A total of 328,254 individuals in the first phase of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme have completed receiving both doses of their vaccine shots as of yesterday. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said 534,191 individuals were given the first dose during the same period, bringing the total number of doses administered so far to 862,445.

The reinstatement of cabotage policy exemption for submarine cable repair vessels will accelerate Malaysia’s progression towards becoming a digitally-enabled and technology-driven high-income nation by 2030, said AMCHAM. Chief Executive Officer Siobhan Das said the Chamber is ready to support the government in reviewing its legislative and regulatory measures relating to digital infrastructure under the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL) initiative.

On 7 April, AMCHAM held its second Members’ Briefing for the year. Please mark your calendars as moving forward all AMCHAM Members’ Briefing will take place on the first Wednesday of every month.

We are looking at organizing more in-house meetings and events but at a smaller scale with strict SOPs, so look out for more coming soon.

Today, AMCHAM hosted its first hybrid meeting since its return to office on April 1st - the healthcare roundtable with the new U.S. Ambassador, Mr Brian McFeeters. It was a successful session with members from the healthcare industry sharing their companies’ initiatives and some key priorities that they would like to work together with Ambassador and his team here at U.S. Embassy as well as the Chamber.

We thank the Ambassador for his time and we look forward to having similar engagement in near future!

On 6 April, AMCHAM was invited by the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) to witness the official launch of the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association, officiated by YB Senator Datuk Lim Ban Hong, Deputy Minister of Ministry of International Trade & Industry, Malaysia (MITI).

Join us for the Penang Investment Webinar on Friday, April 16, 2021 at 8.00 am – 9.20 am.

This virtual session aims to provide a platform for businesses, consultants and investors to understand Penang, Malaysia's investment climate, successful investment stories, industry landscape as well as holistic state- led initiatives that make Penang the niche supply chain powerhouse in South East Asia.

The panel session will be moderated by AMCHAM's CEO, Siobhan Das

In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses may now be prioritizing cost-saving measures. However, non-compliance with the service tax legislation could result in punitive measures such as hefty late payment penalties of up to 40%, fines and/or imprisonment. In this regard, we would like to invite you to join us at our webinar on Thursday, 15 April 2021, 10:30 a.m. where we will share insights on common service tax errors, the impact of non-compliance and more.

According to VMware, Inc.’s VMware Digital Frontiers 3.0 Study, 45 percent of respondents indicated that they are happy to interact digitally with the Malaysian government, a positive step towards the country’s vision of growing its digital economy and becoming the “Heart of Digital ASEAN”. With Malaysian consumers becoming more trusting of emerging technologies such as facial recognition, AI and 5G, the time is ripe for Malaysia’s public sector to step up experimentation and innovation.

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The pandemic has bred a new dependence on online technologies for work and social engagement. Immersive technology such as that used in 3D video games, virtual reality and augmented reality can be designed now so that the person experiencing them is transported into a socially rich online world.