Jeffrey Cheah is a man of vision. In a remarkable display of tenacity, the staunch entrepreneur was able to turn a seemingly inhospitable terrain into a flourishing city. Where others saw only obstacles, the founder of Malaysia-based conglomerate Sunway Group saw immense potential.
About four decades ago, the land housing the current Sunway City Kuala Lumpur was an 800-acre abandoned mining site. The land was unwanted as it was a wasteland of disused mining pools, Cheah explains.
“There was absolutely nothing growing there whatsoever because the ground was full of mud, sand and gravel but where others saw a deep scar in the earth, I had a different dream. Even my friends thought I was crazy when I shared my vision for Sunway City Kuala Lumpur. Several banks rejected me outright when I sought loans from them for this development, as I had no track record or brand as a developer then,” he recounts.
Cheah and his dedicated and competent team, however, managed to beat all odds in building Malaysia’s first integrated green sustainable township. Today, Sunway City Kuala Lumpur serves a vibrant community of more than 200,000 people living, working, playing and studying in a safe, healthy and connected environment.
Sunway’s unique “build-own-operate” model ensures that the company partners with the communities it serves, sharing their concerns and celebrating their successes, says Cheah.
“Without being boastful, perhaps what we have achieved was best summed up by the late Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore. When he and his wife visited Sunway City Kuala Lumpur in 2004, he said: ‘This is what entrepreneurship is about. You have transformed a wasteland into a wonderland’,” Cheah adds.
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As the winner of this year’s EY Asean Entrepreneurial Excellence award, Cheah dedicates the achievement to his colleagues from Sunway and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, whose resilience and hard work have made a positive impact and lasting difference on Malaysia and society.
“Sunway will be celebrating our 50th anniversary next year — this award serves as an early ‘birthday present’ for everyone affiliated with the brand and the foundation,” says Cheah.
Sunway is one of Southeast Asia’s leading conglomerates, with diverse businesses operating in 50 locations. Its key businesses include property development, healthcare, construction, property investment and hospitality, among others. The group’s three public-listed companies Sunway, Sunway Construction Group and Sunway REIT have a combined market capitalisation of RM17.3 billion ($4.95 billion).
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Proving worth
An accountant by training, Cheah quit his job at a motor assembly plant and established his own businesses after he realised he had an entrepreneurial mindset. The journey, however, had not been easy — Cheah nearly went bankrupt twice: when Malaysia plunged into a deep recession in 1986 and again during the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
“When we were struggling during the Asian financial crisis, the banks started calling back our loans. I had to personally meet with the bankers and tell them that while we were not in a position to repay the loans then, we will do so in full, with interest, if they gave us some time. The bankers agreed and one of them even shared that going to see them personally showed a lot of courage, integrity and humility, as many of their clients were hiding from them,” says Cheah.
He highlights that during this challenging period, Singapore’s GIC believed in what Sunway was trying to achieve, although many others were in doubt. The sovereign wealth fund’s investment helped Sunway restructure, re-strategise, refocus and eventually recover, Cheah says.
“As I often like to joke when recounting this story — GIC came in with one bag of money and left with three and a half bags!”. GIC is currently Sunway Healthcare Group’s strategic partner.
One important lesson that Cheah has learnt from these adversities is to not be in denial when faced with a problem, as solutions can only be found when the situation is acknowledged. He also believes that Sunway’s core values of “integrity, humility and excellence” have saved it on both occasions, allowing the company to bounce back and thrive.
Looking ahead, Cheah firmly believes that implementing the sustainability agenda is no longer an option, but an urgent imperative against the backdrop of the climate crisis. His current vision for Sunway is to be Asia’s model corporation in sustainable development, innovating to enrich lives for a better tomorrow.
In line with this, Sunway has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, having introduced a carbon-pricing framework into its businesses. All its business divisions are working towards their own decarbonisation targets — failing to do so would mean a deduction in their bonus pools. Sunway is the first corporation in Malaysia and among the first in Asia to implement such a robust carbon-reduction strategy in conducting its business, says Cheah.
“Along with our commitment to the sustainability agenda, it is also my hope that Sunway will strengthen its reputation as a model corporate citizen committed to the three P bottom line of people, planet and prosperity,” he adds.
Giving back
The success and growth of Sunway enabled Cheah to realise his lifelong dream of setting up the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, which is dedicated to nation-building and giving back to society in an impactful manner. He has endowed his entire stake in Sunway Education Group to the foundation — the largest-of-its-kind advancing education in Malaysia — in perpetuity based on Cheah’s conviction that education should be a not-for-profit venture.
“I grew up in a small town called Pusing, in the Malaysian state of Perak. It was a sleepy old town where poverty was widespread. Many of my childhood friends were not able to continue their education due to their financial situation. It was then that I came to believe that education offered the best route out of poverty and misery. Not just any education, but quality education,” says Cheah.
The Jeffrey Cheah Foundation offers private higher education for present and future generations of students. In addition to owning and governing all entities under the Sunway Education Group in a not-for-profit structure, the foundation has set up many Jeffrey Cheah Professorships globally and established active partnerships with several world-renowned universities. These collaborations make it possible to bring cutting-edge research and world-class knowledge back to Malaysia and the region.
For instance, Sunway University is conducting joint research with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on carbon capture, where any commercial value stemming from this research will be shared 50:50 between Sunway University and MIT. This reflects a great endorsement of Sunway University from the top-ranked institution
“I always believe that to be the best, we need to learn from the best and work with the best. It is my lifelong dream for Sunway University to one day be known as the ‘Harvard or Cambridge of the East’. I am aware, of course, that this may not happen in my lifetime, but I’m laying the groundwork for this vision to be realised by those who come after me,” says Cheah.
Stressing the importance of having the right values, Cheah advises young entrepreneurs in the Asean region to not only do the right things but also do things right. He also points out the importance of having a higher purpose in life.
“To the aspiring entrepreneurs, remember that you should find solutions not only to ease businesses but also towards building a better world. While it is important to keep the bottom line healthy, we must never prioritise profits over people. It is important to focus on bringing value to firstly our customers, our people and our stakeholders. A business can only be sustainable if it grows together with the community it serves,” he concludes.
