Malaysia hosted the 62nd ISI WSC 2019 - the Olympics of Statistics

Deemed as the "Olympics" of Statistics, Malaysia successfully hosted the 62nd ISI World Statistics Congress (WSC) 2019 in Kuala Lumpur on August 18 - 23, 2019.

The Congress was officiated by Prime Minister (PM) Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, on August 18 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. In his opening address, the PM highlighted on the importance of official statistics, "It connects us to what is happening around us since it helps us to make good decisions and to lead better lives." He also stressed that "the goal of statistical organisations is to produce relevant, objective and accurate statistics of quality and integrity to keep users well-informed." As co-organisers of the event, Governor together with the Minister of Economic Affairs, International Statistical Institute (ISI) President and Malaysia’s Chief Statistician, joined PM Tun Dr. Mahathir at the launch of the Congress.

The main congress, which discussed subjects related to statistics, statistical sciences, and their applications, was attended by over 2,500 delegates from more than 100 countries. More than 1,300 papers were presented over the 5 days. In conjunction with the congress there were more than 60 administrative meetings and lunch time round table discussion sessions, organised by the ISI, ISI Statistical Associations and various statistical interest groups. Social events included Welcome Reception, Malaysia by Night and Gala Dinner. An exhibition, which showcased the products and services of organisations actively involved in statistics, together with Career Talks and special talks by corporations, were also held during the week.

Pre-congress events were held at Sasana Kijang and Lanai Kijang from 13 to 18 August 2019. In addition to the World Stats WSC Run 2019, the pre-congress events included 12 short courses, 6 satellite seminars and several meetings/general assemblies of the ISI, ISI Statistical Associations and IFC of BIS.

The ISI acknowledged that the 62nd ISI WSC 2019 was a great success in terms of its organisations, diversity and richness in content and convenience of the venue. The next ISI WSC 2021 will be held at The Hague, Netherlands, while Canada has been selected as the host for 2023, from 19 country proposals.

Slides presented by speakers from the Bank during the Congress are available below:

1. Session IPS-216: Big Data and Big Cities
   Proximity to Urban Rail Transit (URT) and Its Impact on Housing Prices [Presentation Slides]
   Jiun Shyan Goh, Statistical Services Department, Bank Negara Malaysia
    
2. Session STS-422: Innovative Approaches in Measuring Financial Inclusion
   Status of Financial Inclusion in Malaysia [Presentation Slides]
   Zarina Abd Rahman, Development Finance and Inclusion, Bank Negara Malysia
    
3. Session STS-523: Administrative Data as Alternative and Reliable Sources of Official Statistics
   Harnessing the Value of Administrative Data: A Central Bank's Experience [Presentation Slides]
   Shazura Zainol Abidin, Statistical Services Department, Bank Negara Malaysia
    
4. Session STS-543: Measuring the Impact of Policies with Credit Registry Data
   Effectiveness of Policies to Address Household Indebtedness: Evidence from Credit Registry Data in Malaysia [Presentation Slides]
   Muhammad Khairul Muizz Abd Aziz, Financial Surveillance Department, Bank Negara Malaysia
    
5. Session STS-552: Managing External Sector Statistics (ESS) Compilation in a Highly InterConnected and Digital World
   Compilation of Sectorisation and Information Granularities on Portfolio Investment Statistics  [Presentation Slides]
   Norhayati Razi, Statistical Services Department, Bank Negara Malaysia
    
6. Session STS-564: Integrating Micro- and Macro - Data for Better Credit Assessment
   CCRIS and Its Role in Promoting Financial Stability [Presentation Slides]
   Rosnizam Saari, Statistical Services Department, Bank Negara Malaysia
    
7. Session CPS-21: Statistical Finance
   CPS2245: The Impact of Financial Sector Master Plan on Cost Efficiency of Malaysian Banks: An Analysis of Stochastic Frontier Analysis [Presentation Slides]
   Dr Azrie Tamjis, Financial Conglomerates Supervision Department, Bank Negara Malaysia

The programme schedule and the presentations by other speakers during the ISI WSC 2019 are available on the ISI WSC 2019 website at http://www.isi2019.org/scientific-programme-2/ . The presentations are available based on the authors' consents received by the ISI WSC 2019 Secretariat.