punetrable:
COVERSTORY
Im
The Story of Serge (Grit, not Graft)
In Myanmar, an Yet, Pun has managed to build a sprawling business
emerging economy empire with interests in real estate, banking
and civil aviation among other industries. Most
with a corrupt past and of these ventures are either parked under the
a new leadership who Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings or its
wants to reconnect Myanmar affiliates, the SPA Group or First Myanmar
with the world, Serge Investments. These ventures are three defining
symbols telling the world that entrepreneurial
Pun is an anomaly. The success in Myanmar need not be bought or bartered
bespectacled, silver- for money and favours.
haired businessman has
carved out a squeaky CORRUPTION IS CANCER
To understand Pun’s distaste for corruption and
clean reputation over cronyism, you’ll have to go all the way back to 1973,
the decades as a man when a young 20-year-old crossed the Lowu Bridge at
of principle who will Shenzhen and walked into Hong Kong with just HK$5
not stoop to grease the in his pocket and a head full of dreams to sustain him.
board berthed
palms of a government That young man would go on to work onhe could afford
ships in the Hong Kong harbour so that
official in order to his next meal. Later on, he would land a job selling air
secure a business deal. sanitizers door to door. When he knocked on a door
that belonged to a real estate broker named Elmer
Busch, it launched him on a trajectory that would
see him set up Serge Pun & Associates Group of
Companies in 1983 before finally returning to Yangon
eight years later.
For Pun, the idea of reaping rewards without putting
in the hard work – the essence of corruption – is
discomforting. “When I see people benefit in an
unethical way, it bothers me. It pisses me off,” he says.
“I think that [corruption] lacks the mutual respect that
every human being should give to others.”
He compares corruption to cancer. Just as how a
body ultimately succumbs to cancerous cells if not
treated, a country beset by corrupt bureaucracies will
eventually break down. “If you look at the emerging
markets in our society today, you’ll notice that there
are lots of successful economies. But yet, you find
that a large majority of the country’s population is still
poor,” asserts Pun.
“The main reason is because the economic benefits
do not trickle down. The money is being siphoned
sideways into the pockets of a small number of
people. That causes the rampant poverty you see
around you.”
The consequence
of my choice
seated across
his views
was that I had to Pun iscorruption and from me as he shareshis neck
about
I can see the veins in
be prepared
pulsating as he gesticulates with his hands to bring
to lose business his point across. It’s clearly an issue he is incredibly
concerned about; Pun is a regular participant in
deals. I am
World Economic Forum events that centre on the
prepared for that topics of business transparency and corruption.
consequence
MISTRUST AND ALLEGATIONS
and my choice is Despite his well-documented views on the subject and
something that I his global reputation a ́5ȁ