Wong Sulong, Star Biz editor says: It's a pleasure for me to feature the three corporate captains in today's CEO Outlook series.
Datuk Nazir Razak of CIMB, Datuk Lee Oi Han of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd
(KLK) and Carl Bek-Nielsen of United Plantations Bhd (UP), are scions of Malaysia's most prominent families.
As a reporter, I have had the privilege of interviewing their fathers – the late Tun Abdul Razak, the late Tan Sri Lee Loy Seng and Tan Sri Borge Bek-Nielsen, all great pioneers of Malaysia's development.
Bek-Nielsen has become a good friend.
Razak, Loy Seng and Bek-Nielsen shared a common trait – their love and attachment for the land.
Razak, the country's second Prime Minister, was Malaysia's Master Planner. He was the architect of the Felda land schemes, one of the world's most successful rural poverty eradication projects. He was an indefatigable leader, traversing the land to keep track of the progress of rural projects.
Taking over as Prime Minister after the racial riots of 1969, he launched the New Economic Policy (NEP) – a formula for wealth distribution among the various communities. The NEP provided the political stability for the country's progress.
Loy Seng's family was in tin mining, but he fell in love with rubber. His big opportunity came after the 1969 racial riots. British estate owners were desperate to cash out and Loy Seng was moving up and down the peninsula picking up estates at rock bottom prices. In this way, he vastly expanded KLK.
Bek-Nielsen came to Malaysia to work in United Plantations in 1951, at the height of the Communist Emergency. Over time, he became the biggest shareholder of UP, and built it up into arguably the most profitable palm oil company in the world.
Coming back to the sons. All have done their fathers proud. Pedigree shows.
Nazir is open and articulate. Under him, CIMB has grown rapidly to become Malaysia's largest merchant banking group. It was listed in January and its share price has since risen by more than 150%.
Oi Hian, like his father, is unassuming, courteous, and shrewd. He took over the helm of KLK from his father and has taken it to greater heights. The group's oil palm expansion is going on at a clip pace (about 20% of its acreage is still under immature palms) and its diversification through Crabtree & Evelyn is bearing fruit.
Carl is determined and has the bearing of a leader but has some way to go before coming into his own. So far he has shouldered his responsibilities well. Bek-Nielsen, 77, has commanded his two sons – Carl, 30, and Martin, 28 – not to fight over the UP empire. Both sons are executive directors, with Carl taking on the vice-chairmanship as well.
Datuk Nazir Razak of CIMB, Datuk Lee Oi Han of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) and Carl Bek-Nielsen of United Plantations Bhd (UP), are scions of Malaysia's most prominent families.
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