THE last of the Mohicans is probably an apt description of property developer Datuk Dr Foo Wan Kien who is the sole surviving automobile franchise holder of the early 1960s. He recently celebrated his 81st birthday on Sept 11.
His peers included Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew a.k.a. Mr Honda who died in 1995; Tan Sri Tan Yuet Foh who co-founded Tan Chong Motors, the franchise holder for Nissan/Datsun (died in 1985); and Cycle & Carriage’s Chua Boon Peng of the Mercedes Benz fame (died 2005). P’ng Cheung of Federal Auto which was the first to assemble Volvo cars, died much earlier in 1976.
Foo held the franchise of Alfa Romeo cars for two decades from the 1960s to the 1980s, outselling mature markets in London and Australia for the Italian marque.
In his heyday, he earned the moniker ‘Alfa King’ and it was no fluke as he broke the world record becoming the Italian marque’s best salesman.
Some of us will remember the early police patrol cars and those of the Customs Department were of the Italian marque which was reputed for its good road holding and high speed.
Foo’s success in selling and assembling Alfa Romeo cars in the country has catapulted him and the City Motors Group he founded to the big league of automobile franchise holders in the country.
Idol and role model
“The formula for success is simple: put your heart and soul in whatever you do. Make it a point to do it well, and don’t be too obsessed with how much profit you can rake in,” revealed the octogenarian.
Foo said he owed his success to lessons learnt from businessman extraordinaire of his era, Aw Boon Haw’s playbook of success.
“The late Aw, the man behind the success of Tiger Balm and Singapore’s premier theme park Haw Par Villa, was my role model,” he shared. “I tried to follow Aw’s strategy in marketing and selling Tiger Balm, an ointment for sore muscles and body pains.”
“On his roadshows, Aw organised public events to attract large crowds to promote his balm products. These events were published in Sin Chew Jit Poh, a Chinese newspaper that Aw founded and owned,” noted Foo.
He replicated the same formula by embarking on motor racing to promote Alfa Romeo cars while raising awareness of the marque’s good road holding and high speed.
Foo started the Royal Perak 200 circuit races and introduced the economy runs, go-karting races, grass-track races and scrambler races – all races for the first time in Ipoh.
“I enlisted the help of the press to publicise the races and founded the first automobile magazine, Asian Auto, in 1973 to do the same,” he vividly recalled.
Till today, the record number of races he organised is still standing. To walk the talk, Foo took part in two races with the City Motors team and won in one.
He roped in the late Eddy Choong who turned professional racer after a successful sporting career by being a seven-time winner at the All-England Open Championship.
“Eddy won many trophies and recorded numerous podium finishes with Alfa Romeo cars,” he enthused.
Beautiful moments
In the City Motors team were Hong Kong’s Albert Poon who won many races in Shah Alam over many years. Among the international racers was Andrew Cowan, the top safari winner who took part in the ASEAN Rally. The Trans Borneo 4×4 Rally, a 1,500km off-road competition Foo initiated in 1989, has become a world-class adventure race.
The most memorable for him as a franchise holder, Foo said, was the victory parade of the Thomas Cup players driven on a convoy of Alfa Romeo cars after their return to Malaysia in 1967.
“The convoy travelled from Penang where the shuttlers landed and it proceeded to Kuala Kangsar for a royal tea reception hosted by the late Sultan Idris Shah,” he re-capped. “After an overnight stay in Ipoh, the convoy made its way to Kuala Lumpur for another round of victory celebration.”
Back in 1978, he organised the state’s first Ipoh Motor Fair and introduced the Concour d’Elegance – a parade of vintage cars – in the state and also a beauty pageant.
At this pageant, a young schoolgirl, 17-year-old Michelle Yeoh, won in the Miss Photogenic category and three years later, she was crowned Miss Malaysia. Thereafter, she achieved Hollywood movie stardom when the film she acted in, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won an Oscar at Hollywood.
Foo’s charisma and dedication spilled over to the Lion Club movement where he rose to become the District Governor of Lion Multiple Division 308 2B in 2000.
Activities such as the Pesta Perak festival organised by the club in 1984 drew large crowds and were reported in major newspapers. Ushering the millennium year 2000, he sent out 10,000 Kongsi Raya greetings when both the Chinese and Malay festivities were celebrated a few days apart.
Foo’s pivotal role in motor racing has somewhat catapulted himself as a motorsport legend in his own right while his latest business activities – two proposed skyscraper projects with a GDP of RM2 bil in Kuala Lumpur – promise to change the capital city’s skyline forever.
The larger-than-life persona of his public life in Ipoh has earned him recognition as a household name. – Nov 21, 2022
