The organising of the 11th South East Asia Survey Congress and 13th International Surveyors Congress 2011 being successfully accomplished, the immediate task to embark on subsequently is the visioning for RISM. In reality, this has been undertaken earlier, as the commencement of Presidency begins immediately after the conclusion of the said Congress, and there wouldn’t be time for that if done sequentially. Although many action plans crop up in my mind, the vital areas that needed focus during the next one year have to be distinctively identified. Preliminary thoughts on this resulted in the following:
(i) Review of RISM’s strategic plan
(ii) Institutional Strengthening of RISM
(iii) Reinforcement of Financial State of RISM
(iv) Meeting Needs of Branches
(v) Internationalisation of RISM
Anyway, a little bit more detail of the aforementioned plans envisioned for RISM would be evident from the acceptance speech that was delivered by me during RISM’s Annual General Meeting on 25th June 2011; the extract of which are as follows:
“Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is with great humility and a sense of responsibility that I stand here to accept this appointment, as the next President of ISM. Although most honoured by this, I do understand the load of responsibilities that I have to shoulder, considering that I have to, from now on, wear more hats. Nevertheless, it’s a commitment that has been made, and this service to the profession will be delivered.
ISM is a professional organisation that has a successful history – in fact 50 years of history, to date. And, it has an impressive track record of demonstrating all that is good about the surveying profession. We would not be in this position without the wonderful work, that has been accomplished in the past by the previous office bearers, who have worked hard for us. And our immediate Past President Surveyor Elvin is no exception. On behalf of ISM, I thank you Surveyor Elvin, for your energetic and committed stewardship, and I look forward to your continued contribution.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The first thing that I would like to share with you, is the significance of this opportunity, that I am amongst those that are accorded the privilege of celebrating ISM’s 50th Anniversary, and the conferment of the royal status unto ISM with you. It will certainly be memorable, because it is not often that a new President, can get to congratulate members on its 50th year of existence, as well as the prestigious bestowing of the royal status. So, CONGRATULATIONS, to all.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Every organization, in whatever form they may be established, needs to have a vision and a viable strategic plan for the future. And in this quickly evolving world we live in today, those plans need to be continuously revisited and improved upon. We need to constantly challenge ourselves, to find ways to improve what we do, to making our profession and institution as strong as it can be in the future.
I recalled that ISM had formulated a strategic plan in 2005, and the plan stipulated the agreed vision, mission and values of ISM. So, what do we have as the components of our vision? We have firstly, “to be recognized as an innovative and dynamic world-class professional surveying Institution’; secondly ‘To provide quality, value-added and comprehensive services’ and lastly “To be the centre of excellence in surveying”. This vision should continue to inspire us, and should not be left to waste, as it is a vision that promotes a commitment to mutually support each other, in order that our common interest in seeing this institution progress, can be reinforced and nurtured from year to year.
In this regards, I believe there are 3 parts to the equation that would lead to the achieving of this vision. Firstly, the role of the President and Councillors or the Council, that has to be effective. The second part involves the continuing support and commitment, from the organization’s primary stakeholders, - that means all of the members of ISM - as we continue to move forward together. The third part, and probably the more significant piece of the equation, is to establish concrete way-forward plans, to take ISM to the next level. This part is synonymous with the saying “What's the use of running, if you are not running on the Right Road”.
So, within the next term, I hope to work together with all concerned, to review the Strategic Plan that was developed 5 years ago, in order to align it to current and future needs. With the level of progress that we have made so far, I see it as imperative to continue, to translate some of those areas into concrete Action Plans, that can potentially complement and reinforce the many efforts initiated by the Past President, and the Presidents before him.
Some potential Action Plans that comes to mind, which we can all work together towards addressing, include:
Firstly, looking into the needs of members at the Branches, as it is of importance that we cater for the needs of our members, who are based throughout the country. Secondly, we should make a significant effort to reinforce the financial state of ISM, as we will need the funding to drive meaningful initiatives. In this case, we will need to creatively explore other potential sources of revenue, in order that we can use them to drive more benefiting activities for members. Apparently, it is no longer sufficient for us to rely on current sources of revenue. Thirdly, to support our intentions, we will need to work on the institutional strengthening aspects of ISM, where we should be looking into enhancing the value-add services of the ISM secretariat.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Much effort has been made by our Past President Surveyor Elvin to internationalise ISM. This took into consideration the fact that the surveying profession in our country is robust, and that we ought to play a stronger leadership role in the region and internationally.
This initiative too, is related to the winds of liberalisation, and our acceptance that we should embrace liberalisation, because it opens up opportunities for us. So, this endeavour will certainly be continued, and in this regards, I would like to thank Surveyor Elvin for offering to serve, and continue leading this effort, in the coming session.
The plans for the coming year should now be clear, and I very much hope that all will assist me in implementing them. I am well aware that if I want something done, the next person to ask is a busy person. I know I would be relying on the support of the Councillors, the divisions, the branches and committees. Most importantly perhaps, I would be relying on the support of the Secretariat, and I hope all this would be forthcoming!!!
Enough said, I think, it is now my pleasure to introduce to you the in-coming Council for session 2011/2012. With that, I TRULY look forward to seeing all of you in our consultation sessions, as well as our activities that we will line up over the next one year.
Thank you.”
