Nordin Abdullah, born Matthew Gordon Williams on 14 April 1976 in Bellingen in New South Wales, is an Australian entrepreneur living and working in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is well known as a halal food market expert.[1] He and his former business partner and once-wife, Jumaatun Azmi,[2] developed an international Halal service industry KasehDia[3] that made them prominent exponents of Halal.
Nordin Abdullah is the Managing Director of Glenreagh Sdn Bhd, organisers of the Malaysia Global Business Forum, Sustainable SeedBanking Forum,[1], Railway Tourism Forum, Tomorrow's Leaders Summit, Port City Development, Advancing Special Needs Education, and Volunteer Tourism.
Nordin was recently named as one of the top “50 Expatriates you should know” by “Expatriate Lifestyle – Malaysia’s #1 Expatriate Magazine
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Nordin is the eldest of 14 children. His mother is Anne Marie Velu and father Joseph Khoury. Nordin grew up primarily in Australia before converting to Islam in Wollongong in September, 1992 and moving to Malaysia in the same month.
Nordin is now married to Somaya Ong and has five children: Khairul, Omar, Mulaika, Zahara, and Saif.
Nordin is the Organising Chairman of the Tomorrow's Leaders Summit and annual Summit for young leaders held in Kuching, Sarawak his philosophy is reflected in events tag line “A good leader is committed to the next generation” which produced the Borneo Youth Declaration. He was also a featured speaker at Melaka International Youth Dialogue, and sat on the Organising Committee of Perhimpunan Belia Sarawak 2011 and 2011 Youth Assembly. Nordin is in the process of becoming a UNESCO Youth Ambassador after attending the UNESCO Youth Ambassador workshop.
Nordin established and coached the first ever women’s basketball team at the International Islamic University Malaysia.
Nordin is currently the co-chair of the International School of Kuala Lumpur ISKL Alumni
During the inaugural Malaysia Global Business Forum with Bosnia, and later with Turkey and Lesotho the issues of food production and self determination in the agriculture sector have remained high on the agenda Nordin stated “The gap is in the developing world, if this is not addressed it will continue to impact the global scenario with adverse effects” and further stated “We will not solve these problems today or in the next few years but we have to start today”.
To address the issues of Seed Supply Nordin established the Sustainable Seed Banking Forum following a meeting between officials in the Malaysian and Turkish government. As organising chairman Nordin stated, “Sustainability Starts With Seeds”. The Sustainable Seed Banking Forum recently was recognised by the Agriculture Ministers Meeting of the D-8 in Tehran.
During his tenure as deputy chairman of the World Halal Forum Nordin viewed “the development of the Halal industry as an opportunity for Muslim countries to develop food security”
Nordin also chaired the session on biotechnology and the Herbal Industry at the ECER Herbal Symposium 2011, in Kuala Lumpur.
“Documentary making is an expensive hobby but some stories need to be told.” His first documentary was “Muslims in Bangkok” which highlighted the positive contributions to Thailand that leading Muslims had made for the country. Produced during a sensitive time with the issues in the deep south of the country yet resolved.
Nordin is the Executive Producer of the documentary, “Back to Batu Pahat” which explores the understated role that Fijian troops played during the Malayan Emergency and the lasting impact on both countries.
Nordin developed his understanding of Publishing and the Magazine industry at an early age when he assisted his mother’s publication the Pasar which was later sold to Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) and renamed The Finder. After working for ACP he was head hunted to sell advertising for Newsweek out of the Kuala Lumpur office. Just over a year later Nordin established his own publications. Publications that Nordin has established with various partners include, Expatriate Housing and Rental, Malaysia Childcare and Education Guide and the Halal Food Guides and The Halal Journal. Nordin has sold off all his interests in these publications.
Nordin was a co-founder and executive director of KasehDia Sdn Bhd,[3] a communications company which works with halal manufacturers to increase awareness of the potential of the halal industry.[4][5] He was also a director[6] and deputy chairman[7] of the World Halal Forum and was trustee for the International Halal Integrity Alliance.[3]
Nordin has since resigned from KasehDia and the International Halal Integrity Alliance.
| “ | You don't need your Gucci handbag, but you do need your hamburger[8] | ” |
| “ | The question now for companies is: What products and services are you going to provide to help Muslims lead the lifestyle they want to lead? | ” |
| “ | The middle class have the luxury of making these Islamic versus non-Islamic decisions[9] | ” |
| “ | It's against Islamic teachings to attack churches and I am sure the majority of Malaysians don't think it's acceptable[10] | ” |
| “ | It's interesting that these attacks are happening at a time when the prime minister is promoting the idea of "One Malaysia", where the emphasis is on the common ground, not on ethnic or religious divisions | ” |
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