Friday, April 18, 2014

ARI-PBBM International Training - Day Ten

Day 10

Our last training destination is Amsterdam.  As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an "alpha world city" by a recent study group.   The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and 7 of the world's top 500 companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city.  In Amsterdam, the training participants were taken to visit the tulip plantations in Keukenhof. Covering some 79 acres (32 hectares), the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens is the world’s largest flower garden. We were told that during the springtime, the meandering, wooded gardens are visited by some 800,000 flower-lovers, who come to soak up the blaze of color that envelops the park, its greenhouses, brooks and shady ponds and
winding paths. It’s truly a memorable sight. At Keukenhof Tulip Gardens, nature’s talents are combined with artificial precision to create a wonder of landscaping, where millions of tulips, along with narcissi and daffodils, hyacinths, bluebells, and many others blossom perfectly in place and exactly on time. And if the temperatures have been wilting, don’t worry: fresh blooms are planted by helping hands for the duration of the season. Special exhibits are held in the pavilions around the site, and there are cafes and refreshment stands throughout.

Later in the evening, the participants had their group

presentations.  The participants were basically divided into six groups namely: (i) Bank Simpanan Nasional, (ii) Inland Revenue Board, (iii) Tabung Haji, LTAT and MAWIP, (iv) IPTAs, (v) Service Federal Agency (MTIB, Lada, SME Corp and MIDA) and (vi) FINAS and Perkeso.  The group basically reflected on the trainings that they have undertaken and indicated how they will improve on their operations, governance and leadership so that they will obtain much better performances in the future.  Well done everyone.