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Tan Sri loves to use symbols such as birds, wings and the act of flying represents creativity that has no limitations or boundaries. This is emphasized in the way he lives. acts and thinks. This is even evident in the way he designed his own residence. Distilled to its essence the legacy of a man is most visible in the people he has inspired and in the social value he has amassed. For a man the likes of Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Paduka Limkokwing the telling is more a compendium requiring several volumes. But in this publication we will attempt to compress a journey of over 40 years into 80 pages. This is a man who lives his life in nanoseconds, enriching every moment with plans that he implements to make life a meaningful journey for others. He has inspired thousands across the globe. A diversity of people of various races and different social stations who hold dissimilar views about life but agree that this one man has been a turning point in their lives. “He is a man who has influenced many and in the course of the last three decades the influence has extended across the globe to touch millions of lives. A creative thinker he always responds with sincerity to assist the Government overcome many socio- economic issues. Limkokwing University is an institution that has been pushing innovation in education for the past 20 years and at its helm is a man who has been advocating change through innovation for more than three decades. I truly applaud the vision and drive of this University for its pioneering efforts in globalising Malaysian education through its campuses established in the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa. Its online presence had brought Malaysia to the notice of millions of people in 222 countries and territories. This University is greatly valued as a partner to achieve national aspirations encapsulated in the Economic Transformation Programme.” YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak Prime Minister of Malaysia, 2010 Tan Sri’s house is his sanctuary where he escapes the hustle and bustle of his professional life. Here he has created the ambience for peace and tranquility using works of art that he has collected all through his life. THE HEART OF LIMKOKWING The house of Limkokwing – a mirror of his public image We have chosen to share his story with pictures of things he loves. The house he built is a perfect example of the kind of man he is. From the outside the house is a modern structure, provocative in its styling and a construction that remains etched in your mind. It mirrors quite aptly, his public image. The interior, however, tells a different story. As you enter the garden there is a sense of peace and tranquility made possible by a fusion of stone, wood, water and greenery. The inside of the house, however, is the most revealing as space is given to well-placed works of art wrought in wood, metal, fibre, clay and ceramics. Most are centuries old which he has been collecting avidly for most of his life. This house has given him the space to display them so he may admire them at his whim. “Tan Sri Limkokwing is among the people who shared my views. He believed as I do in the abilities of Malaysians. This enabled us to get along very well and to work together on the process of convincing Malaysians, and in particular, Malays, that they can do what others can do and probably do it better.” YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad Former Prime Minister of Malaysia, 2000 Tan Sri’s love of the arts knows no boundaries. His vast collection of antiques of all different shapes and sizes and from all corners of the globe symbolizes his passion for unique and beautiful things. A connoisseur of art and artifacts The interior of the house reveals the softer side of the man. It shows his sensitivity to beauty, how he relishes the exquisite craftsmanship and the artistic flow of lines and shapes of works of art, no matter which part of the world they came from. And they came from the remotest parts of Asia, Middle-East, right across to Africa, and Europe . The love of art has been with him from birth. It was his first and everlasting passion, one that fills him with joy and through which he has built his life. He was born humble. He has tasted the bitterness of poverty. The only son of Chinese parents he was burdened with traditions to uphold, restrictions that he rebelled against to design a life that suited his talents and fired his passion. The passion to excel made him an industry legend And art was never an Asian priority as a career choice. But he persisted even if he had to try his hand at other jobs in sales and publishing, he never gave up his search for the one career that would give him both satisfaction as well as the zest to excel. He found it in the multi-faceted, high-pressured world of advertising. He entered the industry as an illustrator and within a short span of time rose up to become creative director of one of the world’s largest international networks, McCann Erickson, the youngest to hold the position and also the first Asian. However, being the sole Asian voice in a business dominated by foreigners he could not project his ideas strongly. Wings Creative Consultants was the business he set up in 1975, then a young man of 29. He had his own ideas about the advertising industry and developed his company in a unique way that resulted in his astounding success. He built his business to be among the top ten in the country outshining multinationals and stamping his mark on the industry. Featured here is an extract from the brochures he created to communicate his philosophy. The trigger point that motivated him to strike out on his own came unexpectedly. It was a huge challenge to design a ground-breaking exhibition that was to cover an entire stadium.It was 1974, an election year, and the Prime Minister,Tun Abdul Razak, had an enormous task to convince Malaysians to accept a revolutionary new policy to overcome racial tensions that had brought the nation to a standstill five years earlier at the last general election when the ruling party had suffered heavy losses. That responsibility fell on Tan Sri Limkokwing, a young man of 28, to design an exhibition that would clearly communicate the New Economic Policy in a manner that the ordinary Malaysian will understand and embrace its introduction. And he was given a few days to work out his concept and another few days to go into production. Pesta Pembangunan or Development Carnival travelled across the nation. The result was a resounding landslide win for the ruling party. “Malaysia and the world should indeed be very proud of Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, President of the Limkokwing University for his enlightenment, vision and wisdom; for this great entrepreneur, who has made things happen and continues to make things happen in the interests of a better humanity.” Sir James R. Mancham, KBE Founding President, Republic of Seychelles, 2008 Pesta Pembangunan (Development Carnival) was a landmark exhibition presenting the country’s plans for the future. It was the biggest organ- ized in the country, occupying the length and breadth of the national stadium. It provided the main thrust of the election manifesto developed by Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak as he faced a country recovering from the racial riots of May 13, 1969. Tan Sri Lim, at that time a young man in his 20s, was given only a few days to visualise the concept of the exhibition and develop a story in a way that would be palatable to a divided nation. Finding the Wings to fly - striking out on his own For Tan Sri Limkokwing it gave him the vigour and confidence to set up his own enterprise in 1975. He called it Wings Creative Consultants. It became a trailblazer from the start and for the first time in the industry a home-grown agency had the talent, the courage and the business acumen to woo and win blue chip accounts. Within 10 years he grew to become an industry legend as he transformed the local advertising industry to reach sophistication in approach and professionalism in execution. The third largest communication network in the world at that time – BBDO – signed a merger to create Wings BBDO. He had reached the pinnacle of his profession. But a brand new chapter awaited to take him up into the corridors of political power. It came through Malaysia’s fourth and most controversial Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad. It was Tan Sri Limkokwing, the cartoonist that made the connection. Guli Guli was a series of cartoons that was featured in the New Straits Times. Guli Guli, which means marbles in Malay, gave him the opportunity to connect with the common Malaysian as he highlighted Malaysian’s foibles in a friendly, inoffensive manner. The cartoons had an admirer in Tun Dr Mahathir. He gave Tan Sri Limkokwing the task to use his Guli Guli characters – Ahmad, Ah Boo and Muthu – in a courtesy campaign that was featured in billboards across the country. “I practically discovered him. I was impressed with his ideas. It is good to listen to him because he comes up with ideas and he sees things from a different angle.

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