This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 25, 2024 - December 1, 2024

When Tengku Datuk Ab Aziz Tengku Mahmud was appointed to lead the 40-acre mixed-use Merdeka 118 precinct development project in 2010, the new role came naturally to him following his years of experience in leading property divisions at various companies before that.

“When I was asked whether I’d be interested in starting the Merdeka 118 project, I was at that time head of property development at Sime Darby Bhd (KL:SIME) where I oversaw the property development operations as well as the hospitality, leisure and asset management of the division. And prior to that, I was at Kumpulan Guthrie as head of property and CEO of Guthrie Property Development Holdings Bhd. So, it was quite a natural progression for me,” says the soft-spoken CEO of PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB).

PNB Merdeka Ventures is the project owner and developer of the Merdeka 118 precinct development, which includes the restoration of Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara. Both stadiums were gazetted as national heritage sites in 2005.

“For a bit of history, PNB Merdeka Ventures was set up as a special purpose vehicle in 2000 to buy the 40-acre land, which includes the two stadiums. The motivation for PNB to buy the land was to maintain the two stadiums as heritage sites, which we kept for 10 years while we considered what we could do for the site. In 2010, we started project planning and came up with the idea to build the [Merdeka 118] tower.”

The 678.9m-tall building, which was completed in August this year, is currently the tallest tower in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, and the second tallest in the world after Burj Khalifa. The tower is also set to be the first in the country to receive a triple platinum rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) (achieved in 2024), GreenRE and Green Building Index certification systems.

Stadium Merdeka — one of the country’s most historically significant landmarks as the site where the formal declaration of independence of the Federation of Malaya in 1957 and the proclamation of Malaysia in 1963 were made — has been carefully restored to its former glory. It reopened its doors to the public in August after being closed since 2016.

“To be given the opportunity to lead the [Merdeka 118] precinct is the most pivotal milestone [of my career]. I don’t think I can name anything else,” says Ab Aziz.

It is easy to appreciate the level of fulfilment the Merdeka 118 project can bring to Ab Aziz, who is a civil engineer by profession. “There’s a lot of satisfaction when you see things being built from nothing. And a project like Merdeka 118 is not something that is done every day.

“A simple analogy would be this: to build a 50-storey building is quite straightforward, but when you take two 50-storey buildings and stack one on top of the other to make it a 100-storey building, everything changes, from the parameters to the challenges. And suddenly, it becomes iconic. So, I think it is a tremendous opportunity to ensure that we do the best we can.”

The crystalline tower, which pays homage to the country’s journey to independence and is a symbol of national pride, is also a testament to what Ab Aziz’s team can execute and achieve.

“One of my personal satisfactions is to see the change in the Kuala Lumpur skyline and that this tower is now part of the city. It’s a form of recognition.”

For his leadership and commitment to the task, Ab Aziz received the Outstanding CEO award at The Edge Malaysia Property Excellence Awards 2024.

A master of business administration graduate from Cranfield University in the UK, he is currently a member of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Board of Engineers Malaysia, The Institution of Engineers Malaysia, Malaysian Institute of Management and American Society of Civil Engineers. He also sits on the board of Worldwide Landfills Sdn Bhd as an independent director.

Leaders often have to make tough calls and for Ab Aziz, it was having to lay off staff. “This did not happen in the last 10 years but much earlier, when one of the companies needed to be restructured and we had to tell the guys that we needed to downsize. It was really not easy telling them that they will have no job after tomorrow. These are some of the harsh realities we have to face when a business cannot continue for whatever reason.”

Despite needing to make these tough calls, he believes in the importance of having compassion and empathy. “At the end of the day, we have to prepare them; not just give them a letter and say, that’s it. We can, for instance, provide reasonable compensation for their years of service so they can at least [have a bit of a buffer] before getting a new job. I think it’s important to not be so hard.”

While effective leadership requires a multitude of skills, the most important one for Ab Aziz is integrity. “It is important to make sure that in whatever we do, we know that it is to the best of our ability. And at the same time, our conscience has to be clear while making sure that the decisions we make are in the best interest of the company and stakeholders.”

Ab Aziz also believes in being solution-oriented and weighing all options when it comes to decision-making. “I would normally ask my colleagues, peers or whoever is working with me, what the possibilities and outcomes are to get the best possible outcome. It’s important to be able to see the best options available and that the decision made is given the first level of priority, and we stick to that decision. Sometimes, they are tough decisions but they still need to be made.

“Especially in our case, the Merdeka 118 precinct is considered a very large-scale project, so challenges come from many different directions and we have to consider the best possible ways to deal with them. There will be some impact but whatever we decide on, it has to have minimal impact on the timeline and cost; and overruns in terms of timelines can be very expensive. At the end of the day, it’s about putting the whole thing together and getting it done.”

While the younger Ab Aziz did not envisage his future in the property industry, his engineering background did come in handy. “I think it helps a lot in terms of communicating with the consultants and contractors, who are experts in their fields. If you are not ‘speaking their language’, it can be difficult. It also helps in appreciating their problems and understanding the issues they face. I think it’s a win-win. Because at the end of the day, we have a common objective — to get this thing built and to make sure it’s done properly, on schedule and within the budgeted costs.”

Given the scale of the Merdeka 118 precinct, the CEO is very much a hands-on leader. “I think it’s important to know what’s happening on the ground to be able to respond to any issues effectively and adapt to any challenges or changes. For example, when Covid-19 came, we had to find ways to keep pushing on to make sure the project got done, rather than just say we have a big problem now and resign ourselves to those issues.”

Ab Aziz also believes that communication is key to ensuring everyone in the team is on the same page. “Especially now when information can be transmitted so fast anywhere, we have to ensure that each team member communicates with one another and to tell us immediately when there are any big issues, so that we can also try to solve the problem.

“We also publish monthly newsletters to record the activities we have done. On a day-to-day basis, we have common group chats and hold regular meetings to stay updated on what’s happening. This is not just done on the staff level but also with the board. Just to give an example, when we started the [Merdeka 118] project, we started a monthly update in report format as well as in video format to show the previous month’s progress at board meetings. And we have consistently done that for the past seven years. This is to ensure that the team knows what’s going on from the project level all the way up to the board level.”

A successful company, to Ab Aziz, is one that can adapt to the times. “Times are very challenging and we see the property industry being confronted by new things. For example, ESG (environmental, social and governance) was not a big issue 10 years ago but it is a common theme now.

“And because we are in the property line, it is very important that we address those issues because if not, we’ll be contributing to the problem. We try to integrate those [ESG] principles as much as we can in our day-to-day activities. It is important to be a solution, and not a contributor, to the problem. This is important for us to move forward.”

What does Ab Aziz think of the brain drain impacting the country? “To me, the solution is opportunities. If you can provide the opportunity for them to be part of the team, then there is no issue of brain drain, which only happens when there is skill and knowledge but you cannot provide the opportunity.”

At PNB Merdeka Ventures, Ab Aziz places a strong emphasis on training. A programme has been put in place for the staff to clock in a certain amount of hours of training every year.

“At the same time, we are now progressing to project completion, which means there will be opportunities that are more long-term rather than project-based. It very much depends on what career progression they want. The project itself provides a lot of opportunity to learn, but what’s next? I think it’s important for them to be able to develop their careers. PNB takes a lot of effort to ensure that the career development of each staff is looked after.”

After the Merdeka 118 precinct development is completed, which according to Ab Aziz will take another five to six years, the company will move into property management. “Because once the development is completed, we have to manage it. And the scale is big enough. The tower alone is three million sq ft in gross floor area, so it is big enough for us to form a management team to ensure it will continuously be managed well.”

The 118-storey megatall skyscraper comprises a mix of office space, a Park Hyatt hotel, a sky restaurant, a two-level observation deck and a basement car park.

Upon completion, the precinct will also have three residential towers, a retail mall with a net lettable area of about 850,000 sq ft, a four-acre park, a textile museum and a PNB childcare centre.

Leading a 140-strong group of staff, Ab Aziz has a project to finish. “We now have to complete the mall and the towers.”

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