IN RESPONSE to a wave of requests, SME Association of Malaysia has extended the nomination deadline for Platinum Business Awards (PBA) 2017 to July 28.

PBA organising chairman Datuk Seri Ricky Yaw and members of the Association are currently visiting SMEs in Myanmar to promote the PBA and are expecting to receive more candidates from Asean countries.

Yaw also attended a meeting with officers in the Malaysian and Myanmar embassies, and the Malaysian Foreign Trade Develop-ment Council (Matrade) to discuss business opportunities in Myanmar.

“We hope to bring more Malaysian SMEs to invest in Myanmar and open up new markets in the future,” he said.

The PBA is supported by 65 trade associations, chambers of commerce and media partners.

“After the launch of the Platinum Business Awards, we received overwhelming response from SMEs in Asean countries.

“We hope more SMEs will have the chance to enhance their company’s reputation and evaluate their performance and competitiveness over the past year and that is why we extended the deadline,” he added.

The PBA 2017 was officially launched by Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin earlier this year.

During the ceremony, Hamzah announced that the Platinum Entrepreneur Award winner will be appointed a council member of the ministry.

It is an unprecedented offer and Yaw hoped that SME entrepreneurs would grab the opportunity.

Since the Awards’ inception in 2002, the Association has successfully organised the event for 15 consecutive years.

The PBA aims to honour SMEs and individuals for their outstanding achievements and contributions and this year’s awards feature 21 categories in total.

A new category has also been introduced this year: the Internet of Things Excellence (IoT) Award.

It is given to SMEs involved in the development of various Internet-related products and services (which would include the ecosystem, devices, and software) that connects people-people, people-things, and things-things.

The selection board for the PBA 2017 is led by Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute chief executive officer and co-founder Tan Sri Dr Michael Yeoh

The theme this year is “Sustainability through Technology and Innovation”.

In line with the theme, the organiser encourages online application to reduce the use of paper. However, nomination forms are still available at the secretariat.

The audit procedure will be held on Aug 9, the winners’ list will be announced on Sept 15 and the awards ceremony will be held in November.

For information, contact the secretariat at 03-8024 5787 / 03-8023 0685, email info@pbasme.com.my or visit www.pbasme.com.my