Top International Speakers At BRIDEX Forum
By Lyna Mohamad

Bandar Seri Begawan - Thirteen international speakers will be presenting talks on defence and security during the BRIDEX 2007 Forum.

The two-day forum will begin Thursday afternoon (May 31) following the launching of the BRIDEX 2007.

The issue of "Economic Enhancement Programme on Defence Development" will be explored in the first session. The concept of C41SR (Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) will, meanwhile, be discussed the following day. This will be followed by a discussion on the concept of Homeland Security in the afternoon to mark the closing of the forum.

The speakers are from renowned international defence conglomerates including Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, Defence Export Service of United Kingdom (DESO), SAAB, Kestral Holdings of Pakistan, Vosper Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Stemcor and Blenheim Capital Services.

Dr Lim Chin Leong, Major General Syed Ali Hamid, Alan Garwood, David W Machuga, Herman Claesen and Dr Hj Danish Zaheer are just some' of the speakers who will be attending the two-day forum.

Dr Lim is now the head of Military Physiology Laboratory and programme manager. for Human Cognition Augmentation at the Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, DSO National Laboratories.

Dr Lim has been conducting research on human performance at Singapore's Ministry of Defence since 1991 and was also the Officer Commanding at the School of Physical Training from 1997 to 1999.

He has conducted research and published a variety of topics including obesity, load carriage, fitness management and thermoregulation. Dr Lim has recently been investigating the effects of immune disturbances on the pathology of heatstroke. His work in this area has resulted in the development of the dual pathway model of heatstroke.

Major General Syed Ali Hamid has a wealth of experience in analysing strategic issues at the politicomilitary level, as well as formulating security-related strategies and plans. He also has a strong grasp of marketing defence products and services. During his tenure in DEPO, Pakistan's defence exports were enhanced from US$30 million to US$60 million.

Following his retirement, he was employed by Kestral Holding where he has been working for one and a half years as the head of land systems.

He has formulated and implemented marketing strategies and plans for a wide range of products including TOW missile systems, Blackhawk helicopters, air defence systems, fire control systems, and C41-related products and services.

Recently, he presented a concept paper on "Border Security" to Brunei's Ministry of Defence,. Force Development Unit. He is currently preparing a similar paper for Malaysia's Ministry of Defence.

Alan Garwood, who is the head of Defence Export Services, has an MBA from Cranfield, and in 2003, was made an Honorary Doctor of Science again at Cranfield. He is also a visiting professor at the Royal Military College Shrivenham and is a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

In September 2002, he was seconded from BAE Systems to the UK Ministry of Defence as the head of Defence Export Services, where he advises the secretary of state and other ministers on defence exports.

In this capacity, he leads a team of 600 civil servants and military personnel who form the Defence Export Services Organisation.

David W Machuga was appointed as the director of Distributed Engineering and Electronic Warfare Programmes in 2004 where he supervised seven sites totalling 850 employees and was responsible for EW programmes for engineering and manufacturing. Following that assignment, he then assumed the position of Director of Homeland Security and Homeland Defence. In this roll, he was responsible for business development, execution of advanced development programmes supporting DHS and DoD customers, as well as other internally-funded research and development activities.

Herman Claesen works for BAE Systems in the UK and is the business development executive export for Military Autonomous Systems (Air). In this role, he is responsible for all Asia and Pacific export activities for the airborne autonomous systems products developed by BAE Systems. He has an engineering background, including three degrees obtained in Belgium and UK.

Dr Hj Danish Zaheer is currently a sports medicine specialist at Sports Medicine &Research Centre in Brunei.

In the international arena, he held important positions such as Vice President of Asian Federation of Sports Medicine, Vice Chairman of Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation Sports Medicine & Anti-doping Committee, President of Sports Medicine Association of Pakistan and Secretary Medical Committee of South Asian Federation Games. The forum and exhibition are open to invited guests, armed forces and paramilitary personnel in uniform, as well as business people related to the industry. For more information, visit www.bridex.org.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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