Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Shah bin Syed Nor Al-Bukhary[2] is the richest Bumiputra corporate figure in Malaysia. With involvement in diversified business areas which include transportation and logistics, plantations, property development, defense and armory as well as engineering and power generation, he has a net worth estimated to be US$1.7 billion according to Forbes,[1] making him the 8th richest Malaysian.
Early life
Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary was born into a mid-low class Malay family;
whose house was without necessities and luxuries. His highest education
was only until form five, and he never went to university. A whole lot
of his knowledge and experience was gained through his own
entrepreneurship experience during his youth time.
Due in part his family's mediocre-to-poor background, Syed Mokhtar al
Bukhary had to step into the working world in his early life, while
pursuing his primary and secondary studies. Syed Mokhtar helped his
mother planting and selling vegetables in the market and also selling
roti canai. His numeric knowledge was used to help his father in doing
daily book keeping.
After finishing school, Syed Mokhtar helped his father in breeding
cow business but only to see the business washed away by foot and mouth
disease. Nevertheless, he took over the business and start over by
selling meats. He then move on to packaging the meats and start selling
them wholesale. His determination paid off and the business started to
take off.
Career
Syed Mokhtar and Zainal started his business in Kedah in the 1990s dealing in rice.
More success followed and he moved to rice trading business. He worked
even harder after he was awarded the rice trading license from Lembaga
Padi Negara, and was later awarded successions of supplier contract
government-linked corporations as partner with Zainal Hatim Hj Ambia
Bukhary.
As his determination starting to skyrocket, he quickly moved to
expand into diversification of other businesses. His next big move was
in the logistics business, with initial goal to transport their trading
materials. Today, his business empire has grown into areas such as
plantation, property development, construction, engineering, power
generation, infrastructure and ports.
He owns 51.8% share in Malaysian Mining Corporation
via his wholly owned company, Syarikat Impian Teladan Sdn. Bhd. Tan Sri
Syed Mokhtar and Zainal Hatim personally owns SKS Ventures, which was
awarded the task of building the site for 2100MW coal-fired power
station at Tanjung Bin, Johor. Tan Sri Syed Mohktar has a 32% share in
PERNAS through his own company, Syarikat Ratu Jernih. Syarikat Perdana
Padu Sdn. Bhd. and Corak Kukuh Sdn. Bhd. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar and Zainal
are Board Members of Syarikat Bina Puri Holdings Berhad, whereby, on
his own, he has 7.34% share. Apart from these, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar and
Zainal has varied interest in a number of companies, both in Malaysia as
well as abroad.
Charity
His philanthropic values were nurtured from the age of 23 when he
started a small business dealing in rice. When he received his first
monthly income of RM1,500, his mother had told him to donate half of it
to the poor.[3]
From 1996 to 2006, his foundation has contributed almost RM1bil to
charity, although his total income is probably in multiples of that
figure.[citation needed]
He has humanitarian projects in Asia and Africa, including rebuilding
the lives of Afghan refugees, Pakistan's ear's tsunami victims and is
now working to establish an AIDS hospital in Uganda.[citation needed]
Among the foundation's initiatives are the Albukhary Tuition
Programme for poor underachievers and the Albukhary Scholarship
Programme for poor high achievers.The scholarship awarding in AL Bukhary
foundation started in 2003 with 41 students from 19 countries who had
been awarded the scholar ship from AL Bukhary Foundation. In the
following years the number of students have reached almost 350 students.[citation needed]
The foundation has built a university and entire city around it,
including hospital, mosque, library, food plantations, accommodation and
provides tuition at no fee to underprivilledged students. :
Recognition
In appreciation of his enormous services and contributions, he was
bestowed with several awards, which among others, include the Panglima
Setia Mahkota (P.S.M.) by His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang
di-Pertuan Agong, which carries the title Tan Sri and the Dato' Setia Mahkota Kedah (D.S.D.K.) by HRH The Sultan Kedah, which carries the title Dato'.
On 10 January 2008 or 1st Muharram 1429 Hijra he was announced and
awarded as "Tokoh Ma'al Hijrah" by The Yang Di Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
in recognition of his contribution to nation building and also
Controversies
A number of companies controlled by Syed Mokhtar have come under
attack for development activities on greenfield sites. For example, the
clearance of mangroves for the development of Johor Port has led to some criticisms from local environmental groups.[4]
He has also been identified as a major beneficiary of political
connections that have given his subsidiary companies monopoly control
over crucial Malaysian sectors, including rice, power and ports.
KUALA LUMPUR: Tradewinds Plantation Bhd’s (TPB) AGM today could be an
interesting affair as the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG)
has sent to the company a set of questions ranging from crude oil
pricing to a donation of RM10 million made to the Albukhary
International University, sources said.
Of particular interest to minority shareholders will be the RM10
million donation, which is deemed as excessive, representing about 20%
of the company’s net profit. MSWG’s list of questions also include
seeking clarity on its plans to build palm oil mills.
TPB’s 69.76% parent Tradewinds (M) Bhd is also understood to have
received a letter from MSWG over its own contribution of RM10 million as
well, to the same university. Tradewinds’ AGM is slated for June 22.
The RM10 million contribution by Tradewinds works out to about 12% of
its net profit for FY09. Issues have cropped up as Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar
Albukhary controls almost 43% of Tradewinds and has an interest in the
university as well.
The RM350 million Albukhary International University in Alor Setar,
Kedah comes under the control of the Yayasan Albukhary, which in turn is
controlled by Syed Mokhtar.
This will not be the first fiery AGM in the businessman’s stable of companies.
The Edge Financial Daily learnt that Syed Mokhtar’s flagship MMC
Corporation Bhd’s AGM at end-April was also a fiery one, with
shareholders questioning a RM75 million contribution to the university.
For FY09, MMC posted a net profit of RM236.71 million on RM8.44
billion in revenue, which means the contribution to the Albukhary
International University amounted to over 30% of the net profit. Syed
Mokhtar, via his vehicle Seaport Terminal (Johore) Sdn Bhd, controls
about 42.47% of MMC.
Even more interesting was a contribution by water player Aliran Ihsan
Resources Bhd, which gave away some RM20 million to the university.
Aliran Ihsan’s net profit for FY09 amounted to RM30.23 million, meaning
that the company forked out almost two-thirds of its net profits to the
university.
Syed Mokhtar’s MMC has more than 70% equity interest in Aliran Ihsan.
Another company the tycoon controls, Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas),
has forked out RM20 million to the . Bernas is 72.57% owned by
Tradewinds.
In total companies linked to the tycoon is understood to have donated
anywhere between RM135 million and RM150 million to the university.
Another Syed Mokhtar-controlled company, DRB Hicom Bhd, has not done so.
According to MSWG’s letter to TPB, such donations are normally in the
2% or 3% range of net profits and that “the (TPB) board should provide
more clarification on the substantial contribution”.
“Giving out to charity or such causes is fine; just ensure the
company pays out dividends and then pay it from your own pocket,” an
industry observer said.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
