Training Consultants - About ABS | Asian Banking School

Professor Dr Bala Shanmugam

Course Director (Accounting & Banking)

Professor Dr Bala Shanmugam is a renowned academic with more than 30 years of teaching experience across Europe, Australia and Malaysia. He is currently holding multiple posts at SEGi University, Malaysia - Director of SEGi-Mimos Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, Director of Islamic Centre for Emerging Technologies, and Professor at their Research & Innovation Management Centre. He served as Chair and Professor of Accounting and Finance at Monash University, Malaysia for ten years. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Sunderland, UK and Adjunct Professor at the Asia e University, Malaysia.

Apart from his academic roles, he has also worked with the Malaysian government, consultancy firms, financial institutions, and private educational institutions in providing consultancy in the areas of banking and finance. He has worked on projects for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, as well as sat on the Boards and Advisory Committees of several institutions. From 2005 to 2007, he was appointed as Director of RHB Bank and Independent Director of RHB Islamic.

His areas of research and interest include Islamic Finance/Insurance, Risk Management, Microfinance, Electronic Banking, AI, Money Laundering, FinTech and Cryptocurrency. To date, he has published almost 200 articles and papers, as well as 45 books, which include his contributions to Capital Markets Research (KLSE), Banker’s Journal Malaysia (BJM), Southeast Asian Review, Journal of Internet Banking & Commerce, Australian Financial Review and Asian Institute of Finance Review. He has been cited in the media many times over the years and have made appearances on Astro Bloomberg News, Media Corporation Radio Singapore and Bernama TV, to name a few.

Prof Bala is a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (UK), a Fellow of the International Centre for Asian Studies (ICAS), Senior Associate of the Australian Institute of Bankers (AIB), Associate of the Institute of Asian Studies and a member of the Malaysian Economic Association. He holds a B.A. (Banking, Insurance and Finance) Honours, University of Wales, Bangor, UK; Master of Business Studies (Honours), National University of Ireland, Dublin; and Doctor of Philosophy, University of Wollongong, Australia. He is a certified AIB from the Chartered Institute of Bankers, UK and a Fellow of Certified Practicing Accountants (FCPA), Australia.

Prof Bala is proficient in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil and Cantonese. His interests include literature, classical music, badminton, squash and jogging.

Dr Lim Guan Chye

Director of Commercial Banking Training

Lim Guan Chye (GC) is the Director of Commercial Banking Training at the Asian Banking School. He has 25 years of experience as a banker with several local and foreign banks in the capacity as Regional Manager and Branch Manager; and is well-versed with credit evaluation/assessment, banking operations, branch management and the legal aspects of banking.

GC also has worked for 10 years in group companies including a public listed company in various senior management capacities such as Finance Director and Group General Manager. He is a life-long learner and is passionate about sharing his experiences in banking and business. He recently published his 2nd book entitled “The Quick Guide Series – About Business & Banking” in January 2021.

GC holds a 2nd Upper Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Malaya and a DBA from the EU Business School, Geneva in 2019. He is a Certified Credit Professional awarded by IBBM (now known as the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers) and a certified trainer awarded by the Finance Accreditation Agency and HRDF (now known as HRD Corp).

Cheah Wee Leong

Director of Investment Banking Training

Cheah Wee Leong has more than 25 years’ experience working in the banking industry with local and foreign banks in various roles and capacities. A seasoned professional, Wee Leong brings with him broad experience as a former banker and management consultant.

Wee Leong started his career at Citibank in 1993 before joining US management consultancy firm Accenture in 1997. At Accenture, he was involved in managing large bank merger-integration, process re-engineering and transformation projects. He has worked in projects in various countries including Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia.

In 2003, Wee Leong joined CIMB as its Head of Operational Risk Management and led the implementation of the bank’s operational risk management and Basel 2 – Operational Risk framework. Subsequently, he assumed various senior roles in Trade Finance, Regional Transaction Banking, Corporate Banking, Treasury and Markets division and Group CEO office at CIMB. He was instrumental in helping CIMB win numerous awards in Transaction Banking in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand as Head of Regional Marketing, Regional Transaction Banking from 2011-2014. His last role at CIMB was as Director, Group Strategy.

Wee Leong holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the USA and a Master of Business Administration (with Distinction) from the Anglia Ruskin University, UK. He obtained training from Citibank Asia Pacific Banking Institute in Singapore in 1995. He is a certified Chartered Banker, Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA) Certified Training Professional, Certified HRDF Trainer and a holder of the PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner Certificate in Project Management.

Wee Leong enjoys reading, jogging, cycling and travelling in his free time and is involved in community service work.

Dr. Paramsothy Vijayan

Director of Graduate Training & FSTEP / Senior Consultant

Dr Vijay started his career working in one of the big 8 Chartered Accountants and Management Consultancy firms in the UK. He has over 20 years of banking experience working in local and foreign banks up to a senior management level, ranging over a diverse range of disciplines. He is currently involved in structuring bespoke technical and soft skill programmes for banks. In addition, he is involved in the curriculum working committee for professional qualification programmes such as the Chartered Banker and Bank Risk Management. He is also a designated Chartered Banker trainer, bringing a fresh approach to self-directed learning using mind-mapping techniques, case studies and problem-based learning. Dr Vijay has published banking and finance related text books and journal articles internationally, including, "Success Factors for the Implementation of Entrepreneurial Knowledge Management in Malaysian Banks" (Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, 2013).

He holds an Honours Degree in Accounting and Finance from Scotland, a Master of Science Degree in Multimedia Technology (Banking), a Doctor of Business Administration (Banking Strategy and Marketing) from Australia, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Knowledge Management in Banking) from Malaysia. He is also a Certified Training Professional (ARTDO) and Certified HRDF Trainer.

Vijay is a sports car enthusiast and spends his weekends driving his sports car on the LEKAS Highway, which cuts across some beautiful scenic views of the mountains. His life’s motto – Success is not a destiny but a journey.

Sharon Chan Yit Ming

Senior Training Consultant

Sharon Chan is a Senior Training Consultant at the Asian Banking School and has over 33 years of working experience in the banking sector.

She started her career in branch operations at a global foreign bank and then joined a local Investment Bank as a Treasury dealer before moving to the risk management division. There, she was involved in writing various new policies, guidelines and operational manuals for risk management, assets and liabilities management, anti-money laundering and business continuity management. Her next role at the banking group level covered a wider spectrum of retail and commercial banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, stockbroking, asset management and insurance. She held various senior positions including Head of Investment Bank Risk Management, Head of Group Enterprise Risk Management and Head of Group Regional Risk Management. Sharon was also a member of various management committees and also sat as the chairperson of the Malaysia Investment Bank Association’s Risk Management Committee, which is an industry working group. Prior to joining ABS, she was the Executive Vice President and Head of the Risk Management Division of a foreign bank in Malaysia.

Sharon is a Chartered Banker and holds an MBA. She is also a Certified Business Continuity Planner and a Certified HRDF trainer.

Lew Taw Fong

Senior Consultant

Lew Taw Fong is a Senior Consultant at the Asian Banking School and has over 32 years of banking experience.

He has worked for the country’s leading bank holding various key positions including Branch Manager, Regional Trainer and Facilitator, Head of Trade Finance and Remittance, Chief Operating Officer of a Malaysian bank in Hong Kong and as its Group Organisational Trainer on his retirement in 2011. His areas of training expertise include Branch Banking Operations, Trade Financing, Credit and Lending, AMLA/CTF, Central Credit Reference Information Search (CCRIS) and Fraud Detection and Prevention. Lew also conducted examination related programmes for the banking industry, Branch Manager development programmes and Entrepreneur and Leadership programmes.

Lew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (majoring in Management) from the University of Ottawa, Kansas, US. He is a Certified Manager Trainer from the Singapore Institute of Management, Certified HRDF trainer, Certified Training Professional by the Finance Accreditation Agency (FAA) and a certified FAA Assessor for Branch Managers. He was also a Master Trainer for the Microfinance Training for Practitioners 2017 programme, jointly organised by the Asian Banking School with Bank Negara Malaysia and the World Bank Group.

Ellie Chai Soh Ying

Senior Consultant

Ellie is a seasoned banker with a total of 27 years experience with 3 local and 3 foreign banks with extensive background in operational risk, audit and compliance. She started her career in banking industry in 1995 and has served in various capacities and departments including branch operations, loan documentation department, risk management department, compliance department and audit department.

In her career, she has helped spearhead the compliance monitoring and testing team with the objective to enhance compliance oversight and monitoring on regulatory compliance and financial crime compliance. She is also responsible in creating risk awareness and promoting strong compliance culture while building a good rapport with the regulators.

She believes in striking a balance between regulatory requirements without jeopardizing business objectives where compliance should act as the business strategic advisor and risk assessor to provide help, guidance and reassurance.

Ellie holds a professional degree in Chartered Secretary & Administrator from Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. She has also attained the Certified Professional in Financial Crime Compliance issued by International Compliance Association (ICA).

Aazad Ananthan Abdullah

Senior Consultant & Integrity Officer

Aazad Ananthan Abdullah has 23 years of working experience in foreign banks including in Labuan offshore banks. During his tenure as a Trade Finance Manager at several banks in Labuan, he was responsible for overseeing the project to set up their Trade Finance Department and SWIFT payment system. Later, while heading the Compliance Department in these banks, he also managed the implementation of policy and procedures pertaining to the overall trade finance operations and compliance.

Aazad holds a Bachelor of Jurisprudence (Law) from Universiti Malaya (UM) and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Universiti Utara Malaysia. He is currently pursuing his Master of Commercial Law at University Malaya. He has an Advanced Certification in AML/CFT jointly awarded by the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers and International Compliance Association in collaboration with the University of Manchester Business School; and holds a Certified Integrity Officer (CeIO) qualification awarded by MACC Academy.

Aazad specialises and delivers training in the subjects of anti-money laundering/ counter-financing of terrorism, international sanctions and provides consultancy work related to AML/CFT policy and procedures for the financial industry. He is a Senior Consultant at the Asian Banking School and is also a HRDF certified trainer.

Shahrul Adzuan Ahmad

Training Consultant

Shahrul Adzuan Ahmad is a Training Consultant at the Asian Banking School and has 27 years of working experience in the banking sector, with 24 of those years doing training and development at several banks.

His working experience includes branch operations, credit, training administration support as well as developing, delivering, and facilitating training programmes. The training programmes that he has conducted include Foreign Exchange Policy (formerly known as Foreign Exchange Administration Rules), credit, AML/CFT, leadership development and soft skills. At the Asian Banking School, Shahrul has conducted multiple training programmes relating to the Foreign Exchange Policy, Certified Credit Executive (CCE) and Retail Credit Professional (RCP). He also maintains a steady working relationship with the Foreign Exchange Policy Department of Bank Negara Malaysia for regular industry updates and training requirements as well as matters related to the Foreign Exchange Policy.

Shahrul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources Development from the University of Technology Malaysia and a Diploma in Banking Studies from the Institute of Technology MARA (now known as the University of Technology MARA). He is a Certified Training Professional (CTP), DiSC - Certified Behavioural Consultant (CBC) and Certified HRDF Trainer.

Sharon Liew Siu Wei

Consultant

Sharon Liew has more than 17 years of banking and training experience. She started her career as a Senior Associate at BDO; leading audits of the government-linked group of companies under the Prime Minister’s Office from 2005-2007.

Following that, she joined Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) as Financial Supervisor where her responsibilities included on-site and off-site surveillance of financial institutions in Malaysia. Her surveillance portfolio covered risk management control functions across Consumer Banking, SME Banking, Corporate Banking, and Investment Banking. She also led and conducted several thematic reviews that included AML/CFT, credit risk-SA review, operational risk, FRS139, stress testing, corporate governance, Shariah compliance and internal controls. In 2012, Sharon represented BNM as part of the knowledge sharing team at the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Banking Supervisory training.

Pursuing her passion for teaching, Sharon then went on to teach banking and finance at the Tunku Abdul Rahman University College from 2014 to 2021. She also teaches Mandarin at the Kong Zi Institute in University of Malaya and offers online coaching in English language communication to corporate learners from Japan, Korea and China.

Sharon has a Bachelor of Accounting from the University Putra Malaysia and a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching from the Open University Malaysia. She also holds a Professional Certificate in Islamic Finance from INCEIF, Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the London Teacher Training College and is a Certified Teacher in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (CTCSOL) from Hanban. She recently qualified as a Certified Expert in Sustainable Finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Germany.

Sharon is able to conduct training in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin and Cantonese and has a teaching permit registered under the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant registered under the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and is a Certified HRDF Trainer.

Sylphy Chui

Training Consultant

Sylphy Chui is a Training Consultant at the Asian Banking School and has more than 16 years of experience in the banking sector in credit sales and marketing, credit evaluation and credit approvals, consumer and commercial loans, and branch management.

She started her career as a Senior Sales and Marketing Executive at a Public Bank Berhad branch where she gained valuable knowledge in branch operations. She then went on to the regional office, where she supported more than 15 branches in the sales team and gained recognition as the Top Three Sales Achiever for 2003 and 2004. In 2005, after receiving the Regional Top Sales Achiever Award, Sylphy was promoted to Sales and Marketing Manager, leading the sales team in the Regional Office. She was promoted again in 2007 and became Business Manager at a branch in Kuala Lumpur, where she led the Credit Department. In 2012, she was promoted to Branch Manager. During this time, the branch she managed maintained themselves as an award-winning branch for five years consecutively from 2013 to 2017.

Sylphy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, double majoring in Economics and Marketing, from Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia and is also a Certified Credit Professional (CCP) through the Institute of Bankers Malaysia (now known as the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers). She is a Certified Training Professional through the Finance Accreditation Agency and a Certified HRDF Trainer.

Michelle Loo Phoy Wan

Consultant

Michelle Loo has more than 10 years of banking experience in secured and unsecured lending, wealth products, bancassurance, SME banking and branch management.

Michelle started her career in the banking industry with HSBC Bank as a Mortgage Executive. In 2008, she joined OCBC as a Business Development Manager in SME Banking and during which time, the team she was in achieved Top 5 in the nationwide overall performance. Following that, she joined Maybank as a Mortgage Consultant. She was one of the pioneers in the Direct Sales Team and recognized as the Nationwide Top Team for 3 consecutive years. She then went on to join Alliance Bank and was promoted as Branch Manager. Subsequently, she joined Public Bank in Regional Sales and Support in SME Bancassurance, supporting 19 branches in the Klang Valley. Her main task was to maintain Regional top sales, which she achieved for 2 consecutive years.

At the Asian Banking School, she is involved in developing e-Learning content, storyboarding and gamification, as well as having the role as a Trainer for the “Introduction to Ethics in Banking” programme. Michelle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics majoring in Finance from University Putra Malaysia. She is also a Certified HRDF Trainer.

Outside of work, she enjoys listening to music and reading books on personal development.

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

TRAINING CONSULTANTS

“I BELIEVE THAT ABS HAS A GOOD VALUE PROPOSITION FOR CAREER BANKERS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR A CHANGE. IT IS A UNIQUE CAREER OPPORTUNITY AND THEY CAN ALWAYS RETURN TO THE INDUSTRY AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, AS WORKING FOR ABS AS A TRAINING CONSULTANT REQUIRES THEM TO STAY UP-TO-SPEED WITH THE LATEST PRODUCTS AND TRENDS IN THEIR FIELD OF EXPERTISE.”

Professor DC Gardner

CEO, Asian Banking School