Property Hunter Magazine August Issue 2014 | Page 26

/// Exclusive Interview

/// EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Chew Sang Hai
A Success Story Built On Traditional Values

H

e built his three-decade
long career in the property
development industry on
the principles of loyalty, diligence
and obligation. These qualities may
seem antiquated for the current
Generation-Y that is flooding the job
market where if you don’t like what
you do, then do something else. Selfsatisfaction whether at work or at play
takes precedent over most things
including holding down a job.

James Voon who was Sabah’s first
accountant general and founder
of Merdeka Group realised the
shortcomings of shop houses built
during that period were holding
back progress. They lacked proper
maintenance with no focus on
supporting activities or business
community relationship. Individual
tenants would open and close their
stores at different times which gave
the area a disorganised feel.

Getting involved in the property
development industry wasn’t a
calculated career choice but was a job
opportunity that presented itself as
something stable and safe. Born and
raised in Kuala Lumpur, Chew Sang
Hai had a very traditional upbringing
where hard work and perseverance
was the key to success. And success
itself was gauged by one’s ability to
put food on the table and provide for
the family’s needs.

“Segama Shopping Complex was the
first mixed development commercial
project on reclaimed land in Kota
Kinabalu in the 1970s. It presented a
departure from the traditional where
you have your shop on the ground
floor and you stay above the shop.
Some old shop houses also had an
internal staircase that leads to the first
floor,” Chew explained.

He was working as a site clerk with a
construction company when he was
going through Form 6 at TARC (Tunku
Abdul Rahman College) in 1979.
The company sponsored his further
education as a chartered builder
at TARC which bonded him to the
company for the next three years. He
was transferred from Kuala Lumpur
to Penang before he eventually set
his eyes on Kota Kinabalu. By then
he had already graduated with a
chartered builder’s licence, fulfilled his
bond obligation and ready to take the
next step in his career.
“It was my first flight ever and I didn’t
enjoy it very much,” he reminisced
about his arrival in Kota Kinabalu.
“Once I got over that, I just got down
to the business of working and making
a living.”
The year was 1982 and the property
industry, fuelled by a flourishing
timber sector in Sabah, was booming.
Within a few years, Chew would take
up a job with a company that would
shape his long-standing career in
the property development industry.
The Merdeka Group was embarking
on a trendsetting development plan
to transform the shopping culture
in Sabah and Chew was at the
right place and at the right time to
capitalise on this.

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The new approach saw the ground
and first floors dedicated to
commercial lots instead of residential.
Corridors in front of the first floor lots
and linking bridges between blocks
made is easy for shoppers to move
around and maximise their shopping
experience.”
Riding on the success of Segama
Shopping Complex, the Merdeka
Group would embark on yet another
ambitious project that would revitalise
the shopping culture in Kota Kinabalu.
Built in 1985, Wisma Merdeka was
the first multi-storey shopping mall
in the city with offices and parking
bays. The mall was inspired by Lucky
Plaza in Singapore and Sungai Wang
in KL where shopping was developing
into an important part of the urban
lifestyle. Shops had standard
operating hours, there was more
variety, it was air-conditioned and you
could park your car in the building
itself.
As more malls began to take shape
and establish themselves in the city,
the consumer profile had begun to
change too.
“Initially, Wisma Merdeka and then
Centrepoint were built to cater to the
middle-income group. But because
the city has grown, more branded
goods have found their way into these
malls to attract the more affluent city

folks as well as tourists,” says Chew.
Despite this inevitable change, we
realised there was still potential to
develop malls that cater to the needs
of the lower and middle-income
groups. But these groups of people
are not living in the city. They are in
the suburbs and this is where we
needed to be.”
At a GDV of RM1.2 million, the
Grand Merdeka mall in Menggatal
will be a testament to Chew’s faith
and confidence in taking on what
many considered a high-risk gamble.
Detractors viewed the move as highly
speculative considering its distance
from the city and having no reference
to gauge the success potential of a
suburban mall in Sabah.
Chew shows no sign of doubt or
hesitancy when talking about this new
venture. Or perhaps he hides it well.
“No one had the confidence to give
it a try and wanted to stay in their
comfort zone,” he enthuses.
But this project is not just about
building a suburban mall. It is also
about giving the third generation the
opportunity to prove their mettle.
The young project managers in our
company need a platform to learn and
progress with their ideas. And most
importantly, they must know how
to maintain and sustain the project
after it is completed. This will be their
training ground to inspire and mould
them into exceptional individuals in
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