Malaysia to host global forum meeting in KL

Malaysia, a fast developing country with a population of 25 million, always goes for unique superlatives.

Malaysia built the 451.9m Petronas Twin Towers (the tallest building in the world), Kuala Lumpur Tower (the fourth tallest telecommunications tower in the world) and Putra Jaya (the new administrative capital). This time it wants to host the first- ever Global Leadership Forum (GLF) 2005 in Kuala Lumpur next month.

The two-day GLF -- which will feature Malaysia's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, Dame Anita Roddick, the founder of The Body Shop, Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon, Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist of the World Bank and Tony Fernandes, CEO of Air Asia as its speakers -- will be opened by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sept. 6.

The meeting is being organized by the Foundation of the Future -- an international think tank, with the patronage of the Perdana Leadership Foundation, an institute that focuses on former prime ministers.

The organizers said in a press release sent to The Jakarta Post that the GLF would be a milestone event as Malaysia was poised to become an intellectual hub of world-class dialogs and events.

"It is our hope that our theme of "Leadership, Innovation and Branding -- The Way Forward, which will be addressed through a series of stimulating speeches and panel discussions, Q&A sessions and knowledge sharing exercises, will be a force for positive business practices as well as social change," the release said.

More details can be obtained from www.glf2005.org. -- JP