KUALA LUMPUR: Emkay Group founder Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar has passed away at the age of 73.
According to news reports, the veteran of the property industry died at 7.45am at the National Heart Institute and will be laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery today.
Born in Kg Changkat, Pusing, in Perak on March 8, 1949, Mustapha Kamal graduated from Universiti Malaya in 1970 and began his career as an assistant district officer in the Ulu Selangor District.
He then went on to serve as a deputy commissioner at the lands and mines department before leaving the civil service and becoming the managing director of Shah Alam Properties Sdn Bhd.
Mustapha Kamal founded Emkay in 1983, whereupon he embarked on his maiden project in Taman Meru Jaya as well as his first privatised property development project in Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh.
The group is also known for its developments in Cyberjaya, which are valued at more than RM2.5bil, via associate companies MK Land Holdings Bhd and Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd.
MK Land, which made its debut on the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia) on Aug 27, 1999, became one of the largest capitalised property companies in Malaysia with a paid-up capital of about RM1.2bil following the injection of nine companies privately owned by Mustapha Kamal.
The main property developments of the company are Damansara Perdana and Damansara Damai in Petaling Jaya and Meru Perdana in Ipoh.
During his career, Mustapha Kamal was dubbed the "King of Affordable Housing" in recognition of his passion for building homes that people could afford, which came as a boon to the B40 income group and first-time home buyers.