Is Malaysia's history all about semantics? A lesson on Sept 16!

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ONE MAN'S MEAT By PHILIP GOLINGAI

The debate over when is Malaysia Day, Aug 31 or Sept 16, will continue as there are still differing views. But one thing is certain – there are Malaysians who are very passionate about our history. 
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Last week I had my Zainal Kling moment. In case there are those who are clueless on the recent big issue concerning Malaysia, here’s a summary.

Datuk Prof Dr Zainal Kling of the National Professors Council stirred a historical controversy when he declared that Malaya was never a British colony but only a “protectorate”.

Last week, in this column, I wrote an article titled “A lesson on Sept 16” (see below).

It was a history lesson that the Federation of Malaya, not Malaysia, was created in 1957. And that Sabah and Sarawak did not join Malaysia – they formed the country together with the then Malaya and Singapore on Sept 16, 1963.

That was that, I thought. Until I received brickbats mostly from my fellow Sabahans. Though most comments were good-hearted ribbing, I felt as if I was a snake that bit its own tail.

There were jocular warnings that Sabah will use its special immigration power to bar me from entering my state.

There were also warnings that went for the jugular. I was accused of living in Kuala Lumpur too long.
Factually correct, as I’ve been living in Greater Kuala Lumpur for more than 25 years. But parochially incorrect as you can take Philip out of Sabah, but you can’t take Sabah out of Philip.

And it was as if I did not live through Parti Bersatu Sabah’s ‘Sabah for Sabahans’ political era.

Factually, there was nothing incorrect about my article. It is just that I neglected to mention something that is close to the heart of many Sabahans.

The first brickbat was from a reader who may or may not be a Sabahan or a Sarawakian.

Sonny68mak emailed: “If I recall correctly my history lessons, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore declared independence on Aug 31, 1963.

“They could not form Malaysia on that day because they were waiting for the official referendum results to be declared by the United Nations which was delayed by Jakarta and Manila’s protests at the UN,” wrote the reader, who could even be a Singaporean.

“So therefore the Borneo states independence was effective Aug 31, 1963. They formed Malaysia on Sept 16 as two-weeks-old independent sovereign states.”

“Please ask your Prof friend to recheck the facts so that the public is not confused.”

Fair comment, I thought. As if I was debating the issue, I would have taken a similar stand.

However, just to show him that I was not a hack, I replied: “Yes, I did check that fact with the Prof.”

“I told him for example, North Borneo gained independence on Aug 31, 1963 so it must have been an independent country,” I wrote.

“He said ‘no’ as even though the British granted independence to North Borneo on that day, it still administrated Sabah.”

As soon as I sent that email, I received an SMS from a Sabahan who is a veteran journalist. Though the timing of his SMS was coincidental, it was as if he sensed my “betrayal” in cyberspace.

The 40-something journalist SMS-ed: “I beg to differ. On Aug 31, 1963, the Union Jack came down and the Sabah flag went up. Sabah and Sarawak were independent nations until Sept 16, 1963. You’re selling propaganda. Ha ha”.

Immediately I called him. And after 30 minutes we agreed that history is about semantics. And, quoting Winston Churchill, “History is written by the victors”.

Then I received a call from a Penangite who is more Sabahan than me. Well, he has lived in Sabah for more than 20 years.

“We can buang negeri (kick you out of Sabah) you!” he said.

“Your article missed the point. You should have written that Sabah was a country before it formed Malaysia! And you should have written that 1/3 of Sabahans wanted to form Malaysia, 1/3 did not want to and 1/3 were undecided.”

“You’ve also missed the point that it was four equal nations (Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore) forming the Federation of Malaysia.”

“But, but, but,” I replied. “The point of my article is just to discuss Sept 16.” “No, you missed the point!” he said.

“Do you know that Sept 16 is also Lee Kuan Yew’s birthday?” I said, just to change the topic.

However sharp the comments I received throughout the day, it was delightful to know that 48 years after the fact, Sabahans are still passionate about their history.

Still, it made me feel as if I had sold Labuan to the Feds. Wonder where’s Zainal Kling? I need a hug. And some historical semantics.

A lesson on Sept 16

ONE MAN'S MEAT by PHILIP GOLINGAI

The federation of Malaya, not Malaysia, was created in 1957. Sabah and Sarawak did not join Malaysia – they formed the country together with the then Malaya and Singapore on Sept 16, 1963.

ON AUG 31, I spent my Mer-deka Day holiday tweeting history lessons. I found certain historical inaccuracies on my Twitter timeline as annoying as – to misquote a tweet from @ATM2U – seeing a straight man eat cupcake.

For example, one of Malaysia’s tycoons tweeted: “Independence day for Malaysia today.”

As a Sabahan, I just had to correct him even though he is worth a billion times more than me. So @PhilipGolingai admonished: “Sir, independence day for Malaya. Malaysia was formed on Sept 16, 1963.”

Then someone – not the billionaire – tweeted: “Why Singapore not celebrating Malaya’s Indepen-dence day?” History was definitely not her favourite subject.

I replied: “When Malaya dec-lared Merdeka, Singapore was under the British. On Sept 16, 1963, Singapore, Malaya, Sabah & Sarawak formed Malaysia.”

My colleague @ChiaYingTheStar (Lim Chia Ying) tweeted: “How can a tv station say Happy Birthday to M’sia on Aug 31?? My gosh, no wonder kids can never learn real facts?”

On Merdeka Day, Faridah Stephens, daughter of one of Malaysia’s founding fathers, Tun Fuad Stephens (Sabah Chief Minister), reminded her Peninsu­lar Malaysian friends of our country’s history.

“(Some of) my friends wished Happy 54th Birthday Malaysia. They always say Malaysia. But it is not Malaysia’s independence but Malaya’s,” she lamented.

On Facebook, Faridah watched a video clip of Negaraku sung in Chinese. The rendition was “beautiful” but the ending of the video was a “dampener”.

“Alamak, I thought, when I saw ‘Happy 54th Birthday Malaysia’ at the end,” she said.

How did her friends’ respond to her reminder?  “Some people went quiet,” she said, laughing heartily.
      
Some Malaysians mistake Aug 31 for Malaysia’s birthday, according to Faridah, because “we tend to be West (Peninsular) Malaysia-centric”.

“Many forget that Malaysia did not exist until 1963. Malaysia was not created in 1957. Sabah and Sarawak did not join Malaysia, they formed the country,” she said, adding that “I’m just stating a historical fact.”

To get my historical facts right, I called my old classmate, then a history buff, at La Salle secondary school in Tanjung Aru, Sabah.

“Why are there Malaysians who confuse Hari Merdeka as Malay-sia’s birthday?” I asked Danny Wong Tze Ken, a history professor in Universiti Malaya.

Wong lectured me on the birth of Malaysia. Here’s a summary: On Aug 31, 1957, the Federation of Malaya was established. It was expanded into the Federation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963. The country became larger with the inclusion of Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah. And in 1965, Singapore left.

“If you think of the day for independence for Malaysia, then Sept 16, is logical for Sabahans and Sarawakians as that was when both states achieved independence, in 1963. But for the people of Peninsular Malaysia clearly it was Aug 31, 1957, as that was when Tunku Abdul Rahman declared Merdeka,” Wong ex-plained.

“So when is Malaysia’s birthday?” I asked.

“The best answer is to take the case of the United States. Their independence day is July 4, 1776, even though at that time there were only 13 colonies. Although the rest of the United States was incorporated only later, all the 50 states observe July 4 as Indepen-dence Day,” he said.

“So when is Malaysia’s birthday?” I asked again.

“As a newly formed Federation of Malaysia the birthday of Malaysia will be Sept 16 whereas the Independence Day of the country remains on Aug 31,” he said.

Wong said over the years, Sept 16 was no longer celebrated as Malaysia Day.

“In Sabah it was celebrated as the TYT’s (Governor’s) birthday. And Sabahans wondered why that day was then celebrated as the TYT’s birthday and not as Malaysia Day,” he added.

“It was only last year that Sept 16 was declared a public holiday to commemorate the formation of Malaysia.,” the historian said.

So, on Friday, if you are on Twitter, don’t forget to tweet “Happy 48th Birthday Malaysia!”

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Malaya, look east to boost Malaysian racial unity!

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Look east – to boost racial unity

ON THE BEAT WITH WONG CHUN WAI

For the first time since 1963, we will celebrate National Day and Malaysia Day together. This should emphasise some points about our beloved country.
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IT was just a year ago that Malaysia Day – Sept 16 – was celebrated as a public holiday to commemorate the date the country was formed.

In 2009, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that Sept 16 had been declared a public holiday and that from 2010, Malaysia Day would be celebrated with activities that would foster the 1Malaysia spirit.

This year, it is even more special: With divine intervention, National Day and Malay­sia Day will be celebrated together for the first time.

This has been made possible by the fact that with Hari Raya Aidil Fitri falling on the last two days of August, it would not have been practical to hold the national day parade on the 31st.

A dual celebration would bring even greater meaning. It would also emphasise the point that there would have been no Federation of Malaysia if Sabah and Sarawak had not helped to form it on Sept 16, 1963.
Let’s get it right, Sabah and Sarawak did not join Malaysia, they helped to make Malaysia a reality.

Many young Malaysians in the peninsula wonder why they have to bring along their identity cards or passports when they travel to these two states or, worse, why they need to apply for work permits if they wish to work there.



This is a case of our history being badly taught in schools. Until today, our students are not properly told why these two states are different when it comes to control over their immigration, and their state administrative systems.

In the peninsula, state leaders are known as state executive councillors. In Sabah and Sarawak, they are known as state ministers. Both states, however, are led by chief ministers.

In the administration of justice, the courts in Sabah and Sarawak are part of the Federal court system but the Federal Constitution provides that there shall be two High Courts of coordinate jurisdiction – the High Court in Malaya and the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, formerly called the High Court in Borneo.

But the most important focus of this year’s joint celebration should be this reminder that Malaysia does not comprise only Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Let us drive this point that in Sarawak, there are 27 distinct indigenous groups speaking 45 different languages and dialects while Sabah has 32 officially recognised ethnic groups with over 80 languages and dialects. Despite the diversity, there is racial harmony.

In many ways, those of us in the peninsula have fared badly in the area of race relations, no thanks to self-appointed guardians of our communities and morality too, in some cases.

The people of Sabah and Sarawak do not have any hang-ups about race. Take, for example, Datuk Seri Idris Jala, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. A Kelabit from Sarawak, and a Christian, he has a Malay name. But this does not raise any eyebrow in the state. It is perfectly normal.

Another is Datuk Anthony Bujang, chief executive officer of the New Straits Times Bhd. He is a Malay from Sarawak but has a Christian first name. The accountant turned media boss’ name would not earn him any glance in his home state either.

It is well known that Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud has no qualms about opening churches, and he does this even in the middle of election campaigns. He has openly declared that he studied the Bible in school and his family has donated money to churches.

No Malay leader in the peninsula, in his right mind, would have dared to make such a statement unless he wished to commit political suicide.

It is in these two states that the spirit of 1Malaysia truly lives.

It is a joy to see people of all races sitting down together and enjoying their coffee in the old kopi tiam in these two states.

We need to see each other as Malaysians and nothing more. We need to remove racial prejudices and ignorance if we are serious about being 1Malaysia. Let’s make it a reality and not just a slogan.

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Malaysia Day: Let’s celebrate Sept 16 for its significance!

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Let’s celebrate Sept 16 for its significance

WHY NOT?  By WONG SAI WAN saiwan@thestar.com.my

It’s time to recognise the date our country was actually formed so that we can truly be a single nation.

THIS Aug 31 must have been the quietest ever in our 54-year history since independence from the British – no grand parades, no multi-million ringgit fireworks display and no days of closed roads to cater for all sorts of rehearsals.

Instead, the streets of Kuala Lumpur were empty as city folks deserted the Klang Valley for their hometowns over the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays.

The Government realised that it would have been practically impossible – and very unpopular – to stage the Merdeka Day celebrations as usual because it would fall on the second day of the Raya celebrations.

Even if they could have forced the civil servants, soldiers, police and other uniformed units to participate in a parade, there would not have been anyone to witness any of the festivities.

Instead, the celebrations will now be held on Sept 16 to coincide with Malaysia Day – that is the exact day 48 years ago Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia.

Decades ago, the whole nation used to observe Malaysia Day but later, in the 1970s, it was only left to Sabah and Sarawak to do so.

It would not be far wrong to say the separation of Singapore from the Federation in 1965 left a bitter taste in many in the ruling Government, thus making it difficult to continue to commemorate that date.

However, things have changed recently. The rising political importance of Sabah and Sarawak has made it necessary for the Government to celebrate the formation of Malaysia.

For years, the people in the two states have been grumbling as to why they should celebrate Aug 31 when it was not the date they gained independence; they would rather celebrate the day they joined the Federation.

After being independent from the British for over 54 years, it is time that we as a nation focus on celebrating the formation of the whole country.

Our leaders – past and present and from both sides of the political divide – have often paid lip service that we have to practise integration between the Peninsula and the two states on Kalimantan island.

The time for lip service is over and it is time for action, and we can start by making Sept 16 the permanent celebration of our nationhood.

We should celebrate how far we have come along, we should celebrate our achievements as a country, and we should celebrate how we are more united now than we were 48 years ago.



We should not forget about Aug 31; after all it is the day Malaya became a country. It is an important day in history and maybe it should be a day of remembrance while Sept 16 be the day of celebration.

Over the past few years, Aug 31 has become the day of flying the flag and show of patriotism, and somehow this Wednesday felt really different without all the jingoism about the need to show we are Malaysians.

In many ways, what we had been doing for Aug 31 was a bit contrived. We now need to bring back the true meaning of what it is to be Malaysian, and to allow that expression of patriotism to be real and from the heart.

After all, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had used 1Malaysia as his rallying call to unite the people. Making Sept 16 a permanent celebration date will surely be a step in the right direction for him.

Last year, he announced that Sept 16 would henceforth be a Federal holiday.

Historically, Malaysia was to have been formed on June 1, 1963, but the date was later postponed to Aug 31, 1963, to coincide with the sixth Merdeka Day.
Image via Wikipedia
As we all know, that did not happen because Indonesia and the Philippines objected to the formation of Malaysia.

The formation date was then postponed again – to Sept 16 – to give the United Nations team time to conduct referendums in Sabah and Sarawak regarding the two states’ participation in a new federation.

Recognising Sept 16 would also mean re-opening certain issues the two states have with the Federal Government over certain points of agreement when joining the Federation.

It is time to take a relook at the issues.

For one thing, I could never understand the need for Immigration procedure for travel between the Peninsula and the two states. Yes, at one time there was a need to control the number of people from the peninsular from grabbing all the job opportunities in Sabah and Sarawak.

Today, the education disparity has narrowed, and in some cases have become even non-existent.

I have met so many capable Sarawakians and Sabahans in my 27-year career in The Star, some of them as colleagues and some people I had interviewed.

In my frequent trips to the two states, I have found that the people there can more than stand up to any Orang Malaya (as Sarawakians call those from the peninsular) or Orang Semenanjung (the Sabahan equivalent) in terms of capabilities and qualification.

There are a reported 50,000 Sarawakians working in the shipyards of Johor, and they have proven to be essential workers for the industry. They have integrated well into Johor society.

This is among the many reasons we have for reinstating Malaysia Day. The following is a ditty I wrote to greet all my friends on Facebook and Twitter:

We have had KongsiRaya.
We have had DeepaRaya.
We have had XmasRaya.
In a few hours MerdekaRaya.
Selamat Hari Raya.
Selamat Hari Merdeka!!

To that I want to add Selamat Hari Malaysia come Sept 16.

■ Executive editor Wong Sai Wan has decided that he will only fly the Jalur Gemilang at his home on Sept 15 and 16 to celebrate the founding of our country.
  
Make Sept 16, Malaysia Day 

I READ “Let’s celebrate Sept 16 for its significance” (The Star, Sept 2) and fully agree with columnist Wong Sai Wan that we should celebrate Malaysia Day, which marks the formation of our country.

I have often admired the way the Americans celebrate their Independence Day on July 4 with barbeques, picnics and family gatherings.

I often wonder why we don’t do the same here in Malaysia. We have an official parade on Merdeka Day and some patriotic flag-waving and that’s about it.

Most Malaysians would rather take the opportunity to go on holiday overseas, or go shopping at the malls.

An occasion to remind ourselves of what makes this a wonderful country, to connect with our fellow Malaysians, and to forge a common destiny is lost.

An opportunity to be thankful for our independence and sovereignty is forgotten.

My friend Eddin Khoo would say this is because we don’t have “a common language of nationhood” – we did not have to really struggle together for our independence. Malaysia is unique in that it is made up of diverse peoples, with diverse histories, cultures, religions, and races, which makes it even
more difficult to achieve national unity.

I am an optimist, and I believe each of us has a part to play in nation-building. Yes, this is far from a perfect country, but we must make the most of our situation.

We have to start by looking at the cup as being half full rather than being half empty.

Let’s be thankful for our wonderful diversity of culture, race, religion – which gives us this delicious rojak of food, arts, architecture, clothing, etc.

Let’s be thankful that we live in a country unscarred by war and unburdened by natural disasters.

Let us celebrate all that is good about this country. Let us work together to make this country better and fairer for all. Let us treat each other with respect, sincerity and compassion.

It is said that “men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her”. Let us love our country.

It was with these thoughts in mind that my friends and I celebrated Malaysia Day last year by organising a street festival at Bangkung Row, Bangsar, where we had food stalls, NGO booths, cultural performances, talks, art exhibitions etc.

This Sept 16, we will again celebrate Malaysia Day at Bangkung Row, with a series of talks and discussions on topics such as: “The Voices of the Moderates”, “Constructed Landscapes” (a talk by artists Anurendra Jegadeva and Yee I-Lann), “In Bed with Malaysia – Exposing the Rakyat’s Sexuality”, “Prejudice and Stereotyping”, “Conversation on Culture with Farish Noor and Eddin Khoo”, “Found in Malaysia”, “Malaysian Writing in English”, “Undi Malaysia”, “Environmental Debate”, etc.

We will also be having Malaysian food and handicraft stalls, over 20 NGO booths, and wonderful performances such as dikir tewas with 100 performers all the way from Kelantan (with the legendary Daud Bukit Abal), Sabahan and Sarawakian dances, Orang Asal nose flute performance, acrobatic lion dance, local singers (including Amirah Ali and Azmyl Yunor), and a grand Jom Joget party with the famous Rozells from Penang (singing P. Ramlee, Jimmy Boyle, Teresa Teng, etc, tunes) to end the evening.

Do come and join us in celebrating Malaysia Day at Bangkung Row.

I hope all Malaysians will start their own Malaysia Day celebrations, whether it is a street party in your neighbourhood or a pot luck dinner at home with family and friends or lighting a candle for peace in our country.

What is important is that we take the opportunity to celebrate this wonderful country, and all that is good and wonderful about it.

Selamat Hari Malaysia.

ED SOO,
Petaling Jaya.

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Datuk Dr Ang Bon Beng of Nissan Tan Chong Motor

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Up close and personal with Datuk Dr Ang Bon Beng

By EUGENE MAHALINGAM eugenicz@thestar.com.my

Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd's principal activities consist of investment holding and the provision of management services to companies in the Group that main ...

 

IT may come as a bit of a surprise when Datuk Dr Ang Bon Beng, executive director of Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM), a local distributor of Nissan cars, says he was never a man with big dreams.

What's harder to believe is that Ang, who is one of the most well-known and respected people in the local automotive industry today, used to earn a living driving taxis and lorries.

“I never had big dreams. (But) I had small yet realistic ones,” he says modestly. “Big visions come from small dreams,” Ang adds.

The eldest of 10 children, Ang was born in 1949 in Kepala Batas, Penang, to a taxi driver father and homemaker mother. Life back then was about living day to day and making ends meet; sometimes living off just biscuits and water.

After completing his Form Five education, Ang had no choice but to start working, as his parents could not afford to finance his education any further. To help support the family, Ang started driving his father's taxi to earn a living.

 

BIO

BORN: March 17, 1949
PERSONAL: Married with four children and two grandchildren
HIGHEST QUALIFICATION: PhD in business administration, University of Honolulu (Hawaii), USA
CAREER: Executive director for Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd and sits on the board of various subsidiaries of Tan Chong Motor Group
FAVOURITE FOOD: Char kuey teow with duck egg and loh mee with vinegar
FAVOURITE PLACE: Kepala Batas, my hometown
HOBBY: Listening to Buddhist music
PHILOSOPHY: Believe, commit, do and deliver
INSPIRATION: My father for instilling the right values in me; Tan Sri Tan Yuet Foh (the company's late foun der) for motivating me in pursuing career advancement; and Datuk Tan Heng Chew for grooming and preparing me for the cor porate world

“My father drove in the day and I would take over in the nights. It was tough. You would hope to make at least RM10 a day, but sometimes you can't even reach that.

“Sometimes, the taxi would break down and the repairs would cost RM20 or RM30. On certain days, if you are unlucky, you get stopped by the police and the passenger you're carrying is forced to get off and you don't get paid,” Ang reminisces.

In 1970, after several odd jobs, a friend approached Ang for a salesman job with the Tan Chong Motor Group. At the time, the company was expanding its presence in Penang. In the hopes of earning a better living for himself and his family, he took the job.



Despite knowing next to nothing about selling cars, Ang knew he had found his calling.

“After going through so much of hardship in life, selling cars wasn't hard. I persevered in taking on the challenges that Tan Chong had set out for me to do. I was motivated to push myself further each time I achieved my sales target.”

Ang was promoted to sales manager in 1981. The following year, he was posted to Sarawak and appointed Kuching branch manager. In 1989, he was made northern states manager, overseeing branches and dealers within Penang and Kedah.

Ang was eventually made sales director in 2001, and in the following year, he was appointed executive director for ETCM a post he still holds today. Ang also sits on the board of various subsidiaries of the Tan Chong Group.

The driven man

With over 40 years of experience under his belt, Ang is arguably one of the longest serving individuals to be involved in the automotive industry in the country.

Not many can lay claim to starting off from the front-lines of the automotive business and making it all the way to the top within the same organisation.

 

Humble beginnings: Dr Ang with his first car in his younger days.

Under Ang's helm, the Tan Chong Group has survived three recessions

 During the global financial crisis in 2009, while other car companies were struggling to manage inventories and pushing sales, Ang practised an internal safeguard strategy, or vision statement, called “Control the free-fall.”

The strategy was to drive his workforce to work harder in the downturn (than they usually would in good times) or risk spiralling down in terms of sales.

That vision statement worked well for the company despite a fall of 2% in total industry volume, Nissan sales in 2009 increased to 29,683 units from 28,313 units in 2008, which was a 5% increase.

 
 http://www.nissan.com.my/http://www.nissan.com.my/images/common/allvehicles.gif

This year, ETCM and other Japanese makes are facing a new kind of challenge production disruption as a result of the earthquake that hit Japan in March. On top of this, the recently amended Hire-Purchase Act 1967 (HPA) that took effect on June 15 is also causing a slowdown in vehicle registrations for all car companies.

“To drive my workforce and to safeguard against any impact, we are applying a vision statement called 55%-45%. I tell my team that if they feel they have put 100% into something, it is only 55% and there is still (a potential of) 45% more to go,” says Ang.

Ang says the strategy for this year is to still be able to continue growing market share within the local automotive industry.

“You constantly need to move forward and be able to expand your business. It's what the shareholders demand.”

Ang says one of the most important recipes for success is having the ability to adapt to changes around you.

“The market is constantly evolving and you have to keep up with the pace of the dynamics, and as a chief (of the company), you need to set a good example to your people. If you don't equip yourself with the latest strategies or knowledge, you'll be squeezed out by your competitors.”

Ang says he makes it a point to communicate with the sales advisors, all 700 of them, on the importance of staying ahead and being able to adapt to the changes, especially in times of challenges.

He reminisces about the time when Nissan Motor Co Ltd president and chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn visited Malaysia in 2008.

Ghosn had limited time here and with 20 minutes to spare, Ghosn wanted to visit ETCM's Serendah (Rawang) manufacturing plant, which is nearly an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur!

“When our people were told that they had to find a way to transport him (Ghosn) to Serendah in 20 minutes, they thought it was crazy. The only way to do it is to fly him there by helicopter. “So we did just that we flew him by helicopter.”

The moral of the story? Be prepared for change at any given time, says Ang.

“I always talk to my people on the importance of change in a rapidly changing environment. It's demanded of them if they want to survive.”

At 62, Ang, who has a PhD in business administration and master's degree in law, seems to show no signs of slowing down. Despite the qualifications that he already has, Ang is considering pursuing a masters degree in psychology.

“Having the (working) experience is one thing but (having the) academic qualification is also important,” he says, adding that pursuing a masters degree in law helped him understand legal documents and terminology associated with the automotive industry better.

“It (academic qualification) is an important asset that helps to improve my performance in this company,” Ang says.

Ang's constant pursuit of knowledge and self improvement are traits he has inculcated in his children. He is quick to admit, however, that despite being able to provide a privileged life for his family today, in no way are his children having it easy.

“They say I'm a tough father,” Ang enthuses, adding that when he looks back at his career, he considers joining Tan Chong and marrying the right woman the best decisions he's ever made.

“In pursuing a career, you need a lot of support from your family. My wife has always supported me all the way. I'm still faithful to her,” he says with a laugh.

Ang, who has been married for nearly 40 years, has four children. Sadly, his youngest son passed away in a car crash in 2009.

As the chairman of the Penang State Social Welfare Council of 20 years, Ang spends time with the senior citizens at the old folks home in Bukit Mertajam whenever he can.

“It gives me satisfaction to be able to improve the lives of others. Their most common lament is that they wish they could turn back the clock, so that they won't repeat the mistakes of their past and be where they are today.”

Ang says he often shares his experiences (at the welfare home) with members of his staff.

“I tell my people that they should always make the best use of their time and not waste it doing unproductive things.”

That message is in fact a philosophy that was passed down to Ang by whom he considers his greatest mentor his father.

“My father always told me that if you keep walking, you will reach your destination. Along the way, it may rain and someone (or something) might get in your way and end up slowing you down.

“It might take you a little longer, but as long as you keep on walking, you will reach your destination. Eventually, you'll be there.”

Related Articles: Nissan’s Ghosn is highest paid exec at a Japanese firm Jun 29 Nissan CEO's $12M pay gets shareholder scrutiny Jun 29 Japan factory output gains for second month US auto sales cooled in May due to shortages   Nissan Leaf earns top crash safety rating By Peter Valdes-Dapena  The Nissan Leaf earned a top 5-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Adminstration and a Top Safety Pick Award from the Insurance Insitute for Highway Safety. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The Nissan Leaf earned a top five-star rating in the federal government's new, tougher crash test rating system. Under the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's new rating system, all vehicles are given a single rating of one to five stars based on their scores in seperate front and side impact tests as well as resistance to rollovers. The Leaf earned four stars for occupant protection in front-end crashes, five stars for side crash protection and four stars for resistance to rolling over, resulting in the overall five-star score. The Leaf is an electrically powered plug-in car. It can go about 70 miles on a charge, according to EPA estimates. NHTSA used updated crash test regimen, introduced last year, which includes a new side crash test in which vehicles slide diagonally into a pole, mimicking a car skidding into a light post or tree. General Motors' Chevrolet Volt also recently earned a five-star NHTSA safety rating. Safest fuel-efficient cars The Volt and the Nissan (NSANY) Leaf electric car were both recently given Top Safety Pick Awards by the privately funded Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Institute, which is financed by auto insurers, conducts a different set of crash tests from those conducted by the government. To earn a Top Safety Pick Award, a vehicle must earn top scores in all of the Institute's tests.