It was in March 1993 that I quit my Corporate job
to become a Real Estate Agent.
That decision was not an easy one because
from a well-paid job with a secured salary
to a future without any predictable income,
I was venturing into unknown territory ....
So many " What if " entered my mind.
What if I cannot close any sale ?
What if I cannot close any tenancy ?
What if I cannot collect my commission ?
What if I don't have any income for 3 months
.... would I be able to survive ?
BUT that was 28 years ago !!
Today I have survived the trials and tribulations
plus the ups and downs of the property industry.
I have not only emerged stronger but I have also
managed to thrive successfully.
Of course it would not be possible for me to
last so long in Real Estate Agency .... if I don't have
a mentor.
One of the mentors whom I have always looked up to
and who have guided me tremendously is the ever
humble Dato Chew of the KIP Group.
Thus I was truly sad and devastated when I received
the news yesterday ....that Dato Chew has passed away.
Only last week he called me to work on another project.
I asked him how is he coping with his cancer treatment.
and he said he is okay ....
Life is short indeed.
I did not expect this to happen so fast
... that my property mentor would leave me.
I first met Dato Chew in my first year into real estate.
He was then with the MEDA Group, and they bought
a commercial land in Selayang from me for about
Ringgit Malaysia RM7.2M.
If i can recall correctly, it was about 6 months
into my venture into Real Estate Agency, and it was
my first land transaction.
They successfully developed that land into the
SUMMIT SQUARE mall, and made them many
millions in profit.
Then they purchased another plot of land thru me
for about Ringgit Malaysia RM57 million .
This time it was a 24 acres site in Seri Kembangan,
which they developed into the SOUTH CITY PLAZA.
From then on, their business flourished until
the original shareholders decided to part ways.
So Dato Chew teamed up with Dato Eric Ong
to form the KIP Group, which develop malls for
the middle-income sector and targetting the suburban
Malay population.
And thus I was assigned to source Commercial
land sites for them throughout the country.
I was able to bring in 3 sites for them :
Kipmall Senawang --- RM20 Million
Kipmall Melaka --- RM18 Million
Kipmart Sg Petani --- RM10 Million
Having developed enough malls and profitability
to fulfill the requirements of the Securities Commission,
they subsequently decide to go for a public listing on
the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange ( Bursa Malaysia )
Thus on 6th February 2017, their Real Estate Investment Trust
known as KIP REIT was born .
I was proud to have helped and contributed to their
public listing exercise.
AND more than that, I am very grateful to the KIP Group,
for having given me so many opportunities to do deals,
and to further my real estate agency career.
THANK YOU Dato Chew
for being my Mentor
for being my Friend
for being a true Gentleman.
Rest in Peace SIR
you shall always be remembered ....
