PRESIDENTIAL SUMMIT ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP A PARADIGM SHIFT IN OBAMA'S LEADERSHIP

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 (Bernama) -- The two-day Presidential Summit on
Entrepreneurship in Washington from April 26 is regarded as a paradigm shift in
the US President Barack Obama's leadership, says one of the three Malaysians
invited to attend the summit,

Dakhshinamoorthy Balakrishnan says Obama has taken the right move by giving
presidential attention to a global force in democratising commerce, bringing
Islamic and non-Islamic nations together under one roof.

"Obama is actually pushing the forces towards this direction. I think it's
amazing that it's a paradigm shift and to be able to take this kind of an
approach instead of just continuing with the bilateral policies that have been
happening all this while.

"It is again a changing move by the president," said Dakhshinamoorthy, who
runs
a financial consulting firm specialising in financial advisory services for
small-time entrepreneurs.

Fondly called "Dash", the chief executive officer and director of Warisan
Global, is also the host of Global Entrepreneurship Week of Malaysia.

"I think the president has to be very entrepreneurial himself to have
taken
this twist of things. It's not a kind of political thinking, but he has got to
take a leap to a subject (the summit) like that which affects everyone from
start-up entrepreneurs," he said in a coffee talk with the US Charge d'Affairs
in Kuala Lumpur Robert G. Rapson and another Malaysian participant K. Kabilan.

Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, Proton Holdings Bhd chairman, who was not
present, will also join Dash and Kabilan at the first ever summit aimed at
promoting economic and social entrepreneurship globally.

The event is a vital element of the Obama Administration's foreign economic
and development policy, a policy that fosters economic growth, create jobs,
promotes civil society and provides new economic opportunities for US businesses
and investors.

Rapson said Obama, in his June 2009 speech in Cairo, had pledged to host a
summit on entrepreneurship to broaden ties between business leaders, foundations
and entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.

The summit, hosted by the US Department of State and Department of Commerce
at
the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, will promote
entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa.

Having been an entrepreneur himself for the last 18 years in Malaysia,
Dash
said he was actually an entrepreneur evangelist.

He runs global entrepreneurship campaigns to connect entrepreneurs around
Malaysia as well as to link them with entrepreneurs from other countries.

"It is a passion that I continuously do and getting selected to the
Entrepreneurial Summit, I am totally delighted and is like a dream come true.

"I can't say I am an entrepreneur evangelist if I am not at the
Presidential Summit, it is the forces towards that," he said.

Asked what he has in mind for the summit, Dash said: "Looking at the
participants' list, the group is what possibly entrepreneurs can become in the
future."

"It is not the old capitalists just going there but is also the future what
entrepreneurship can become and I think it's quite an amazing thing to happen,"
he said.

Dash said one of the objectives of the summit is also to connect
entrepreneurs
and use entrepreneurship as a force to bring together a truly global world and
that is the vision of the summit.

"To me it is really in line with what I and my friends have been doing. I am
really looking forward to go there and bring back the knowledge. I am also
grateful to the US Embassy for putting me in the International Leadership
Programme.

"I will be able to enhance myself further with the entrepreneurship
initiatives
in the US and bring those knowledge back to our start-up entrepreneurs.

"I think what entrepreneurs want here is good mentors and good success
stories and I think that will be fabulous. It is great opportunity (for being
selected to participate in the summit)," he said.

Echoing Dash's views on Obama's move, Kabilan, editor of
FreeMalaysiaToday,
the latest online news publication here, said: "I agree with him but I think the
summit is the culmination of a process that started immediately after the Sept
11, 2001 terror attack under the previous president."

Kabilan, who began his journalism career with the New Straits Times, was
part
of the start-up team of Malaysiakini in 1999, has 17 years experience as a
journalist, the last 11 in online media.

"I know there are many other programmes, there is a programme to promote
books on the Muslim world in the US where the journalists are asked to
participate in these programmes coming up in Washington," he said.

Kabilan said the video clip was about a Muslim family and how they are
living. The video clip was more for the American public to understand the
religion and the people behind it and I think this has been going on for a few
years.

"But the summit has taken it to a higher level, from the grassroots, going
to
the business people. it's a good thing and more should be done," he said.

Kabilan said he felt quite honoured to take part in the summit and
thanked
the US Embassy here for getting it done for him.

"I intend to meet people in my line of profession on how things are done.
It's a chance for me to do networking to find out how on-line media can be
developed further. I really hope to meet some of them from the same industry
there.

"I think I should be able to learn something from meeting the people there
even
if not from my own line, but from other entrepreneurs from the rest of the
world. The summit will be opened by president Obama himself, it's a big thing.

"My daughters are excited they want to go as well. I got a long list of
people
asking for autograph of the president. I don't know whether I can get close to
him.

"I feel honoured and intend to make full use of the summit, how we can
develop and work along with other people in promoting online media," he added.

Meanwhile, Rapson said: "We think the summit is a great event, obviously as
it is going to be launched by President Obama.

"The idea is to bring entrepreneurs from all states and background to
Washington to have an opportunity to meet, network and exchange ideas, to
build bonds and ties in the United States and from other parts of the world
where the US connection was very strong.

"As you can see 250 invitees from 58 different countries (are invited).
There will be senior US government officials to the president and a number of
distinguished analysts, co-founder of Facebook, founder of Yahoo and other
distinguished entrepreneurs from all walks of life and background," he added.

-- BERNAMA



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