Tan Sri
The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines.
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...
Dato' Sri Utama Sheikh Mohammad Nasimuddin Kamal bin Sheikh Mohamad Amin (27 January 1955 – 1 May 2008) was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the
Naza Group of Malaysia.
Background
Nasimuddin was born to a
Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to:
* Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people
* Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center
* Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see belo ...
ancestry. He was always interested in cars and the automobile industry. He received his early education from Sekolah Rendah Tunku Munawir (1961–1966). He then studied at
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tuanku Muhammad (1967–1972). Both schools are located in
Kuala Pilah
Kuala Pilah (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Kolo Pilah''), or simply Pilah, is a town in Kuala Pilah District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
Townscape
Kuala Pilah is an old valley town with many of the pre-war Chinese shop houses still fronting the ...
,
Negri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the ...
.
In 1974, when he was 19, he had RM80,000 in his bank account which he saved from his remunerations from helping out his contractor father. He started his automobile business with an allocation of Approved Permits (APs) to import foreign cars. APs are government-issued permits to import cars for
bumiputra
''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controve ...
s. He made his first million in about a year.
Going into business
After starting up the business, he flew to Japan where he spent three months purchasing his first 20 units of used Japanese cars. Upon his return to Malaysia, he sold off all 20 units within three months.
Nasimuddin's automobile business began with a shop lot in
Taman Maluri selling 10 to 15 units of cars each month. In 1979, he opened a branch in
Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur doing retail and selling 40 to 60 cars monthly.
During those years, Nasimuddin decided to import used Japanese cars at a time when Japanese cars were popular with Malaysians.
He faced some challenges, including financing and how to convince customers to buy used cars when many were then not keen on foreign cars.
Businesses
The Naza Group now has 15 business divisions covering industries such as cigarette distribution, credit and leasing, engineering, hotels, insurance, machine tools and parts, manufacturing, motorcycles, property, transport services, plantations and water craft.
He owned TTDI Development which is one of the most prominent real estate companies in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
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, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
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, coordinates =
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.
The Naza Group currently holds the Malaysian franchise for
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
's
Kia
Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
vehicles, and France's
Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
vehicles. It also holds the import permits for
Mazda
, commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan.
In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...
vehicles. Naza has now also become the biggest and most prominent importer of luxury high-end vehicles like
Mercedes Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
in Malaysia with endeavours such as Naza-Brabus.
He was reported to be interested in buying a 40% interest and taking over Malaysia's national carmaker, Proton, which was reported to be in financial turmoil. He stated that he had already drawn his plan in turning around Proton if the Malaysian government gave the nod for him to buy a controlling stake of the company. He planned to build a RM1.2 billion factory in
Bertam, Penang.
In April 2008, he ventured into the food business by launching the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant and Market.
AP Controversy
Nasimuddin was implicated in the AP controversy of 2005, when he was dubbed the "AP King". It was claimed that he and three other prominent businessmen were monopolising the issuance of Approved Permits (APs). APs are government-issued permits used to control car imports, whereby 60 percent of APs are given to
bumiputra
''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controve ...
Open AP holders, and 40 percent are given to franchise holders. The practice of APs helped shift dominance of the car import industry from the
ethnic Chinese
The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation.
Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...
to the
Malays.
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the fed ...
Tun
TUN or tun may refer to:
Biology
* Tun shells, large sea snails of the family ''Tonnidae''
* Tun, a tardigrade in its cryptobiotic state
* Tun or Toon, common name for trees of the genus '' Toona''
Places
* Tun, Sweden, a locality in Västra G ...
Dr.
Mahathir Mohamad described Nasimuddin as an example of the
New Economic Policy
The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...
's (NEP) success, Bernama reported.
He said Nasimuddin had an extraordinary approach in developing his business, starting with selling imported used cars from Japan and then going on to collaborating with foreign companies to produce and sell local cars under his own brand name.
"He proved that the NEP was capable of producing successful bumiputras if they seized the available opportunities well. If all had the same opportunities and did what he had done, we may have achieved more than the NEP objectives," Dr Mahathir told Bernama.
Awards and recognition
* In 2002, SM Nasimuddin was named Motoring Man of The Year by the
New Straits Times.
Honours of Malaysia
* :
**
![MY Panglima Setia Diraja - Order of the Royal Household - PSD](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/MY_Panglima_Setia_Diraja_-_Order_of_the_Royal_Household_-_PSD.svg)
Commander of the
Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia
The Most Distinguished Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Amat Dihormati Setia Diraja) is a Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirte ...
(PSD) - Datuk (1997)
**
![Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia - PSM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Order_of_Loyalty_to_the_Crown_of_Malaysia_-_PSM.svg)
Commander of the
Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign.
The order was instituted ...
(PSM) - Tan Sri (1998)
* :
**
![MY-NEG Grand Order of Tuanku Jaafar - SPTJ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/MY-NEG_Grand_Order_of_Tuanku_Jaafar_-_SPTJ.svg)
Knight Grand Commander of the
Grand Order of Tuanku Jaafar
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and c ...
(SPTJ) - Dato' Seri (2000)
**
![MY-NEG Order of Loyalty to Negeri Sembilan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/MY-NEG_Order_of_Loyalty_to_Negeri_Sembilan.svg)
Principal Grand Knight of the
Order of Loyalty to Negeri Sembilan
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
(SPNS) - Dato' Seri Utama (2006)
* :
**
![MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Commander - DPMS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/MY-SEL_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Selangor_-_Knight_Commander_-_DPMS.svg)
Knight Commander of the
Order of the Crown of Selangor
The Most Illustrious Order of the Crown of Selangor (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Selangor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an order awarded by Sultan of Selangor as a reward for general services to the sultan and state of Selangor. It was foun ...
(DPMS) - Dato' (1999)
Foreign honours
* :
** ''Unknown class'' of the
Order of Industrial Service Merit (2006)
Death
Nasimuddin died of stage four lung cancer at a private hospital in Long Beach, California, US on 1 May 2008. He was 53 years old. His body was brought back to Malaysia on 4 May 2008 and taken to Masjid Wilayah, Jalan Duta. More than 6,000 people came to Masjid Wilayah to pay their last respects including the Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi along with Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.
The body was later taken to Batu 9 Muslim Cemetery in
Hulu Langat
Hulu Langat District is a district located in the southeastern corner of Selangor, between Kuala Lumpur and Negeri Sembilan. It is bordered by the state of Pahang to the east and north, Gombak district to the north-west, Federal Territory of Kual ...
, Selangor to be buried next to the grave of his beloved mother, Salbiah Abdul Majid.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasimuddin SM Amin, SM
1955 births
2008 deaths
People from Negeri Sembilan
Malaysian people of Malay descent
Malaysian people of Minangkabau descent
20th-century Malaysian businesspeople
Malaysian socialites
Malaysian Muslims
Deaths from lung cancer
Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia
Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia