Proud to be Malaysian: Chai (second from right) with his son Michael (Chai’s right), who is Aset Kayamas executive director, and other staff members in Aset Kayamas’ office in Kuala Lumpur.
KUALA LUMPUR: In August, property tycoon Tan Sri Chai Kin Kong turns his gaze from brick, cement and steel beams to the red and white stripes of the Jalur Gemilang.
For now, gone are the days when the chairman and managing director of Aset Kayamas Sdn Bhd’s work hours are dominated by site inspections and progress meetings of his 10 ongoing projects.
Instead, Chai, 59, has dotted the pages of his diary with inspections of National Day decorations in his offices and their grounds, as well as at his project sites.
He has also visited numerous primary and secondary schools to support the campaigns organised by his company and attended events under Star Media Group’s Raise The Flag initiative.
Aset Kayamas is the main sponsor for Raise The Flag, a two-month campaign that seeks to strengthen national pride among Malaysians. It ends on Malaysia Day.
“National Day and Malaysia Day come around only once a year. It is important for the people to mark this in a big way,” Chai said.
It is not just his three-and-a-half-storey headquarters in Old Klang Road here and his project sites that catch attention due to the many flags waving in the wind. Meet his staff and they will greet you with a Jalur Gemilang pin on their shirts, designed by one of the staff.
There is also an inter-department competition going on.
“Our multiracial staff have been in patriotic mode. They have stayed on after work to put up flags and bunting,” Chai said.
With deep lines on his forehead, he may come off as a no-nonsense businessman, but talk about the planned colouring competitions in primary schools and photography contests for secondary students and a smile graces his face instead.
“The idea of patriotism can be unclear for the young ones, so you need to capture their imagination and help them understand what it means to be a true Malaysian. These activities can do that,” he said.
“I came from a poor family and had to stop schooling at 10. When I was 13, I left my home in Jerantut (Pahang) and headed for Kelantan, where I worked a backbreaking job in the timber industry.
“I put in 10 years of learning the ropes and saving money before going back to Pahang to start my own timber business.
“I then moved to Sabah in 1993 and expanded my timber business.”
In 2007, he set up logging and mining businesses, as well as oil palm estates in Terengganu before starting Aset Kayamas in 2013.
Throughout his childhood and working years, he had friends of all races.
“I look back on my life and I see clearly that our country is a land of opportunity and rich resources, filled with talented and hardworking people. Everyone can make it, no matter their background or race,” he said.
For Chai, organising campaigns is not enough to show his love for his country, which is why Aset Kayamas builds affordable homes so that he can give back to society.
“We will launch 3,000 condo units at Desa Valley (formerly known as Desa Waterpark) on Sept 9. These units are priced at RM230,000 each and fall under the Federal Territories’ Affordable Homes Programme (Rumawip),” he said.
This, he added, was his response to the Government’s wish for developers to build more affordable homes.
“We want to help young Malaysians who are just starting out to own a home,” he said, adding that Aset Kayamas had built affordable homes from the start.
He said they would launch two more projects in the second half of the year and were on the lookout for more land, mainly in the Klang Valley.
To bulk order Aset Kayamas’ final special issue of the four-page Raise The Flag spread, which contains a mini Jalur Gemilang and will be out on Sept 14, contact The Star’s Customer Care unit at 1300 887 827 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
Win exciting staycations and dining vouchers by decorating T-shirt templates contained in the newspaper’s centrespread with a Malaysian motif and be photographed “wearing” it while holding the flag.
Add in a love note to Malaysia. Best poses should be hashtagged #RaiseTheFlagMY on social media. On Facebook, you can share it as: raisetheflagmy.
The contest ends on Sept 17.
