Project management may be built on frameworks, processes and competencies, but ultimately, projects are delivered by people. And people need to meet.
On 6 September 2026, Project Xcellence Partners (PXP) was pleased to support IPMA Malaysia’s third annual “Over Nasi Lemak” Networking Event 2026, organised by IPMA Malaysia’s Young Crew (YC) and held at the Royal Lake Club, Kuala Lumpur.
Led by YC President En. Luqman Wasir, the Young Crew team brought considerable energy to the gathering, helping create a relaxed yet meaningful platform for practitioners, leaders, professional bodies and young project professionals to connect. Their involvement was also a timely reminder that the future of the profession depends on younger practitioners being given the space to lead, organise, contribute and build their own professional networks.
PXP participated as both a Corporate Member of IPMA Malaysia for 2026/27 and one of the sponsors of the event. For us, the support goes beyond having the PXP logo on the event screen. It reflects something we strongly believe in: Malaysia’s project management community becomes stronger when practitioners, professional associations, industry leaders and the next generation of project leaders have more opportunities to meet, exchange ideas and collaborate.
PXP was represented at the gathering by four members of our project management fraternity: Ts. Alex Zulkarnain Zulkarim, PXP’s MD/CEO, Founder and Senior Principal Consultant; Ir. Ts. Br. PMr. Mohamad Azmi Pilus, Senior Principal Consultant; Mohamed Shaharuddin Mohamed Izzuddin, Senior Principal Consultant; and Kamarulzaman Abdul Rahman, Principal Consultant. Beyond representing PXP, their participation reflected something equally important to us: staying personally connected with the professional community we serve, learning from fellow practitioners and contributing wherever we can to the continuing development of project management in Malaysia.
Different communities, one project fraternity
Perhaps one of the most significant sights that morning was seeing the leaders of five of Malaysia’s project management professional communities together under one roof: Ts. Alex Zulkarnain Zulkarim, President of IPMA Malaysia; En. Zaharuddin Jaafar, President of PMI Malaysia Chapter; Sr. PMr. Dr. Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah, President of the Association of Construction Project Managers Malaysia (ACPM); Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Syuhaida Ismail, Chair of the Project Management Technical Division of The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM-PMTD); and Ms. Preeta Nair, Founding Vice President of 5PMalaysia. Different organisations, different histories and different perspectives, but a common interest in advancing project management and improving project delivery in Malaysia.
There were different affiliations in the room, but considerably more in common than apart. That matters.
No single professional association, methodology or certification owns project management. Malaysia’s ability to deliver better projects will ultimately depend upon how well the larger fraternity learns, collaborates and raises the profession together.
The morning’s “Humanity at the Heart of Projects” Roundtable brought together Datin Dr. Ts. Habsah Nordin and En. Mohd Suhail Amar Suresh, exploring the increasingly important human dimensions of leadership and project delivery.
There was another little highlight during the morning. Datin Ts. Dr. Habsah Nordin held a signing session for her book, AI Mind, Human Soul… and the copies brought to the event did not last long. Every copy available was snapped up, leaving several participants to order theirs online or arrange to collect a signed copy later. Perhaps that says something about the subject itself: at a time when artificial intelligence is moving at extraordinary speed, questions about the human soul, judgement and leadership are becoming even more important.
Later, En. Haris Syarwani Razali of the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia, offered another fascinating perspective through “From Irritation to Innovation: Managing Cultural Differences in Projects for Peace”. His session was a useful reminder that stakeholder management across cultures is not merely a project-management technique. At times, it is diplomacy.
The programme also gave a voice to the next generation. Ts. Omar Muzhafar Omar Zohrie, IPMA Malaysia’s Young Project Manager of the Year 2025, shared his journey as an emerging Malaysian project leader and his progression to the international stage as a finalist for an IPMA Global Award.
Ms. Preeta Nair, Vice-President of 5PMalaysia, also shared the aspirations of another growing community within Malaysia’s project-management landscape.
Building bridges
A significant milestone of the event was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IPMA Malaysia and ACPM.
The MoU was signed by PMr. Sr. Dr. Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah, President of ACPM, and Ts. Alex Zulkarnain Zulkarim, President of IPMA Malaysia, witnessed by PMr. Sr. Ruslan Affendy Arshad, Deputy President of ACPM, and En. Mohd Fairuz Mohd Yusof, Honorary Secretary of IPMA Malaysia. For PXP, this spirit of collaboration is worth supporting.
We operate commercially in the project-management space, but we are also part of a much larger professional community. Building project excellence in Malaysia cannot be achieved by companies working within their own walls, nor by professional associations operating in separate islands.
Sometimes progress begins much more simply. Put good people around the same table. Let them talk. Let them listen. Let relationships form. And perhaps serve some good nasi lemak while we are at it.
PXP is proud to have played a small part in supporting Over Nasi Lemak 2026. Because better connections today may well become better projects tomorrow.
Project Xcellence Partners Sdn. Bhd. (PXP)
Advancing Project Excellence.
