Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah

Things You Might Not Know The Man From Pusing

From KL Lifestyle:

Mixing business with social responsibility has always been the hallmark of wellknown philanthropist, educationist and Sunway Group founder and chairman, Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, AO. This trait is based on his firm belief that the key to a meaningful life and true personal satisfaction is when an individual gives back to society what he has reaped. And in the process, leave behind a lasting contribution that will make a huge difference.

So, when this soft-spoken, self-made and remarkable tycoon launched his latest and most serious philanthropic endeavour several months ago, he set a precedent that may be a hard act to match by anyone in the future. His initiative – the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, the first of its kind in Malaysia, is modelled after the Harvard Foundation which governs one of the world’s oldest and renowned universities.

“I have always believed that the business of education is more than just ‘a business’ for successful and dedicated corporations like the Sunway Group. Education becomes meaningful when it acts as a tool to enrich and improve lives and contribute to the national agenda by raising the quality of human capital, which can then reap greater prosperity for the country,” he says of his foundation. “My dream and vision has been to share these very successes enjoyed by Sunway Group with those in need and who deserve it so that their lives may be changed forever.”

Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah’s philanthropic quest has not gone unnoticed regionally and internationally. He was voted one of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy in 2009 and this kind of recognition is hard to come by indeed. His new foundation’s history actually dates back to more than three decades and is closely linked with the evolution of Sunway Group as a pioneer, innovator and catalyst in the field of private education in Malaysia. Sunway pioneered the now popular twinning programmes in Malaysia and also revolutionised the local education landscape via partnerships with top-ranking universities from around the globe.

The Sunway Education Trust Fund that was established in 1997 was the basis for the recently launched foundation. The Fund had in the past administered its share of proceeds from Sunway institutions for the benefit of present and future students through reinvestment into the institutions and for the disbursement of scholarships and research grants. Thousands of deserving Malaysian students in various fields have been awarded more than RM55 million in scholarships by the Fund thus far.

“With the advent of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, it will be the sole vehicle through which my life-long ambition, vision and dream to give back to society will be realised,” says Cheah. Cheah has transferred all his shares held in the Sunway Education Trust Fund to the foundation to be held into perpetuity. He has locked in shares worth RM700 million from the education arm of his Sunway business into the newly launched foundation. The foundation is enriched further with the transfer of the Sunway Group’s four educational institutions, the Sunway University College, Monash University Sunway Campus, Sunway International School and the Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The foundation, governed by a distinguished board of trustees, will execute Cheah’s legacy of giving. Proceeds from the institutions will be disbursed through scholarships to future generations of needy and deserving students. And Cheah has not stopped at that. He has also invited other successful and like-minded corporations and individuals to join him in making this noble cause for education a roaring success in the years to come.

Royal recognition came from the Sultan of Selangor with whom Cheah is close. The Sultan had this to say of the educationist’s latest philanthropic act: “It takes a philanthropic and mmagnanimous man like Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah to transfer the Sunway Group’s top four educational institutions into the foundation, so these assets can be held in perpetuity and they may be used to provide scholarships to future generations of deserving and needy students. “I am glad that Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, whom I installed as Foundation Chancellor of the Sunway University College in September 2006, has put the cause for education well ahead of the business of education.”

By launching the foundation, Cheah has become a new partner of the Ministry of Higher Education and the government in providing financial assistance to needy students and thereby directly contributing to the building of knowledge-based human capital for the nation.Notable among his other philanthropic initiatives was the launch of the Safe City concept in Bandar Sunway in 2001, an initiative in which he blazed the trail in Malaysia. In his capacity as Selangor Chapter chairman of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation, he works closely with the police to combat crime and to ensure a safer and healthier environment for residents in the township.

The initiative, complete with donations of equipment to the police department and involvement of the auxiliary police from the Sunway Group, has ramped up good neighbourliness in the residential area. The concept is also now being emulated in other developments. Aiding needy schools has been another of Cheah’s passions. In 2008, his Sunway Group sponsored a RM1 million, 12-month project to restore the dilapidated 85-year-old SRK Convent in Klang to ensure safety at the school so that the teachers and students could study with peace of mind. “Although it is a missionary school, students of all ethnic groups study there. We were not hesitant to support a school which champions multiculturalism,” he said then.

More millions have also been spent aiding the SMK Bandar Sunway, SJK(C) Chee Wen in Subang Jaya, SMJK Yuk Choy in Ipoh, SK Convent Klang and the Gunung Hijau primary school in Pusing, Perak, where Cheah hails from. Life has indeed been a meaningful journey so far for Cheah. But the visionary is looking ahead. He is always on the lookout for new philanthropic causes that will meld with his lifelong desire to give back to society.

The Jeffrey Cheah Foundation is a unique, first-of-its-kind structure in Malaysia within the field of private higher education, modeled along the lines of some of the oldest and most eminent universities in the world; such as the Harvard University in the United States. It carries on the mandate of the Sunway Education Trust which has, since its inception in March 1997, given out more than RM50 million in scholarships to deserving and needy students.

The advent of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation will see the transfer of equity ownership worth RM700 million of the not-for-profit Sunway Education Group, made up of Sunway University College, Monash University Sunway campus, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Sunway International School. Today, these education institutions account for over 16,000 students, of which 30% are from 80 different countries. Under the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, operating surpluses from the Sunway Education Group will be reinvested into the universities and schools. The Foundation will continue to disburse scholarships and research grants to worthy individuals in various fields of study.

Tony Fernandes

Saiful Nang

Idris Jala

Ananda Krishnan

Westports 

From Jose Barrock:

I have very big shoes to fill,” confesses Ruben Gnanalingam. It must be daunting but he displays no sign of it. At 31 years old, he is heir apparent to the throne his father Tan Sri G Gnanalingam or as he is fondly known, Tan Sri G, has steered and built successfully over the years.

Westports, nestled in Pulau Indah, makes up one half of Port Klang, the world’s eleventh largest container terminal and since inception in 1995, has been commended for its revolutionary concepts, and garden port landscape. All of these have long been attributed to a single individual – Gnanalingam.

It appears the time has come to to pass the baton on to the next generation.
Ruben Gnanalingam 31, was appointed executive director of Westports in January 2006 and has been running the day-to-day operations since, but not without the watchful gaze of his father's keen eye.

“My dad is still here to do the day to day operations with me. I lack the experience, so he guides me. The only way to gain the experience I need is to keep on working,” he says.
He reflects: “I must say he provided me with very good training. At a young age he used to send me for Harvard courses. If it was not Harvard, it would be some other course like MIM (Malaysian Institute of Management) and so forth.”

Reminiscing with a smile, Ruben says that he attended one of his first of what would eventually turn out to be a series of courses when he was 19: “It was a senior management development programme. The others present were over 40 years old!” The courses served its purpose or that of his father's - “The courses broadened my understanding and taught me much about business. These courses give you the edge; the university and school give you the discipline of learning. My dad knew that already and that was why he did it,” says Ruben.

Gnanalingam’s prowess as a marketing guru is widely documented. But like many of his established peers in the elite circles of corporate Malaysia, the beginning was not easy. He almost dropped out of university following his father's demise in the mid 60s as someone needed to support the family.

But he held out on a limb and infallible traits such as persistence and perseverance.
He made his name as a marketing whiz after successful stints with Malaysian Tobacco Co (now British American Tobacco) and was appointed marketing director at the age of 34.
After a 19-year stint, nine as the marketing director Gnanalingam left Malaysian Tobacco Co to join Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) to reposition the station’s two channels. Although the task was considered impossible by many, he came out smelling like roses, having successfully pulled the company out of the rut it fell into as a result of stiff competition from TV3.

Gnanalingam also played a key role in the 1989 South East Asian Games held in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia as the host nation came out tops, and the profits amounted to more than RM16mil, surpassing the modest target of RM5mil set by the Government.
Five years later, his rainbow arrived, in the form of Westports. As the man at the helm of the port company, Gnanalingam made waves in the sector, calling for new rules and higher benchmarks for the industry.

His pragmatic ways appear to have rubbed off on to his son:” It appears that Gnanalingam was not a disciplinarian but left his children pretty much to do what they wanted to. That came with predictably and universally common conditions though - their school grades had to be satisfactory.

He treated us as adults. He taught us to tackle issues without getting emotional...to focus on practical solutions,” says Ruben.

That aside, it was pretty much a dream childhood for the Gnanalingam brood: “We could stay up late...watching TV. It was like that even when I was as young as 10. He was basically a result-oriented person, a trait that he practises till today.

“His rule was very simple. If the results don’t come in, the axe would fall and changes would take place. His rules are strict, very strict. He’s the kind who goes to bed at 9 pm and gets up at 5 am, basically RMC (Royal Military College) training.

“It was quite simple. He set a benchmark for me, and if I achieved it, he would not interfere. He treated my siblings and me as adults even when we were young, which meant we had to make choices and take responsibility for our actions and our lives even at a young age. He only stepped in when we faltered. This makes you challenge yourself to see how far you can go.

“When we were older, he focused on the integrity of doing things the right way, doing things in the right manner. Without scheming or looking for the easy way out.
Put our heart and soul into whatever we wanted to do.

“Even if I said I didn’t want to work with him and I wanted to become a painter I don’t think he would mind, so long as I did it well ... One of his key requirements was that we have integrity in whatever we do,” Ruben says.

Ruben readily admits that his father is his role model. He often shares his views with Gnanalingam, picking his brains and tapping into the man’s wealth of information and experience.

“I try as much as I can to understand his thinking process as I spend time with him.
This is the benefit of being his son, I get to see him on a daily basis and pick his brains, he is a very knowledgeable man and a wealth of information,” he says.

Tan Sri Dato Seri (Dr.) Lim Goh Tong

Success Story

MALAYSIAN Billionaire tycoon Lim Goh Tong has died at the age of 90, following a short illness, leaving an estimated US$4.3 billion (S$6.2 billion) fortune.

The tycoon handed over the running of an empire with interests in property, power generation, plantations, paper manufacturing and information technology.

Genting's Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Star Cruises, is the third-largest cruise operator in the world, while the group also controls Britain's biggest casino operator Stanley Leisure.

But Tan Sri Lim, one of Malaysia's wealthiest businessmen, is best known for turning Genting Highlands, a hill outcrop just outside the capital Kuala Lumpur, into one of the world's most profitable casino resorts.

And to his admirers, he was more than just a developer, personifying the clutch of overseas Chinese business entrepreneurs who fled hardship in their homeland to build the corporate empires that played a major role in South-east Asia's economic boom.

"He is a model of success, starting from scratch, and his achievements came through hard work" said Tan Sri William Cheng, who controls Malaysia's diversified Lion Group of companies.

Tan Sri Lim, who hailed from China's Fujian province, was forced to leave school at the age of 16, after his father died, and began selling vegetable seeds to support his family.

In 1937, he left Fujian for what was then British-controlled Malaya, where he dabbled in a host of businesses ranging from selling machinery to building and tin mining.

Tan Sri Lim, who did not speak English and conversed with Malaysia's political elite in colloquial Malay, came up with the idea of a hilltop resort while working on a hydroelectric project in 1963.

The development of Genting, whose name in Chinese means "on top of clouds", now attracts more than 18 million visitors a year, but it brought him perilously close to bankruptcy before taking off.

He was helped by the Malaysian government, which subsidised the building of a road to the resort and awarded him a casino licence.

But his eventual success was attributed to his entrepreneurial spirit, and he gave an insight into his style in his recent autobiography.

"The Genting project fitted my idea of an ideal business," he wrote.

"No one was interested in it, which meant no competition."

Tan Sri Vincent Tan

Vincent Tan’s Ascot Sports gaming licence comes with conditions

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The sports gaming licence issued to tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan’s Ascot Sports SdnBhd early this year comes with several conditions attached.

Ascot Sports will be allowed to operate in only 200 of the 680 Sport Toto outlets in non-Muslim areas in major towns and online betting would not be allowed. The Sports Toto games are offered by Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd, a listed company controlled by Tan.

According to sources, these outlets would also be required to put up notices that only adult non-Muslims would be allowed to place bets.

It is also understood that Ascot Sports, which was reissued the licence on Jan 13, is unlikely to be ready for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, which will take place between June 11 and July 11.

“Ascot Sports has been busy preparing to commence operations but it is expected to start business only in August or September,’’ the sources added.

There has been no official announcement from the Finance Ministry on the award of the licence, although the market and the media have been speculating about it for the past two weeks.

Ascot Sports was first issued a similar licence back in 1987 but it agreed to surrender the licence in 1990 after operating for more than a year in Kuala Lumpur.

The Finance Ministry accepted the decision and granted Ascot Sports the first right of refusal if the ministry were to think it appropriate to re-issue the licence.

The licence was re-issued to Ascot Sports in 2003, but in 2004, the Government decided not to allow it to operate.

Sources said now was deemed the right time for Ascot Sports to begin operating or it would miss potential earnings from the World Cup.

“We have to be realistic as billions of ringgit are placed on bets for sports events. Revenue amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit could have been collected if a proper mechanism for sports gaming is in place.

“The Internet has brought gaming right into your homes and everyone now has access to gaming, but with a gaming license in Malaysia, it would be regulated,’’ said industry sources.

As it is now, the beneficiaries from sports betting are syndicates, some of which are suspected of being linked to organised crime. There have been unofficial estimates that Malaysians place RM20bil in bets a year with local illegal and offshore bookmakers.

“Governments around the world have chosen regulation and control to stem the proliferation of illegal operations, and at the same time provide additional source of tax revenue,’’ an analyst said, adding that over the last 20 years, countries in Europe, Africa and Asia, including Singapore, had adopted legislative reforms to allow betting in a legalised and controlled environment.

CIMB Research estimates the amount of the Malaysian sports betting market at RM8bil but TA Securities reportedly put the figure at RM612mil, with the assumption that per capita spending on sports betting is RM63.30 against RM127.30 in Singapore.

It is understood that Ascot Sports, which is wholly-owned by Tan, is likely to be eventually acquired by Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp), another listed company in his stable.

BCorp yesterday requested for a suspension in trading today pending an announcement of an acquisition from a related party of the company and a capital raising exercise.

“The move will benefit over 90,000 shareholders, if the decision is endorsed. It will certainly be interesting for the market,’’ sources close to Tan said.

Datuk Dr Mohd Fadzilah Kamsah

Astronaut, Motivational Expert Among Tokoh Maal Hijrah Recipients

From Bernama:

SEREMBAN, Jan 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's first astronaut, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha was today named the "Tokoh Maal Hijrah" for Negeri Sembilan.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, 35, the orthopaedic surgeon who travelled to the International Space Station onboard Soyuz TMA-II spacecraft in October, said that the success and the award would go a long way in instilling self-confidence among the people.

"If I can achieve my dream, others too can achieve theirs," he said after receiving the award from the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja'afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman at the state-level Maal Hijrah celebrations here.

Also present were the Tuanku Ampuan of Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Ampuan Najihah Tunku Besar Burhanuddin and Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan. 

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, who was touched by the award, said it would inspire him in his nationwide tour to motivate the young to take up science and mathematics.

Commenting on the award for the spaceman, Mohamad said that Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was not only the pride of the nation, but also of the Muslim communities around the world.

"His success sets the best example for our young generation to emulate," he said.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is the second "Tokoh Maal Hijrah" recipient for Negeri Sembilan who is not from those with religious background, after corporate figure Tan Sri S.M. Nasimuddin S.M. Amin, the Naza group chairman, two years ago.

Meanwhile motivational expert Datuk Dr Mohd Fadzilah Kamsah, 57, who was named the Selangor Tokoh Maal Hijrah in recognition of his contributions towards family and human capital development, said he was touched by the award.

"This award comes with a heavy responsibility because the expectation from the public will be higher and they will now be looking a lot more closely at the way we speak and act," he said.

Tengku Indera Setia Tengku Datuk Seri Ahmad Shah, representing his elder brother, the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, presented the award to Dr Mohd Fadzilah at the Selangor Maal Hijrah celebrations at Masjid Jamiul Ihsani, in Sijangkang, near Kuala Langat.

Dr Mohd Fadzilah, who was born in Kampung Sungai Pinang, Klang, began his career as a lecturer at the University Putra Malaysia in 1977.

In 1993, he set up a firm to provide motivational and family development consultancy.

He has so far produced 27 video compact discs containing motivational talks, 28 books, 29 articles related to motivational and family development, and conducted over 6,000 courses to government agencies, private companies, non-governmental organisations as well as students.

Chef Li

Ananda Krishnan

Probe may hurt Ananda Krishnan’s Aircel loan plans, says Indian daily

By Debra Chong :

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 — India’s fifth-largest mobile operator Aircel will find it tough to get banks to fund its expansion with police investigating its biggest shareholder T. Ananda Krishnan for criminal conspiracy over his stake in the company, the Times of India reported today.

Indian investigators have named Ananda (picture), his top executive Ralph Marshall and two Malaysian companies, Maxis Communications Bhd (Maxis Communications) and Astro All-Asia Networks (Astro), in their probe which centres on graft allegations against former Indian telecommunications minister Dayadhini Maran and his media mogul brother, Kalainidhi.

“Naming Aircel in the FIR is not significant. But with others like [Ananda] and Marshall named in the FIR, it would become difficult for Aircel to raise funds from banks,” a lawyer told India’s top English-language paper today, referring to the First Investigation Report.

Aircel, which has 55 million subscribers, recently partnered Virtela — the world’s largest independently-managed network in security and cloud computing services — to boost their global business operations through faster, safer and more mobile networks.

The Indian telecommunications company had budgeted US$1.4 billion (RM4.4 billion) for its nationwide coverage expansion in June last year.

Aircel planned to double its India investment to US$10 billion over the next four years to roll out new services and expand its existing network to include wireless broadband coverage nationwide.

“We have already invested US$5 billion, including 3G spectrum price and network rollout, and by 2014, we will pump another similar amount to take up our investment to US$10 billion to ramp up our capacity,” Aircel chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh was reported saying in February this year by several Indian media.

Ananda owns a 74 per cent stake in Aircel through Maxis Communications which also has a 70 per cent stake in Malaysia’s telecommunications giant, Maxis Bhd.

The 73-year-old telecommunications, media and property tycoon is reported to be worth US$9.6 billion and is ranked by Forbes as Southeast Asia’s second-richest man and the world’s 89th.

The controversy centres on Maxis’ 74 per cent stake in Aircel, which was said to have been bought for Rs78.81 billion (about RM506,556,185).

Apart from the case filed against the Maran brothers, Ananda, Marshall and the Malaysian companies, India’s Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has named the Maran brothers’ Sun TV Network.

All three companies are at the centre of an ongoing criminal investigation since they were used to route the alleged ‘pay-off’ money that Dayanidhi earned for providing favours to Ananda’s companies.

Maran has openly described Ananda as a family friend, the Times of India said.

Another lawyer said with Ananda named, the publicity-shy Malaysian mogul will be required to go to India and explain his case. If he refuses, Interpol may step in and request he be extradited there.

The newspaper cited CBI sources as saying the agency is in touch with Malaysian authorities to verify the details of Maxis Communications’ ownership structure and for information on its other companies, including Astro.

The agency is now examining the financial transactions that the accused companies have carried out in the last four years to build a strong case against them based on circumstantial and material evidence.