People who have changed
the World
Mark
Chang Mun Kee
· Tang Cheah Ying & Loo
Yi Huan
China has Jack Ma, who is the founder
and executive chairman of Alibaba Group
and Taobao International online shopping Sites; America has Mark Zuckerberg, who is the chairman, chief executive, and
co-founder of the social networking website Facebook.
What about Malaysia? Do we have such
successful character? Yes, of course we do. Malaysia has Mark Chang.
Mark Chang is the founder and CEO of
online recruitment company, Jobstreet.com. Jobstreet is the largest online job
employment portal in South East Asia.
According to Forbes, the company
currently serves about 80000 corporate customers and 11 million jobseekers.
Even as early as in July 2010, the Group services over 60,000 corporate
customers and over 7 million jobseekers. By the way, the company has been takeover
from a company of US for five hundred and twenty-four million dollars. Furthermore,
He currently sits on the Boards of Innity Corporation Berhad, Vitrox
Corporation Berhad, MOL Global, Nasdaq, and 104 Corporation, Taiwan.
First of all, Mr. Chang was born in
Perak Kampar. When he was a teenager, he comes from a poor family and his father
often gambling and drinking. Mr. Chang obtained his Bachelor of Science in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988 and a
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in 1990. After graduated, he was founding MOL Online Sdn Bhd in 1995
and subsequently JobStreet.com Sdn Bhd in 1997, the idea name of “jobstreet”
comes from US “wall street”. During the time, He just hoping Monster job site
(Monster. Com) company has stable income and didn’t expect that it will be
profitable for him. "I really want to start a small family business will
do." He said. However, wait for his career in orbit, everyone was asking,
"why don't you extend to the whole of Asia? To get more profit as
well?" "Actually during that time, people just think about to earn
more and they have no idea how difficult is if he wanted to carry out their
suggestion." Mark used to quip, “I know only of the ‘kerbau’ (buffalo) way, that is, to work hard
and wait for the rain.”
In addition, what’s Mark’s advice for budding
entrepreneurs? “A lot of things are new when an entrepreneur starts up, so a
founder must realize that no one is smarter in the organization when it comes
to the business and a founder should not pretend to be smarter than anyone
else. Also, entrepreneurs cannot be ‘yes men’ agreeing to all things that
people say. They must question what else can be done to improve things, as they
cannot just sit there and think there’s nothing you can improve on.”
Based on the “DNA Top 10 stories of 2014” from
Digital News Asia (DNA), it has stated out Mark Chang's second act, which is to aid disadvantaged entrepreneur. Mark
Chang will use US$10mil personal funds to invest in startups in SEA & Asia and also to focus on entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In the meantime, Mark Chang notes that entrepreneurs from such disadvantaged backgrounds will have to be more difficult to struggle a lot in building their startups. They may have lack of the relationships and networks to tap, would not have access to funding as readily, as well as generally will not have as much know-how.
And
now, he is preparing to end one period of his life and begin a new chapter. He
hopes to help to build the next 10 entrepreneurs and each of them will be able
to create an RM1-billion business over 10 years.
The
chapter of his life that is going to end is the soon-to-be finalized sale of
all the remaining Internet assets of JobStreet.com to SEEK Ltd, which is an
Internet recruitment company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
(ASX). When the deal was announced, Mark Chang owned an estimated 11.5% of
JobStreet. Meanwhile, there is an interesting caveat in his desire to help
to build the next 10 hot billion-ringgit companies.
Additionally, he came from a poor family from a
sub-rural town, which is Kampar in the central of Malaysia. He tried his best
to study in engineering school at the University of Texas, even though his
father has drinking and gambling habit, and even though in his first year in
college, he is not being able to string together a correct English
sentence.
Now,
he has successfully become a Digerati 50 from DNA and he
wants to focus on giving support to those entrepreneurs who come from similar
disadvantaged backgrounds as himself. He will set aside US$10 million for those
starters. He says that, “It’s my funds. I can put in any amount I want
to, but I will start with that. I believe entrepreneurs from well-to-do
families will always be able to take care of themselves [if the business fails]
and have enough connections to give themselves a chance to succeed.”
As a part of the MOL Global entourage when it listed on
Nasdaq, He also added up when speaking to Digital News Asia (DNA) in New York
last week, “And that’s why I want to target entrepreneurs from
disadvantaged backgrounds,” He that he has agreed to be on the MOL
Global board.
Helping the underprivileged
Helping the underprivileged
Mark Chang’s
desire to help those from disadvantaged backgrounds is in line with a major
thrust of Digital Malaysia, which is the national programme that seeks to
transform Malaysia into a ‘digital economy’.
After Digital Malaysia rolled out about one year ago, the
Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) has announced a new Malaysia
initiative to coordinate a better private sector contribution in social
development and community which targeted at the lowest 40% of the Malaysian
population in terms of household income, which is called ‘B40 group’.
Once the MDeC has identified efforts to aid the
underprivileged as one of ‘priority areas’ of Digital Malaysia
and also has announced initiatives to increase citizen income
and unlock entrepreneurship potential for the B40 group, with two related
Digital Malaysia projects, which are:
Ø Microsourcing to Generate
Income for the B40
Ø Facilitating Societal
Uplift.
In the meantime, Mark Chang notes that entrepreneurs from such disadvantaged backgrounds will have to be more difficult to struggle a lot in building their startups. They may have lack of the relationships and networks to tap, would not have access to funding as readily, as well as generally will not have as much know-how.
He
knows because he was there before, and thus, he wants to give them a chance to succeed.
Investment
criteria
Mark Chang has planned to invest between US$15,000 and
US$30,000 each (RM50,000 and RM100,000)
at the
very early stage. Therefore, his team
and he
can play an active role in helping to build the company and influence strategy
with their ideas and know-how if investing early.
As
he notes, “JobStreet is the market leader
in the recruitment space in many of the countries we are in. Not many
entrepreneurs can say that. That is the know-how we bring to the table to the
entrepreneurs we will work with.”
After
working on JobStreet.com during the past 19
years,
he declares himself really excited to be now focusing on the next 10 years in
helping to build 10 great entrepreneurs.
He
cites four criteria he will be looking at when making investments:
ü Entrepreneurs who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
ü Entrepreneurs who want to establish a
business over the next 20 years
(not a short-term flip).
ü Entrepreneurs who exhibit a strong desire and resilience
to realise their vision.
ü Entrepreneurs who want to create services / build products that can benefit society while generating profit.
Mark Chang says that, “I am
hoping to find and help
to build the next Ganesh Kumar Bangah”, referring to the founder of MOL
Global who has just listed his company and
built over
14 years on the Nasdaq market.
While
he launched JobStreet from the northern Malaysian state of Penang, he has spent the last 10 years based
out of Singapore. He also plans to continue living there as he
starts investing in entrepreneurs. By having observation
about
the Singapore entrepreneurship ecosystem up close, he shares the observation that while
Singapore has very strong infrastructure assets and
funding.
In addition, he notes that people can give up
quite easily after two or three years if their idea is not
getting any traction and if they have choices
to work beyond
being an entrepreneur in a high-cost environment such as
Singapore. But, he also argues that real entrepreneurs will stick at it
and not quit, and these are the entrepreneurs that
he plans to
invest in and work with.
References:
Darian Goh. 07 Aug 2014. SAYS. Top 10 Malaysians Dominating the World Wide Web. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://says.com/my/tech/top-10-malaysians-dominating-the-world-wide-web
[Accessed 9 April 2016].
SKOR career Malaysia. Profile of Mark Chang of Jobstreet.com.
[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.skorcareer.com/malaysia-eng/markchangjobstreet-profile.htm
[Accessed 9 April 2016].
Zhi Ya She Qun. Mr Mark Chang.ExCEO of Jobstreet.
[ONLINE] Available at: https://plus.104.com.tw/activity/184e9ab0-0ce5-4cbb-b9a9-037fea475066
[Accessed 9 April 2016].
2016. Wikipedia. Profile of LeeMarkChang. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Mark_Chang
[Accessed 9 April 2016].
Wharton Kuala Lumpur .Mark Chang.Founder and CEO, JobStreet. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.whartonkualalumpur16.com/speakers/mark-chang/
[Accessed 9 April 2016].
2014. Vulcan Post.
The 3 billion-dollar
lessons from JobStreet's Mark Chang. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://vulcanpost.com/7479/the-3-billion-dollar-lesson-from-jobstreets-mark-chang/
[Accessed 9 April 2016].
Karamjit Singh. 2015. (DNA Top in Malaysia) Mark Chang’s second
act: To aid disadvantaged entrepreneurs. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/sizzle-fizzle/mark-chang-second-act-to-aid-disadvantaged-entrepreneurs
[Accessed 9 April 2016].
People
who have changed the World
Chan
Kee Siak
- Kang Sing Yee
I would like
write an inspiring story about Chan Kee
Siak. Peoples will more curious about who is he and what contribution that he did? Alright, let’s start introduce about him, Chan Kee Siak came from
Malaysia who is the founder and also CEO
of Exabytes Network. He is a self-taught entrepreneur. He born to a hawker
family and he worked as a child helper at his parents’ hawker store and founded
Exabytes at the tender age of 19 after dropping out of college to concentrate
on his 100% website business. Four years after the
inception of Exabytes, it became the biggest web-hosting provider in Malaysia,
a position it still holds. Before name his company name as Exabytes, there is one well known
company that goes by the name of 'Gigabytes'. But then he visualizes his future
business to be bigger, hence naming it Exabytes instead!
Today, under his master command, Exabytes Network become the largest
web-hosting company in Malaysia and specialized in providing web hosting
services since year 2001. It is ranked
at number 1 in Malaysia since 2005 and has served over 60,000+ customers
ranging from individuals, students, small & medium businesses, to
Government and Public Listed Companies in 121 countries. It also manages over
1000+ servers with 100,000+ websites and 1,000,000+ email accounts. In
addition, lots of awards and
recognitions that he get in this few years as below list:-
1.
The winner of JCI CYEA (Creative Young Entrepreneur
Award) in 2007.
2.
Top 30 Finalist of TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young
Malaysian 2011)
3.
Winner of Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur
Award in 2011.
4.
In 2002-2005, under his care & guidance, he led
Exabytes into winning the 100 Most Dynamic Web Hosting Companies for 4
consecutive years.
5.
In 2007, he led Exabytes into winning the Synergy
Award 2007 by Action Coach, and Top 50 Enterprise Awards Malaysia 2007 and The
Golden Bull Award 2007.
6.
In 2008, he led Exabytes into winning Malaysia HR
Awards 08-09.
7.
In 2009, he led Exabytes into winning Deloitte
Technology Fast500 Asia Pacific 2009.
8. In 2011, he led Exabytes into winning The Best
Reseller Performance 2011 by MYNIC (The Malaysia Network Information Centre) –
Second Place, Industry Excellence Awards 2011 and The Golden Bull Award 2011.
9.
In 2012, he led Exabytes into winning The Golden
Bull Award 2012.
10. In 2013, Exabytes was mandated cPanel Authorized
Partner NOC.
It was the Exabytes spirit coupled with hard work, perseverance,
patience and commitment that make us grow into what we are today, the No. 1
hosting provider in the region, voted by our valued customers!
Interview
Chan Kee Siak
Another
recognition from Golden Bull Award in year 2011
- a huge recognition to our
CEO Mr. Chan Kee Siak who has all this while dedicated his time and energy in
leading the best team.
References
Exabytes.com.my. (2016). About Exabytes -
Exabytes.MY. [online] Available at: http://www.exabytes.com.my/about/ [Accessed 10 Apr. 2016].
Exabytes eCommerce Conference 2013. (2013). Chan
Kee Siak - Exabytes eCommerce Conference 2013. [online] Available at: http://exabytes.com.my/ecommerce/2013/chan-kee-siak/[Accessed 10 Apr. 2016].
EasyStore. (2016). Top 7 Malaysian Entrepreneurs
Dominating The World Wide Web. [online] Available at: https://www.easystore.co/blog/4539395238862302057/top-7-malaysian-entrepreneurs-dominating-the-world-wide-web[Accessed 10 Apr. 2016].
People Who Have
Change The World
Dato Lee Chong Wei
- Ong Beng Fung
He was born on
21st October 1982 in Bagan Serai, Perak. He is the main player for the single
match in badminton events, his is Datuk Lee Chong Wei. He is a young man that
who has been defeated many great players including the world badminton
champion, Lin Dan, from China. He learn badminton from eleven years old. After
school he was underwent coaching, and when he 17 years old he was spotted by
Misbun Sidek and drafted in to the national team. So he began his career in
badminton.
He was well on
his way to achieving victory. He won two titles in 2004; the Malaysia Open and
the Chinese Taipei Open. He made his first appearance in the 2004 Olympics. He
secured two titles, Malaysia Open and the Denmark Open in 2005. He won the
‘Bronze’ in the World Championships 2005. He was conferred the winner of the
Swiss Open and the Asian Badminton Championships. He won his third Malaysian
Open. He also winning two ‘gold medals’ in the ‘singles’ and ‘mixed team’ in
the Commonwealth Games 2006. He was rated twice at the ‘top’ in the Badminton
World Federation's world rankings.
In 2007 he won
the Indonesia Open crown, the Philippines Open, the Japan Open, and the French
Open. Adding another feather to his cap, he won his fourth Malaysian Cup in
2008, and he also won a title in the Super Series Masters Finals at the
National Badminton Grand Prix Final. In 2009 he won the Swiss Open defeating
his Chinese Opponent Lin Dan for the first time outside the home turf that was
his fifth Malaysian Open title. Lee won the Indonesia Open, the Malaysia Open
Grand Prix Gold, the Macau Open and the Hong Kong Open in 2009 too. He won the
‘Gold Medal’ in the Commonwealth Games, 2010 and a ‘silver medal’ in the Asian
Games. Lee bagged his second consecutive Hong Kong Open title. In 2011, he was recognised
by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for winning the All England Open for the
third time in a row, he became the first non-Indonesian player to win the
Indonesian Open for three consecutive times.
He also
won a ‘silver medal’ in the Olympic Games 2012, and the ninth Malaysian Open
title in 2013 and beat the record of maximum number of home titles held by Wong
Peng Soon. He bagged the Masters Finals title for the fourth time in the Super
Series tournament. Lee won his tenth Malaysian Open title in 2014. He grabbed
the Japan Open for the third year in a row. He won the US Open, Canada Open and
the French Open in 2015. He won his first China Open title by defeating Lin
Dan, his arch rival. This was Lee’s first victory over Lin Dan on Chinese soil.
Lee became the first Badminton player in men’s singles to win all the
titles of the Super Series.
- Goh Fang Yi
Dato Lee Chong
Wei has gain the recognition after he has won the silver medal in the Olympic
Games 2008 and 2012, he was accorded with a life-time pension of RM3,000 per
month; at the same time, he was honoured with “Dato” by the Penang Governor,
Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas. Dato Lee Chong Wei has made the Ambassador for UNICEF
in 2009, and Ambassador for the KDU College in 2011. He also won the Penang
Sportsman Award in 2005 and 6 times consecutively from 2007-2012. He also
awarded with the National Sportsman Award and BWF Player of the Award 4 times.
Further, Dato Lee Chong Wei was named as the Most Popular Icon on Television
Award by RTM in 2013.
In August 30
2014, Dato Lee Chong Wei has received a bad news which is he has cheated and
took drugs in the competition. The whole worlds were shocked and some might
disappointed to him. When he knew that he had failed in the doping test, he saw
his entire life flash by him. He never cheated and not even made any attempt to
cheat, and this has destroying everything he had so hard for. At
last, the panel convinced that this is not a case of doping with intent to
cheat. His dexamathesone contamination was said to be from the gelatin casing
of food supplement he was consuming. Dato Lee Chong Wei still the Malaysia’s
Sporting sons, he was nominated Malaysia’s 2014 Sportsman of the year after the
cases happened.
In addition,
Dato Lee Chong Wei also has published an autobiography, with the title of “Dare
to be a Champion: Lee Chong Wei”. In his book, he has shares his story about
how he came to be where he is today. The purpose of the book is not much about
the book sales but rather than for being an inspiration to youngster. In the
book, he has tells about a competition between him and Lin Dan in BWF World
Championship 2011. Dato Lee Chong Wei had met with Lin Dan on the court many times
and knew each other’s style of play very well. He said that Lin Dan has won the
BWF World Championship for the forth times, but he still try his best to played
with carefully and decisively. Although at the end he was defeat, but he
accepted the defeat without any bitterness, because he knew that he has tried
his best in the competition.
We can feel the
excitement, anxiety, and aspiration of Dato Lee Chong Wei. He choose to move on
after the defeat. After move on, he did it. He has won the 2012 Korea Open
final compete with his arch rival, Lin Dan. The attitude of fierce,
perseverance, and never give up has led him to overcome life’s challenges to be
standing where he is today. The message he want to share is to dare to dream
big dreams and to never give up. He hopes that his struggle and challenges will
inspire people to go the extra miles.
References
Channel
NewsAsia. (2016). Badminton: Lee Chong Wei receives 8-month ban for
doping. [online] Available at:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/badminton-lee-chong-wei/1809618.html
[Accessed 11 Apr. 2016].
WEI, M. (2014). MALAYSIAN
SPORTS: MY STORY BY LEE CHONG WEI. [online] Ssdhaliwal.blogspot.my.
Available at: http://ssdhaliwal.blogspot.my/2014/11/my-story-by-lee-chong-wei.html
[Accessed 11 Apr. 2016].
Successstory.com.
(2016). Bastian Schweinsteiger Story - Bio, Facts, Networth, Home,
Family, Auto | Famous Football Players | SuccessStory. [online] Available
at: http://successstory.com/people/bastian-schweinsteiger [Accessed 11 Apr.
2016].
