As we celebrate our independence, it is timely to dwell on our corporate successes.
T Ananda Krishnan’s role in developing the Petronas Twin Towers shot him to prominence. Today his Usaha Tegas group is a well-diversified conglomerate.
Habib Jewels founder Datuk Habib Mohamed Abdul Latif built one shop in Penang into the first jeweller to list on the KL Stock Exchange.
And the story of the late Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew’s success needs little telling.
He brought the Honda Cub to Malaysia and today the company he founded has grown into a conglomerate with a strong presence in car distribution, property development, hotel management, plantations and plastic manufacturing and sits on a net cash pile of RM2.21 billion.
We spoke to political and corporate leaders about their Merdeka reflections. 
Plain-speaking Umno leader Datuk Seri Shahrir Samad begs to differ with those who think that Malaysia’s fortunes are waning.
“We invest in the most difficult areas such as the offshore oil sector and planting crops that take years to mature,” he says.
“That shows me that people are still thinking of the long term. So it is not a country that has gone to the dogs.”
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, August 26, 2011.
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