Connecting Everything - Pernec Corporation Berhad

VOL 42
DECEMBER 2011
Connecting
Everything
and Anything through IPv6
Melaka Municipal
WiFi to be
expanded state wide
Page 08
Stamping our
leadership in IPv6
deployment
Page 10
Helo English
bootcamp for
PERNEC kids
Page 19
PERNEC Corporation
gives joy to less
fortunate children
Page 21
Contents
JULY 2011 VOL 41
MD’s Message
003
• Defining our destiny through
the Dual Horizon Strategy
PERNEC PAYPOINT
004
• PERNEC Katchi to invest RM25m in
City Mix booths
PERNEC TELCO
006
007
008
• PERNEC ESE to bring
energy costs down by 20%
• Farewell Mr. Daisaku Takeuchi
• Melaka Municipal WiFi to
be expanded state wide
HAPPENINGS/EVENTS
009
010
012
014
016
• Orphans are Guests of
Honour at PERNEC Iftar
• Stamping our leadership in IPv6
deployment
• Connecting Everything and
Anything through IPv6
• Fun on the turf
• Taking our business forward
with CSI initiatives
PERNEC corperation
018
• ION-Q clinches 2nd place at
prestigious convention
INFO & ACTIVITY
019
019
020
021
022
024
• Our pilgrims get a warm
send-off to Mecca
• Helo English bootcamp
for PERNEC kids
• IFTAR for members of the media
• PERNEC Corporation gives
joy to less fortunate children
• helo English boot
camp off to a great start
• Coming together for Hari Raya
025 PERNEC takes third place in lawn
bowls championshi
026 Dinner with a ‘light & easy’ twist
Editor’s Message
Welcome to the
latest edition of Nada PERNEC
Customer relationships are the greatest assets that a corporation could have and it’s no different with us at PERNEC.
Therefore, continuous investment must be made, and I must
add, intelligently, in those relationships even in a slowing
economy as history has shown that a company with a clear,
customer-focused strategy and culture can sustain itself and
prosper through turbulent times.
A sound CRM strategy provides a consistent sense of direction, a customer-centric sounding board against which tactics
and programmes can be evaluated and prioritised, and basic
values that employees and customers can hold onto. In this
issue, we share what PERNEC has initiated to build a strong
CRM system for our key customers and the positive outcomes
that can be expected with the implementation of this strategy.
The last few years of our business have been a wild ride
and we have seen that the market placed a high premium on
cutting-edge ideas. Only with a clear vision, core strategies and
strong fundamentals, will we be able to continue to capitalise
on marketplace opportunities.
Clear-cut performance matters now more than ever. And delivering that performance depends on having the right strategy
and the ability to execute properly. To this end, we have established a CRM system that aims at creating excellent customer
experiences with PERNEC.
The bottom line: Commitment to a sound CRM strategy
ensures that existing relationships can be leveraged to drive
profitability and growth.
Editor,
Che Wan Esah
Editorial Team
Che Wan Esah [email protected]
Dafizeck Daud [email protected]
Afizah Azmi [email protected]
Hudda Mohd Adzhair [email protected]
Amaluddin Mohammad [email protected]
Pernec xxxxxx
Defining our destiny
through the Dual Horizon Strategy
Dear PERNEC citizens,
I
wish to stress on the importance of
Business Continuity and Business
Sustainability. When does a company become a dinosaur? Extinct? A
quick look at the history of telecommunications is necessary.
It began with the commercialisation
of the electrical telegraph in 1866. Then
137 years ago, voice telephony was
commercialised thanks to Alexander
Graham Bell who invented the telephone. This paved the way for telegram
and later, telex services.
As time went by, innovation continued
to challenge modes of communication.
The facsimile or fax became the preferred mode, outdating telex services.
With mobility came cellular services that
had a major impact on fixed lines services. This was followed by text messages
and video telephony. Ironically, Bell and
his co-inventor Charles Sumner Tainter
tested the world’s first wireless in 1880!
In the 1960s, the age of the Internet
began. It was standardised and commercialised in 1983. Communications
thereafter revolved around the quality
and performance of the Internet. Users wanted bigger ‘pipes’. Fibre optic
infrastructures were deployed to replace
the shortfall of copper networks. The
cellular network evolved to 3G, Wimax
and today, LTE is in the pipeline.
The communications landscape has
transformed. Today’s buzzwords are
Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple and
Android. A new user-behaviour has
emerged, defining our new landscape.
Traditional modes of communications
are being challenged. Fixed and cellular
services including network vendors are
being impacted. Today, it is more about
devices and social networking than about
infrastructure and performance. Enterprises meanwhile are keen on applications that run on the cloud.
What will become then of traditional
players and vendors? Fierce competition
among cellular operators has put tremendous pressure on telecommunications
vendors to bring price levels towards
accelerated commoditisation. This has
resulted in diminishing margins. There
are now fewer vendors in this segment
compared to 10 years ago.
One other contributing factor is
that mobile penetration in Malaysia
has doubled to more than 100 percent.
Tablets and smart phones are charting
exponential growth in Internet connectivity with an expected increase from 18-75
percent for tablets and 48-89 percent for
smart phones by 2012. Malaysia is well
on track towards becoming a Digital
Economy by 2020.
A new breed of players has emerged
and they are raking in the profits. These
individuals do not have to own a network to do business. They are not giant
telecommunications vendors but emerging players like Amazon, Facebook,
Apple and Google.
It is no longer only about connectivity but content and applications and
how everything eventually will reside
in the ‘cloud’. With this new business
horizon, is PERNEC capable of moving
on to bigger things? Can our current
business survive? Or are we going to
become extinct?
In 2010, we introduced PERNEC 2.O
as a guide to move forward and remain
relevant in the market. We identified
gaps. The second horizon is about creating a new business that requires a new
culture, a new way of thinking and a new
way of doing things.
In 2012, we will fine-tune our business strategy and establish a Dual Horizon Strategy that will be more focused
on our current business: Horizon 1
(Business Continuity) and concurrently,
we will concentrate on new business:
Horizon 2 (Business Sustainability).
We can choose to become extinct or
rise to greatness. It will take ALL of us
to make this work. So I urge everyone to
contribute positively to the Dual Horizon
Strategy so we can refrain from becoming
‘dinosaurs’. Let us consciously choose
and define our destiny – InsyaAllah.
Best Regards,
ABDUL KARIM ABDUL SALLAM
Group Managing Director
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 03
special feature
PERNEC Katchi to invest RM25m in
P
The City Mix
phone booth
design offers
a perfect
assimilation
of form and
function with
each booth
specially made
to be future
proof and
environmentally
friendly.
04 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
ERNEC PayPoint Sdn Bhd and
Katchi Group Sdn Bhd will
optimise the full potential of its
newly launched City Mix phone
booths through PERNEC Katchi, which
is set to invest up to RM25 million for
3,500 sites in the next three years.
PERNEC Chairman Datuk Zainun
Aishah Ahmad said the PERNEC Katchi
collaboration plans to roll out 1,000
City Mix booths in the first year, another
1,000 in the second year and 1,500 in the
third, in various locations across Malaysia. PERNEC PayPoint has over 40,000
phone booths nationwide, all of which
are potential sites to be turned into City
Mix booths.
City Mix is a newly-designed phone
booth combined with scrolling adver-
tising panels. The product launch was
officiated by Permodalan Nasional Berhad Chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul
Hamid.
The City Mix phone booth design
offers a perfect assimilation of form and
function with each booth specially made
to be future proof and environmentally
friendly.
The PERNEC Katchi City Mix
network will offer a qualitative national
network with over 3,500 locations
nationwide to all prospective clients,
the first such network in Malaysian
advertising history. It will also become
the first communications channel with
the capability to put up a nationwide
campaign within 72 hours.
City Mix will offer harmonisation
City Mix booths
of advertising formats and flexibility of
the campaign periods, ranging from two
weeks to one month. All these will lead
to one thing for the advertisers - a better
Return of Investment.
The PERNEC-Katchi City Mix pay
phone has also been hailed as a masterful
blend of functional communication networks fused with state-of-the-art technology to breathe new life into the public
pay phone industry. It will be
no longer be just a phone.
The partnership puts the
customer experience first
and works back towards
the technology – not the
other way around. With
City Mix, the normal pay
phone has been reinvented.
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 05
Feature
PERNEC ESE to bring
energy costs down by 20%
P
ERNEC Corporation Berhad has
introduced PERNEC ESE (Electro Super Energy), a vital power
management solution to help
reduce the increasing cost of energy.
Dubbed as the only technology that
can address multiple power quality
issues and provide energy savings as
one integrated operating system without
side-effects, PERNEC ESE will enable
local corporations to reduce energy
costs by as much as 20%. It has a minimum life span of 15 years.
ESE is the result of years of research
and development into the effects of poor
power quality and ways to enhance electrical distribution efficiency as required by
institutions and industries. Modern industries require automation of their operations in order to produce quality products
on a large scale.
Since the rapid growth of the usage of
converted technology in modern industrial
plants, power supply systems are increasingly getting contaminated as voltage
waveforms get distorted. This in turn affects the performance of the equipment in
the electrical network, particularly power
factor correction capacitors.
Since the rapid growth of the usage of
converted technology in modern industrial
plants, power supply systems are increasingly getting contaminated as voltage
waveforms get distorted. This in turn
affects the performance of equipment in
electrical networks, especially power factor correction capacitors.
In addition, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) noted the
adverse impact on consumers that use capacitor banks such as magnifying voltage;
magnifying surges; magnifying harmonics; enhancing torque; creating transient
and oscillation; and wasting energy.
Now here are some of the common
problems relating to energy faced by
ESE SYSTEM OVERVIEW
06 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
many business corporations today and
how the PERNEC ESE system can overcome it:
Voltage Stabilisation: Over-voltage,
under-voltage and fluctuations are major
electrical problems that cause numerous
electrical, mechanical and energy problems. The ESE with its multiple ladder
logic configuration, provides variable
impedance stages to assist in attaining
required voltage stabilisation with respect
to each distribution’s Q factor.
Load Balancing: A key cause for threephase unbalancing can be attributed to
the single-phase load or the distribution
of a single-phase load among three-phase
systems. The ESE’s multiple stage ladder
logic configuration will respond to the
load factor with each stage response of not
exceeding 40 seconds or real-time on-line.
Harmonics: Industries that use fast
switching automation control processes
(non-linear load/DC power) produce high
harmonics that cause Total Harmonics
Distortion (THD). The ESE specialises
Feature
in tracking harmonics and solving high
THD that causes problems within the
IEEE guidelines.
Power Factor: The power factor correction capacitor (PFCC) can overheat due
to harmonic distortion on line voltage,
allow excessive current flow, and form
a resonant circuit in the system creating
a voltage increase – all with potentially
damaging side effects.
The ESE will ensure continuous monitoring of a distribution system’s reactive
power and power factor. It is an automatic
system, equipped with variable adjustments that will control and perform Power
Factor corrections efficiently.
Voltage Dips: Voltage dips are
problems associated with utility load
switching/lightning or large motor startups. Such events can wreak havoc on
facilities. ESE will effectively override
this problem within a one second duration and minimum 40% LV output dips.
Depending on requirements it can be
expanded up to zero voltage.
These power quality issues, if left
unchecked, can cause adverse effects to
the electrical distribution system such
as voltage control relay tripping; phase
imbalance relay tripping; plant and
equipment shutdowns/plant downtime;
loss of critical microprocessor memory;
and loss of control.
In addition to offering the PERNEC
ESE system, PERNEC Green also provides consultations on energy management for existing facilities and developments. This is especially crucial for
institutions and industries facing power
quality issues and high-energy costs in
their operations. PERNEC guarantees all
its equipment and systems have the capacity to solve these problems, thus helping
local companies reduce energy and other
associated operating costs.
Farewell
Mr. Daisaku Takeuchi
P
ERNEC Corporation Bhd recently held a farewell lunch for
outgoing director Mr. Daisaku
Takeuchi at Bunga Emas Restaurant, The Royal Chulan Hotel, Kuala
Lumpur on 22 November 2011.
Present at the farewell lunch was the
Board of Directors of PERNEC as well
as the CEOs of the company’s various
Business Units.
Mr. Daisaku Takeuchi was appointed
to the Board of PERNEC on 20 August
2010 and resigned on 21 November
2011.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Commerce from Otaru University of Commerce in Japan. Mr. Takeuchi joined
NEC Corporation in 1983 and since then
has been working for overseas businesses mainly in the Asian region.
In 1994 Mr. Takeuchi was appointed Chief Representative of NEC
Colombo’s liaison office in Sri Lanka
and from 1997 to 2001, acted as Chief
Representative of NEC Kuala Lumpur’s
Representative Office. He is currently
the Managing Director of NEC Corporation of Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
We would like to express our sincere
appreciation to Mr. Takeuchi for his
contribution during his tenure as a PERNEC director and wish him well in his
future undertakings.
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 07
PERNEC Telco
T
Melaka
Municipal
WiFi to be
expanded
state wide
08 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
he collaboration between four partners namely PERNEC Corporation
Berhad, MIMOS Berhad, Universiti
Teknology Melaka (UteM) and the
K-Economy Division of Melaka, to develop
a self-sustaining Munifi (Municipal WiFi)
model is going full steam ahead with the
finalisation of the agreement.
The initiative will see the utilisation of
the WiWi Technology Platform, the world’s
first hybrid between the WiFi and WiMAX
solutions developed by MIMOS Bhd and
commercialised by PERNEC. UteM’s role
would be to provide continuous R&D for
MuniFi to ensure that its level of service is
optimised.
Dataran Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah will be positioned as the MuniFi site
and will be progressively developed. The
site was initially installed in October 2010.
The innovative technology platform that
has undergone several phases of upgrading
since its inception in 2009, will be gradually made available in most tourist sites and
central areas in the state, said Melaka Chief
Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Ali Rustam.
Earlier, a MOU signing ceremony by the
Chief Minister was held aimed at providing
more comprehensive Internet coverage for
the state’s general population.
The Chief Minister said a lot more areas
would be provided with MuniFi by way of
collaborations between relevant state agencies and MIMOS as well as PERNEC. So
far Telekom Malaysia has set up 800 WiFi
sites state-wide but the number is insufficient to meet current demands. The new
initiative aims to develop 40 MuniFi sites
around the city centre.
He added that the development of MuniFi
would be carried out aggressively across
the state to enable the public to optimise the
benefits of Internet connection. At present,
Melaka enjoys approximately 38% of WiFi
service coverage. The service is also part of
the Melaka government’s objective to expand coverage in the future and enable rural
dwellers to enjoy Internet coverage.
Under the agreement, PERNEC, through
its subsidiary PERNEC Integrated Network
Systems Sdn Bhd (PINS) – the WiWi technology recipient from MIMOS, is tasked
to install and commission equipment to
deploy the service. The company will also
provide support services related to landing
pages and content services configuration
and management.
In addition, PINS will provide and develop, on a trial basis, an Element Management
System of WiWi access points and the local
advertisement application, the technology.
The assessment and evaluation of the performance, carried out by UTem will form
the basis for future installations.
HAPPENINGS/EVENTS
Orphans are
Guests of
Honour at
PERNEC Iftar
E
mbracing the spirit of Ramadhan,
which among others, encourages
charity, a very important aspect
in Islam, PERNEC Corporation
Berhad held an Iftar for twenty students
and staff of Pusat Tahfiz Al-Nasar in Ukay
Perdana, Selangor on 16 August 2011 or
16 Ramadhan 1432H.
Group Managing Director Encik Abdul
Karim Abdul Sallam also presented a
cheque of RM1,000 on behalf of PERNEC to Ustaz Azman Hassan the Principal of the centre.
As in years past, more than 100 staff
of PERNEC Corporation Berhad were
also invited to the PERNEC Iftar held at
the company’s headquarters in Ampang,
Selangor. Among those from the top
management who attended were PERNEC
Chairman Datuk Zainun Aishah Ahmad,
Director Datin Paduka Jamiah Abdul Ha-
mid, PERNEC Telco CEO Encik Dzulkifli
Muhamad, PERNEC PayPoint CEO YM
Tengku Asmaluddin Tengku Arshad and
other senior management members. The
breaking of fast started at 7.00 p.m.
In addition to the premises of PERNEC D’café that was used for the Iftar,
two tents were erected at the parking area
to comfortably accommodate the crowd.
After the main meal ended, guests performed Isyak and Tarawih prayers, during which a short sermon was delivered
by Ustaz Yusri Ariffin.
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 09
HAPPENINGS/EVENTS
Stamping our leadership
in IPv6 deployment
P
ERNEC Corporation Berhad is
collaborating with training provider
IS Seraya-AVS Sdn Bhd to forge
its leadership in the deployment
of the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in
Malaysia as well as increase awareness of a
technology considered as the most strategic
Internet technology to-date.
PERNEC’s participation as a strategic
partner in the IPv6 2011 Regional
Conference in Kuala Lumpur from 19-21
July, was a reflection of our commitment
to deliver reliable solutions on IPv6 to
the Malaysian market. The conference
was officiated by Deputy Minister for
010 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
Information, Communication and Culture,
Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum.
“In line with our goal to become a
premier technology company, PERNEC
plans to offer a host of products and services
for the deployment of IPv6. Among our
IPv6-ready products are servers, routers,
software and other network infrastructure
such as the PERNEC eRAS CPE,” said
PERNEC Telco CEO Encik Dzulkifli
Muhammad.
Additionally, PERNEC also aims to
become a certified Testing and Certification
Centre for IPv6 compliance. Among the
services are testing of network elements,
applications, networks & websites as well as
certification for IPv6 readiness.
Security aspects being the uppermost
concern in the deployment of IPv6 by
enterprises and government agencies
compelled PERNEC to ready itself to
provide a wide range of products and
services to its existing and potential
customers.
IS Seraya Sdn Bhd is the exclusive
Authorised Training Provider for the
Certified IPv6 Network Engineer (CNET6)
that was formulated by the National
Advanced IPv6 Centre (NAV6) while
Universiti Sains Malaysia was included
in the IPv6 Education Certification Logo
Programme.
This programme defines and certifies
courses, engineers and trainers with Silver
& Gold Logo levels and requires IPv6
implementation on the website of the
education programme.
IPv6 offers the potential to build a
much more powerful Internet, with a
vastly larger scale compared to the current
situation. Addresses in IPv4 have only 32
bits, allowing for only about four billion
addresses compared to the 128-bit IPv6 that
can hold some 340 trillion, trillion, trillion
addresses.
“The benefits of the Internet are drawn
directly from the platform of interoperability
created by use of the Internet Protocol,
leading to a large ‘network effect’. In other
words, the benefits to a company goes
beyond the extent to which a company
uses the Internet, but from the extent to
which others — suppliers, customers and
individuals — also use the Internet,” said
Lawrence E. Hughes, Chief Technology
Officer of Dualstak Networks, PERNEC’s
partner in the IPv6 venture.
According to Hughes, networks are
expected to introduce IPv6 into previously
IPv4-only networks to solve problems that
are getting increasingly worse due to the
depletion of IPv4 addresses, and to provide
exciting new capabilities to users.
“In line with our goal
to become a premier
technology company,
PERNEC plans to offer
a host of products and
services for the deployment
of IPv6. Among our IPv6ready products are servers,
routers, software and other
network infrastructure such
as the PERNEC eRAS
CPE,”
Abdul Karim Sallam
PERNEC Group Managing Director
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 011
HAPPENINGS/EVENTS
Connecting Everything
and Anything through IPv6
I
...Google, Facebook,
Yahoo!, Akamai and
Limelight Networks
were among those that
offered their content
over IPv6 for a 24-hour
‘test flight’.
012 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
n line with our goal to become a
prime mover of IPv6 deployment,
PERNEC Corporation Berhad
participated in a seminar themed
‘V6 Connecting Everything’ that was
held in conjunction with World IPv6
Day 2011 on 8 June in Cyberjaya. The
seminar was organised by the Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia
Commission (MCMC) and the
Malaysian Technical Standards Forum
Bhd (MTSFB).
The target audience for the
seminar was government agencies,
telecommunication service providers,
Internet service providers, web hosting
companies, researchers and academic
institutions.
At the seminar Google, Facebook,
Yahoo!, Akamai and Limelight
Networks were among those that offered
their content over IPv6 for a 24-hour
‘test flight’.
The goal of the ‘test flight’ was to
motivate organisations across the industry
– Internet service providers, hardware
makers, operating system vendors and
web companies – to prepare their services
for IPv6 to ensure a successful transition
as IPv4 addresses run out.
About IPv6 The Malaysian Perspective
IPv6 is a one of eight key Infrastructure Projects under our
MyICMS 886 strategy. In the RMK-9 (2006-2010), IPv6 was
highlighted as one of three technologies that the then Ministry
of Energy Water and Communication (MEWC) prioritised.
The other two technologies were sensors and broadband.
According to a statement in the MCMC website, the
deployment of IPv6 in Malaysia is still at the research stage
with ISPs and research institutes still testing the transition
from IPv4 to IPv6.
Due to the strategic importance of understanding this
new Internet technology, PERNEC has forged a partnership
with Dualstak Sdn Bhd, a unit of InfoWeapons Corporation,
for the deployment of IPv6 for the benefit of the Internet
community in the country.
At the seminar Mr. Lawrence E. Hughes, founder and
chief technology officer of InfoWeapons rationalised why
Malaysian regulators and businesses should seriously
consider the deployment of the IPv6.
The Ministry of Information, Communication and
Culture and MAMPU have already started their migration
plans to implement IPv6 in their networks, apart from
successfully beginning to implement their ISP IPv6
compliance audit process.
Six of Malaysia’s seven ISPs have been audited for phase
1 (of three phases) of compliance and have been found to
be phase 1 (IPv6) compliant. In phase 2, 12 ISPs passed the
compliance tests.
As such, being in the forefront of Internet technology,
PERNEC is well positioned to reap the benefits with the
current drive to deploy IPv6 by the relevant authorities.
The following list is defined
as the scope of the Working Group:
•
IPv6 Working Group
The IPv6 Working Group in the MTSFB of which PERNEC
is a member, was set up to address issues and concerns with
regards to standards and regulatory policies on IPv6.
MTSFB is the body designated by MCMC under the
Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA 1998),
to identify and develop codes of technical standards for the
communications and multimedia industry.
Members of the MTSFB comprise of a variety of
ICT industry players, from service providers and related
government bodies to equipment vendors.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Try and test new stacks, protocols, and applications at
production level
Study, identify and report IPv6 deployment issues
Study transition mechanisms from IPv4 to IPv6; both
from a service provider and end-user point of view
Gather and share the IPv6 experience among members
Provide feedback to IPv6 Research and Education (R&E)
Advice regulatory, legal and governmental bodies on IPv6
Provide IPv6 promotional and awareness programmes
Explore other parameters on issues which have common
interests between the parties
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 013
HAPPENINGS/EVENTS
Fun on
the turf
A
total of 112 players took to the
greens when they participated
in the PERNEC Golf Invitation
2011 tournament organised by
PERNEC Corporation Berhad at Nilai
Springs Golf and Country Club. Held
on 16 July, the tournament was aimed at
building closer rapport among stakeholders and key customers of PERNEC.
Enhancing the reputation of the event,
the golf tournament was graced by
none other than the Deputy Minister of
Information, Communication and Culture
Dato’ Joseph Salang Gandum and Former
IGP Tun Hanif Omar.
Among the stakeholders who participated in the tournament were
government authorities and agen-
014 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
cies including representatives from the
Information, Communication and Culture
Ministry, Malaysian Communications
and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)
and Multimedia Development Corporation (MDec).
Other external stakeholders included
representatives from Mimos Berhad,
Telekom Malaysia Berhad, Dewan
Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur as well as
PERNEC’s consultants. A total of 18
staff, including the members on the
Board of Directors of PERNEC Corporation
Berhad also joined the tournament.
Registration began as early at 6.30
a.m. with each player receiving a goodie
bag containing a PERNEC golf shirt,
golf balls, towel and toiletries. Despite
the early morning drizzle, everyone
remained enthusiastic about the tournament, clearly looking forward to a good
round of fun on the golf course.
Prizes were divided into two categories
- Medal A and Medal B. Also,
six novelty prizes as well
as a total of 60 exciting
lucky draw prizes were given away.
The overall champion of the tournament was Encik Ali Shahrom from
MCMC, who walked away with the
Overall Championship Prize as well as
the Challenge Trophy.
After the game, the players were
treated to a sumptuous lunch at the
ballroom after which prizes were given
away. PERNEC Director Encik Megat
Dzaiuddin Megat Mahmud did the
honours of presenting the prizes to the
lucky winners.
A total of 112 players took to the greens when they participated in
the PERNEC Golf Invitation 2011 tournament organised by PERNEC
Corporation Berhad at Nilai Springs Golf and Country Club.
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 015
HAPPENINGS/EVENTS
Taking our business
forward with CSI initiatives
S
ince our establishment more than
37 years ago, PERNEC Corporation Berhad has built a stellar
reputation for itself particularly
as an infrastructure provider for the telecommunications industry.
However since the dawn of the new
century, PERNEC has experienced a competitive landscape in its traditional businesses and this has propelled us to initiate
the PERNEC 2.0 Blueprint that will chart
the future direction of our businesses.
These new challenges have also required for us to re-strategise our direction
to remain relevant in the industry. Among
others, PERNEC has changed its business
strategy by adopting strategic partnerships with several systems, technology
and equipment providers instead of being
largely dependent on income from largescale infrastructure developments.
The new business objectives have also
enabled PERNEC to position itself as
one of the Total ICT solution providers in
Malaysia and abroad.
With the new strategic direction in
place, PERNEC carried out a Customer
Satisfaction Index (CSI) survey for the
three business groups under PERNEC’s
umbrella. The CSI was carried out by
TNS Research International to determine
customers’ satisfaction with PERNEC and
its business units’ products and service
deliverables. Face to face interviews were
conducted between May to June 2011 and
the list of respondents consisted of more
than 200 randomly selected customers
provided by the business units.
Specifically, the CSI examined and analysed:
• The deliverables of PERNEC’s services and products;
• The management of PERNEC touch points;
• The level of customers’ loyalty to PERNEC; and
• The effectiveness of staff in handling enquiries and complaints.
After completing the survey, GCR organised a two-day workshop at Flamingo
Hotel for business groups to chart the next
steps going forward based on the CSI
findings. A Customer Relations Management Day was also held on 21 September
to share the general results with all staff.
“When we established initiatives for the
Customer Excellence Experiences (CSE)
platform in CRM, we formulated it to
operate on three distinct levels…
NPS - To initiate a self-assessment evaluation tool (Net Promoter Scheme) as a
vehicle of continuous improvement;
CRM - customer engagement on a one-toone basis or networking by empowering
CRM personnel to explore and identify
the area of a customer’s focus and issues.
This includes consulting customers as
well as designing and proposing solutions
by using exclusive customer information.
This function will include monitoring
the outcomes that will meet customers’
satisfaction; and
CSI - This is an independent validation
of service deliverables and evaluation
by customers through a survey conducted by a survey company. “By having a
formal accreditation to the Customer
Service Excellence standard evaluated
by a third party, we can identify key
areas for improvement,” said Puan Che
Wan Esah Wan Ahmad, Senior General
Manager, Group Corporate Communications for PERNEC.
016 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
HAPPENINGS/EVENTS
“The outcome of the CSI survey is something we as ONE PERNEC must own up to and be responsible for in order to ratify and
strategise with the plan of action moving forward,”
said Puan Che Wan Esah.
She added that every business must look into the needs and wants
of their customers in order to be successful. Researchers and those
with successful businesses have shown that customer satisfaction has
a positive effect on an organisation’s profitability and sustainability.
“Establishing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is
a brilliant step towards creating a system of managing customer
retention. Nevertheless, it is the excellent customer experience that
will differentiate us and create a positive impact on our CRM,”
Puan Che Wan Esah added.
The critical part of business growth always lies on creating
customer satisfaction, loyalty and referrals while strengthening
existing customer relationships and failure to provide and deliver
good CRM will result in an unfavourable business environment
for PERNEC.
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 017
PERNEC corperation
ION-Q clinches 2nd
place at prestigious convention
C
ongratulations to ION-Q’
from PERNEC Advanced
Networks Sdn Bhd (PAN) for
taking second place at the PNB
Innovation & Quality Award Convention 2011, beating a string of other
contestants from Permodalan Nasional
Berhad’s group of companies. This is
the first significant win for PERNEC in
the event that was held at the Marriott
Hotel, Putrajaya on 10 November.
The ION-Q’ team headed by Raja
Norhuda Raja Adnan, presented the
paper themed ‘Low Testing Capacity for
Rectifier System-4 at Production’ that had
proven efficiencies and cost savings for
PAN’s business operations.
The main objective of the project paper
was to reduce waiting time from 108
hours to 54 hours and double the capacity
of System-4 test outputs.
PNB Chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul
018 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
Hamid gave away the prizes to the winners. The top prize went to the Sime Darby
team while the second runner up prize went
to the team from CCM.
A total of 12 teams from PERNEC,
Sime Darby, CCM, I&P, MIDF, ASNB
and UMW Toyota presented their ICC papers. Below are ION-Q’s team members:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Zamri Aziz (Facilitator)
Raja Norhuda Raja Adnan (Team
Leader)
Zulkifli Mat Hussain
Norliza Abdullah
Khairul Anuar Hashim
Noor Azman Said
Wan Nazirah Wan Ismail
INFO & ACTIVITY
Our pilgrims get
a warm send-off to Mecca
P
ERNEC Corporation Berhad
recently held a going-away
ceremony on 27 September 2011
for a group of our staff performing the Hajj. Group Managing Director
Encik Abdul Karim Abdul Sallam who
was there at the send-off, delivered a short
message and presented the pilgrim with
gifts. Those leaving for Mecca were…
Encik Ayob Bin Kassim, Manager,
Project Management Office Department,
PERNEC Integrated Network System Sdn
Bhd who left on 2 October
Encik Mahmud Bin Abd Halim,
Executive, Accounts and Finance Department, PERNEC Technologies Sdn Bhd
who left on 4 October
Puan Nurhanisah Chin Abdullah,
Executive, Accounts and Finance Depart-
ment, PERNEC Transmission Sdn Bhd
who left on 4 October
Haslina Binti Hisham, Manager,
Project Implementation Department,
PERNEC Transmission Sdn Bhd who
left on 8 October
Mohd Ariffin Bin Nizar, Executive,
Software Services, PERNEC Technologies Sdn Bhd who left on 12 October
Encik Abdul Karim also congratulated
the pilgrims for being chosen as Guests of
Allah for this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ceremony ended with wishes of a safe
journey, InsyaAllah.
Helo English bootcamp for PERNEC kids
R
iding on the success of the helo
English bootcamp for heloNET
Community members in Ipoh,
Perak, PERNEC Corporation
Berhad held another bootcamp, this time
for the children of PERNEC staff at the
PERNEC D’café on 22 October 2011. The
bootcamp was organised by the Group
Corporate Communications (GCC)
Department of PERNEC.
The half-day event that
was attended by
25 secondary
school students, was officiated by GCC
Senior General Manager Puan Che Wan
Esah Wan Ahmad.
In efforts to promote better understanding
of the helo English learning programme,
participants were divided into two groups
for two sessions of one and a half hours
each. At the end of the bootcamp, participants received certificates of attendance from Puan Che Wan Esah.
GCC Executive Puan Zalfa
Laili Lokman tutored the students
while Senior Executive for Media
Relations Puan Afizah Azmi
attended to the ‘techinical’ side
of things. The programme was
coordinated by Puan Fadzrin
Aliza Zainal.
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 019
INFO & ACTIVITY
Iftar for
members of the media
I
n conjunction with the holy month
of Ramadhan, PERNEC Corporation Berhad hosted an Iftar to build
social and spiritual connections with
members of the media. The event was also
a gesture of appreciation for the support
rendered by the media in regards to PERNEC’s business activities.
In the last couple of years, PERNEC
has seen a spike in news coverage of the
company by the print and electronic media,
a development that would not have been
possible without the readiness of media
practitioners to cover and write news articles on our events and business activities.
The event took place at the Kuala
Lumpur Golf and Country Club and was
attended by 30 guests from among others,
RTM, The Malaysian Reserve, Bernama,
The Star, The Sun and The Edge. PERNEC
020 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
Senior General Manager for Group Corporate Communications Puan Che Wan Esah
Wan Ahmad hosted the annual event.
In her welcome message, Puan Che
Wan Esah said, “We want to renew our
co-operation and ties with the media and
the Ramadhan Iftar is an ideal way to
strengthen that relationship.”
As the azan was sounded at around 7.27
p.m., Muslim guests took a snack before
going for their Maghrib prayers. Later
they sat down to dinner accompanied
by softly playing Nasyid tunes and easy
listening songs performed by an acoustic
musical group.
In thanking her guests for attending
the Iftar, Puan Che Wan Esah said, “It is
hoped that all guests will have a pleasant
Eid Mubarak this year and we hope to see
all of you again next year!”
INFO & ACTIVITY
PERNEC
Corporation
gives joy to less
fortunate children
I
n the spirit of Ramadhan Al Mubarak,
PERNEC Corporation Berhad organised a ‘shopping spree’ for occupants
of Rumah Perlindungan Nur Qaseh,
Kuala Lumpur at Jaya Jusco AU2 in
Taman Setiawangsa. The shopping spree
was held on 22 August 2011.
Speaking at the event, PERNEC Corporation Group Managing Director Encik
Abdul Karim Sallam said PERNEC was
indeed pleased to share this joy and fulfil
the company’s responsibility particularly
towards the less fortunate in our community. He also said it was the company’s
wish to spread some joy what with Hari
Raya just around the corner.
“As a caring individual, I firmly believe
that we should always be emphatic and
sensitive towards the needs of the less
privileged and find ways to provide
continuous support so that they do not feel
left behind. This is also to ensure that they
can continue to receive good education
and secure a better future,” he added.
The event also received warm response
from PERNEC staff many of who made
separate contributions through the PERNEC Co-operative. Encik Abdul Karim
thanked everyone for their support, saying
that their contributions were meaningful
for the children and would go a long way
in helping them.
Rumah Perlindungan Nur Qaseh was
established in June this year and is located
in Taman Melati, Kuala Lumpur. This
initiative was based solely on the goodwill
of the founder, Puan Roslida Che Wail
who wanted to assist less fortunate girls
so they could get a normal education and
hence enjoy a better quality of life.
The centre
houses orphans
or children
from poor
families or
new Muslim
converts, aged 15 years and below. It has
a total of 15 residents.
Speaking warmly about the girls in her
care Roslida said, “It is our hope to see all
the children here grow to become responsible individuals and we will do this by giving
adequate opportunities for them to have a
proper education. Our vision is to develop
everybody that stays with us so they can
become excellent individuals who can
contribute
positively
towards nation
building.”
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 021
INFO & ACTIVITY
helo English
boot camp off to a great start
P
ERNEC Corporation Berhad kicked off its na- ing programme,” said Puan Che Wan Esah.
tionwide helo English boot camp programme
“We set up the heloNET Community to fulfil our
with the first session held in Ipoh, Perak on
responsibility of creating a workforce that speaks Eng24 September 2011. The programme is part of
lish proficiently. The flow of foreign investments into
PERNEC’s long-term objective to enable students to
a country like Malaysia depends not only on the relaenjoy greater access to knowledge and information by
tively low cost of labour here but also on our people’s
enhancing their mastery of English.
ability to communicate well in English,” she added.
Vast amounts of resources offering knowledge and
“In addition, the usage of English in our country
information are found throughout the world written in
has increased considering Malaysia is committed to
English as the language is a major vehicle of comserving as a regional centre or hub for educational
munication. “As the nation is entering the era of a
excellence which in turn will attract foreign students
‘knowledge economy’, the role of English has become to study here because of our quality and affordability,”
increasingly instrumental in
Puan Che Wan Esah said.
our nation’s efforts to create
“As an initial step, we would
“As an initial step, we
knowledge workers,” said
like to help heloNET netbook
would like to help heloNET
PERNEC Senior General
netbook owners and other owners and other club members
Manager for Group Corporate
improve their mastery of English
club members improve
Communications Puan Che
and also enhance their undertheir mastery of English
Wan Esah Che Wan Ahmad.
standing of relevant technology
and also enhance their
For the first helo English
applications,” added Puan Che
understanding of relevant
boot camp, 60 secondary
Wan Esah.
technology applications,”
school students from various
This will be done through
Encik Dzulkifli.
parts of the state attended.
specific engagement programmes
They were given usernames
on various subjects. The next helo
and passwords to allow them access to the innovative
English boot camp will be held for heloNET netbook
learning system for a one-year period. The students
recipients in Kedah and Johor.
were made up of those who had registered earlier as
Puan Che Wan Esah also urged all course parheloNET Community members during the Minggu
ticipants to maximise their usage of helo English to
Amanah Saham Malaysia (MSAM) in Ipoh.
optimise what the programme has to offer. She also
Also present at the boot camp was Encik Saidon
said the bootcamp was a value-added benefit to the
Putih, Head of Application & Technopreneur DeheloNet netbook, the business of which is undertaken
velopment, KPerak Implementation & Coordinaby PERNEC Telco.
tion Corporation.
Prior to the boot camp in Ipoh, PERNEC held a
“This is our CSR programme for school-going chilRegistration Day for employee’s children so they
dren, particularly heloNET netbook owners and for this too could become heloNET Community members.
purpose, PERNEC has set aside more than RM500,000
The registration took place on 18 August with 181
to acquire the 1,000 licences for the helo English learnstudents registering.
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 023
INFO & ACTIVITY
Coming
together for
Hari Raya
I
n the true tradition of giving, sharing
and working as one big corporate
family, PERNEC Corporation Berhad organised a Hari Raya Aidilfitri
Open House for its Board of Directors,
management and staff on 23 Sept 2011.
As in previous years, the Human Resource Department took the lead to organise the event with support from other
departments. The event was held at the
parking area of PERNEC’s headquarters
in Ampang, Selangor.
There was a distinct air of festivity as
canopy-styled stalls were set up, serving
a wide variety of food, the most popular
being grilled lamb and satay. There was
also a sumptuous spread of local desserts
for those with a sweet tooth.
Apart from the great food and lively
company of colleagues, there was also
a Student Excellence Award 2011 ceremony later that evening for the children
of PERNEC staff who excelled in their
UPSR, PMR and SPM examinations.
024 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
INFO & ACTIVITY
PERNEC takes third place
in lawn bowls championship
C
ongratulations to PERNEC for
four players and a reserve.
securing third placing in Group
Under the regulations of a lawn
C in the men’s category and
bowls game, each player in a team
third placing in the Group B
will throw two bowls and each game
women’s team at the Lawn Bowls Tourwill be played consisting of seven
nament in Bayueends or a time
As
the
closing
event
for
mas Indoor Bowls
limit of one
the Permodalan Nasional
Stadium in Pandahour, whichever
Berhad
(PNB)
Games
maran Kelang.
comes first. The
2011, the tournament was
As the closing
winner of the
organised
by
Kelab
Sukan
event for the Perseven ends will
dan Rekreasi Kumpulan
modalan Nasional
be the team with
PNB
and
was
held
from
Berhad (PNB)
the highest number
29-30 October 2011. It
Games 2011, the
of shots when the
was
opened
to
all
PNB
tournament was
seven ends are
subsidiaries.
organised by Kelab
completed. If the shot
Sukan dan Rekreasi
scores are tied, after
Kumpulan PNB and was held from 29-30
the seven ends, it will be considered a draw.
October 2011. It was opened to all PNB
The overall champions for the Men
subsidiaries.
Fours was Maybank with second place
For this year’s tournament, 14 comgoing to Sime Darby ‘B’ and third place
panies including PNB, PERNEC Corpoto NCB. For the Women’s Fours, the
ration, Maybank, UMW, Sime Darby,
champion was Sime Darby ‘B’ while
CCM, Prolintas, NCB, Island & Peninsecond place went to Sime Darby ’A’ and
sular, PFM Capital, PNB Commercial,
third place to NCB. In the VIP Fours catPNB Development, MIDF and MNRB
egory, UMW was crowned the champion
participated.
followed by PNB Development. Third
The players were divided into three
place went to Sime Darby ‘A’.
groups - VIP Fours, Men Fours and
Women Fours. Each team consisted of
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 025
Feature
DINNER WITH A
‘LIGHT & EASY’ TWIST
M
ore than 1,000 staff of
PERNEC Corporation Bhd
attended their Annual with
the theme ‘Light & Easy’ on
1 July 2011 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre. The staff who attended were
from the company’s headquarters and
regional offices.
There to liven-up the night were a
number of local artistes such as Amy
Search, Ekin and Nadia from Akademi
Fantasia and Syarifah Shahirah who was
the emcee of the night. Also among the
entertainers were winners of PERNEC’s
in-house karaoke competition. The Human Resources Management Department of PERNEC organised the dinner
as a gesture of appreciation for the
services and contributions rendered by
PERNEC staff in 2010.
026 NADA PERNEC JULY 2011
Despite the lightheartedness of the
evening, there was also some talk on business when PERNEC Chairman Datuk Zainun Aishah Ahmad spoke to the crowd.
In her speech she highlighted some of the
company’s achievements in 2010 and outlined potential businesses that PERNEC
would developed in coming years.
She said that although the telecommunications industry faced numerous challenges, the HSSB project under Telekom
Malaysia (TM) and the continuous efforts
by the government to increase broadband
penetration had cushioned PERNEC
against any negative market impact.
Datuk Zainun said, “We succeeded in
turning the company around in 2009. Then
in 2010, we improved our profitability, primarily through securing high margin products and improved operational efficiency.”
The Group’s Profit Before Tax for the financial
year 2010 increased 272% from the previous year,
thanks to the Group’s lower operating cost and
higher profit contribution from PayPoint.
In addition, PERNEC debuted as a wifi infrastructure provider for both Telekom Malaysia and
the ‘Kampung Tanpa Wayar’ or the Village WIFI
project initiated by the Malaysian Communications
and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in 2010.
Over and above this, PERNEC made great
progress in developing an advertising media portfolio through the extensive network of its payphones.
She also said that PERNEC PayPoint’s partnership
with Katchi Group Sdn Bhd to optimise the full
potential of the new City Mix phone booths was a
move in the right direction.
City Mix is a newly designed phone booth combined with scrolling or static advertising panels and
was officially launched on 4 July this year by PNB
Chairman Tun Ahmad Sari Abdul Hamid. A total
of 3,500 City Mix sites will be deployed in the next
three years with a total investment of RM25 million.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors and stakeholders of PERNEC, I would like to express my
sincere gratitude for the continuous support from all
staff in maintaining our performance. Thank you
again and let us work together for an even better
PERNEC,” Datuk Zainun concluded.
JULY 2011 NADA PERNEC 027