zeti akhtar aziz : developing effective leaders in asia speech by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the launch of the iclif ’ s asian leadership index, kuala lumpur, 1 april 2014. * * * it is my pleasure to welcome you here this morning for the launch of iclif ’ s asian leadership index. the asian leadership index, is part of an important stream of global research on the expectations on leaders in today ’ s world. the world is rapidly changing, and is becoming more challenging. effective leaders must act in full recognition of the fact that their best followers will demand more of them. this is because in many cases their expectations of leaders have shifted in an age where information flows have intensified and where travel has removed all our known boundaries. the asian leadership index is a substantive, broad - based research on asia. the focus on asia is because the region is becoming increasingly more significant in the global landscape. and yet, there exists little, if any, systematic study of leaders doing business in asia. the asian leadership index therefore aims to contribute towards a greater understanding of “ what do business leaders in asia need to do to get more energy and commitment from their most important followers? ” as part of the study, selected senior leaders and emerging leaders in companies operating in asia were asked to describe what their leaders need to do for them as professionals if they were to participate wholeheartedly with that leader, and be fully invested in their organizations over the longer term. they also indicate what they see as missing from the leaders to whom they report. as leadership is about being able to deliver results even in the most challenging of environment, it is therefore also about generating the drive and energy in the organisation, and thus creating an environment in which the best talent will gravitate to, and contribute with the same energy and drive. in an international environment in which high quality talent is scarce, this aspect of the expectations of leadership becomes important. in essence, leaders need to be supported by high powered and committed teams. the expectations of talent is however not only rapidly evolving but may differ when contextualised to different parts of the world. this study undertaken by iclif provides insights on such expectations of leaders in asia and on the areas that need to be addressed if sustainable impact and influence is to be achieved. what then are the findings of the study? i will leave this for the presentation by kate sweet

given the encouraging growth experienced with our bilateral payment linkages with other asean partners. the total volumes for our live qr linkages with thailand, indonesia and singapore in the first half of 2024 have already surpassed volumes recorded for the whole of last year by more than twofold. 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches over two million duitnow qr merchants in malaysia, mostly small businesses, are poised to benefit from a wider user base by being able to accept qr payments from foreign tourists including cambodians. likewise, once the inbound leg into cambodia is up and running in the next phase, cambodian merchants will also be able to enjoy similar advantages when malaysians visit cambodia. we are optimistic that the positive impact that we are already seeing from malaysia's linkages with other countries will also be observed in the malaysia - cambodia qr payment linkage. our qr payment linkage will also contribute towards the fast - growing network of payment linkages within the region. this is in line with our shared vision for greater regional economic integration under the asean economic community blueprint 2025 and the regional payment connectivity initiative, while also supporting targets set at the broader g20 roadmap level for enhancing the efficiency of cross - border payments. collectively, these efforts will surely foster greater tourism and trade activities across the region, while ensuring an inclusive financial ecosystem that benefits all. as malaysia assumes the asean chairmanship in 2025, payment connectivity will continue to be a priority agenda for bnm. we look forward to seeing a further expansion the number of linkages in the region and promoting greater usage of the services by users by continuing to leverage on public - private sector collaboration as well as cross - border cooperation. additionally, to ensure the linkages can be operated safely and securely to manage risks, we will also continue to work closely in the area of cooperative oversight arrangements, in collaboration with other asean member countries. this takes into account the recent trends of fraud and scams, among others. as the first phase of the bilateral payment linkage between malaysia and cambodia goes live today, i look forward with anticipation to the second phase of the linkage which is targeted to be launched early next year. under this upcoming phase, malaysian travellers will be able to scan khqr by just using their own domestic mobile payment app at millions of merchants across cambodia to pay for their purchases. once ready, we would also be honoured to have our cambodian colleagues to visit us in malaysia for the launch of