Loh Boon Siew – Mr Honda

Honda cars are one of the best selling brands in Malaysia and this is the success of the late Tan Sri Dato Loh Boon Siew. He is also known as Mr Honda of Malaysia where he was the first sole distributor of Honda motorcycles in Malaysia.

The reason why Boon Siew is given the highest regard is because his success is a typical rags-to-riches story. Boon Siew came to Penang from China in the Fujian province in the early age of 12 together with 5 of his friends and without any formal education; he gained his early education when he worked as an apprentice car mechanic. He worked very hard where while learning his trades, he washed buses at night to earn more income.

He would then save enough money by the time he reached 18 where he then purchased 11 buses, refurbish and recondition them and sell them for 6 times the price he bought them for. He would then use the money to buy an additional 39 buses before hitting a glitch during the Japanese occupation. After the war, he started selling motorcycle and bicycles before moving into bigger vehicles later.

He would then move into property development and in the late 1960s, his foresight brought him to approach Honda Japan to look into setting up a subsidiary in Malaysia and the first Honda showroom was set up in Penang. Boon Siew was then appointed as the sole distributor for Malaysia and a factory would follow and from there the Boon Siew Honda company was born.
From then on, Boon Siew Honda would grow and develop into becoming one of the leading companies in Malaysia where it was once a market leader in the automotive industry of Malaysia. Today, his story has become one of the most significant stories for Malaysians around the country.

14 Things Lim Goh Tong Taught You

1. Never make language barrier a limitation to succeed. Lim Goh Tong did not speak or write in English. He spoke Hokkien in his native land China, and after coming to Malaysia, he learned Bahasa Malaysia, Cantonese & Mandarin. But that did not stop him to negotiate one of the biggest business contracts in the country.

2. Be polite, humble and respectful to others. If you can rub shoulders with tycoons, politicians and high officials, ask yourself, can you get along well too with hawkers and manual workers? Often times, success goes to our heads and we forget where we came from and our hardship seems to be a forgotten past.

3. When it comes to appointment and meeting, have a habit to be punctual. Better still, come 5 to 10 minutes early. Malaysians have a very weird habit when it comes to appointments, interviews and meeting. Don’t be one. Make punctuality your personal and business principle.

Do not make excuse to cancel appointments just because the person is not important. Also, a good advice is that, if you want to know if a person will be a good friend and business partner, watch if he arrives on the appointed time when you set a date or meeting. If you are late for job interview when you can be early, know that you will not make a good employee.

4. Live a disciplined, simple life. Get up early from bed to start your day. You will see prosperity coming your way.

5. Make effort to carry something that you can write or jot down when you have anything coming to mind. Lim Goh Tong used small notebook. Now you are spoiled with choices when it comes to note taking - PDA, mobile phone, note book and so on. Do not make excuses. Also, organize your day with a diary or personal organizer. Always create a to do list.

6. Be bold yet cautious (the Chinese say ‘dan da xin xi‘). Try things that have never been done before. Challenge the norm of ways of doing work or job. Be willing to take that risk. A reward is waiting at the end of it.

7. Believe the power of conviction. If you make a decision and you believe that is a strong one, go ahead with it, no matter what you are up against. Believe in yourself.

8. Don’t make enemies. Avoid stepping on other people’s toes which is quite a norm in business and corporate world. People who do this will not last long. People who take short cut will have their success short lived. You have witnessed this. People say sometimes this can’t be avoided. That’s a lie. Under all circumstances, stay away from it.

9. If you build a successful business and organization, always believe that the most valuable asset of a company is its people. It is the people that make up the organization. It is the people that run the organization. It is the people that makes things happen.

10. If you don’t have benefit and exposure to modern management, never doubt you can run a company as big as Microsoft. Good education is essential, but lack of education and training is never a barrier to become a boss to the smartest people on the planet.

11. Employ a person or make business with a person when you trust him or her. If you do not trust them; don’t employ and don’t make business with them.

12. Do good to others; you will be rewarded somehow. Learn to give first, and receive later.

13. Prepare for personality makeover. If you are shy and quiet (like Lim Goh Tong when he was 20s), learn to be articulate and more extrovert. Banish the shyness and the inferiority complex. Otherwise, you will not get that job, or awarded that business contract. If you are rude, learn to be polite.

14. Be grateful for what you have. Life has been kind to us. Hence we should treasure our life and make it a meaningful one. Drive yourself harder and become more committed to work.

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong

1 Asiatic Development Berhad • Annual Report 2007
TAN SRI (Dr.) LIM GOH TONG
28 February 1918 – 23 October 2007
The story of Lim Goh Tong, founder of the Genting Group, is a unique,
inspiring Malaysian success story. He arrived in Malaysia in 1937 as a
penniless young man without any tertiary education and went on to
create the Genting Group – one of Asia’s leading conglomerates.
He was often named amongst the world’s most successful Asian
entrepreneurs. To many, he was the legend who at the age of 47,
embarked on a vision of turning a remote mountain into today’s highly
successful Genting Highlands Resort – Malaysia’s premier tourist
destination.
His life story and values are an inspiration to all. He dared to dream
dreams and had the courage and conviction to turn them into reality. He
did not study beyond primary school, yet was fearless in turning life’s
challenges into opportunities. His distinct entrepreneurial style blended
street savvy with well-timed risk-taking and relentless hands-on
management. He had a huge appetite for work, vacation was not in his
vocabulary. But above all, he was extremely humble, often addressing
himself as a simple traditional Chinese businessman.
Lim was born in 1918 in Anxi in China’s southern Fujian province. He
was the fifth child and second son of a vegetable-seed trader. When his
father died, 16-year-old Lim left school and took over the trading
business, hawking his goods along country roads.
Determined to support his mother and siblings financially, at 19 he
ventured to work in Malaya. Starting as a carpenter, he went on to trade
in used equipment and machinery, investing profits earned into
small-scale mining ventures and plantations. Eventually, he established
his own construction company called ‘Kien Huat’ and through
dedication and hard work became a successful Class A contractor,
completing many major public infrastructure projects.
After Malaysia’s independence, he was awarded the contract to build
the country’s first dam – the RM12 million Ayer Itam Dam in Penang.
His other major projects included the RM5.2 million Sultan Yahya Petra
Bridge in Kota Bharu, the RM20 million Hydroelectric Power Project in
Cameron Highlands and the RM54 million Kemubu Irrigation Scheme.
In 1964, while working in Cameron Highlands, he was inspired to build
a highland resort for everyone to enjoy the cool mountain air. He
identified Gunung Ulu Kali, a 1,800-metre high mountain plateau
overlooking the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, straddling the border
between the states of Selangor and Pahang.
Many regarded this vision as an impossible dream, especially at a time
when he could afford to retire comfortably. “The Genting project fitted
my idea of an ideal business: Nobody else was interested in it,” Lim
wrote in his autobiography. Undeterred, he ploughed all his savings
into turning his dream resort into reality. His humility, determination
and proven track record as a contractor won the confidence of the
authorities who approved his application to acquire and develop 6,000
hectares of land for the project.
On 8 August 1965, he began constructing the access road to the
summit of Mount Ulu Kali through the dense tropical rainforest and
rugged mountainous terrain. He devoted all his time, money and
resources, even risking his life several times to complete this crucial
access road within three years, instead of the original six-year target.
On 31 March 1969, when the foundation stone for the first hotel was
laid, Malaysia’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra said the
Government would consider a casino licence to further develop tourism
in this remote area. On 28 April 1969, Malaysia granted its first and only
casino licence to Genting.
On 8 May 1971, Genting Highlands Resort opened for business and
became a great success story. Today, it is Malaysia’s premier integrated
resort and tourist destination attracting 19.6 million visitors in 2007. A
vibrant ‘City of Entertainment’ – it offers six hotels (including the
world’s largest hotel) with hotel rooms, exhilarating fun rides, superb
dining and shopping experiences, mega shows and international
convention facilities.
From the humble beginnings of a 38-room hotel, Lim developed his
Genting Group into a global empire spanning resorts, cruise ships,
plantations, power generation and oil and gas exploration and
production. The Genting Group is now known as one of Asia’s leading
and best-managed conglomerates. In the US, Lim bankrolled the
Mashantucket Pequot Tribe in Connecticut to create one of the world’s
largest casino complexes, Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Lim retired on 31 December 2003 at age 85, handing over the reigns to
his second son Kok Thay. After retiring, Lim spent most of his time at a
villa he built in Gohtong Jaya, a township at the foothills of his beloved
Genting Highlands.
A well-known philanthropist, he gave generously to the community
through the Genting Group and Yayasan Lim, a family foundation
established in 1978. He built the Chin Swee temple to honour the deity
who inspired him to complete the access road to the peak of Mount Ulu
Kali. For his contributions to the national economy and society, he was
bestowed the title of "Tan Sri" by HM the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 1979
and an Honorary Doctorate of Entrepreneurship from University of
Tunku Abdul Rahman in 2005.
Tan Sri (Dr.) Lim married Puan Sri Lee Kim Hua in 1944. They were
blessed with six children (three sons and three daughters) and 19
grandchildren.
He passed away peacefully on 23 October 2007 and was laid to rest on
29 October 2007, after a week-long wake attended by his beloved
family, friends, associates and dignitaries from all over the world.
His honesty, humility and wisdom will be deeply missed.
His remarkable legacy lives on.

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong

“Keep on working hard and don’t give up”

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong

Malaysian billionaire tycoon Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong has died at the age of 90, following a short illness, leaving an estimated US$4.3 billion fortune. The tycoon handed over the running of an empire with interests in property, power generation, plantations, papers 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. He was a successful entrepreneur in Malaysia, even in the world.

In the first article “Southeast Asian Capitalists” shown that the sources of wealth of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong is as diverse as his background. 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. In the end, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong received “Entrepreneurs of the Year” awards in 1985 for outstanding performance and contributions to the Malaysian economy.

Next, “Entrepreneurial Network in Malaysia” mentions that networking is very important in determining the success and survival of a business. Networking also allows entrepreneurs to access to various resources and opportunities that contribute to business growth. Entrepreneurs often need political connections to develop their enterprises, obtain license, and building business opportunities. Lim Goh Tong, the former Chairman of Genting Group, first developed a strong reputation through construction business, and then it could be argued that he obtained his casino operation license through his close relationship with the late Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

The last article is “Insight of Chinese Economics Culture”. In this article, 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." When Lim Goh Tong came to Malaysia, he already shows the hallmark of a true champion. His weakness in language did not stop him in his negotiation of all of his business contracts. As a result of generosity, he gained more respect from others, include me. "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.

Over the last four decades, entrepreneurship has become an increasingly important in Malaysia, even at global. It is perceived as necessary for growth, differentiation, and competitive advantage at the firm, regional, and national levels. Entrepreneurship appeals mainly to leaders and top management teams of small and large firms who use creativity and innovative to create, deliver, and capture value for their stakeholders. Entrepreneurship also appeals to personnel of regional economic development agencies that attract investments in productive market and economic growth. While the late of Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong had show us that opportunity recognition, prior experience, cognitive, creativity, social network and information acquisition are important in developing successful entrepreneurship behavior.

Tan Sri Loh Booh Siew

Every day we heard about entrepreneur and entrepreneurship. These two terms are related with each other. It is about business making profit and taking risks. For example in our country we have many successful entrepreneur such as Loh Boon Siew (Boon Siew Honda), Robert Kuok(Kuok Group), Tony Fernandes(Air Asia), Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary(MMC) and the others. The aim of this blog is to explore the entrepreneurship development of Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew in Malaysia and analyze the trend in the development of the field. It looks into the economic and automobile activities from year 1960s when Honda was born until now.

In first article, namely “Corporate Malaysia in Historical Perspective” shows how the late of Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew came to Malaysia and start his business. Boon Siew came to Penang from China in the Fujian province in the early age of 12 together with 5 of his friends and without any formal education, he gained his early education when he worked as an apprentice car mechanic. He worked very hard where while learning his trades, he washed buses at night to earn more income.

The second article is about “Entrepreneurial Network in Malaysia: Are there any differences across Ethnic Groups”. In this article, the researchers have compared the entrepreneurs who are come from different ethnic groups. The high achievement of Chinese entrepreneurs in business always has connection to “guan xi” (relationship). The term of “guan xi” is very popular among Chinese businessmen. However, there were many versions of definition of Guanxi and it depends on people how to relate it to a specific context and occasion. Guan xi can refer to networks, connections and relationships. In summary, networking is considered important for both ethnic group whether Malay or Chinese owner-managers in Malaysia. The power of networking will determine the success and survival of new venture or existing business. It is believed that the potential benefits derived from networks include better information, added credibility and exchange relationship. Networking also allows entrepreneurs to access to various resources and opportunities that contribute to business growth.

The third article is “Chinese Entrepreneurship and Asian Business Network”. In this article stated that Chinese Entrepreneurs contribution to fully-developed nation has led to greater economic liberalization and the inclusion of Chinese capital into the national development aspirations. Boon Siew came to Penang from China in the Fujian province in the early age of 12 together with 5 of his friends and without any formal education, he gained his early education when he worked as an apprentice car mechanic. After the war, he started selling motorcycle and bicycles before moving into bigger vehicles later. He would then move into property development and in the late 1960s, his foresight brought him to approach Honda Japan to look into setting up a subsidiary in Malaysia and the first Honda showroom was set up in Penang. Boon Siew was then appointed as the sole distributor for Malaysia and a factory would follow and from there the Boon Siew Honda company was born. From then on, Boon Siew Honda would grow and develop into becoming one of the leading companies in Malaysia where it was once a market leader in the automotive industry of Malaysia. Today, his story has become one of the most significant stories for Malaysians around the country.

The reason why Boon Siew is given the highest regard is because his success is a typical rags-to-riches story. The late of Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew shown us that we must master a trade well to have better prospects in future, be grateful to even the small kindness shown to you, save for a rainy day and do not get involved in vices. His attitudes in his business are worth to be learnt by us. Besides that, there are reasons why people choose to become an entrepreneur and start their own business such as they have a desire to be their own boss, a desire to pursue their own business and most importantly the profit that they will gain from it. It is better to have our own business rather than working with other people because we can do it with our own idea and manage it with our own style, such as Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew.

To become a successful entrepreneur, such as Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew, we must have characteristics of successful entrepreneur. For example have passion for the business, focus more on product or customer needs, execution intelligence and tenacity despite failure that they must faces. With passion towards the business, we will do it seriously. It also must focus more on their product in the market that satisfies customer needs. They also should be creative, imaging and innovating towards new idea or product and services. An entrepreneur also must have an intelligence in their mind in taking opportunity and avoid loses and also able to take risks in business.

“Doing well by doing good”

Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew