1I SUCCESSFUL BRANDING LESSONS: Jack Ma, Richard Branson & Usain Bolt YUSUF TAIYOOB : The King Of Dates MYDIN : Heartland Retail Empire SAY YES2BRAND : Aspiring for a Better Tomorrow, Today TAN SRI DATO’ SRI LEONG HOY KUM RM15 WM RM18 EM A BRANDING REVOLUTIONIST DECEMBERMAY-JANUARY’ - JUNE’ 1714 #ISSUE4119 II 1 All information herein is correct at time of publication. THE TEAM | The views and opinions expressed or implied in The BrandLaureate Business World Review ADVISOR are those of the authors and contributors and do not necessarily Dr KKJohan reflect those of The BrandLaureate, its editorial & staff. All editorial content and materials are copyright of PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF THE BRANDLAUREATE BUSINESS WORLD REVIEW Chew Bee Peng No Permit KDN PQ/PP16972/08/2011)(028331) MANAGING EDITOR The BrandLaureate Business World Review is published by Ida Ibrahim THE BRANDLAUREATE SDN BHD (690453K), 39B & 41B, SS21/60, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya. Tel: (603) 7710 0348 Fax: (603) 7710 0350 SENIOR WRITER Ian Gregory Edward Masselamani Printed in Malaysia by PERCETAKAN SKYLINE SDN BHD (PQ 1780/2317) WRITERS 35 & 37, Jalan 12/32B, TSI Business Industrial Park, Batu 6 1/2, Nurilya Anis Rahim Off Jalan Kepong, 52000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ain M.C. Gerald Chuah CONTRIBUTORS Anu Venugopal, Tony Thompson, Justin Chew, Sean Tan CREATIVE MANAGER Ibtisam Basri ASSISTANT CREATIVE MANAGER Mohd Shahril Hassan SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Mohd Zaidi Yusof MULTIMEDIA DESIGNER Zulhelmi Yarabi EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Kalwant Kaur Lau Swee Ching For suggestions and comments or further enquiries on THE BRANDLAUREATE BUSINESS WORLD REVIEW, please contact [email protected]. “Position Your Brand on a World Class Platform” THE BRANDLAUREATE • BUSINESS WORLD REVIEW MAY - JUNE’ 17 #ISSUE41 2 3 PUBLISHER NOTE | What’s in a name, you may ask? Minister of Canada show that age does not really W Everything if I may say! matter. What matters is how relevant you are and hen the late father of Tan Sri Dato’ Sri how you can convince your audience that you are Leong Hoy Kum, the head of Mah Sing Group the leader that will make your country better and Berhad, founded his plastic firm, he named itstronger. The world hungers for fresh ideas and ‘Mah Sing’ – a very auspicious and symbolic name fresh faces, and these young leaders certainly in Chinese (as ‘Mah’ means horse, and ‘Sing’, star). have it all! Seeing how the horse is a powerful animal, able to gallop at high speeds over great distances, this Recently I had the opportunity to meet Puteri meant that the company was destined to grow Fateh Arina Merican, a teenager of 17 and fast and go far. By throwing in the ‘star’ element, the youngest writer in the country to have her Mah Sing was further elevated to a ‘Star Horse’ book of poems, titled Paracosm, published. At (and a shining one too) as ‘Sing’ in Chinese also the book launch, the title Paracosm bewildered denotes shine. many of the guests, which included the likes of Tan Sri Johan Jaafar, former Chairman of Prima Gazing retrospectively and galloping Media, and Datuk Seri Azman Ujang, Bernama’s prospectively, Mah Sing has definitelyChairman. lived Most upof us tocould not guess what it its brilliant name. The company has been blessed really meant until Arina herself informed us that time and time again with success and this it actually represented the detailed imaginary accomplishment comes from the commitment world of a child. and hard work of the family – from the late Leong CHEW BEE PENG to Tan Sri Leong, who is now the key driver andGoing through her poems subsequently, Arina’s PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF face of the brand. In fact, Tan Sri Leong diversifiedvoice rings out loud and clear as she expresses the business into the property sector and grew it the joys, sadness and injustices which are to become a market leader. happening in this world and how it impacts [email protected] her. To put these thoughts in prose is easy but FACEBOOK.COM/BRANDLAUREATE Mah Sing started its first property development in poetry, it takes much effort. For a 17-year- in 1994. 23 years have passed by where it has old to do so speaks of her immense talent and achieved numerous accolades and milestones. creativity. Arina exudes much confidence and On top of that, the brand is currently undergoing maturity for an adolescent of her age and her a rebranding exercise which will strengthen its ambition, unsurprisingly, is to become a human foundation while keeping it relevant to the needs rights lawyer. of the contemporary market. The brand has also reached a phase where Tan Sri Leong is working At a glance, Tan Sri Leong and Arina seem worlds on his succession plan to pass on the leadership apart – one, a second-gen entrepreneur tycoon, to a new breed of leaders – including his own and the other, a young lass on the very cusp of children. Just like how Tan Sri Leong took over greatness. Tan Sri Leong has achieved his dream his father’s business; his children will receive the of building Mah Sing into a leading property baton in the coming years and continue to build brand; while Arina lingers on in the enigmatically on the brand’s sustainability. surreal realm of her Paracosm. Still, looking a little closer, I have come to realize that dreams Much has been mentioned as to whether age first need to manifest in an imaginary world plays an important role in selecting future before they can take flight in reality as we know successors and leaders. Paradoxically, the age- it to be – and to arrive at one’s vision upon a old view is that leaders must be of a certain galloping magical ‘star horse’ would certainly be age to be appointed as they would then have most ideal! Be it Mah Sing or Paracosm, perhaps accumulated their experience and expertise. But true success dictates that we cannot have one the recent elections of Emmanuel Macron as without the other! President of France and Justin Trudeau as Prime THE BRANDLAUREATE • BUSINESS WORLD REVIEW MAY - JUNE’ 17 #ISSUE41 4 5 EDITOR’S NOTE | he Muslim holy month of Ramadan is fast As with Eid Al-Fitr, each family and culture has its Tapproaching. This is the ninth month of own way of celebrating the long-awaited Eid, from the Islamic year, the holiest month, and is large-scale prayer services to family gatherings a time where Muslims around the world focus around a dinner table. Just the anticipation of it on spirituality. When I was younger, I thought leaves emotions running high, and the fastidious Ramadan was about food and seeing who could care taken in preparation for the day is to blame hold out the longest like it was a competition. for our mothers skyrocketing blood pressure. I There was a time when I thought it was the remember when I was young, Eid was also the perfect way to make me lose weight. As I growday of jackpot. On this day, most adult family older, I understand and respect the month as members would give you a sum of money. Back a holy month in which devout Muslims pay then I thought that this was the beauty of the homage, fighting temptations while inspiringcelebration and I wished every day was Eid. Sadly, good thoughts and deeds. the tradition of receiving Eid money comes to an end when you start working. Today, financially, Eid Ramadan is not only fighting off the temptation is the day of my bankruptcy. to eat. It is fasting from cursing, from gossip, from anger, from your own shortcomings, you’re Nevertheless, Eid is the perfect time to celebrate fasting from the faults of your character. This and connect, to strengthen and cherish the bonds is where things get complicated. When fasting of family. Our lives have been moving at such a forces inward reflection and you become awarefast pace that we barely have valuable time to of how you act, you also start to notice how others spend with our loved ones. I realised how much IDA IBRAHIM act too. The actions of people around you, their a single visit opened the door to reconnect and MANAGING EDITOR nature, perhaps not always directed at you, is strengthen kinship with family. Even though the more apparent. Ramadan, if you allow it, can truly family unity only lasts for a few hours, it creates a [email protected] impact your life. storehouse of joyful memories. FACEBOOK.COM/BRANDLAUREATE The atmosphere of Ramadan is a festive one. It’s a Joy is best shared. This is one lesson I’ve learned time when visiting extended family is encouraged. from Eid and this year I hope you find it, too. Businesses are often open late into the night. Cafes and restaurants that would normally close Ramadan Kareem and Eid Mubarak, everyone. stay open well past midnight – some until just before dawn. People often stay up all night eating and drinking as they would normally during the day. Because of this, I usually find myself gaining more weight during the month of fasting as during regular months.. THE BRANDLAUREATE • BUSINESS WORLD REVIEW MAY - JUNE’ 17 #ISSUE41 6 7 issue #41 WHAT’S INSIDE | May - June This issue celebrates, clockwise from top, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong Hoy Kum of Mah Sing Group Berhad, Volvo, Jack Ma, Yusuf Taiyoob, Datuk Wira Dr Ameer Ali Mydin and many more…. THE BRANDLAUREATE • BUSINESS WORLD REVIEW MAY - JUNE’ 17 #ISSUE41 8 9 issue #41 TABLE OF CONTENTS | May - June The BrandLaureate // Bridging Borders, Branding Beyond 110 62 The brief: 84 11street Malaysia 22 Country & world With a significant presence in Malaysia, Get yourself informed with the hottest and 11street is without doubt becoming a latest news on business and branding preferred choice for Malaysian online shoppers.