< Previous16 My fondest memory of AFEO is its creation. For the third IES/IEM Convention to be hosted by IES in Singapore in 1977, I proposed with the support of IEM, to invite the participation of engineering organisations of other ASEAN countries. All responded. In a spirit of co-operation and enthusiasm a “Conference of Engineering Institutions of Southeast Asian Nations (CEISEAN)” was established. At the Second CEISEAN meeting held in Manila it was proposed to upgrade CEISEAN to a more formal entity, to be known as the “ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations” (AFEO). The heads of the participating engineering organisations were locked away in a luxury resort near the Tal volcanic lake and told they were not to return to the bright lights of Manila until the constitution of the proposed AFEO was finalised. The task was expeditiously accomplished and AFEO came into being. AFEO has contributed to the rapid development of the various ASEAN countries by enhancing the professionalism and the transfer of expertise among the engineering fraternity. ER. TAY SIN YAN Making AFEO relevant is the question to answer. The following are what I see for staying relevant. AFEO needs to reinvent itself. Have a brainstorming session organised for the AFEO council to look at future activities which will attract young engineers. At the school level, look at the lack of interest in STEM. Focus on basic issues, namely the roof over-the-head, day-to-day living and entertainment in the light of climate change. The issues to touch upon include carbon-neutral discussions, future fuels, and total equivalent environmental impact factor (TEEIF). I do not see important milestones being laid in the course of my journey as those actions are normal and shall be taken when the time is ripe. But I do see that a framework for useful interactions amongst young engineers and engineering students across ASEAN (+3) region is needed. For example, the SHELL Eco-Marathon Asia Region series that runs across the region. YBHG DATUK IR. PROF. DR. OW CHEE SHENG ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF AER FOUNDERS & FOUNDING MEMBERS THE BEGINNING17 In 10 years’ time, I would like to see WEAFEO growing to be a dynamic and progressive organisation that leads to the development of women engineers in the ASEAN region, and will be the platform to promote understanding, goodwill, continuous learning and the spirit of giving back to the community among women engineers. Reflecting back, the idea of establishing WEAFEO was well-received by other AFEO sister organisations about 10 years ago on 17th December 2012. Moving forward, I wish for WEAFEO to continue sharing the best practices of women engineers and their contributions to engineering and ASEAN. It would be good for WEAFEO to continue establishing strategic alliances between women engineers within and beyond ASEAN. IR. RAFTAH MAHFAR ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF WE-AFEO I would like AFEO and YEAFEO to keep up the good work and continue to grow relationships between young engineers in the ASEAN region despite the current post- pandemic era. The motivation for creating YEAFEO back in the mid-nineties was to cater to the networking and growing together theme for young engineers. The set-up of YEAFEO was formalized during CAFEO 12 in Brunei in 1994, with the IEM’s Graduate & Student (G & S) team taking the lead, despite the event being held in Bandar Seri Begawan. The parallel drive between YEAFEO and the parent governing body, AFEO, is reflected in the draft wording of the YEAFEO constitution that was drawn up by IEM G & S leadership present in Brunei. The wording was further modified to reflect the needs and aspirations of this upcoming “younger” pan-ASEAN voice. Moving forward, I urge YEAFEO to be up-to-date on all current and new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) that will be applicable in the engineering space and also apply to the benefit of the population in this growing region. Congratulations to the AFEO Governing Board for this significant achievement of 40 years! IR. POOBALAN MAHALINGAM ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF YE-AFEO THE BEGINNING18 JOURNEY OF THE AFEO LOGO THE LOGO WAS FIRST PROPOSED AT THE GOVERNING BOARD MEETING IN JAKARTA IN 1982 BY THE PERSATUAN INSINYUR INDONESIA (PII) AT THE FIRST MEETING OF AFEO. BACK THEN THE LOGO HAD 5 BLACK BLADES ENCLOSED INSIDE A CIRCLE, WITH THE WORD AFEO PRINTED BELOW THE CIRCLE. THE LOGO WAS SET ON A SILVER BACKGROUND. THE BEGINNING19 Now, the AFEO logo has 10 gold blades with the black AFEO word printed in bold below the logo. The logo is set on a transparent background to blend with presentation materials. The blades of the logo were increased in 1984 when Pertubuhan Ukur, Jurutera dan Akitek, Brunei joined AFEO. In 1986 in Singapore, the logo was officially approved with gold background and black blades and no circular borders. The logo was received in 1988 in Brunei. In 1998 in Malaysia, the blades become 7 when Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Association joined the Federation. Subsequently Myanmar Engineering Society (MES) joined AFEO in 2000, Engineering Institution of Cambodia, (EIC) now known as Board of Engineers, Cambodia (BEC) joined in 2001 and the full membership of ten was achieved when Lao People’s Democratic Repulic was admitted in 2002. The blade increased to 10 by 3rd September 2002. IEM drew the logo but placed it into a circle when they hosted the CAFEO event. It was mentioned that the circle drawn against the logo for purpose of designing should not be encouraged as it could be mis construed to be part of the logo. Therefore, it was specifically mentioned in the meeting that the circle around the logo should be removed. While hosting for their CAFEO, IES mistakenly put a dot in the centre of the logo. This was an unacceptable variation which now has been corrected. It was hand crafted with pieces of blue coloured paper cut according to the required shapes and pasted on a silver coloured cardboard as the background. The design was not accepted but the Secretariat kept it for a long time as a momento The logo with a dot in the centre was popular, however it was never sanctioned Colour differences from the original gold colour were also prominent mistakes in the use of logo throughout the years THE BEGINNING20 SECRETARIAT OOI BENG EAN GENERAL MANAGER, IEM INTERNATIONAL OFFICE Ms. Ooi has been with AFEO since its beginning, from a junior staff to the General Manager of the IEM International Office. Her dedication towards the development of engineering in the region is legendary. Ms. Ooi continues to be the AFEO secretariat leader to ensure a smooth operation of the various activities around the region. VALLI SAMINATHAN SENIOR EXECUTIVE, IEM INTERNATIONAL OFFICE Ms. Valli has learned a great deal from the IEM International Office chief, managing the complexities of engineering affairs globally, because the IEM International Office is not just managing AFEO, but also other engineering organisations that Malaysia is the organisation secretariat for. Ms. Valli has been in the IEM International Office since 2016. ADAM SOFRI MUHD SHARUM EXECUTIVE, IEM INTERNATIONAL OFFICE Mr. Adam is responsible for the AER membership & its database to ensure that it is maintained and made available to all for networking and references. This is a challenging task as the members are spread out in many countries. Mr. Adam has been in the IEM International Office since March 2018. THE BEGINNING21 In the beginning, there was no “AFEO Secretariat”. The secretariat of each country that hosted CEISEAN was made the event’s secretariat. This was adopted by AFEO. At that time only two officials travelled from each country for the meeting. They are the presidents and honorary secretaries (together with their spouses) of each country. Each member organisation was committed to provide between two to five authors to present at the conference, as agreed in the guiding principles in the spirit of sharing knowledge. The hosting country’s secretariat or their Honorary Secretary were the ones who prepared the meeting minutes. Hence, the meeting minutes were of varying qualities. From Malaysia, IEM chose Mrs. Lilian Tan, who was then a stenographer. Ms. Ooi was then selected to go along with Mrs. Tan as they could share a room. At that time, Ms. Ooi was working at the IEM library (back then, the library was a very important part of any institution) and could help to keep the convention records as well as to help handle requests from the delegates. The CAFEO in Singapore was the first event that the IEM secretariat joined. In Singapore, the IEM’s secretariat joined forces with the IES’s secretariat. Mrs. Tan Siew Keow was known among the secretariats to take excellent meeting minutes. However, IEM wanted their own record, so Mrs. Tan was still required to write the minutes from the IEM’s perspective. Subsequently, IES was appointed to be the responsible country to write the minutes officially. Therefore, Mrs. Tan Siew Keow travelled with the IES and only handled the minutes recording for AFEO. IEM was appointed as the life-long Treasurer of which Mrs. Tan was responsible for the accounts, fee collection and other accounting roles with the assistance of Ms. Ooi. As for CAFEO events, each host member country’s secretariat would be in charge of the respective event. The secretariats from all member countries have been working together since the start of the organisation, and collectively, they represent the backbone of AFEO. IEM was officially appointed as the permanent AFEO Secretariat since 2000/2001 term. Ooi Beng Ean IEM/MALAYSIA Lilian Tan Teck Jin IEM/MALAYSIA THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF AFEO SECRETARIAT THE BEGINNING22 THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, MALAYSIA IEM AFEO MEMBERS THE BEGINNING23 The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) was established in 1959 with the primary function of promoting and advancing the science and profession of engineering and to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas related to engineering. The governing body of the IEM is the Council, headed by the President. The affairs of the Council are carried out by the Executive Committee comprising the President, Deputy President, seven Vice Presidents, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and five members elected from the Council. Operations are supported by a full time Secretariat. Membership of the Institution is one of the largest among professional organisations in the country. In order to support the needs of members, the IEM has 8 Standing Committees to attend to the different administrative functions of the Institution. To support the multidisciplinary needs of the engineering practice, there are Technical Divisions and Special Interest Groups to look after and to organise activities for the different disciplines. There is also a Young Engineer Section and Women Engineers Section that cater exclusively to the younger members and women engineers respectively. Vision The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia aims to be the premier learned engineering society championing the adoption of ethics and professional best practices in all sectors of the industry. Mission • Promote sound professional engineering practice in support of the socio-economic development objectives of the nation. • Service the needs and interests of its members and the public and uphold the social standing image of the engineering profession. • Contribute towards nation-building and strive to enhance society’s consciousness of science and technology. Functions IEM is a society established to promote and advance the Science and Profession of Engineering in any or all its disciplines and to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas related to Engineering. WWW.MYIEM.ORG.MY THE BEGINNING24 THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SINGAPORE IES AFEO MEMBERS THE BEGINNING25 The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) was formally established in July 1966 as the national society of engineers in Singapore. IES is the premier engineering institution in Singapore and is called upon by the Government to provide feedback on professional engineering matters. IES is well represented among the faculty members of the major engineering institutions of higher learning in Singapore. Through close collaboration with the local universities and polytechnics, IES organises courses, seminars and talks for engineers and IES members to advance the continuous development of engineers. The Institution maintains close links with professional organisations of engineers regionally and throughout the world. These include organisations in Australia, China, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States. The Institution also represents Singapore in the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organisations (AFEO) and the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (FEIAP) in promoting goodwill and fellowship among all engineers in ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region. Through its Engineering Accreditation Board (EAB), IES obtained full signatory status in the Washington Accord (WA) in June 2006. The entry grants IES the authority to represent Singapore, the first country within the ASEAN region which has obtained full signatory status in the WA, to vet education systems under the WA mutual recognition framework. WWW.IES.ORG.SG THE BEGINNINGNext >