Third Assignment
A features story:Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin,(a Naza founder)
A late Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin was the founder,chairman and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Naza Group of Malaysia.A little about his background,he was born in 25 January 1955 at Negeri Sembilan.He received his early education at Sekolah Rendah Tunku Munawir from 1961 until 1966.Then,he further his secondary school at Sekolah Menengah Tuanku Muhammad from 1967 until 1972.Both these school are located in Kuala Pilah,Negeri Sembilan.
In 1974,when he was 19 years old, he had RM80,000 in his bank account which he saved from his earning from helping out his contractor father.He started his automobile business with an allocation of Approved Permits( APs) to import foreign cars.APs are government issued permits to import cars for bumiputras.He made his first million in about a year.With the RM80,000,he bought 20 APs and then flew to Japan.He spent 3 months there and brought in his first 20 units of used Japanese cars,which he sold in three months.Nasimuddin started his automobile business with a shoplot in Taman Maluris selling 10 to 15 units of cars each month.In 1979,he opened a branch in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur doing retail and selling 40 to 60 cars monthly. During those years,Nasimuddin had already shown his business acumen when he decided to import used Japanese cars at a time when Japanese cars were popular with Malaysians. He faced some challenges,including financing and how convince customers to buy used cars when many were then not keen on foreign cars. But his passion and faith in the business drove him to success. “ To succed you must love what you do and you must know what you are doing. You must plan ahead and have directon. In business,you must start from small,study everything and go step by step”.He said.
Despite being a highly successful and wealthy businessman,Nasimuddin says he has not changed much. “The only difference is that I started off with 5 employees and now I have about 4000,”he claims. The Naza Group now has 14 business divisions covering industries such as cigarette distribution,credit and leasing,engineering,hotels,insurance,machine tools and parts,manufacturing,motorcycles,property,transport services,plantations and water craft. He owned TTDI Development which is one of the most prominent real estate companies in Kuala Lumpur.The Naza Group currently holds the Malaysian franchise for South’s Korea Kia vehicles,and France’s Peugeot vehicles.It also holds the import permits for Naza Vehicles.Naza has now also become the biggest and most prominent importer of luxury high-end vehicles like Mercedez Benz in Malaysia with endeavours such as Naza-Brabus.He was reported to be interested in buying a 40% interest and taking over Malaysia’s national caremaker,Proton,which was reported to be in financial turmoil.He stated that he had already drawn his plan in turning around Proton if the Malaysian Government geve the nod for him to buy a controlling stake of the company.He planned to build a RM1.2 Billion factory in Bertam,Penang. In April 2008,he ventured into the food business by launching the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.Restaurants and Market.
Nasimuddin was implicated in the APs controversy of 2005,when he was dubbed the “APs King”.It was claimed that he and three other prominent businessman were monopolising the issuance of Approved Permits(APs).APs are government issued permits to import cars for bumiputras.The practice of APs helped shift dominance of the car import industry from the ethnic Chinese to the Malays. Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad described Nasimuddin as an example of the New Economic Policy(NEP) success, Bernama reported.He said Nasimuddin had an extraordinary approach in developing his business.starting with selling imported cars from Japan and then going on to collaborating with foreign companies to produce and sell local cars under his own brand name.
In appreciation of his services and contributions,he was bestowed with several awards,which among others,include the federal award Panglima Setia Mahkota(P.S.M) by His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong ,which carries the tittle Tan Sri. While in 2002,Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin was named Motoring Man Of The Year by New Straits Times. He also received one of South Korea’s highest awards for his contribution to the automotive industry.He received the Presidential Award industrial service medal from South Korean ambassador to Malaysia Son Sang-Ha, on behalf of the President of South Korea, at a ceremony at the embassy in Malaysia.He is the first Malaysian to have received the award.
Nasimuddin died of stage four lung cancer at a private hospital in Long Beach,California,U.S.A on 1 May 2008.He was 53 years old at that time.His body was brought back to Malaysia on 4 May 2008 and taken to Masjid Wilayah,Jalan Duta. More tha 6000 people came to Masjid Wilayah to pay their last respects including the Prime Minister at that time Datuk Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi and former Prime Minister,Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.The body was later taken to Batu 9 Muslim Cemetery in Hulu Langat,Selangor to be buried next to the grave of his beloved mother, Salbiah Abdul Majid.
Resource:http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_Nasimuddin_SM_Amin