UUM-BDB COLLABORATION SYNERGY WILL ESTABLISH “THE NORTHERN GIANT”

UUM ONLINE: The conglomerate company, Bina Darulaman Berhad (BDB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) to achieve a high-impact strategic collaboration for the development of infrastructure and human capital in the state of Kedah.

Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Haim Hilman Abdullah and Executive Chairman, Bina Darulaman Berhad (BDB), Sr. Che Had Dhali signed the memorandum, witnessed by the Acting President and Chief Executive Officer of the BDB Group, Mohd Iskandar Dzulkarnain Ramli and the Executive Director, Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development Institute (CEDI), UUM, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jauriyah Shamsuddin.

When commenting on the collaboration, Che Had Dhali said, as the only subsidiary of the Kedah state government listed on Bursa Malaysia, BDB has the strength and expertise in the fields of municipal development, construction, engineering and infrastructure, besides being involved in tourism, hospitality, and golf.

In fact, he is optimistic that all the strengths and expertise of BDB if combined with the advantages and expertise of UUM will definitely create the best synergy through this MoU.

"We hope that the two forces will be combined to become the 'giant of the north' and we will explore many opportunities together to realise dreams and achieve success for the sake of religion, the people, and the country.

He said the MoU highlights on cooperation in the hospitality sector, commercialization of applications or information data systems, landscaping, golf, research training, publication and establishing joint ventures in bidding for contracts offered.

"I feel lucky that today another history of its own will be written because I have the opportunity to establish a relationship with UUM and this will surely contribute in our strive to strengthen academics, research, consultation, leadership which opens the door for us to partake various initiatives to complement the academic excellence of students.

"I feel like I'm ‘going back to the depths’ as a UUM alumnus and definitely it has been my wish to give back to UUM whilst growing the wings of BDB for the benefit of everyone and the state of Kedah as a whole," he said at the Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony between UUM and BDB at EDC-UUM this morning.

According to him, the signing of this MoU is hoped to provide benefits and a win-win situation for both organisations in an effort to study the ability to create opportunities to cooperate in various fields in addition to hoping that this collaboration will make headway for the long term.

In addition, he said, BDB will sponsor an annual convocation award to outstanding graduates of UUM known as the 'BDB Award' worth RM 10,000 as a sign of support in academic excellence, and what is more, the award recipient will  also have the opportunity to hold positions at BDB.

Meanwhile, Haim Hilman is optimistic that BDB's extensive experience as a listed company on Bursa Malaysia and the company's involvement, especially in the various many sectors, can open up competitive cooperation in the future.

BDB has proven its support as a strategic partner and the initiatives that are set in motion to drive this excellence will last and benefit all parties.

"Together we live the struggle for the future of the nation and I am confident that the combination of expertise of BDB and UUM, especially in the field of hospitality and tourism, can be mobilised with the expertise of academic staff," he said.

He also expressed his appreciation to CEDI for initiating this high-impact strategic collaboration.