THE World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) officially launched its 17th Roundtable, called the 17th WIEF Roundtable Penang 2022: Economic Rebound Transforming the Future at Setia SPICE Convention Centre today.
Hosting 27 local and international speakers from 10 countries, the event featured several key topics, such as the Economic Revitalisation: Mapping a Sustainable Recovery, Net Zero Transition: Growing Urgency, Digital Transformation Revolution: Embracing Technology and others.
The event, which was supported by the Penang government and Penang Halal International (PHI), was graced by Penang Governor Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak.
Also present was Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, who during his speech, said that this programme came at a very opportune time in Penang, considering the challenging circumstances globally.
“As we all know, the world is facing the threat of a global recession with the US increasing its interest rates five times this year.
“This is by far the sharpest monetary tightening that the US Federal Reserve has implemented since the 1980s.
“This is one good example of an issue the world is facing today. With the food and energy crises, climate change, technological disruptions and many other challenges, we are at a very important crossroad in the survival of our global economy.
“Our only hope is that we can still grow our economies given these tightening conditions, and that would determine whether we will slip into global recession or not.
“This is the reason why the topics chosen at the WIEF Roundtable are important for us to tackle these issues head on.
“Only by addressing these challenges together, we can coordinate better responses to these global problems.
“No organisation can bring these discourses better than the WIEF Foundation, as they have been instrumental in the said area for almost 20 years now.
“Penang is well positioned to become an important player in developing some of the most important sectors, such as the Islamic digital economy, Halal, Islamic finance and many others.
“With that, I hope all the participants here today will widely benefit from the discussions that have been planned in the Roundtable,” Zakiyuddin said in his speech during the opening ceremony at Setia SPICE Convention Centre today.
Meanwhile, PlusVibes chief executive officer Madiha Fuad, who was one of the speakers, conducted an hour-long session on the topic of mental stress and briefed the attendees on her business and its functions.
There are 30,000 members nationwide.
“In two years, we have successfully prevented 800 suicide ideations. We will soon be opening a new office in Penang to cater to the needs of the growing members here in this beautiful state,” Madiha said.
PlusVibes is a unique platform that acts as a mental stress solutions provider based in Kuala Lumpur.
Story by Kevin Vimal
Pix by Law Suun Ting and Kevin Vimal