This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 28, 2017 - September 3, 2017

JUST three months after suffering a stroke, self-made Sarawak timber and media baron Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King has given his blessing for his youngest daughter, Tiong Choon, to take on a more prominent role in Media Chinese International Ltd (MCIL).

MCIL, which is dual listed on Bursa Malaysia and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, controls the four mainstream Chinese daily newspapers in Malaysia — Sin Chew Daily, China Press, Guang Ming Daily and Nanyang Siang Pau.

Effective July 17, 48-year-old Tiong Choon was redesignated from a non-executive director to an executive director of the group.

Tiong Choon, the youngest of four siblings, is now widely seen as Hiew King’s eventual successor at MCIL.

In April, the 82-year-old Hiew King, who is the executive chairman and executive director of MCIL, was admitted to a hospital in Singapore following a stroke.

Since then, there has been widespread speculation about his health. His family members have assured that he “is in good condition and strong”.

It is recently learnt that he is recovering well.

Ranked by Forbes as Malaysia’s ninth richest man with a fortune of US$2 billion (RM9 billion), Hiew King set up Rimbunan Hijau Group in 1975 when he was 40. Over the past four decades, he has built a diversified Asian conglomerate with businesses spanning timber exports and processing, media and publishing, oil palm plantations and mills, and oil and gas.

Closer to home, he controls four major listed companies on Bursa — MCIL, Jaya Tiasa Holdings Bhd, Subur Tiasa Holdings Bhd and Rimbunan Sawit Bhd.

Hiew King has two sons — Tiong Chiong Ong, 59, and Datuk Seri Tiong Chiong Hoo, 57 — and two daughters — Datuk Tiong Ing, 60, and Tiong Choon — but it is unclear who will take over the leadership of Rimbunan Hijau in the future.

Chiong Hoo is deputy chairman of Jaya Tiasa, Chiong Ong is non-executive chairman of Rimbunan Sawit, Tiong Ing is managing director of Subur Tiasa and Tiong Choon is now executive director of MCIL.

Who is Tiong Choon?

Among the siblings, Tiong Choon is said to be the most capable, hence, it has long been thought that she would succeed her father at MCIL.

To put things into perspective, MCIL may not be Hiew King’s most profitable business or most valuable asset but the group has always been, and will always be, the most meaningful one to him.

In the past few decades, it was MCIL that elevated Hiew King’s profile and standing in the Chinese community. The media business also gave him some political clout in Malaysia and China.

Simply put, the succession planning at MCIL is particularly a major concern for Hiew King.

So, just who is Tiong Choon?

According to MCIL’s 2017 annual report, Tiong Choon started her career with Rimbunan Hijau Group in 1991 and served in various managerial and senior positions in the plantation and hospitality divisions.

She holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from Monash University, Australia. She has been a non-independent non-executive director of Jaya Tiasa since 1999.

She is a distant relative of Francis Tiong Kiew Chiong, 57, who is the current executive director and CEO of MCIL. She is also a niece of Datuk Seri Dr Tiong Ik King, who sits on the board as non-executive director.

In other words, Tiong Choon has been learning the ropes from senior family members at MCIL in the past four years.

Now that she has been given executive power at MCIL, many in the investing and media fraternities are wondering what the future holds for the group. Chief among the concerns will be the fate of loss-making Nanyang Siang Pau. Will the almost-100-year-old newspaper be disposed of or even shut down?

The chosen one

According to Chang Teck Peng, a doctoral candidate in Communication Studies at Taiwan’s Shih Hsin University, based on the recent redesignation, it is quite obvious that Tiong Choon will eventually succeed her father at MCIL. In fact, she is Hiew King’s only child sitting on the board of the group.

“Tiong Choon, who had been keeping a low profile all these years, has started to represent her father, making speeches at public events in recent months. She has been in the public eye more often since Tiong suffered the stroke, which has somehow accelerated his succession plan,” he tells The Edge.

Chang, who is also the former editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Chinese news portal, Merdeka Review, is of the view that Tiong Choon should be able to deliver at MCIL, given her vast experience in the corporate world.

However, he cautions that media is a unique business as it involves political interest. Hence, it remains to be seen whether Tiong Choon can move MCIL’s businesses in the right direction and more importantly, how she will handle the political pressure.

“If Tiong phases out his role in MCIL, will Umno or other ruling political parties try to get hold of the Chinese newspapers? And if that happens, what will Tiong Choon do?” asks Chang.

“This is about political connection, which is something beyond management skills. Bear in mind that even [banking and property tycoon] Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan bowed to political pressure and sold Nanyang Press Holdings Bhd to MCA in 2001.”

He also points out that while Hiew King is sentimental about the Chinese newspapers he owns, Tiong Choon may not share the same feelings.

“If Tiong Choon just thinks from a business perspective, she may actually consider disposing of or shutting down Nanyang Siang Pau. It will be interesting to see what decision she will make in the future,” he says.

Chang explains that considering Tiong Choon was raised mostly in Sarawak, she may not have any affection for Nanyang Siang Pau, a business publication that caters more for Peninsular Malaysia.

Chinese think tank Anbound Research Center (M) Sdn Bhd analyst Fung Vun Ket opines that it is still too early to say Tiong Choon will eventually take the helm at MCIL.

“As of today, Francis Tiong remains the CEO of MCIL. He is very experienced. He has been in power for quite some time and has made some contributions to the group. But one thing for sure is that Tiong wants his family members to play a bigger role at MCIL,” he tells The Edge.

He highlights that as Tiong Choon was previously involved more actively in Rimbunan Hijau rather than MCIL, the market is still unsure about her overall view on the media business.

“MCIL has laid out its strategies for the coming years. The company wants to go digital, so Tiong Choon’s main task is just to execute the plans. I don’t think people are expecting her to bring any major change or breakthrough to MCIL, at least not yet,” says Fung, who is a former assistant business editor at a local Chinese newspaper.

On the possibility of MCIL being forced to sell its local Chinese newspapers to ruling political parties in the future, Fung is unfazed.

“Times have changed. During Quek’s era, the local media were tightly controlled and monitored. But today, media freedom is relatively better as the government does not interfere in media operations as much as it did in the past,” he says.

Fung, however, cautions that there are still many uncertainties and challenges facing MCIL despite the fact that Tiong Choon has been given executive powers and is seen as the successor.

“Basically, Tiong Choon is now given some ‘homework’. Next, she needs to get it done and pass the test. It is important for her to build an image of who she is and more importantly, what she is capable of,” he concludes.

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