THE 6TH EDITION OF 'A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME' WAS LAUNCHED LAST NIGHT AT SHOOK! RESTAURANT BY THE MINISTER OF TOURISM DATO SERI DR NG YEN YEN AND TAN SRI FRANCIS YEOH WHOSE FAMILY OWN STARHILL SHOPPING GALLERY AND HALF OF BUKIT BINTANG.
The Minister of Tourism Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen and Tan Sri Francis Yeoh declared open 'Journey Through Time' by banging the gong six times.
'Journey Through Time' is on from now till 1 December at Starhill Bukit Bintang so drop by to ooh and aah at the latest watches and jewels! It's free and anyone can wander through the display cases in the corridors.
The evening was hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and YTL Group of which Tan Sri Francis Yeoh is Group CEO/MD.
Tan Sri Francis Yeoh and Minister of Tourism Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen
Dato Yeoh Soo Ming, Tan Sri Francis Yeoh and Minister of Tourism Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen
Good friends; Dato Yeoh Soo Ming of YTL and Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen, Minister of Tourism
Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen and CEO of Bank of China
Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen, CEO of Bank of China and Dato Yeoh Soo Ming
Tan Sri Francis Yeoh and Minister of Tourism Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen
The floral arrangments were stunning
Datin Angie Manam of Van Cleef & Arpels and Datuk Dr Victor Wee, chairman of Tourism Malaysia
Datin Angie Manam and Datuk Dr Victor Wee, chairman of Tourism Malaysia
Jennifer Ong of Great Eastern Life Assurance and Michelle Hee
Yenti Lou, Datuk Dr Victor Wee (chairman of Tourism Malaysia), Jennifer Ong and Michelle Hee
Dato Yeoh Soo Ming, Dato Seri Haji Omar Haji Ahmad, Minister of Tourism Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen and To'Puan Seri Hajjah Nur Rahmah Mohd Zain
Dato Yeoh Soo Ming, Dato Seri Haji Omar Haji Ahmad, Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen the Minister of Tourism and To'Puan Seri Hajjah Nur Rahmah Mohd Zain
The Minister of Tourism Dato Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen and Tan Sri Dr Francis Yeoh opening the 6th Journey Through Time exhibition, on till 1 december
The Tourism Minister and Tan Sri Francis Yeoh declared open the 6th Journey Through Time exhibition
The week long exhibition is on!
Jennifer Ong, Joyce Yap, Michelle Hee, Kee Hua Chee, Yenti Lou and Datin Angie Manam of Van Cleef & Arpels
Datin Angie Manam (centre in black) and her VIP guests
Pretty ladies
Joseph Yeoh Keng Shyan, vice president of YTL Hotels
Joseph Yeoh, vice president of YTL Hotels
Hip hop to the classical music 'Figaro'. Amazing and yet so au courant! Classical music really transcends the ages!
My favourite necklace with enough bling to impress even me
The diamonds were so big and brilliant even my camera's auto focus lense went blur!
Bling for everyday, casual wear
Well matched in colour but not height
As usual, he gave a stirring and inspiring speech. "In 1999 when we took over Starhill Gallery, the the Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad told me now that YTL had a prime property, we must do better than Singapore.
"I told the PM cities like Singapore and Hong Kong enjoyed duty-free status and were surrounded by nations that imposed duties. Hong Kong is next to the vast market that is China and Singapore is surrounded by Philippines and Indonesia which imposed a tax of 40% on luxury goods. In my conversations with the Bernard Arnaults of the world, they told me they would invest bigtime if Malaysia did away with crippling taxes.
"In those days, many Malaysians went to Singapore to shop. Hardly any locals shopped locally as things were cheaper down there. It was not easy for the Ministry of Finance to give up the duties but since few shopped here, there was little money going in anyway. Datuk Dr Victor Wee, chairman of Tourism Malaysia, did the working paper.
"Just 4 months after taking over Starhill the duties on luxury goods were abolished. The PM also gave us the go-ahead to build Bintang Walk which we did 6 months after taking over Starhill. Today 15 million walked on Bintang Walk a year.
"True enough, Jaeger LeCoultre a flagship store in Starhill, followed by 26 others worldwide! As proof this year Kuala Lumpur was voted Second Best Shopping City in Asia Pacific by Globe Shoppers Index! Of course we must thank the Ministry of Tourism.
"When Singapore heard about it, they thought there must be a statistical error! Don't get me wrong. I also invest in Orchard Road in Singapore but rents there are second only to Hong Kong. Our rents are so low compared to them! We may not sell as much but our profits are there. H & M which opened recently at Lot 10 had sales four times more than they expected!
"Due to the Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia is the world's 9th most visited country in the world and only China made it into the Top 10 list.
"The Bank of China private banking clients visited us recently and were shocked at our hotel prices. They said the price of a room night in KL is what they normally tip elsewhere! They could not believe our prices. So there is a compelling case for us.
"The 120 stores at Starhill offer the best value and service and we will be welcoming 5 new stores soon, from Maitre du Temps to Gubelin and Garrard's of London. Setting up shop in KL is a window to emerging markets like Vietnam and Burma and even China."
Tan Sri Francis Yeoh cited an amusing story. Europe is currently knee-deep in recession but sales of luxury goods continue to soar. How can this be when everyone is retrenching? "The Chinese went to Europe and bought so much they jacked up the statistics! So while sales increased in Europe, the Europeans were not buying but the Chinese from mainland China and SE Asia!"
Viva Kuala Lumpur!
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