Aim/Purpose: With a focus on promoting sustainable career paths, this article investigates the intricate relationship between age diversity management and techno-complexity, emphasizing the pivotal role of a supportive work environment. Background: In the modern workplace, the dynamics of age diversity emerge as a crucial element influencing the well-being and productivity of employees, particularly amidst the swiftly evolving digital landscape. This becomes especially pertinent when considering workers’ unique challenges adapting to technological advancements. Methodology: Utilizing a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 160 employees in an Italian multinational company within the metalworking sector. Contribution: This study provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics between the aging climate, colleagues’ support, and techno-complexity. It emphasized the importance of considering the direct effects of organizational factors and their in-direct influences through social dynamics and support structures within the workplace. Findings: The results revealed the mediating role of colleagues’ support in the relationship between the aging climate and techno-complexity. These findings highlight the importance of a supportive work environment in the context of sustainable career development, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of diversity management within the modern digital era. Recommendation for Researchers: Our results open to a series of implications and future directions. First, the unexpected finding regarding the direct relationship between the aging climate and technostress calls for a deeper exploration of the intricacies involved. Future studies could delve into specific organizational contexts, technological demands, and individual differences that may modulate this relationship. Future Research: Future studies could delve into specific organizational contexts, technological demands, and individual differences that may modulate this relationship.

Aim/Purpose: To provide a systematic approach to defining task complexity using a three worlds model previously introduced in informing science research. Background: The task complexity construct presents researchers with a quandary. While it appears useful on the surface, repeated attempts to define it rigorously have failed to gain traction in the broader research community. The level of inconsistency between definitions is shown to have changed little in the past 20 years. Methodology: Using a common framework that treats task complexity as a latent construct residing between sources and outcomes, moderated by both task familiarity and task discretion, separate models for each of the three worlds are developed. Contribution: Our paper proposes a potential path forward by showing how many issues in past task complexity research can be reconciled by framing the construct according to the three worlds model: the world we experience, the world of human artifacts, and the “real world.” Findings: The framework defines experienced complexity as occurring in the mind of the task performer while performing a single task instance, intrinsic complexity as a function of the internal characteristics of the problem space used to perform a bounded set of task instances, and extrinsic complexity as the ruggedness of the fitness landscape in which the task is performed. Recommendation for Researchers: It offers a path to convergence for definitions of task complexity. Future Research: The three worlds of task complexity can potentially be applied to many practical problems.

Aim/Purpose: In this paper we propose a framework identifying many of the unintended consequences of information technology and posit that the increased complexity brought about by IT is a proximate cause for these negative effects. Background: Builds upon the three-world model that has been evolving within the informing science transdiscipline. Methodology: We separate complexity into three categories: experienced complexity, intrinsic complexity, and extrinsic complexity. With the complexity cycle in mind, we consider how increasing complexity of all three forms can lead to unintended consequences at the individual, task and system levels. Examples of these consequences are discussed at the individual level (e.g., deskilling, barriers to advancement), the task level (e.g., perpetuation of past practices), as well as broader consequences that may result from the need to function in an environment that is more extrinsically complex (e.g., erosion of predictable causality, shortened time horizons, inequality, tribalism). We conclude by reflecting on the implications of attempting to manage or limit increases of complexity. Contribution: Shows how many unintended consequences of IT could be attributed to growing complexity. Findings: We find that these three forms of complexity feed into one another resulting in a positive feedback loop that we term the Complexity Cycle. As examples, we analyze ChatGPT, blockchain and quantum computing, through the lens of the complexity cycle, speculating how experienced complexity can lead to greater intrinsic complexity in task performance through the incorporation of IT which, in turn, increases the extrinsic complexity of the economic/technological environment. Recommendations for Practitioners: Consider treating increasing task complexity as an externality that should be considered as new systems are developed and deployed. Recommendation for Researchers: Provides opportunities for empirical investigation of the proposed model. Impact on Society: Systemic risks of complexity are proposed along with some proposals regarding how they might be addressed. Future Research: Empirical investigation of the proposed model and the degree to which cognitive changes created by the proposed complexity cycle are necessarily problematic.

By Barbara Rasin, J.D. Candidate, 2027 In Anderson v. TikTok, decided in in late summer 2024, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that TikTok’s “For You Page” algorithm was sufficiently creative to bar its protection under §230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). This is a significant step towards ...

The post Expanding TikTok’s Liability for the “For You Page” appeared first on Berkeley Technology Law Journal.

Underpinned by stakeholder and agency theories, this study adopts a qualitative multiple-case study approach to explore and analyse various stakeholder interests and how they affect digitalisation in the health sector of a developing country (DC). The study's findings revealed that four key stakeholder interests - political, regulatory, leadership, and operational - affect digitalisation in the health sector of DCs. Further, the study found that operational and leadership interests were emergent and were triggered by some digitalisation initiatives, which included, inter alia, the use of new eHealth software and the COVID-19 vaccination exercise, which established new structures and worked better through digitalisation. Conversely, political and regulatory interests were found to be relatively enduring since they existed throughout the pre- and post-digitalisation eras. The study also unearthed principal-agent conflicts arising from technological, organisational and regulatory factors that contribute to the paradoxical outcomes of digitalisation in the health sector.

The objective of this study was to explore through the Model of Theory of Planned Behaviour the most important variables that influence the practice of physical and sports activity at home supported by virtual training in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-study was proposed between countries from three continents, distributing the questionnaire in Spain (Europe), Pakistan (Asia), and Colombia (South America) to ensure a comprehensive study. The methodology of structural equations using partial least squares was used. The empirical exploratory study supported the hypotheses proposed, with the most important result that confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been a factor causing the practice of physical and sports activity at home. This is one of the first studies to examine sports practice at home and the new context of sports practice that has generated disruptive technologies and the global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A semantically rich framework to enable real-time knowledge extraction from short length semi-structured documents Lavana Elluri 10:30-11:30 Monday, 4 November 2019, ITE346 Knowledge is currently maintained as a large volume of unstructured text data in books, laws, regulations and policies, news and social media, academic and scientific reports, conversation and correspondence, etc. Most of these […]

The post TALK: Real-time knowledge extraction from short semi-structured documents appeared first on UMBC ebiquity.

Ph.D. Dissertation Defense Modeling and Extracting Information about Cybersecurity Events from Text Taneeya Satyapanich 9:30-11:30 Monday, 18 November, 2019, ITE346? People now rely on the Internet to carry out much of their daily activities such as banking, ordering food, and socializing with their family and friends. The technology facilitates our lives, but also comes with […]

The post Defense: Taneeya Satyapanich, Modeling and Extracting Information about Cybersecurity Events from Text appeared first on UMBC ebiquity.

The PALS system captures physical context from sensed data, reasons about the context and associated context-driven policies to make access-control decisions and detect intrusions into smart home systems based on both network and behavioral data

The post paper: Context Sensitive Access Control in Smart Home Environments appeared first on UMBC ebiquity.

How Does Contextual Targeting in Programmatic Work? This article delves into contextual programmatic advertising, which strategically positions ads on web pages by analyzing the content to ensure that these advertisements are pertinent and considerate of privacy. Discover what this method entails and how it operates. Key Takeaways Contextual programmatic advertising combines the automation [...]

Programmatic Ad Mediation Explained Programmatic ad mediation allows publishers to manage multiple ad networks from a single platform, maximizing revenue and efficiency. This article explores how it works, its benefits, and tips for selecting the right platform. Key Takeaways Programmatic ad mediation streamlines the management of multiple ad networks through a unified platform, [...]

Social exchange theory is a broad theory that has been used to explain trust as an outcome of various exchange relationships, and research commonly presumes trust exists between exchange partners that have prior relationships. In this paper, we contribute to social exchange theory by isolating the trust outcomes of interorganizational exchanges from other outcomes emphasized by learning and knowledge-based perspectives, and by specifying important boundary conditions for the emergence of trust in interorganizational exchanges. We make such a theoretical contribution within the domain of strategic alliances by investigating the effects of previous alliance agreements, or prior ties, between the partnering firms. We find that prior ties generally lead to learning about a partner's anticipated behavioral patterns, which helps a firm predict when self-interested behavior may occur and know how to interact with the partner during the coordination and execution of the alliance tasks. By contrast, it is evident that the kind of trust emphasized in social exchange theory is not generally rooted in prior ties and only emerges from prior relationships under certain conditions. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on social exchange theory and for delineating the theory's domain of applicability.

CEO severance has captured the attention of a wide array of audiences, yet it remains largely unexplored by management scholars. This paper offers a rigorous theoretical examination of CEO severance with the goal of developing a foundation for a systematic research agenda. In particular, we consider if, and how, severance agreements can be effective in serving the interests of both CEOs and shareholders. We argue that severance agreements have potential value as both an executive recruitment and governance tool, but that the way they are conventionally structured undermines the value that shareholders realize from them. The implications of structure have been almost entirely overlooked by scholars, perhaps because the influence of compensation consultants has left little variance in how severance agreements are implemented across firms. We address this gap by theorizing about how severance agreements could be structured to effectively generate value for executives and shareholders. To do this, we introduce a categorization of key dimensions of CEO severance agreements, and consider how each of these dimensions can be structured to facilitate CEO recruiting, while simultaneously mitigating future governance problems. Our propositions offer new opportunities for governance and compensation scholars to link CEO severance agreements to important organizational outcomes.

'What's going on?' Within the context of our critically-informed teaching practice, we see moments of deep learning and reflexivity in classroom discussions and assessments. Yet, these moments of criticality are interspersed with surface learning and reflection. We draw on dichotomous, linear developmental, and messy explanations of learning processes to empirically explore the learning journeys of 20 international Chinese and 42 domestic New Zealand students. We find contradictions within our own data, and between our findings and the extant literature. We conclude that expressions of surface learning and reflection are considerably more complex than they first appear. Moreover, developing critical reflexivity is a far more subtle, messy, and emotional experience than previously understood. We present the theoretical and pedagogical significance of these findings when we consider the implications for the learning process and the practice of management education.

Management educators often assume that research-based arguments ought to be convincing to students. However, college students do not always accept even well-documented research findings. Among the reasons this might happen, we focus on the potential role of psychological mechanisms triggered by scholarly arguments that affect students' self-concepts, leading them to engage in self-enhancing or self-protective responses. We investigated such processes by examining students' reactions to a research argument emphasizing the importance of intelligence to job performance, in comparison to their reactions to research arguments emphasizing the importance of emotional intelligence and/or fit. Consistent with our predictions, students were less likely to accept the argument for the importance of intelligence compared to the alternative, less threatening, arguments (i.e., the importance of emotional intelligence or fit). Further, acceptance of the argument about the importance of intelligence was affected by students' grade point average (GPA) and moderated by their emotional stability. Specifically, consistent with self-enhancement theory, students with lower GPAs were more likely to reject the argument for intelligence and give self-protective reasons for their responses, whereas students with higher GPAs were more likely to accept the argument and give self-enhancing reasons. Implications for future research and for management teaching are discussed.

If partnering with local firms is an intuitive strategy with which to mitigate uncertainty in foreign ventures, then why don't organizations always partner with local firms, especially in uncertain settings? We address this question by unbundling the effects of uncertainty in foreign ventures at the venture and country levels. We contend that, while both levels increase the need for partnering with local firms in foreign ventures, country-level uncertainty increases the difficulty of partnering with local firms and decreases the likelihood of such partnerships. We also posit that experiential learning helps firms manage the two types of uncertainty, and thereby reduces the need for partnering—yet, experience in the host country makes partnering more feasible and increases the likelihood of such partnerships. To test our hypotheses, we conceptualize the decision to partner with a local firm in a foreign venture as a multilayered decision, and model it accordingly. Using a global sample of venture capital investments made between 1984 and 2011, we find support for the distinct effects of venture- and country-level uncertainty as well as for corresponding levels of experiential learning. These findings have implications for the literature on cross-border venture capital investment and international business in general.

This study investigates Anglo expatriate managers learning, knowledge acquisition, and adjustment to the host culture when working within Anglo multi-national companies operating in China. A structural equation model based on data from 121 expatriate managers reveal that Anglo managers adjust more effectively when their learning styles are congruent with the demands of the host culture. Their levels of accumulated managerial tacit knowledge and adaptive flexibility were also associated with their learning styles which in turn led to more effective adjustment to the host culture. Implications for theory, global manager development, and expatriate management are provided.

After new ventures have exhausted the limited financial resources of founders, family, and friends, they often pursue initial external capital. To secure investment, entrepreneurs can signal about their venture's latent potential by aligning themselves with reliable third parties. Such affiliations affirm the new venture's legitimacy and provide substantive benefits in the form of mentoring, access to resources, and ongoing monitoring. However, early stage financing is an especially "noisy" signaling environment owing to the large number of startups seeking funding, many of which will not survive. The real value of third party affiliations in this context resides in their ability to unlock the potential of other more pedestrian signals, such as the entrepreneur's characteristics and actions that might otherwise go unnoticed. We borrow from the sensemaking literature to explain how third party affiliation signals disambiguate signals with multiple possible interpretations so that potential investors interpret them positively. Findings support our theory that a startup's characteristics and actions are signals that remain relatively unnoticed unless a startup combines them with a third party affiliation that enhances the signal's value, thus increasing the likelihood of receiving external capital.

Accumulated knowledge on organizational justice leaves little reason to doubt the notion that organizational members benefit when leaders adhere to interpersonal justice rules. However, upon considering how justice behaviors influence subordinates' cognitive processes, we predict that interpersonal justice has a surprising, unintended negative consequence. Supervisors who violate interpersonal justice rules trigger subordinates to search for reasons why their supervisors are threatening them, causing subordinates to be more attuned to supervisors' individual characteristics and therefore unlikely to use stereotypes when evaluating them. In contrast, supervisors who adhere to interpersonal justice rules allow subordinates to divert attention away from them, leading subordinates' judgments of their supervisors to be influenced by stereotypes. Consistent with these predictions, in a survey we found that minority supervisors faced bias relative to Caucasian supervisors when supervisors adhered to—but not when they violated—interpersonal justice rules. We replicated this effect in an experiment and established that it is explained by an alternating pattern of stereotype activation and inhibition: participants viewed minority supervisors to be more deceitful than Caucasians when supervisors adhered to—but not when they violated—interpersonal justice rules. We then conducted exploratory analyses and identified one factor (unit size) that mitigates this troubling pattern.

The power of great novelists' storytelling is demonstrated by their ability to shape social attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, and even to make life more worth living. However, although narrative pedagogical methods are widely employed in business education, and there are literature-focused electives, business seems to be too busy to require students to read novels. Novels may be perceived to be too long to generate an immediate return on investment. Few great novels are about business, and fewer still are set in a business environment relevant to the economic and technological context of the 21st century. The ones that are, however, are worth the investment, as they just might turn our business students into better business people. This novel claim builds upon the widely accepted thesis that narrative pedagogy cultivates better business people and increasing scientific evidence of the benefits of reading great novels. It goes further to suggest that great novels might belong as part of the core ethics requirement in that the form and quality of a narrative determines its enduring, ethical effectiveness. Particularly, novels distinctively explore the intersection of what to do and how to live that management education needs to develop better persons and more responsible professionals.

Using data from 607 subjects organized in 161 teams (84 laboratory teams and 77 organizational field teams), we examined how leader humility influences team interaction patterns, emergent states, and team performance. We developed and tested a theoretical model arguing that when leaders behave humbly, followers emulate their humble behaviors, creating a shared interpersonal team process (collective humility). This collective humility in turn creates a team emergent state focused on progressively striving toward achieving the team's highest potential (collective promotion focus), which ultimately enhances team performance. We tested our model across three studies wherein we manipulated leader humility to test the social contagion hypothesis (Study 1), examined the impact of humility on team processes and performance in a longitudinal team simulation (Study 2), and tested the full model in a multistage field study in a health services context (Study 3). The findings from these lab and field studies collectively supported our theoretical model, demonstrating that leader behavior can spread via social contagion to followers, producing an emergent state that ultimately affects team performance. Our findings contribute to the leadership literature by suggesting the need for leaders to lead by example, and showing precisely how a specific set of leader behaviors influence team performance, which may provide a useful template for future leadership research on a wide variety of leader behaviors.

How does the presence of domain experts on a corporate board—directors whose primary professional experience is within the focal firm's industry—affect organizational outcomes? We argue that under conditions of significant decision uncertainty, a higher proportion of domain experts on a board may detract from effective decision making and thus increase the probability of organizational failure. Building on exploratory interviews with board members and CEOs, we derive hypotheses from this argument in the context of local banks in the United States. We predict that the greater the level of decision uncertainty—due to rapid asset growth or operation in less predictable markets—the stronger the relationship between the proportion of banking expert directors and the probability of bank failure. Longitudinal analyses of 1,307 banks between 1996 and 2012 support this prediction, even after accounting for both the overall level of professional diversity among directors and banks' different propensities to have an expert-heavy board. We discuss implications for the key dimensions of board composition, the conditions under which the professional background of directors is more or less consequential, and the mechanisms whereby board composition affects organizational outcomes.

Drawing on theories of behavioral decision making and situational strength, we developed and tested a multilevel model that explains how the performance outcomes of personal initiative tendency depend on the extent of alignment between organizational control mechanisms and proactive individuals' risk propensities. Results from a sample of 383 middle managers operating in 34 business units of a large multinational corporation indicated that risk propensity weakens the positive relationship between personal initiative tendency and job performance. This negative moderating effect was further amplified when middle managers receive high job autonomy but was attenuated in business units with a strong performance management context. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on proactivity, risk taking, and organizational control.

The law of requisite variety is widely employed in management theorizing, and is linked with core strategy themes such as contingency and fit. We reflect upon requisite variety as an archetypal borrowed concept. We contrast its premises with insights from institutional and commitment literatures, draw propositions that set boundaries to its applicability, and review the ramifications of what we term "complexity misalignment." In this way, we contradict foundational assumptions of the law, problematize adaptation- and survival-centric views of strategizing, and theorize the role of human agency in variously complex regimes.

This study draws on social identity theories of behavioral contagion and research concerning narratives in organizations to present and test a framework for understanding how narratives embed values in organizational newcomers' actions. Employing a field experiment using 632 newly-hired employees in a large IT firm that prioritizes self-transcendent values, this study explores how narratives varying in terms of the organizational level of main characters and the values-upholding or values-violating behaviors of those characters influence newcomers' tendencies to engage in behaviors that uphold or deviate from the values. Results indicate that stories about low-level organizational characters engaging in values-upholding behaviors are more positively associated with self-transcendent, helping behaviors and negatively associated with deviant behaviors, than are similar stories about high-level members of the organization. Stories in which high-level members of the organization violate values are negatively related to newcomers' engagement in both helping and deviance more strongly than are values-violating stories about lower-level members. Content analyses of the stories suggest that they convey values in different and potentially important ways. Implications, future directions, and limitations are discussed.

Over the past decade, the terms "crisis" and "crisis management" have become increasingly popular topics of interest for business professionals and management academics alike. According to the Institute for Crisis Management (2013), "Newsworthy business crises have been on a steady upward trend since 2009.

In this study, we examine the question: What do executives gain from serving on boards? We propose that board service will benefit non-CEO level executives in the executive labor market by acting as a certification mechanism and also by providing access to unique knowledge, skills, and connections. We argue that non-CEO executives who gain directorships will be more likely to be promoted to CEO both inside and outside their home firm, will be more likely to be promoted internally, and will receive higher pay from their home firms. To test our ideas, we employ propensity score matching to construct a longitudinal sample of 2,104 top executives of large, publicly traded companies in the United States over the period 1996 to 2012. Results provide consistent support for our theory.

Research suggests that the structure of trainee reactions is captured with as few as one or as many as eleven dimensions. It is commonly understood that reactions contain both affective and cognitive components. To date, however, training research focuses largely on affective reactions that range from pleasant to unpleasant (i.e., valence). Here, we expand and further refine the construct of affective trainee reactions by including reactions that are more and less activating versions of pleasantness (e.g., excitement and calm, respectively) and unpleasantness (e.g., stress and boredom, respectively). We develop and validate a new measure based on this model and argue that the structure of affective reactions has implications for better understanding learning and course reputation outcomes. Results from a short online training indicate that reactions were best explained by four factors: pleasant activation (e.g., excitement), pleasant deactivation (e.g., calm), unpleasant activation (e.g., stress), and unpleasant deactivation (e.g., boredom). The relationships between these reactions and training outcomes suggest what is most beneficial for course reputation outcomes (i.e., pleasant activating reactions) may not benefit learning; what is most beneficial for learning (i.e., pleasant deactivating reactions) may benefit course reputation outcomes but slightly less so.

What are the long-term consequences of initially beneficial high-reputation workplace ties? Under uncertainty, acolytes (i.e., subordinates with work connections to high-reputation industry leaders) are likely to benefit in terms of signaling fitness for promotion in the external job market. Analysis of promotion outcomes of coaches in the NFL over 31 years showed that the acolyte effect was reduced for individuals for whom uncertainty was the least (acolytes with considerable industry experience or high centrality in the co-worker industry network). There was no support for either a knowledge-transfer or an intrinsic quality explanation for why acolytes initially gained advantage. Rather, the evidence supported the idea that ties to high-reputation leaders were somewhat randomly distributed so that acolytes faced ex post settling up consequences after their promotions: fewer further promotions or lateral moves, more demotions. Thus, acolytes initially benefited from a loose-linkage between their unobservable quality and signals offered by their industry-leader ties, but they also suffered as the unreliability of social network signals became evident. The results suggest that a competitive job market may exhibit self-correction over time. We offer countervailing theory and evidence to the prevailing view that high-reputation third-party endorsements perpetuate a rich-get-richer social structure resistant to performance outcomes.

I had one big question after taking on this review: How relevant is this book with the advent of large language models (LLMs)? In the past two years, the launches of OpenAI’s GPT and Google’s Gemma, amongst others, have severely disrupted the study of natural language

While large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT can assist writers with editing, they might hinder students from learning to generate ideas or write creatively. This article surveys the current state of algorithms for detecting LLM-generated content. Given that

BBC Sport takes a look at the players interim boss Lee Carsley has fast-tracked into the England squad for the upcoming Nations League matches.

EOTech EFLX Mini Reflex Sight at $249.99 out the door after a coupon code at check out. You save $249.00+ off....

The NEXTORCH PIONEER PROFESSIONAL MULTI TOOL is a stout multi-tool that can hold up to tough tasks and offers a few features others don't.

President-Elect Donald Trump reaffirmed his commitment to protecting the Second Amendment by announcing his push for national concealed carry reciprocity.

A Mexican man was arrested trying to smuggle 11,100 rounds of 7.62x39 into the United States from Mexico.

GETTING tired of ordering the same food for delivery, week after week? Tiger Beer, the champion of Asian street food, has the answer. Spice up your mealtimes by pre-ordering the Tiger Street Food Box – featuring exclusive, bold collaborations between classic street food favourites and some of KL’s hottest modern restaurants – and get it delivered right to your door!

Choose from a range of innovative new collaborations based on authentic street food flavours, with mash-up dishes from Devi’s Corner, Yut Kee, myBurgerLab, Ticklish Ribs & ‘Wiches, Megah Taiwan Sausage, Mama Manta, LI, Fifty Tales and Choon Prawn Mee House. Fancy Ticklish Ribs & ‘Wiches legendary BBQ chicken wings with Devi’s Corner’s famous mango chutney? You got it – the Tiger Street Food Box has you covered! And of course – what would street food be without an ice-cold Tiger to pair it with? Each box comes with Tiger Beer or Tiger Crystal, the perfect partner to Asian street food.

From the myBurgerLab x Mama Manta ‘Flamin’ Hot Sambal Burger’ – a chicken patty in a bun slathered with a creamy lime sauce, paired with Mama Manta’s Grill Fish Sambal, perfected over 18 years; to Fifty Tales x Choon Prawn Mee House ‘Smoked Oil with Prawn Mee Broth Braised Pork’ – pork shoulder braised in prawn mee broth to soak up the flavour and served on noodles paired with a housemade smoked oil: one thing’s for certain – this isn’t your normal, boring food delivery.

Available for pre-order from today at www.tigerstreetfood.my, the Tiger Street Food Box will be delivered on the day of your choosing according to your location – so you can plan your perfect day or night in to go along with it. Priced at RM28 for a one-person box, or RM48 for a two-person box, quantities are limited for each delivery day – so pre-order early to avoid disappointment. You won’t be able to find these exclusive collaboration dishes anywhere else, so be sure to try them before they’re gone for good!

The Tiger Street Food Box will be available over the next three weekends in Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru respectively, before returning to the Klang Valley again for the final week of the campaign. Each two-person box comes with two choices of mains, one choice of large side dish, and two 320ml cans of either Tiger Beer or Tiger Crystal. Each one-person box comes with one choice of main, one choice of side dish, and one 320ml can of either Tiger Beer or Tiger Crystal. Every order also comes complete with a limited edition Tiger Street Food chopstick set.

OUR nation’s foundation is built on multiculturalism, which sets Malaysia apart from other countries in the world. We stand out because we have demonstrated to the world how people of all races, religions and cultures can live together in harmony.

There is no place for racism or sexism in this beautiful nation of ours, and all forms to spread any of these must be rejected.

However, two recent allegations highlighted by the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) are deeply disturbing and pose a threat to the values our proud nation has fought for – that all Malaysians are equal.

It disturbs me that in this day and age, there are still those who resort to racism and sink so low as to call a fellow worker “black”.

It is demeaning to label a person as “black” just because of the person’s skin colour, and such a horrid act should not go unpunished.

As a fellow Malaysian, regardless of religion, I am appalled by such an act and call upon our unity minister to look into this matter and put an end to such practices.

It is our unity that has brought us this far, and now it is time to weed out those who still practise racism and eliminate this culture.

Another reported incident recently highlighted by NUBE involved a woman who was allegedly sexually harassed and bullied, only to be abruptly dismissed a day before Deepavali.

The bank’s excuse that she was dismissed for failing to attend an internal inquiry is utterly pathetic.

Instead, the bank should have offered the victim support and counselling after she endured years of sexual harassment.

According to reports, it is alleged that the perpetrator demanded she sleep with him and even sent her lewd pictures of himself.

Is the bank condoning sexual discrimination? The minister responsible must take immediate action to put an end to such harassment.

Sexual harassment cases must not go unchecked, as they remain a significant issue for many. According to the All Women’s Action Society, such cases are on the rise.

If these cases are reported but go unpunished, it will embolden more perpetrators to become increasingly daring in victimising women.

The two alleged incidents are deeply shocking and should be unequivocally condemned by our society. The relevant ministers and authorities must not turn a blind eye to this issue and must take immediate action to put an end to such practices.

Sarah Ibrahim Daud

Shah Alam

MANILA: Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the International Criminal Court (ICC) should ‘hurry up’ with its probe of his war on drugs, remaining firm in his defence of the brutal campaign as he said the investigation should start immediately.

“I’m asking the ICC to hurry up, and if possible, they can come here and start the investigation tomorrow,“ Duterte said in a congressional inquiry on his war on drugs.

“If I am found guilty, I will go to prison.”

According to police data, more than 6,200 people died in anti-drug operations under Duterte’s presidency, during which police typically said they had killed suspects in self-defence.

Human rights groups believe the real toll to be far greater, with thousands more users and small-time peddlers killed in mysterious circumstances by unknown assailants.

“I assume full responsibility for whatever happened in the actions taken by law enforcement agencies of this country to... stop the serious problem of drugs affecting our people,“ Duterte said.

The ICC last year cleared the way for an investigation to into the thousands of deaths and other suspected rights abuses.

The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in March 2019, when Duterte was president. Appeals judges at the ICC subsequently ruled prosecutors still had jurisdiction over the alleged crimes because they occurred when the Philippines was an ICC member.

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Daim Zainuddin’s passing has not only drawn condolences from federal leaders but also from state leaders who expressed their heartfelt sympathies to his family.

Among those offering their condolences were the Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, Perlis Menteri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli, Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar and Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor.

In posts shared on their respective Facebook pages, they prayed for Daim, who served as Finance Minister from 1984 to 1991 and again from 1999 to 2001, to be placed among the righteous.

Also offering condolences was Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Mohamed Fadzli Hassan, who referred to the passing of the former minister as a significant loss due to his many contributions to the nation.

“On behalf of the state, we extend our deepest condolences to the family of Tun Daim. We have lost a figure who made remarkable contributions to the country,” he told reporters in Kota Bahru today.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang also expressed condolences on Facebook, praying that Daim’s soul will be blessed with mercy and divine grace from Allah SWT.

Daim, whose full name is Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin, 86, passed away at 8.21 am today at Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya, where he was receiving treatment.

Opinion piece: submitted by SAP Concur For the past few months, most companies have focused their energy on how to adapt to a remote work environment and keep the business moving forward. But, what happens when shelter-in-place restrictions are eased...

PETALING JAYA: TM Global, the wholesale business arm of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), will expand its Klang Valley Data Centre (KVDC) in Cyberjaya and Iskandar Puteri Data Centre (IPDC) in Johor, addressing the growing demand for domestic and international data hosting services.

This is the next phase in TM’s strategic roadmap to grow its infrastructure ecosystem and position Malaysia as a preferred digital hub in Southeast Asia, aligning with its aspiration to become a digital powerhouse by 2030.

These expansions and TM’s partnership with Nxera to develop a hyperconnected, artificial intelligence-ready data centre, lays the foundation for digital services such as cloud, advanced analytics, AI and the Internet of Things.

Scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2025, the second phase of both KVDC and IPDC will deliver a combined IT load of about 20MW. The expansion will meet Uptime Institute’s Tier-III standards, and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver Rating for long-term sustainability, a globally recognised green building certification.

TM Global executive vice-president Khairul Liza Ibrahim said, “KVDC and IPDC are integral infrastructures in Malaysia’s digital ecosystem, serving as international gateways and interconnected points to support 5G networks. This second phase of our data centre expansion will feature sustainable designs, boosting our capacity to support hyperscalers,

OTT players, cloud and next generation AI providers, as well as enterprises.”

TM Global’s data centres are complemented by seven regional Edge Facilities located throughout the country. These support high-performance computing and co-location services to bring content closer to end-users with minimal latency.

“We have enhanced our data hosting services with a recent acquisition of the Facilities-Based Operator licence in Singapore, allowing us to provide seamless, secure data centre-to-data centre connectivity through our extensive domestic fibre optics network and international submarine cable systems. This enables us to meet the growing connectivity demands across the region, linking data centres from Thailand to Malaysia, Singapore, and Batam in Indonesia,” Khairul Liza said.

TM Global offers a comprehensive suite of platform-based services, including multi-edge computing and content delivery, to elevate data hosting solutions. These services are tailored to optimise performance and efficiency, ensuring a robust and reliable data-driven network for customers. Leveraging its extensive network infrastructure, TM Global equips carriers, enterprises, hyperscalers, over-the-top services, and next-generation AI application providers with the tools necessary to drive innovation and seamless digital integration.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah-based infrastructure construction player Azam Jaya Bhd (AJB) aims to bid for more projects by capitalising on the state’s substantial growth in the construction industry, especially in regions where infrastructure development is much needed.

Executive director Datuk Jessica Lo Vun Che said the company plans to enhance its construction capabilities, strengthening its capacity to take on larger projects as part of its long-term strategies.

“We are committed to raising construction standards in Sabah to meet the region’s growing infrastructure demands.

“We are particularly encouraged by the federal government’s commitment to advancing development in Sabah, notably through the Budget 2025 allocations, in which Sabah received the highest development funding among the states.

“Azam Jaya welcomes the recent allocation of RM10 billion under Budget 2025 to complete the Sabah portion of the Pan-Borneo Highway, alongside the additional RM6.7 billion for development in Sabah,“ she said at the company listing on the main market of Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

This robust debut follows an IPO oversubscription of 23.00 times, reflecting strong confidence in Azam Jaya’s business operations and growth potential.

At the opening bell, Azam Jaya’s share price debuted at RM1.00, representing a premium of 28.21% over the issue price of RM0.78, with an opening volume of 5,126,000 shares.

The rose as much as 48.72% to touch its intra-day high of RM1.16 and closed at RM1.09.

“With the proceeds from our IPO totalling RM61.5 million, we are poised to accelerate our growth strategies in exciting ways.

“We are committed to enhancing our construction capabilities by expanding our fleet of machinery and equipment, ensuring we have the tools necessary to meet the demands of our expanding projects,“ Lo said.

Azam Jaya specialises in constructing large-scale road infrastructure in Sabah, including roads, highways, bridges, flyovers, and tunnels.

With over 30 years of experience in the industry, the group has a proven track record, having completed over 50 construction projects in the region.

“The listing of Azam Jaya is a testament to over 30 years of industry expertise navigating the complexities of road construction in Sabah.

“With fresh capital, we are well-positioned to accelerate our growth and seize new opportunities,“ Lo said.

On the financial front, Azam Jaya’s revenue grew from RM231.5 million in the financial year ended December 31, 2021 (FY21) to RM280.8 million in FY23, representing a 2-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.1%.

Regarding dividend policy, Azam Jaya aims to distribute at least 30% of its net profit to shareholders.

From the proceeds raised, RM8.0 million (13.0%) will be allocated to boost construction capabilities and operational efficiencies by acquiring new machinery, equipment, and technological upgrades.

RM28.4 million (46.2%) has been set aside for working capital purposes, RM20.0 million (32.5%) is earmarked for repayment of bank borrowings, and RM5.1 million (8.2%) will be used to defray listing expenses.

Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd is the principal adviser, sole underwriter and sole placement agent for the IPO exercise.

BATU KAWAN: US-based medical devices company Dexcom Inc has officially opened its manufacturing facility, also its first offshore manufacturing site outside the United States, in Batu Kawan, Penang.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the RM2.83 billion strategic investment will bring more than 3,000 jobs to the state, contributing to a workforce set to positively impact the lives of over three million people worldwide.

Dexcom, founded in 1999, is a global leader in continuous glucose Monitoring (CGM) technology for individuals living with diabetes.

“The establishment of this new facility highlights Dexcom’s continued commitment to take control of health through innovative CGM systems. It also reaffirms Penang’s reputation as a global hub for advanced technological industries, reinforcing its position as a preferred destination for high-quality manufacturing and innovation,” the chief minister said in his speech at the opening ceremony here today.

Chow said Penang is on the right path towards becoming the medical technology (medtech) hub of Southeast Asia by leveraging on the state’s over 50 years of industry excellence.

“Housing the largest number of medtech companies nationally and regionally, Penang remains a highly attractive location for its infrastructure availability and ecosystem that meet the needs of the medtech industry.

“For the past five years (2019-2023), Penang garnered a total of RM5.8 billion worth of investments in the scientific and measuring equipment sector, representing 45% of the nation’s total investments in this sector, involving 33 projects and generating an estimated 4,630 employment opportunities,” he said.

Dubbed the Silicon Valley of the East, Penang has the highest concentration of medical technology companies in Malaysia and Southeast Asia to date. – Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s official visit to Egypt has bolstered Malaysia-Egypt bilateral relations, unlocking RM4.8 billion (US$1.1 billion) in potential export opportunities for Malaysia, according to the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI).

MITI stated that this export potential was largely generated through a roundtable meeting attended by 60 industry and business leaders from 47 Egyptian firms and key business associations, as well as 40 representatives from 20 Malaysian companies.

“During the session, productive discussions between Malaysian and Egyptian companies identified export potential worth RM4.8 billion (US$1.1 billion), particularly in high-value sectors such as automotive, chemicals, oleochemicals and renewable energy,” MITI said in a statement.

Egyptian companies also expressed interest in investment opportunities in Malaysia, particularly in medical devices and pharmaceuticals, MITI added.

The official visit took place from Nov 10-12, 2024.

In a bilateral meeting during the visit, MITI Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Trade Hassan El Khatib agreed to reactivate the Malaysia-Egypt Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC).

Malaysia will host the second JTIC Meeting in early 2025, focusing on collaboration in the semiconductor sector, renewable energy, the halal industry and digital transformation.

The two ministers further agreed that Malaysia’s Investment Development Board (MIDA) and Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) should sign a memorandum of understanding to enhance bilateral investment relations.

To support Malaysian exporters’ access to North African and Arab markets, MITI noted that Malaysia’s trade office in Cairo, managed by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), was upgraded in January 2024, offering improved market access and export support services.

Meanwhile, national carmaker Proton has expanded into the Egyptian market with a local assembly plant.

Assembly activities began with the first delivery of Proton’s completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles in September 2024, and sales are expected to start in January 2025, with a target of 16,000 units for the period 2024–2026, MITI reported.

Bilateral trade between Malaysia and Egypt from January to September 2024 rose 21.4% year-on-year to RM3.0 billion (US$648 million), compared to RM2.4 billion (US$545.5 million) in the same period last year.

Egypt was Malaysia’s fifth-largest trading partner in Africa in 2023.

Tengku Zafrul said MITI is confident this bilateral relationship will continue to grow, positively impacting the economy and supporting the objectives of the New Malaysian Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) by 2030.

“MITI and its agencies will take prompt follow-up action to ensure that all agreed initiatives are implemented efficiently,” he added.

KUALA LUMPUR: A group of planters and stakeholders in the East West One Group (EWOG) schemes urgently calls on Pacific Trustees Bhd (PTB) to release the funds necessary for the company’s approved rehabilitation and restructuring (R&R) exercise.

The majority of EWOG’s investors, represented by Thirunavukarasu Illamurugan, Yong Chin Koi, and Mahadevan Kathirgamathamby, are concerned that PTB’s continued withholding of these funds could further damage the company’s financial health, potentially leading to irreversible losses.

To recap, EWOG obtained planters’ approval of the company’s R&R exercise across all three schemes: East West One Planter’s Scheme (EWOP), East West Horizon Planter’s Scheme, and East-West Planter Scheme 1.

EWOG, in a statement, said the past few years have seen significant challenges that have severely impacted plantation operations, including the global Covid-19 pandemic, La Niña weather phenomena, industry-wide labour shortages, land disputes with landowners, and repeated injunctions that prevented timely convening of planters’ meetings from addressing these issues.

These cumulative challenges have compounded the company’s cash flow problems, resulting in an inability to meet payment obligations.

According to a statement by EWOG, despite the overwhelming support for the R&R plan from planters and stakeholders at the August 12 Planters’ Meeting, critical rehabilitation work on EWOG’s plantation assets remains stalled due to this delay.

For over a year, the plantation palms have relied solely on natural soil fertility, with no structured fertilisation or agronomic practices.

Prompt initiation of the R&R program is essential to restoring the plantation’s productivity.

This program leverages enhanced agronomic practices and inputs to increase fresh fruit bunch (FFB) production.

With crude palm oil (CPO) prices currently above RM4,000 per ton and projected to hold through 2025, the company has a unique window to capitalise on these favourable market conditions.

Proceeds from FFB sales could also partially offset ongoing rehabilitation costs, creating a sustainable pathway to recovery.

“Every day of delay further impacts our ability to restore the plantation and diminishes potential returns for all investors,” said Thirunavukarasu in the statement.

“These funds, specifically held in trust for the plantation’s rehabilitation, need to be released without further delay,“ he said in the statement.

According to a recent court filing by East West Horizon Plantation Bhd, the management continues to face challenges due to PTB’s reluctance to finalise necessary trust deeds despite ongoing efforts from EWOG’s management and legal team.

This impasse prevents the release of funds crucial for the R&R efforts, posing increased risks to the plantation assets and investor returns.

The investors’ representatives stressed that “a swift resolution is essential to launch the rehabilitation efforts and generate returns for all stakeholders.”

“It is time to move past the standstill and allow the EWOG group to implement the R&R plan for the benefit of all involved.”

PETALING JAYA: The Cisco 2024 AI Readiness Index revealed that only 14% of organisations in Malaysia are fully prepared to deploy and leverage artificial intelligence-powered technologies, up slightly from 13% a year ago.

This underscores the challenges companies face in adopting, deploying, and fully leveraging AI. Given the rapid market evolution and the significant impact AI is anticipated to have on business operations, this readiness gap is especially critical.

The Index is based on a double-blind survey of 3,660 senior business leaders from organisations with 500 or more employees across 14 markets in Asia-Pacific, Japan, and China (APJC). These leaders are responsible for AI integration and deployment within their organisations. The AI readiness index is measured across six pillars – strategy, infrastructure, data, governance, talent, and culture.

AI has become a cornerstone for business strategy, and there is increasing urgency among companies to adopt and deploy AI technologies. In Malaysia, 98% of companies report an increased urgency to deploy AI in the past year, driven primarily by the CEO and leadership team. Additionally, companies are committing a significant amount of resources towards AI, with 55% reporting that as much as 10% to 30% of their information technology (IT) budget is being allocated to AI deployment.

Despite significant AI investments in strategic areas such as cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, and data analytics and management, many companies report that returns on these investments are not meeting their expectations.

“As companies accelerate their AI journeys, it’s critical they adopt a comprehensive approach to implementation and connect the dots to link AI ambition with readiness,” said Cisco Malaysia managing director Hana Raja.

“This year's AI Readiness Index reveals that to fully leverage the potential of AI, companies need a modern digital infrastructure capable of meeting evolving power needs and network latency requirements from growing AI workloads. This must be supported with the right visibility to achieve their business objectives.”

Anupam Trehan, vice-president, people and communities APJC, at Cisco, said: “As the race to adopt AI picks up pace, talent will be a key differentiator for companies. There is already a shortage of skilled talent across various aspects of AI. This means companies will need to invest in their existing talent pool to meet the growing demand. At the same time, it is crucial that all stakeholders – the private and public sectors, educational institutions, and governments – work together to develop local talent so that the entire ecosystem can benefit from the immense potential that AI offers.”

Hyundai Rotem, a subsidiary of South Korea’s Hyundai Group, has announced a pioneering development for the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army: a hydrogen-powered K3 main battle tank. Set to be among the most advanced military vehicles in the world, the K3 aims to redefine future warfare by leveraging eco-friendly fuel cells, autonomous technologies, and advanced firepower.

Hyundai Rotem’s K3 project is a collaborative effort with South Korea’s Agency for Defence Development and other national research institutions, with production tentatively scheduled to begin by 2040. The shift to hydrogen marks a historic step in South Korea’s commitment to reduce reliance on traditional combustion engines in defence equipment. The K3’s hydrogen fuel cell will eventually replace the diesel engines of the ROK’s K-series tanks, beginning with hybrid prototypes that combine hydrogen and diesel power.

In an online statement, Hyundai Rotem described the K3 as “a next-generation main battle tank that surpasses all capabilities of today’s MBTs (main battle tanks), optimised for evolving battlefield demands.” Key enhancements to the K3 include autonomous driving, AI-based fire control, and a 130-mm smoothbore main gun for increased preemptive strike capabilities. Additionally, the tank will feature improved stealth capabilities, a reduced heat signature, and the deployment of slave drones to enhance reconnaissance and support combat operations.

Fuel cell technology offers multiple advantages, including quieter operation, faster acceleration, superior fuel efficiency, and reduced maintenance due to fewer moving parts. With minimal heat output and sound, the tank achieves heightened stealth, making it less detectable in combat scenarios. Mobility is also improved, allowing the K3 to maneuver through steep and rugged terrains more effectively.

Designed to operate with a streamlined crew of three—a driver, commander, and gunner—the crew will be secured within a reinforced armoured capsule at the front of the tank. This layout ensures enhanced protection and operational efficiency.

The hydrogen-powered K3 demonstrates South Korea’s commitment to integrating sustainable, high-performance technologies into its military arsenal, setting a benchmark for modern warfare with cleaner and more capable military assets.

STELLANTIS MALAYSIA is introducing the Leapmotor C10, its latest new energy SUV, through an exciting nationwide Leapmotor C10 Experience Roadshow. Attendees can get up close and personal with this innovative electric vehicle (EV), renowned for its award-winning design, advanced technology, and driving ease.

The roadshow will take place at the following locations:

Roadshow Highlights

Interactive Showroom: Experience the Leapmotor C10’s state-of-the-art features focused on comfort, intelligence, and spacious design.

Family-Friendly Area: The Publika roadshow will feature a Play Cabin for kids, while parents can explore the vehicle’s child-friendly interior.

Virtual Reality (VR): Immerse yourself in a VR experience for an in-depth look at the C10’s innovative technology.

Test Drive & Exclusive Merchandise

Visitors can test drive the Leapmotor C10 and experience its performance, powered by a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 8155 chip with driving optimization by Maserati for a seamless experience. Test drivers will receive exclusive Leapmotor merchandise, and all visitors can redeem a limited-edition Leapmotor tote bag and enamel pin set.

Special Booking Offer

Prospective buyers can enjoy a limited-time offer by booking the Leapmotor C10 at the roadshow before 30 November 2024 for an introductory price of RM149,000 on the road without insurance (RM10,000 off the original RM159,000 price).

MALAYSIAN carmaker Proton has taken a significant step toward international expansion with the inauguration of a new completely knocked-down (CKD) plant to assemble the Proton Saga in Cairo, Egypt. The ceremony was officiated by YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, during his official visit to the country.

Prominent figures present at the event included H.E. Lieutenant General Kamel Al-Wazir, Egypt’s Deputy Prime Minister, YB Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Malaysia’s Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, and YB Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Mohamad bin Haji Hasan, Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Egyptian and Malaysian officials, including H.E. Mr Ragai Tawfik Said Nasr, Ambassador of Egypt to Malaysia, also participated alongside business leaders from both nations.

Strategic Investment in Al Oula Industrial Park

The new CKD facility is located in the Al Oula Industrial Park, Giza, and is operated by Ezz Elarab Elsewedy Automotive Factories (ESAF)—a joint venture between Ezz Elarab and Elsewedy Capital Holding. The plant represents an investment of USD35 million and has a production capacity of 20,000 units per shift. Once fully operational, it is expected to employ up to 400 people.

Proton was represented at the inauguration by Tan Sri Syed Faisal Albar, Chairman, and Roslan Abdullah, Deputy CEO. From ESAF, Hisham Ezz Elarab, Chairman, and Ahmed Elsewedy, Board Member, attended the event.

A Milestone in Bilateral Cooperation

During his speech, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim highlighted Proton as a source of national pride and emphasised the importance of partnerships like ESAF in fostering industrial advancement. He urged Proton to leverage local facilities to strengthen its operations in the region.

The factory inauguration comes shortly after the first shipment of CKD packs was sent to Egypt on 9 September 2024. The production of left-hand drive Proton Saga models is set to begin in December 2024, with an initial production target of 1,400 units for 2024. This is projected to increase to 5,000 units in 2025, with a total of 16,000 CKD packs expected to be exported by the end of 2026.

Expanding Beyond Egypt

The vehicles assembled in Egypt will not only cater to the domestic market but also be exported to Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa and Middle Eastern markets. These efforts are part of Proton’s strategy to strengthen its presence in emerging markets where car ownership is on the rise.

The total value of exports from this initiative is estimated at RM570 million, excluding an additional RM20 million projected from parts exports.

Unlocking Global Potential

Tan Sri Syed Faisal Albar remarked that Proton, as Malaysia’s leading vehicle exporter, currently sees exports accounting for 3% of total sales volume. However, the company aims to unlock untapped potential in international markets.

“Egypt is central to our plans for the region. Moving forward, we will focus on partnerships like ESAF to maximize the sales potential for Proton vehicles in regions where car ownership is still growing,” he said.

Future Growth Prospects

The establishment of the Cairo CKD facility marks a pivotal moment in Proton’s international expansion. With plans to explore broader markets and collaborate with strategic partners, the company is poised to enhance Malaysia’s automotive footprint on the global stage.