1. Loh Boon Siew (Boon Siew Honda)
The entrepreneurship spirit showed
by the Chinese immigrant was so classic that it granted him entry in
the school’s curriculum. The late Boon Siew was the man responsible to
start the dealership of Honda motorcycles in Penang, hence it does not
come as a surprise when he was often referred as ‘Mr Honda’.
With
virtually no education, he arrived in Penang at a tender age of 12,
backed with little money, and a pinch of determination. Boon Siew
started his job as a mechanic, before making his way to prominence with
Honda dealership, and in the process, beat all odds.
2. Robert Kuok (Kuok Group)
When
you combine good education and family’s wealth, then no hell will break
loose. Banking on those two key strengths, Robert Kuok took over his
father’s trading business, together with two brothers, and created a
business larger than anyone can think of. The impact is so great that
Kuok has been sitting on the top of Malaysia’s rich list for more than 5
years. Residing in Hong Kong, Kuok is mostly linked to a sugar business
but also has his hands on other wide range of industries including
hospitality, energy, logistic and manufacturing.
3. Tony Fernandes (Air Asia)
Tony
Fernandes is the man behind AirAsia’s journey to world domination. With
RM1, Tony bought a defunct carrier, along with over RM40 million in
debts, and created Asia’s most successful budget airline company. From
an ailing company deep in financial trouble, AirAsia went through a
remarkable turnaround and made its first profit merely after 7 months of
operation. From thereon, they never looked back and created records
after records
4. Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary (MMC)
A humble
entrepreneur, often shying away from publicity and media. Tan Sri Syed
Mokhtar al-Bukhary is the richest Malay and bumiputra in Malaysia, and
has continued to hold the status for a long time. In his childhood, he
found difficulties to do school revision because of the inadequate house
facilities and small space. But that did not stop him from achieving
his current status. Syed Mokhtar is a great giver; his very first salary
received during his youth was divided by 2 halves - one for him, and
another for charity.
5. Lim Goh Tong (Genting)
Lim Goh Tong is
another classic story of a rag-to-riches story. Just like Loh Boon
Siew, Lim also migrated from the China mainland in his youth. And as
fate would have it, the two later became friends when Lim was on his way
to build Genting. From the day he was born until his death, Lim Goh
Tong did not speak English - he only communicated in Chinese and Malay
languages. But his language barrier did not prevent him from negotiating
one of the largest contracts around.
6. Maznah Hamid (Securiforce)
When
an almost bankrupt security company was offered to her, Maznah and her
husband, who were eager to change their ordinary life, took the plunge
and sacrificed RM5,000 of their saving. Only then she realized that
apart from managing the operation, she also had to be a manager, a
clerk, an accountant and an a receptionist. To grow their business, they
had to sell their house and moved to a slum that came without
electricity. But she perservered. Today, it’s difficult to find someone
who has never heard of Securiforce.
7. Ananda Krishnan (Astro)
With
an MBA qualification from Harvard University in America and a Degree
from Melbourne University in Australia, it’s safe to say that Ananda
Krishnan is the ’smartest’ entrepreneur in the list. With more than $7
billion of networth, only Robert Kuok is richer than him in this
country. Ananda has a long list of business involvement, that includes
Astro, Measat, Maxis, Aircel, TGV Cinemas and many others.
8. Azman Hashim (Ambank)
A
horrible car accident almost wrecked his life, but Tan Sri Azman’s
never-say-die attitude eventually rewarded him with larger than life
achievements. With good academic background in accounting field, Azman
was quick to maneuver his career along the corporate path, joining
several established corporations in the process. Since acquiring Arab
Malaysian Bank (now Ambank), Azman is credited for his effort to
transform a relatively unkown bank into one of the largest financial
institutions in the country.
9. Steven Sim (Secret Recipe)
A
modern type entrepreneur, Dato’ Steven Sim established the popular
Secret Recipe cafe and turned it into one of the most successful
homegrown franchises. From merely 6 employees, the company has grown by
leaps and bounds and is today backed by more than 300 staff nationwide
and still growing. Secret Recipe today can be found in almost all major
cities and towns, and is expanding beyond the international border with
oversea operations in Singapore and Indonesia.
10. Mustapha Kamal (MK Land)
Tan
Sri Datuk Mustapha Kamal is the co-founder of MK Land (an associate
company of Emkay Group), which started as a small company and eventually
grew to become one of the property icons in Malaysia. At the height of
its prominence, the company was picked as one of the major developers of
Cyberjaya, Malaysia’s very own cyber city. Among other successful
developments carried out by MK Land are Bukit Merah Laketown, Damansara
Perdana and Bukit Raya Beruntung.
Author: Zul Name: Zulkifli Musa
