, he works out of Sydney).    Rudy went out of his way to visit us - he was actually on leave and was supposed to be enjoying a holiday with his family on the Gold Coast!  So we were very glad he could make the time to visit Brisbane and allow the AMBCQ to host him for lunch in the private dining room at Vintaged, at the Hilton.

Bryan Davies gave the vote of thanks and also delivered our gift to Rudy
- two boxes of chocolate.  A little compensation to thank him for
spending his (holiday) time with us.

Rudy's job is to advocate on behalf of Malaysian agricultural industries and outputs, and to also seek areas of collaboration between Australia and Malaysia. It was very interesting to hear about some of the initiatives that are going on between Australia and Malaysia and some of the shared interests.  Particularly from a Queensland point of view, some of the agricultural industries that Queensland is strong in are the same as those Malaysia is strong in - such as bananas, pineapples, and other tropical fruit.  While this should be a point of competition, and it has been a point of contention at times, it is also provides a valuable platform for collaboration.

Rudy and Kiong. Sorry, new camera.
We're still getting used to it.

It was a most enjoyable lunch and the staff at Hilton really looked after us. There was lots of lively conversation around the table and Rudy was really good to give all the guests his time and attention, addressing all sorts of questions of international trade and cooperation.

AMBCQ Australia Malaysia Ball 2012

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk addressing the crowd

Every organisation needs some renewal and change, and this year's AMBCQ Australia Malaysia Ball was a good opportunity for the organisation to make some positive changes and signal a new direction.  We moved away from the previous format that we had used and adopted a more formal and more focused approach that concentrated on our members and our corporate supporters and allies in business and Government.  We also had the event at the Stamford Plaza which made for a refreshing change that elevated the event to another level.  It really showcased what the AMBCQ is best at.

Our AMBCQ members and assistants on the night,
Ben, Shaeed and Sue all looking fabulous

It is always a bit scary but also so gratifying to try something new and challenging and have it work out.  All these new factors had me a bit jittery - because it was unfamiliar and new territory, and as the MC or Presiding Officer, I was ultimately accountable for the running of the night.  But it all came together so well, thanks to our many great members and those who assisted on the night.  It has never before been so much a genuine team effort and I am so proud that we all did it together.  It must be all that dragon boating spirit!

Guests in the foyer for pre-dinner drinks.

"How different?" you may ask.  Well, how does bagpipes, pre-dinner drinks, formal toasts, and a speech by Professor Clive Palmer sound?  Yes, very different from our previous years!  It sure lent a gravitas to the night that was very memorable.  Formal dining of course began in the early monasteries of Europe, and from there emerged to influence all levels of society, and its rituals were adopted by some of the oldest universities and colleges, by the military and by other institutions.  And the formality was also part of us celebrating and acknowledging the very important underlying tie between Australia and Malaysia, and that is our Commonwealth ties.  In this year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, it was very fitting that we acknowledge and celebrate these historical links which give both our nations the foundations and the framework in which our societies have grown up in differing but still recognisable paths.  Our Westminster Parliamentary systems, the rule of law, our shared defence ties which continue to this day, the importance of our English language - all these similarities mean that we as Australians or Malaysians, recognise more and understand more in each others' societies than we do in some of our other close neighbours.

We were very pleased at the event to welcome on board our new corporate supporter, QUT.  Kiong, being an alumni of QUT, is especially pleased and it is great to have the support of one of Australia's most recognised higher education brands and leading universities.

Professor Clive Palmer speaking at the event - for many guests it was the highlight of the night.

And Professor Clive Palmer and his wife Anna agreed to come on board as AMBCQ co-patrons and mentors.  We already have wonderful patrons and mentors in Dr Peter Yeoh OAM and Mrs Alice Yeoh. Now with Professor Palmer and Anna, we have the best of Malaysian business and the best of Australian business, to give us moral support and guide and advise the organisation.

Some of our special guests - I'll do my best to name everybody - from left John Mickel, Alicia Gibson, Cr Norm Wyndham, Cr Steven Huang, Jason Woodforth MP, Tarnya Smith MP, Mark McArdle MP, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Lady Mayoress Ann Quirk, David Gibson MP, Cr Vicki Howard , Anthony Shorten MP, my big stomach and I, Katherine Mickel, Ian Berry MP, Judy McArdle, Mark Boothman MP, James Kennett and his wife representing Rob Molhoek MP, Michael Pucci MP and Kiong.

One thing that never changes is that we always have a great line up of special guests.  This year the following came along to the Ball:

Kiong with Judy amd Mark McArdle.

Tarnya Smith MP and Cr Angela Owen-Taylor

• Dr Peter Yeoh OAM and Mrs Alice Yeoh, Patrons of AMBCQ
• Professor Clive Palmer and Mrs Anna Palmer, Patrons of AMBCQ, and Mentors
• The Hon Mark McArdle MP, Minister for Energy and Water Supply
• The Right Hon. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Lord Mayor of Brisbane 
• Lady Mayoress Ann Quirk
• Tarnya Smith MP, State Member for  Mt Ommaney and Deputy Whip
• David Gibson MP, State Member for Gympie
• Anthony Shorten MP, State Member for Algester
• Freya Ostapovitch MP, State Member for Stretton
• Jason Woodforth MP, State Member for  Nudgee
• Ian Berry MP, State Member for Ipswich
• Michael Pucci MP, State Member for Logan         
• Mark Boothman MP, State Member for Albert                                                
• Cr Angela Owen-Taylor, Brisbane City Councillor for Parkinson Ward, Deputy Chairman of Council, Deputy Chairman of Finance, Economic Development and Administration Committee, Deputy to Lord Mayor on City Hall Restoration, and Deputy to Lord Mayor on Multicultural Affairs and International Relations
• Cr Norm Wyndham, Brisbane City Councillor for McDowall,  Deputy Chairman of the Environment, Parks and Sustainability Committee
• Cr Kim Marx, Brisbane City Councillor for Karawatha Ward, Chief Administration Deputy Whip
• Cr Vicki Howard, Brisbane City Councillor for Central Ward, Deputy Chairman Neighbourhood Planning and Development Assessment Committee
• Cr Steven Huang, Brisbane City Councillor for MacGregor Ward, Deputy Chairman of the Public & Active Transport Committee
• The Hon. John Mickel (former Trade Minister, former Transport Minister, former Energy Minister and former Speaker (retired))

Alice Yeoh and I - a small token of
thanks to the ladies who do so much
behind the scenes.

We had incredibly strong attendance from elected representatives despite the Premier and his LNP cabinet ministers having a community cabinet in Cairns, the ALP having their National Conference in Brisbane, and the National Party having their National Conference in Canberra.


For those of you who couldn't make it, here's a quick recap.  We started the night with pre-dinner drinks in the foyer of the Grand Ballroom.  Our piper, Grant Agnew of City of Brisbane Pipes, sounded the quarter call, and later the five minute call.  Once all guests were inside, he then piped in the official guests.  We began the formal dinner with introductions and the National Anthems of Australia and Malaysia, and the Commonwealth Anthem, 'God Save the Queen'.  We began dinner and during dinner had speeches by myself as  Presiding Officer at the Ball, Kiong as AMBCQ President, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Minister Mark McArdle, and Professor Clive Palmer.  All the speeches were very well received.

Toasting the Stamford staff - from left Clive Palmer, Kiong, Ray Kelly
from QUT, Trieu from Stamford representing the staff, and Lord Mayor
Graham Quirk.

After the main course, we had a short intermission so everyone could chat and have a chance to mingle, after which the Piper called us back.  We then enjoyed a series of toasts where we were able to thank all those who have helped us and all those who hold the foundation of what we do, and many of our members contributed to the toasting.

We also toasted our wonderful Piper, and the Stamford staff for their service.  Tea and coffee and petit fours were served and we concluded our night with the draw of our raffle, with Air Asia again providing return tickets for two people to Kuala Lumpur, and our silent auction. And to signal the end of the formalities for night, our Piper played Auld Lang Syne.

The  following video shot by our wonderful friend and Brisbane City Council Student Ambassador for Singapore, Leong Ming En, has some of the highlights.  You may want to start with it turned down because those bagpipes start straight away!

From left back, Joel, Ivan, Jason a friend; and from front,
Robin, Debbie, Jocelyn, Jeen Sern and Keith

The night would not have been the success it was without the many assistants who gave their time and effort to put everything together.  I sent quite a few SOSs out to members during the week leading up to the night asking for assistance with IT matters, or sourcing various items, and our members always came through!  Thank you to Sue and Bryan who are always an enormous help on the night and who also helped with some of those last minute items I just described.  To Ben, Danny, Ivan, and Joel, who did much of the set up and organising on the night (as well as helping me with my IT woes), and also acted as assistants during the toasts, a very big thank you.  As well as to Rahmat who took on the task of liaising with our Piper and myself and keeping an eye on timings.  And to Keith and Ming who undertook the task of photography that night - there were a lot of great photos taken and both did an excellent job (and hopefully had something to eat!).  And to Shaeed for helping with the raffle ticket sales - actually Sue and Ben also helped out with that as well, and the front desk. And to all those AMBCQ members who hosted our guests so well, and who also made toasts on the night - it was done in a very stately and dignified manner.  I hope I haven't missed anyone... there was a lot going on and I may not have seen all that everyone helped with.

Just some of our guests - at the back Michael Pucci MP, Yang Du, Sean, Maxwell and  Vincent, at the front Rita, David, Freya Ostapovitch MP, Wan and Imee.

Toasting the Piper - from left Stu from Air Asia, Grant, Lord Mayor
Graham. Quirk, Ann Quirk, Alice Yeoh and Dr Peter Yeoh OAM

Finally, I would like to thank our President and my partner Kiong Chan.  I was very skeptical about some of his ideas for the night, but I really think the whole event could hardly have gone better.  It does take some courage to try something different, especially when your partner's giving you sideway looks, but it was a very worthwhile challenge and I believe it has definitely moved the AMBCQ in the right direction.  Next year can only be bigger and better.

Ian Berry MP receiving a raffle prize donated by Lyna Chen - he and his wife Karen cleaned up at the auction as well!

Anita, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, and Rahmat

Anthony Shorten MP with AMBCQ member Ivan Tan - Anthony bought this piece
which is a reproduction of a view of Brisbane from 1888 made using authentic printing techniques.

Keith, Danny and Ming - yes, after all your hard work all night, you deserve a hard drink!

There are many more great photos in our Facebook Group and on Google +.  Haven't seen them - well you better join up!

On the top of world (well, Brisbane at least!)

Last week we had the opportunity to meet with Darren McCosker from Nielson Properties.  Nielson is a property investment business that specialises in commercial office properties and Darren showed us around one of their showcase properties, Santos Place.  Santos Place is home of Petronas in Brisbane and owned by Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB), a Malaysian based fund.  Not only that, it has a 6 star energy efficiency rating (it was the largest 6 star building in Australia until recently).

Given the Australia-Malaysia links between Nielson and PNB, Darren invited us along as the AMBCQ to be the 3,000th visitors to have the corporate tour of the building (technically, Kiong was the 3,000th, I suppose I was 3,001st).  And Kiong also had the opportunity to speak to Chris from the Courier Mail and we had a photographer, Adam, join us on the tour.  The article, which appeared in the property section of last Thursday's Courier Mail, was about the public's interest in our local architecture.  However, Kiong still managed to sneak in an AMBCQ mention!

The tour is very impressive. Every manner of energy saving, water saving, energy producing, environmentally friendly measure that one can think of is part of the design of this building. Natural gas supplies most of the building's base energy needs, there was a whole stack of water tanks, and the roof was lined with solar tubes.  I probably have missed half of the features out.  There were a lot of smaller innovations too which complemented these bigger energy efficiency measures.

The views are astonishing - the building is situated on Turbot Street and the views from the 36th floor (and from the roof) are just amazing. From the 36th floor you can see out over the Art Gallery, GOMA and Convention Centre at South Bank.  From the roof you can see the whole city, and right out to Stradbroke Island.  And with the river snaking below, the City just looks so charming.

We got to walk across a small walkway between the two sides of Level 36, which was great.  And right up to the roof with all the solar tubes. What a great privilege. No wonder the building is also used as a showcase of Brisbane itself, as well as a showcase of energy efficient building techniques.

On the way out, we had the chance to see another aspect of the building's design.  If you know where Santos Place is, you'll know that the Kurilpa Bridge, the pedestrian bridge across to South Brisbane, is almost at its base.  This facet has also been incorporated into the design of the building and the bridge almost straight into the building, down into the lower level which has room for 300 bikes.  There are lockers, showers, a dry cleaning service, and a bike guy who comes in regularly to make repairs.  And it wasn't one of those ideas that seems smart but no one actually uses it  - it was about 3 pm in the afternoon when we were down there and the place was full of bikes!!

AMBC NSW, Merdeka and Hari Raya

We always seem to be busy with AMBCQ developments, but suddenly we're very very busy. Firstly of course is the AMBCQ Australia Malaysia Ball which is coming up on 15th September, so just around the corner.  That always requires a lot of time to organise and being our first year at the Stamford, makes it a very exciting project for all members.  So if you're interested in coming along, you better contact me soon, hint hint!

Quite recently, we hosted Immediate Past President of AMBC and Chairman of the Royal Exchange, Justin Howden.We also hosted the then President of AMBC Vic and President of the Australian Arab Chamber of Commerce Mike Anderson.  We also hosted two corporate figures from Malaysia, and a director of a large Australian operation (Malaysian owned).

Last week, we spent a day in Sydney at the invitation of the AMBC NSW chapter.  The chapter is in a position now to rebrand and revitalise with a strong team behind it.  As Queensland has experienced good growth over the last few years and has an existing strong relationship with AMBC NSW, Kiong and I have been asked to come on board as AMBC NSW executive committee members.  We are very honoured to be asked to participate in AMBC NSW - Bill Wilkinson, the current President, has always been very collaborative and we look forward to continuing this productive partnership. In the evening we also had a small gathering to celebrate Merdeka in Sydney.  While we were in Sydney, we also had a chance to catch up with the staff from MIDA, as the meeting and evening drinks were held in their office in Spring Street at the harbour end of town.  It was good to catch up with and wish the hard working staff, including Consul Khairuddin, the Investment Consul, his Deputy Gulam, and all staff, all the best for Hari Raya Puasa as well.

When we arrived back in Brisbane we had a quick meeting with incoming AMBC Victoria President Joe Perri.  Joe was just elected to the position (literally, just the night before) and we're very much looking forward to collaborating with him as well.  The distances between the various State Chapters of the AMBC sometimes mean that meeting face to face is quite rare so it is always really good to have the opportunity to meet our peers from interstate.  Makes a nice change from the usual email exchange.

On Friday it was time for another AMBCQ meeting and it happened to coincide with Merdeka, so we had a light meal and drinks as well.  We finalised and discussed some of the last details of the Ball and then enjoyed a simple light meal, along with some teh tarik made by Rahmat, and some apple and coffee layer cake that Anita had generously brought along.  Considering the late notice, we had a very good turnout and it was great a casual catch up.

Saturday we were invited along to the Malaysian student Hari Raya Puasa event at University of Queensland next to the Lakes.  We weren't able to stay too long - walking and standing aren't so easy for me at the moment, and although there were mats so everyone could sit on the floor communally, I knew I wouldn't be able to get up again after that!  The students put on a good show and there was a very strong turnout.  Satay, ketupaqt and kuah kacang, nasi kuning, ayam masak merah, rendang daging, cendol, were all on offer and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.  It was a lovely first day of Spring and lovely company too.

Tomorrow we have meetings lined up with two potential corporate supporters, plus a meeting with a media outlet.

So in other words, busy busy busy!

Time for another update!

Every now and again, I get a bit swamped and this blog ends up lying dormant for a little while - but I always come back to it sooner or later! As everyone who has seen me lately will know, I am expecting baby number 3 in less than 2 months, so between the tiredness and multiple medical appointments, the AMBCQ and our own business, this blog sometimes gets a little neglected.  Never mind, members always know what is happening because emails keep on going and so does Facebook and Google.  Thank goodness for electronic media!




But it has been a very busy time over the last few months - much has been going on behind the scenes.  I'll start with our latest event first and then go back over some of the other events we've been involved in.  On Sunday 19th August the AMBCQ hosted a Hari Raya Puasa Open House at the Centenary Community Hub at Mt Ommaney.  This was a free event open to members, family, friends, international students and other interested people.  We had a good crowd of around 100 people on the day, coming and going, with lots of yummy Malaysian food including Kari Ayam, Beef Rendang, Nasi Briyani, Sago Kueh, Sarawak Layer Cake and Bandung, just to name some of the dishes!  We had a good group of students turn up from QUT and UQ's Malaysian Student Association, as well as our Patrons, Dr Peter Yeoh OAM and Mrs Alice Yeoh, and other community leaders and bilateral business people.

Kueh and cake courtesy of Anita and Sapphira.

And here is rendang, briyani and kari from Lilian.

We have also recently hosted a number of visits by Malaysian High Commission staff, including the Deputy High Commissioner En. Eldeen Hussaini, En Faizal and En. Fo'ad.

We also had the privilege of hosting the Malaysian High Commissioner His Excellency Dato' Salman Ahmad and his family, on the Gold Coast.  It was a lovely evening at Seaduction (corny name but a wonderful meal and a great venue directly across from the beach in the Soul building).  It was a great honour for the Business Council to play host to Dato' Salman and his family and staff on the evening.

We have also attended a number of events with our ally the Australian Council for Europe, helping to host dignitaries such as the Afghan Ambassador, the German Ambassador and the Czech Ambassador.  There was also the launch of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce Qld at Parliament House.  And there was also the new Premier's Queensland Day Citizenship Ceremony at the Convention Centre.  We have also had meetings with the UQMSA and other student bodies, and with the organising committee of Citra Malaysia, which is a student managed promotional project for Malaysia which will take place in October.

This is not to mention meetings with Malaysian counterparts and our own members as well, and our AMBCQ Water Dragons celebratory meeting and meal. We hosted visiting corporate leaders from Malaysia, and AMBC counterparts from Kuala Lumpur, Victoria and from ACT. We also had a number of meetings and liaison with senior executives from several local and international firms.

Just loading the boat...

And this mostly updates us all the way back to June, when we last raced as as the AMBCQ Water Dragons in the Te Waka Challenge.  After our experiences at Parkinson Ward Dragon Boat Festival and our second placing, we were quite confident of doing well.  However, the field was at another level - there were around 12 teams competing and this included two teams from a commercial Gym!  Still, we did quite well, and on time and placings, we made it into the mini-finals (they had a major finals for those who came 1st to 3rd, and a minor final for those who came 4th to 6th).  I posted the photos on Facebook but didn't get a chance to blog about it.  However, luckily someone else did ;).  Sharlene's auntie who lives in New Zealand did the blogging for me, he he he.  http://annsnowchin.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/ambcq-water-dragons-at-te-waka.html.  And here is a couple of photos of the day - although we didn't win, we did paddle very well.  *Sigh* - it will be a while before I do any dragon boating again!

That's us in the red - I think this is our first race of the day.

We do have more events coming up.  On the Saturday 15th September, our Australia-Malaysia Ball will be held at Stamford Plaza - this is our peak event for the year and one of the highlights of our annual calendar.  We will also be having a meeting and gathering for Merdeka, and there will be other events for the Lantern festival, Deepavali and Christmas.  And we also look forward to hearing more from Austrade and other partners about the MAFTA (Malaysia Australia Free Trade Agreement) which was signed earlier this year.

Medal ceremony from Parkinson Ward Dragon Boat Festival, 3rd June

Here we all our with our first runner-up medals. It was a very happy moment for us all after all that work and effort all day. But, this wasn't just a matter of one day of paddling hard - it has been more than a year since we first became involved in dragon boat, and everything about it has required a fair bit of effort. It's not that easy to get 20 people together for a start, let alone organise them for training and finally, get them all to turn up in wet weather and work together as a team on the day. Everyone in the team has made the commitment they could within their own circumstances, and those who could, have gone beyond and made the extra effort to motivate and inspire the team.  Despite the fact that we never trained together as a full team, we were still able to do so well on the day.  When we were discussing this with Brisbane River Dragons, Kiong's response was that our crew are very smart - they are able to take instruction and understand it well, analyse what is needed, and respond appropriately.

The photo above is courtesy of the Hakka Association who, along with Cr Angela Owen-Taylor, were the main organisers and the driving force behind the festival. Angela is in the middle of the photo in blue, while Florence from Hakka Assoc is to the left of Angela and Agnes from Hakka Assoc is on the right.

AMBCQ Water Dragons - SECOND AGAIN!!!

Well, after all the training, all the organisation, all the rain threatening to pour, the Parkinson Ward Dragon Boat Festival was held on Sunday 3rd June at Forest Lake.  Kiong and I had been up til midnight the night before, packing the tents, baking muffins and scones, sorting the uniforms, and packing the car in readiness for the next day.  We were at the Lake from 8am to set up - and despite the occasional rain shower, it turned out to be quite a lovely day. Not too cold and not too hot, and not too much mud over where we dragon boat teams assembled.

As you can see by my title, we entered our AMBCQ Water Dragon team into the amateur competition and came second overall - for the second year in a row! A wonderful result but there was a sense of deja vu as we once again came off second best to the Vietnamese MC Dragons.

Last year was the first time the Festival (which only began in 2010) included amateur racing on the Lake, and only four teams featured. This year a total of eight teams competed so in a short amount of time the number of competitors has doubled.  The teams competing on the day included ourselves and the Vietnamese team, the Hakka Association, Pacifica (Pacific Islander community team), the Taiwanese Friendship Association of Queensland, the Commonwealth Bank, Chinese Catholic Community, and World Art and Multicultural Inc team.

Our team getting excited before the opening ceremony - the lady  from the Pacifica team behind us joined in too!

The Score Board after the second round. There we are with 7 points.

This year we paddled with a full crew - in fact we had 22 paddlers in total when we required 20.  Some of the other teams featured several professional paddlers (including Australian national representatives), while our AMBCQ crew was 100% our own, with no professional paddlers. In fact 25% of our team were brand new. Four of the team members had never trained before, and one other had only ever paddled once before.  And unfortunately, because of work and exam commitments, the rest of the team had hardly trained together. This was the first time we had paddled together. We always had a least eight to ten people (out of 20) at training, but it was usually a slightly different mix of members.  So it is definitely a result we can all be very proud of.

Lining up for the beginning of round 3.
I sat this one out so was able to take photos. 

There was amateur races as well as professional races on the day, with 3 rounds for each. In the first round of the amateur races, we won our heat.  In the second round we came second (again to the Vietnamese team!) and in the third round we again took first place. So we went into the finals with 11 points out of a possible 12.  In that second round you can see we gave the Vietnamese team a bit of a surprise - they dominate the race and do train really hard and they have some professional paddlers paddling on their behalf.  So perhaps they were ready for us in the final! In the final, we started well but the Vietnamese team clearly won.

Drawing ahead - we won this round!

Just about to go over the finish line

No matter the result, the whole team had a great day and it was a very nice moment to get up on stage and receive the second place (or first runner up!) medals.  We had a very good drummer Gail throughout the races, and we had Pam and Julie from BRD guiding us and helping us organise throughout the day.  For me personally, it was really nice to compete in front of my two kids, Ilkka and Ilmi, although Ilmi almost cried when we came second! And I was also really pleased to be able to compete despite being almost 20 weeks pregnant - I was a last minute inclusion because during the earlier stages of my pregnancy, I was suffering a lot of morning sickness and nausea and didn't feel up to it. So if anyone says they can't dragon boat race, you can tell them even a pregnant women can do it!

After round 3, everyone looks suitably exhausted.

We have to thank all the individual members of the team.  In a dragon boat team, each team member contributes, otherwise we wouldn't have a dragon boat team! The team work is one of the most important and most rewarding elements of the dragon boat team to me, and I think I've probably said it before, this aspect was like a revelation to me.  We also have to thank Gail, Pam and Julie for all their support and guidance through the day, everyone from Brisbane River Dragons, especially Euan and Blair, for training us and getting us ready, and putting everything together on the day.  Thank you of course to Cr Angela Owen-Taylor and the Hakka Association who are the driving forces behind the event and put all aspects of the festival together.  Without this event, many of us would never even considered getting involved in dragon boat.

Just before the medal ceremony - rubbing Dwight's botak
head for good luck

The Parkinson Ward Dragon Boat Festival also features performances, a citizenship ceremony and food stalls. We barely get to see any of this because the times between dragon boat races is pretty tight and of course we need to warm up before each race, then kit up etc, so there is no time to explore. Perhaps in future when the event becomes more established, more time might be allocated for the festival.

It's that time again - Dragon Boat!!!

Training at Comslie - would have been better with a telescopic lens.

Of the many exciting things we are involved in as a Business Council, dragon boating has become a particular favourite. Although not focused on business, it is an invaluable team building exercise for our members, not to mention morale boosting.  It also gives us another platform to promote the Business Council and build new networks. We've always had a great time with dragon boat and it has become an integral part of the AMBCQ.

So we have very much been looking forward to this year's Parkinson Ward Dragon Boat Festival, this Sunday the 3rd June at Forest Lake.  This event introduced us to dragon boat and last year we came second in the amateur finals.  Since then we have entered two more amateur events, and our team has been regularly training for the last 2 months.  Unfortunately not everyone could make it to training, as some work on Saturdays, but nevertheless, the majority of our team has made several training sessions.

Our new logo - looking forward to our brand new uniforms!

The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is held around the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese lunar calendar to mark the death of Qu Yuan, a poet, writer and court official during the time of the Warring States. Qu Yuan was exiled from his home state of  Chu due to his outspoken ways and his stand against corruption.  Eventually, the Chu State fell to the stronger Qin, and in despair, Qu Yuan threw himself in the river and drowned. The local fishermen raced in their boats to recover his body, and they also threw chang (in Teochew and Hokkien) or choong (in Cantonese) (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) into the river to stop the fish from eating his corpse. Throwing the chang in the river has since been a way of feeding the spirit of Qu Yuan, although that won't happen at the Lake.  And that is roughly the legend behind the dragon boat festival.  


The Parkinson Ward event isn't just about dragon boat racing. The main organisers, Cr Angela Owen-Taylor, Councillor for Parkinson Ward and the Hakka Association, have created the festival based on the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, but there is something for everyone in the community. There will be performances, food and drink, a citizenship ceremony, and lots of fun. The event will start around 9am with the official opening around 9:30 am with Cr Angela Owen Taylor and Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, and the dragon boat racing starting at 10:30 am.  The ceremony for the end of the event will happen at around 1:30 pm. 

The following weekend, we are also putting our hands up for the Te Waka Dragon Boat Challenge on Saturday the 9th June at Hamilton.  This is a different format, with teams of just 10, (rather than the usual 20), and a requirement of at least 5 women paddlers.  It starts quite early - 8am (brrrrrrr in June!) and is due to finish at 2pm. Yes, we really like dragon boat!