True Wealth

I was quite nervous about meeting The Tycoon. He was not the richest man in the country, but he was undoubtedly and quietly, a billionaire.

I found out from my sister that we were related to him. He was my 4th cousin through our father and our pak sepupu (cousin uncle) by marriage, to our auntie.

But Frankie and I both knew that this would be a baptism of fire, for our venture. If the Tycoon shot it down, it would be quite demoralizing. He was an amazing corporate man - another boy wonder, that had been trained by Dato' Junus Sudin, one of the fathers of Corporate Malayhood, in the Fleet Group.

He was said to have been offered an opportunity to be one of Daim's boys, once - but he rejected it. He ventured forth on his own, staying very much on the corporate side, running what is now, popularly known as GLCs. But he made money, too - lots of it. And he was responsible for many of the large infrastructure and media projects in the country.

He was said to have the backing of a former Deputy Prime Minister. Unfortunately, this perceived link was also crucial, in bringing about his falling out of favour, with the then Prime Minister. Many had fallen down that path, in the past.

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Nowadays, he still operates his invisible business empire, (many of his projects are based in overseas markets) but behind a string of proxies.

The corporate figures around town still go to him for money - one of them, we were told, a very prominent property developer in Selangor.

Some of the others just visit him to pick his brain (like the Tan Sri who is a reclusive banking magnate or the Tan Sri that seems to be involved in every business sector in town) - The Tycoon was encyclopedic in his business knowledge and always had a feel of what would work and what would not. His opinions on business issues are widely respected and he was known to come up with new angles on doing things, fairly quickly.

His office was nearby to mine, in PJ. At first sight, it didn't seem like the sort of office that a man who was formerly, the head of one of the biggest Bumiputra companies on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia). In fact, it looked a lot like our office, just slightly bigger.

He greeted us warmly, having just completed his jemaah prayers and asked for us to wait in his room, while he finished his meeting with another corporate figure, a wunderkind from the Anwar Ibrahim days. I smiled - seems like the Anwar boys, are still working closely together.

His room was longish - an odd shape for a CEO's room. But it had no pretensions - normal office tables and chairs, metal gray filing cabinet, a wooden pigeon hole with stacks of unorganized papers, a messy table with a coffee cup on it, some old Italian sofas from the 80's that mixed garishly with the colour scheme in the room, a karaoke set, a television set and a Marantz sound system.

On the walls, were portraits of his loved ones - the photos of his wife, his children and of the times they spent together. You can tell when a person prioritises his family.

And near the windows were all his souvenirs, from all his years in the corporate world. One thing was noticeable - he collected clocks - there seemed to be one type from every country in the world. And on the cupboard beside his table, were photos of him with some of the world's most prominent figures - Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Prince Talal Al-Waleed, Rupert Murdoch, etc.

Aside from the photos, you'd have no idea that this room belongs to a billionaire - if how it looked, was your yardstick.

But a billionaire he is. This breed greatly impresses me - they don't let their wealth get to their head and despite all that wealth, they didn't feel the need to keep up with everyone, most of whom have less money than they do.

They don't do what they do for money. They've got enough for 30 lifetimes. But they do it, for the love of creating and seeing something grow, from scratch.

Money is just a way of keeping score - a way of knowing whether the patient is healthy or not. It did not define who they are - their values did.

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And talking about values - in our 3-hour meeting with him - he talked a lot about values.

He said to me: "Do you know why there are so many weak and high-profile CEOs around?". I shook my head, quietly anticipating his answer.

"It's because they love the glamour. And the people in my batch and some of Daim's boys, may have been responsible for this. They saw us succeeding as the first generation of Melayu Korporat and they wanted all that - the limelight, the wealth, the influence".

"What they did not see was the hard work, the long hours and toil that went on behind the scenes.

In the old days, we did everything by ourselves. I typed my own letters, (even legal letters - they were just vetted by the external lawyers), did my own research and literally stayed at the office, pulling our hair out, trying to figure out to how to grow the business. We didn't take on external consultants, unless we really, really had to. We took hard decisions even when it was controversial. We worked hard - but the younger ones, never saw that".

"All they saw was the wealth and the glamour. And that is why today, they are weak and companies are falling, left right and centre".

Frankie and I listened intently. There was 30 years of Corporate Malaysia talking here. He's seen it all.

And there were many anecdotes, during the meeting. The Tycoon told us about large Government-owned corporates that were run by crooks and still are. Even when he was a prominent CEO of a large corporate, hijacking of ideas, proposals and projects, were rampant. It was happening, even at his level. And these people were closely connected to the Prime Minister - so they were untouchable.

And then there was the story of the CEO who was at one time, unemployed after a long stint in a multinational company, who came to The Tycoon for a job. The Tycoon had recommended to the Government that he become a CEO of a large company, that had a project which was of immense importance to the country.

It worked. The recommended chap became CEO of that large company and less than 2 years later, he stopped taking calls from The Tycoon and swiftly, made himself unavailable. "Bagai kacang lupakan kulit", as the old Malay saying would go. How quickly people forget who they are.

And then there was a story of the Minister, who kept talking about the Malay agenda in business - but blocked his attempt to launch a satellite he bought from the Russians, in order to protect a current satellite player in the market. The Tycoon burnt an obscene amount of money, in that venture.

"Bullshit!" the Tycoon said. "The politicians kept harping on the Malay agenda. What people don't know is that even where there are competitive Malays who didn't need Government help, we were blocked from competing with non-Malay interests that are close to some vested political interests."

A part of him sounded wistful and resigned when he talks about political overreach, into the Malaysian corporate world. It was like he knew that he and many more Malay CEOs could have done much more, had it not been for unnecessary political intervention.

That's probably why most of his business interest is overseas, nowadays.

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He told us of his childhood days, in Kelantan. And how he first made money, from a makeshift wayang kulit production, when he was 8. That was perhaps, the first indication that he would be heading a media conglomerate, one day.

And of his collection of comic books over the years, (like The Cisco Kid) that his mother had thrown away, when he was in boarding school. Little did he know that one day, he was going to be a director in the company that owned the comic books. And thereafter, he managed to regain all the back copies he lost - and more!

He told us that the mercantile community in Kelantan taught him, the basic elements of making money. It means nothing to say you're in business, in Kelantan - almost everyone is selling something.

But then, it was always the merchant that gave provided the best quality of products and service to the customer, that had the lion' share, in any sector. And the lesson stuck with him and became the cornerstone of his management style.

Growing up in Kelantan, also taught him to be a nature lover. He lamented the fact that his children could not identify many of the trees and plants, in the jungle anymore. "They cannot even identify the rattan tree! This is the MTV generation", he sighed. "They seem to know more about the world from 3rd parties and less through direct experience".

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The discussion on our venture, was interspersed with many stories, jokes and anecdotes, over black coffee. Frankie looked awestruck - it's not often that I get to see my CEO starry-eyed - but that night he was.

He was amazed, at the sheer simplicity of the man.

In total, we only spent about 50% of the time, talking about our venture. But The Tycoon's grasp of media technologies, was outstanding for a fifty-something. He started quietly, listening to us - our proposal, our ideas.

About 10-15 questions later, we realized that he knew more than he was letting on. The Tycoon is frighteningly intelligent and well-informed - and I don't say that about many people. The feeling in that room, was electric.

I remembered the words of Tan Sri Azmi Wan Hamzah when describing another Malay billionaire, Tun Daim Zainuddin - "suddenly, we were aware that we were in the presence of a very raw power, at work". That's exactly how it felt!

At the end of the meeting - he gave us a very strong and workable solution, to roll-out our products into the market. He suggested us a partner, a few strategies on how to minimize the money we needed to roll-out the products and gave us a long lecture on advertising and promotion - and how people spend too much and achieve too little.

But yes, he thought that our venture was highly workable and had a lot of potential - it's just a matter of disciplined planning and rigorous execution.

I was buzzed. We had the benefit of brainstorming with one of the top corporate brains, in the country and a billionaire, to boot. And he was giving his advice for free - no strings attached. And he told us to come back to him, if we needed to pick his brain.

Frankie and I knew that we gained an important ally, on that night. The Tycoon was the sort of person who could help bring us to the next level, be it locally or on the international markets.

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A phone call interrupted us during the meeting. It was The Tycoon's 19-year old daughter and in a manner of speaking, my 2nd cousin. From the photos on the wall, she looked like a hot babe. What a pity I'm not a cradle snatcher. Heh!

She was taking Certified Accounting Technician's (CAT) course at a private college in town. "I equip all my children with accounting knowledge and at the very least, an accounting qualification, as soon as they leave school. Hopefully, they will continue and become accountants, but if not, at least, they have the basics."

The Tycoon is himself a Certified Accountant. And he swears that accountants make the best corporate managers, because they knew whether something made money or not. And whether something should be continued, or chopped off.

I didn't necessarily agree with him - but yes, an accountant with Richard Branson-like entrepreneurial qualities, would be a potent combination. The Tycoon was proof of that.

His business interest was diverse, and his range of interests were eclectic, but he had a natural feel, for things that would make money. And even in his fifties, he still worked hard. Going back at 10 to 11 p.m. at night, is still a habit.

And then he said: "I have to go back later and give accounting tuition to my daughter, at 11+. We do this about twice a week. Who better to teach her than me, right?"

We both nodded. He could bloody well afford a tutor for the daughter, but he still tutored her, by himself.

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I could be impressed, by how much money he has. But the money he had, did not make him a different man. He was still a very down to earth man.

And he never talked of his wealth and possessions. Or of his trips round the world to exotic and historical places and posh outlets, like most millionaires I've had the privilege of meeting, do.

He talked about ideas - and more ideas. Why some things work, why some others don't. And the lessons that you can learn, from the successes and failures of businesses, around the world.

And he said to us: "The most important thing, is to have a good attitude, in anything you do. Work hard, think hard, be humble and have a good attitude. And don't get side-tracked, by the wealth and the glamour. It means nothing, in the next world."

Yes, Sir.

But then, what struck me even harder, was what a well-rounded individual the Tycoon is. He didn't need to make a living - but it was obvious that he was living his life, to the fullest, in all senses.

Now, that's a truly wealthy man.