Local News
@ Halal | JANUARY-FEBRUARY . 2023
SYARIKAT Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad , the FIRST takaful operator in Malaysia , and its wholly owned subsidiary , Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Am Berhad , have entered into a strategic bancatakaful partnership with Bank Pertanian Malaysia Berhad , a leader in agriculture financing and values-based banking ( VBI ) based in Malaysia .
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security , Mohamad Sabu , was on hand to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU ). The bancatakaful alliance provides Takaful Malaysia Keluarga and Takaful Malaysia Am access to Agrobank ’ s customer base , branch network and sales force . At the same time , Agrobank is expanding its product suite to drive greater value for its customers .
The bancatakaful partnership between Takaful Malaysia Keluarga and Takaful Malaysia Am with Agrobank , which is from Dec 1 , 2022 to Dec 31 , 2027 , witnesses the leading companies in the financial services industry working together through combined expertise and strengths . Takaful Malaysia Keluarga and Takaful Malaysia Am form a strategic alliance with Agrobank to promote and market credit-related family and general takaful products and develop the advisory family takaful business .
Nor Azman Zainal , Group Chief Executive Officer of Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga Berhad , said : “ As a pioneer in the takaful industry , we are geared up for the opportunity to bring
Takaful Malaysia and Agrobank collaboration will provide clientele access to greater financial security
our takaful solutions to meet the protection needs of Agrobank customers .
“ This preferred partnership will provide Agrobank clientele access to greater financial security through our
Double honours for Johnson
REVON MEDIA Sdn Bhd Managing Editor Datuk Johnson Fernandez received two awards in December 2022 for his contribution to journalism .
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Journalism by the Hyderabad-based St Mother Theresa University ( SMTU ) on Dec 17 , just nine days after he received the Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang , which carries the title Datuk , on Dec 8 .
Johnson , 65 , said December had been kind to him and deemed them early Christmas presents . “ I never expected either award . It is an honour to get one from the King , and special to be recognised by a foreign university .
“ This is another honour I accept on behalf of all Malaysian journalists , especially since the recognition comes from a foreign entity .”
Johnson was among the first of four Malaysians to be given the prestigious Award by SMTU . They received their awards from Prof Dr R . Vijaya Saraswathy , the University ’ s Founder and Pro-Vice Chancellor in Kuala Lumpur .
“ I hope the doctorate will make people realise that good journalism can make a difference ,” said Johnson , who served with the National Echo ( 1979-82 ), The Star ( 1982-87 ) and The Malay Mail ( 1987-2003 ).
On his Datukship , he commented : “ I would like to thank our sports-loving King for recognising my efforts as a sportswriter . I have covered every level of Malaysian sports , and it has been a rewarding career where I met and grew up with many famous personalities and have many good memories ,” he said .
He was The Malay Mail Sports Editor from 1998-2003 . In 1994 , he received the Sports Journalist of the Year Award .
Bancatakaful
Johnson and his wife Datin Sulochana with the King .
Datuk ( Dr ) Johnson receiving his doctorate from Professor Dr R . Vijaya .
He was also the General Secretary of the Asian Sports Press Union ( ASPU ) and the International Sports Press Association ( AIPS ) committee member .
He has covered major sporting events such as the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and was feared for his weekly columns . Royalty , cabinet ministers , high rollers , business tycoons , officials , administrators , and athletes felt the brunt when he penned his thoughts .
But he also gave credit where credit was due . “ I have always been fair in my reporting and commentaries . If someone does something good , I would say so and would encourage them to do better .
“ All I wanted was to do my job as diligently as possible and write without fear or favour ,” said Johnson , who was the only Malaysian journalist invited to speak at the 2010 Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Geneva . partnership
comprehensive and affordable range of family takaful products from creditrelated to advisory and a wide range of general takaful products .
“ Our collaboration with Agrobank is timely to further strengthen our bancatakaful portfolio as one of our key business drivers by identifying market opportunities to maintain our strong foothold in the takaful industry .
“ We also allocated RM1 million yearly throughout this bancatakaful partnership for Agrobank customers who are Asnaf or tithe recipients , in line with our corporate philosophy of improving lives and contributing towards a caring society .”
Dato ’ Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin , President / Chief Executive Officer of Agrobank , said the partnership had opened greater access for Agrobank
THRIVING on DagangAsia Network Holding Sdn Bhd ’ s ( DANH ) success over the last decade and preparing for the expansion phase of its e-commerce platform DagangHalal . com , DANH launched an Equity Crowdfunding ( ECF ) campaign on Nov 22 via MyStartr , raising RM3.8 million just a day after the launch with an end goal of RM5 million .
To become the world ’ s busiest B2B Halal e-marketplace , DANH will utilise the funding to strengthen the digital solutions of DagangHalal . com with essential updates and improvements to deliver the best digital experience for its users and enhance the platform ’ s visibility .
In particular , 40 per cent of the ECF capital will be used for software development as well as adding more features and improving the user experience for DagangHalal . com ; 15 per cent of the
President / Chief Executive Officer of Agrobank , Dato ’ Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin ( 4th from left ), and Nor Azman Zainal , Group Chief Executive Officer of Kumpulan Takaful Malaysia Keluarga ( 2nd from right ), pose with Minister of Agriculture and Food Security , Muhammad Sabu ( 5th from right ), who witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU ) between Agrobank and Takaful Malaysia .
to transform and achieve new milestones under the takaful segments to serve better for its mandated agriculture targeted groups , including Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security as well as its related agencies
“ In addition to the protection plan , specific takaful products such as affordable retirement , education and medical plans will be introduced to agropreneurs from these unserved and underserved communities , which consist of the B40 group , asnaf , women and people with disabilities ,” said Tengku Ahmad .
“ This move is part of the bank ’ s Beyond Banking initiative to further bridge the gap in takaful protection , especially among communities in the rural area , besides providing a guaranteed future when facing challenging times .”
DagangHalal ’ s ECF effort raises RM3.8 million 24 hours after campaign launch
fund will go into digital marketing to help the e-commerce platform to generate more trade leads online , and another 15 per cent will fund DANH ’ s trade show participations with the remaining funds to be injected into DANH ’ s working capital . DANH ’ s ECF is the first out of several planned activities before the company ’ s target IPO in 2024 .
DagangHalal . com enables market penetration , as well as export revenue growth for small and medium enterprises into the 5.6 per cent annualised growth rate of the US $ 7.2 trillion global Halal markets . The e-Marketplace matches international halal suppliers and buyers with Full Container Load ( FCL ), Less than Container Load ( LCL ), and mixed container requirements through an integrated O2O channel , leveraging its vast network of distributors , corporate retailers , government agencies , and trade show organisers .