INTRODUCTION OF TAN SRI SYED MOKHTAR SHAH BIN SYED NOR ALBUKHARY.

Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary the third of seventh children born into a middle-low class of Hadhrami Arab ancestry. His father was a trader who had travelled to Central Asia and Thailand in his youth before settling down in Kedah during the 1940s. When Syed Mokhtar was nine years old, he was sent to Johor Bahru to live with his uncle Syed Omar where he studied until Form 2. He subsequently returned to Kedah to finish his education until form five at Saint Michael's School, and he never went to university. A whole lot of his knowledge and experience was gained through his own entrepreneurship experience during his youth time. Due in part his family's mediocre-to-poor background, Syed Mokhtar al Bukhary had to step into the working world in his early life, while pursuing his primary and secondary studies. Syed Mokhtar helped his mother planting and selling vegetables in the market and also selling roti canai. His numeric knowledge was used to help his father in doing daily book keeping. After finishing school, Syed Mokhtar helped his father in breeding cow business but only to see the business washed away by foot and mouth disease. Nevertheless, he took over the
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business and start over by selling meats. He then move on to packaging the meats and start selling them wholesale.

Careers background.

Syed Mokhtar and Zainal started his business in Kedah in the 1990s dealing in rice. More success followed and he moved to rice trading business. He worked even harder after he was awarded the rice trading license from Lembaga Padi Negara, and was later awarded successions of supplier contract government-linked corporations as partner with Zainal Hatim Hj Ambia Bukhary. As his determination starting to skyrocket, he quickly moved to expand into diversification of other businesses. His next big move was in the logistics business, with initial goal to transport their trading materials. Today, his business empire has grown into areas such as plantation, property development, construction, engineering, power generation, infrastructure and ports. He owns 51.8% share in Malaysian Mining Corporation via his wholly owned company, Syarikat Impian Teladan Sdn. Bhd. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar and Zainal Hatim personally owns SKS Ventures, which was awarded the task of building the site for 2100MW coal-fired power station at Tanjung Bin, Johor. Tan Sri Syed Mohktar has a 32% share in PERNAS through his own company, Syarikat Ratu Jernih. Syarikat Perdana Padu Sdn. Bhd. and Corak Kukuh Sdn. Bhd. Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar and Zainal are Board Members of Syarikat Bina Puri Holdings Berhad, whereby, on his own, he has 7.34% share. Apart from these, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar and Zainal has varied interest in a number of companies, both in Malaysia as well as abroad.

Charity involvement

His philanthropic values were nurtured from the age of 23 when he started a small business dealing in rice. When he received his first monthly income of RM1,500, his mother had told him to donate half of it to the poor. From 1996 to 2006, his foundation has contributed almost RM1bil to charity, although his total income is probably in multiples of that figure. He has humanitarian projects in Asia and Africa, including rebuilding the lives of Afghan refugees, Pakistan's ear's tsunami victims and is now working to establish an AIDS hospital in Uganda. Among the foundation's initiatives are the Albukhary Tuition Programme for poor underachievers and the Albukhary Scholarship Programme for poor high achievers.The scholarship awarding in AL Bukhary foundation started in 2003 with 41 students from 19 countries who had been awarded the scholar ship from AL Bukhary Foundation. In the following years the number of students have reached almost 350 students. The foundation has built a university and entire city around it, including hospital, mosque, library, food plantations, accommodation and provides tuition at no fee to underprivilledged students

Recognition In appreciation of his enormous services and contributions, he was bestowed with several awards, which among others, include the Panglima Setia Mahkota (P.S.M.) by His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which carries the title Tan Sri and the Dato' Setia Mahkota Kedah (D.S.D.K.) by HRH The Sultan Kedah, which carries the title Dato'. On 10 January 2008 or 1st Muharram 1429 Hijra he was announced and awarded as "Tokoh Ma'al Hijrah" by The Yang Di Pertuan Agong of Malaysia in recognition of his contribution to nation building.

Competitiveness in business

A number of companies controlled by Syed Mokhtar have come under attack for development activities on greenfield sites. For example, the clearance of mangroves for the development of Johor Port has led to some criticisms from local environmental groups. He has also been identified as a major beneficiary of political connections that have given his subsidiary companies monopoly control over crucial Malaysian sectors, including rice, power and ports. KUALA LUMPUR: Tradewinds Plantation Bhds (TPB) AGM today could be an interesting affair as the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) has sent to the company a set of questions ranging from crude oil pricing to a donation of RM10 million made to the Albukhary International University, sources said. Of particular interest to minority shareholders will be the RM10 million donation, which is deemed as excessive, representing about 20% of the companys net profit. MSWGs list of questions also include seeking clarity on its plans to build palm oil mills. TPBs 69.76% parent Tradewinds (M) Bhd is also understood to have received a letter from MSWG over its own contribution of RM10 million as well, to the same university. Tradewinds AGM is slated for June 22. The RM10 million contribution by Tradewinds works out to about 12% of its net profit for FY09. Issues have cropped up as Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary controls almost 43% of Tradewinds and has an interest in the university as well. The RM350 million Albukhary International University in Alor Setar, Kedah comes under the control of the Yayasan Albukhary, which in turn is controlled by Syed Mokhtar. This will not be the first fiery AGM in the businessmans stable of companies.
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The Edge Financial Daily learnt that Syed Mokhtars flagship MMC Corporation Bhds AGM at end-April was also a fiery one, with shareholders questioning a RM75 million contribution to the university. For FY09, MMC posted a net profit of RM236.71 million on RM8.44 billion in revenue, which means the contribution to the Albukhary International University amounted to over 30% of the net profit. Syed Mokhtar, via his vehicle Seaport Terminal (Johore) Sdn Bhd, controls about 42.47% of MMC. Even more interesting was a contribution by water player Aliran Ihsan Resources Bhd, which gave away some RM20 million to the university. Aliran Ihsans net profit for FY09 amounted to RM30.23 million, meaning that the company forked out almost two-thirds of its net profits to the university. Syed Mokhtars MMC has more than 70% equity interest in Aliran Ihsan. Another company the tycoon controls, Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas), has forked out RM20 million to the . Bernas is 72.57% owned by Tradewinds. In total companies linked to the tycoon is understood to have donated anywhere between RM135 million and RM150 million to the university. Another Syed Mokhtar-controlled company, DRB Hicom Bhd, has not done so. According to MSWGs letter to TPB, such donations are normally in the 2% or 3% range of net profits and that the (TPB) board should provide more clarification on the substantial contribution. Giving out to charity or such causes is fine; just ensure the company pays out dividends and then pay it from your own pocket, an industry observer said.

Conclusion of Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary

Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary is a prominent example we should emulate in terms of craft attitude, leadership, authority and remain determined in the course of all his efforts in developing countries in particular Malaysia. Nations of Muslim Malays in particular should take heed and new measures to improve themselves, their religion, race and country Malaysia