MOVERS & SHAKERS OF SARAWAK
From the Land of the Hornbills, the The Peak
reports on those who have contributed to the great growth of Malaysia's biggest state.
At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be much going on
in the sleepy riverside town of Sibu. Don’t let the laid-back
pace fool you, however, as Sibu is the birthplace of some of
Malaysia’s most powerful timber magnates. One of the most
prominent Chinese families in Sibu to make its fortune in the
THE BILLION DOLLAR MAN
Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King
There are nine Malaysians on the 2010 Forbes List of World’s
Billionaires, one of whom hails from the Land of the Hornbills.
Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King is a man who wears many hats. In
addition to being a timber tycoon, his businesses cover finance,
media, IT, mining, aquaculture, agriculture (oil palm plantation),
reafforestation, trading and property development. Since he was
a child, Tan Sri Tiong has had an unyielding thirst for knowledge.
Despite having to help his family tap rubber to make ends meet,
he never let hardship distract him from doing well in school.
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 EYE
ON SARAWAK
Malaysia’s largest state has always been blessed
with an abundance of natural resources but it is
also working hard to transform itself into a fullydiversified,
industrialised economy. Leading the
charge is Cahya Mata Sarawak, the state’s biggest
private sector player. Diana Khoo speaks to its
Group Deputy Chairman, Dato Sri Mahmud Abu
Bekir Taib, to find out what else is in store.
Sarawak, on the island of Borneo,
is, without doubt, the largest state
in Malaysia. Spanning 124,450 sq
km and making up close to 40
per cent of the country’s total
land mass, it is also rich in natural
resources, namely timber, due to
the sizeable tract of rainforest it possesses, as well as petroleum
and liquefied natural gas. Although this establishes it as a major
contributor to Malaysian exports, the state is also looking to
shift into a more economic and industrialised mode. Leading the
charge is Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad, a leading name listed on
the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia, the Malaysian stock exchange,
and Sarawak’s biggest private sector player. With grand plans
to further diversify its already-varied portfolio, which includes
construction materials, trading, road maintenance, construction,
property development, technology, education and financial
services, the Group looks set for even greater things – for itself
as well as for its home state.
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 PIONEERING THE
NEXT FRONTIER
The first ever in-house self-winding mechanical movement from Cartier, the calibre
1904 MC, makes its debut this year. Cartier’s Regional Managing Director Christopher
Kilaniotis explains how the confluence of history and the future of Cartier’s watchmaking
are manifested in the stunning new timepiece that is the Calibre de Cartier.
Barely a year after the Wright
brothers proved that men
could take to the air, the year
1904 saw the maison of Cartier venture
into making a wristwatch, at the time
necessary for aviators who required a
quick reference of time while keeping their
hands on the controls. From the friendship
between Louis Cartier (the grandson
of founder Louis-François Cartier) and
Brazilian pilot Alberto Santos-Dumont,
a man’s wristwatch was born – women’s
wristwatches were more commonplace
but considered as items of jeweller – and
watchmaking was firmly launched into its
next phase of evolution.
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