and consumers. in this environment, insurance professionals are expected to not only raise the service standards, but also to align themselves to be a part of a workforce that is productive, innovative and strategically more focused in advancing the insurance industry to the fore front of the financial services sector. while the regulatory authorities have given considerable attention to efforts to empower, educate and safeguard consumer interests, sound market conduct practices and a commitment to raise the standards in consumer protection remains largely in the hands of insurance professionals. apart from the need to constantly acquire new knowledge and skills, the observance of ethical practices and a professional code of conduct must be complete and comprehensive. indeed, an unrelenting adoption of the highest standards of professionalism and integrity is essential in generating public confidence in the insurance industry. ladies and gentlemen, it is therefore, recognised that we need to continuously invest in human capital to create a pool of high - caliber professionals with the necessary competencies that can deliver high value - added insurance products and services, adopt advanced business practices, build public trust and confidence, and thus advance the industry to greater heights. mii, being the premier insurance education and training institute in malaysia, shoulders an important responsibility in developing the human capital for the insurance industry. it has steadily established a reputation as the leader in executing the [UNK] capacity - building initiatives through the development of skills, and expertise. mii has continued to broaden and enhance its training directory to meet the increasingly complex and diversified needs of the insurance industry. t he registered financial planner ( rfp ) programme which was launched in 2002 has now produced its first batch of 964 graduates in january 2005. in keeping pace with the evolving changes in education, in july 2006, mii launched its mii e - academy, an on - line learning avenue to make learning more accessible to the insurance professionals, unconstrained by location, distance or time. i am pleased that mii has taken the necessary steps in upholding the responsibility to deliver quality training, not only for the local insurance industry, but also across the region. the increasing number of participants from abroad signifies the growing recognition of the programmes organized by mii. at the regional front, mii's out - reach has been further enhanced with the conclusion of the memorandum of understanding between mii and forte insurance ( cambodia ) plc. in june 2005, whereby mii will conduct professional insurance examinations in cambodia. at the same time, mii continues to assume its role as the secretariat of the

, the aspiration is for the creation of a pool of domestically strong and vibrant businesses that are able to compete with the best and expand beyond the malaysian shores. such businesses would be characterised by the ability to deliver a strong value proposition ; and are committed to offer excellent service to their customers. to achieve this goal, i would like to focus on 3 immediate priorities for the industry : • firstly, continuing to nurture a mindset change within individual companies to spur and sustain the progress of the industry ; • secondly, putting in place a comprehensive human capital development plan to support strategies for the further advancement ; and • thirdly, creating the right incentives and a strong reputation for the constant delivery of high quality and innovative money services. mindset change we are seeing many positive changes now taking place in the industry. sustaining this transformation will call for businesses to have a long - term strategic view, the perseverance, willingness and be agile enough to adjust to changes in the operating environment. companies should think carefully where they wish to position themselves in the long term and have a clear plan on how to get there. there might be companies that may aspire to grow and be major providers in their own lines of business. there might also be companies that want to position themselves as a complete solution providers or becoming principals with large agent networks. and then, there are companies that have been very successful as agents, building strong partnerships with their principals while keeping operating costs low. in fact, our engagements with the industry reveal that many agents are doing better than before in terms of business flows and profits. the regulatory framework in malaysia is specifically tailored to accommodate all these options, supported by operating guidelines that is efficient and proportionate to risk. a company that takes on more risk and business responsibility must be prepared to meet the higher requirements that reflect the scope and levels of complexity of the business, including bis central bankers ’ speeches the kind of management team that needs to be in place, the board ’ s profile and level of engagement and their ability to provide strategic leadership to the company. companies also need to consider changes to processes as well, as investments in critical systems is important to support operations over the long term. most importantly, there must be a clear strategy of execution and an honest assessment of the company ’ s ability to implement such a plan. it would be a strategic error to defer these deliberations and plans because the costs to be paid would be higher if companies fail to comply with regulatory requirements. with time,