Saturday May 3, 2008

Nasimuddin turned his love for cars into a multi-million-ringgit empire

Obituary - Tan Sri S.M. Nasimuddin S.M. Amin (Jan 27,May 1955 - May 2, 2008)

TO the general public, the late Tan Sri S.M. Nasimuddin S.M. Amin was the founder and chairman of the Naza Group, but to his friends and associates, he was a jovial, if soft spoken, and kind-hearted man, the kind of man who would do anything for a friend.

For someone whose business empire stretched from automobile and motorcycle manufacturing, distribution and retail to plantations and food franchising, Nasimuddin was in his own words “a simple man”, preferring to wear a pair of locally-made shoes.

Born on Jan 27, 1955 in Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan, he received his formal education at SM Tuanku Muhammad there.

Nasimuddin standing beside a fleet of luxury cars at a Naza Group retail showroom.

He was 21 when he started in the auto industry as a car importer and trader.

“I scrimped and saved every sen I got from the money I received from my parents since my schooldays and what I earned helping my father in his construction business. My family was not rich but I saved up and ended up with RM80,000,” he told The Star in a rare interview in February 2006.

With this money, he bought 20 approved permits (AP), flew to Japan where he spent three months and returned with 20 used Japanese cars.

It’s business as usual for the Naza Group headquartered at Naza Tower in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, but black and white cloth was draped at the entrance as a mark of respect following the death of the company’s founder, chairman and chief executive officer Friday.

The year was 1975 and Naza managed to sell its entire stock of Toyota cars in three months despite a crash in the car market.

A year later he had made his first million.

“We started with a shoplot in Taman Maluri selling 10 to 15 units of cars each month. In 1979 we opened a branch in Kampung Baru (Kuala Lumpur) doing retail and selling 40 to 60 cars monthly.

“I have always loved cars. That is why I am in this business. My father’s construction business was not my cup of tea,” he said then.

Nasimuddin sharing a light moment with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and his children who had dropped in at the Naza World showroom in Petaling Jaya during a visit to Malaysia.

The Naza Group became associated with many luxury marques – Ferrari, Maserati, Bentley and Mercedes Benz – to name a few.

But it was its association with Kia, with what began as a distributorship progressing to local assembly and later to a technical partnership, that saw the group emerging as a national car manufacturer.

For his contributions to South Korea, Nasimuddin received the country's Industrial Service Medal.

The Naza Group also opened Asia’s largest one-stop motor vehicle centre, the RM80mil Naza Auto Mall.

In 2005, Nasimuddin's name was among those mentioned in the Approved Permits (AP) controversy. He was listed among four people who had been awarded over 28,000 APs out of the 67,158 issued that year.

To critics who questioned the rationale of such awards to certain individuals, Nasimuddin argued that his company had met the objectives of the Government to develop bumiputra entrepreneurs.

He said his business had also created new economic activities and opportunities for both bumiputras and non-bumiputras and more than 4,000 jobs through his various businesses.

His business philosophy, like the man, was quite simple.

“In business, you must start small, study everything and go step by step.”

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