Experts to gather ideas from online community


(Bernama) KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is looking forward to the online 1Malaysia Roundtable going live tomorrow to get fresh ideas and potential solutions from the people.

“I hope all of us will take this opportunity to come together and produce ideas and creative solutions. Do inform your family and friends so that we can get as many suggestions as possible,” he said in his latest blog posting, “Take a seat at the 1Malaysia Roundtable”.

Najib said the online 1Malaysia Roundtable, on the website http://www.1malaysia.com.my, would allow all Malaysians, regardless of geographic location, profession or age, to provide fair and constructive comments, suggestions or ideas to better the lives of the people.

The areas to be discussed include the economy, national unity, health, youth activity and sports.

The roundtable would be moderated by some of the most respected and celebrated individuals of the nation, Najib said.

The prime minister said he had over the past month told his office to engage a number of Malaysians who were recognised as icons or role models in their fields, including a few based overseas.

Najib said these subject matter experts (SMEX) would join him in guiding participants through discussions and in gathering ideas for review and consideration.

“These SMEX are committed to shed some light on issues, share their time and experience to help you shape your ideas, and finally present to me the key highlights of your discussion for further study or consideration for implementation.”

Najib said he had also scheduled a special session to meet the 1Malaysia Roundtable SMEX and would tweet more about it in due course.
The SMEX include former national football player and pundit Serbegeth “Shebby” Singh; corporate leader and AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes; educator and creativity expert Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, television personality Aznil Nawawi; actress and television personality Lisa Surihani; television and theatre personality Low Ngai Yuen; and the Malaysian inventor of the pen drive, Pua Khein Seng.

Among the others are Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations president Datuk Marimuthu Nadason; recording artistes Amy Search and Pete Teo; Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer and managing director Datuk Seri Tengku Azmil Zahruddin Raja Abdul Aziz; social media expert David Lian; and 1Malaysia and national unity advocate Anas Zubedy.

The other SMEX are Institute of Strategic and International Studies chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mahani Zainal Abidin; Talent Corporation Malaysia chief executive officer Johan Mahmood Merican; Malaysian Nature Society president Associate Prof Dr Maketab Mohamed; Global Environment Centre director Dr Faizal Parish; world No. 1 badminton player Datuk Lee Chong Wei; national cyclist Azizulhasni Awang; Formula 3 race driver Jazeman Jaafar; former wushu world champion Ho Ro Bin; and national squash player Azlan Iskandar.

Najib said the roundtable concept had long been in existence and was used by members of a community to discuss issues in a respectful manner, where everyone’s right to speak was observed and input was valued.

He said the 1Malaysia Roundtable transformed the concept to fit a growing online community, tailored to the needs of Malaysians.

Najib said he wanted to experiment with the online idea for Malaysians to interact not just with him but also among themselves. He intended to lead a discussion next month to generate ideas from the public for the 2012 Budget, similar to what he did through his blog in preparing for the two previous budgets. — Bernama



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