MALAYSIA has lost a formidable Bumiputera property tycoon with the demise of MK Land Holdings Bhd founder Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar this morning (July 25).
Citing his daughter Felina, who is also the MK Land executive chairman, news portal Astro Awani reported that Mustapha, 73, died at 7.45am at the National Heart Institute from old age.
Mustapha, who will be remembered for his passionate demeanour, will be laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery today.
Dubbed the “King of Malaysia’s affordable housing”, Mustapha who was born in Kampung Changkat, Pusing, Perak on March 18, 1949 started his career as a civil servant serving in various district offices around Selangor soon after his graduation from Universiti Malaya’s History Department.
Having served as a deputy commissioner at the Selangor Lands and Mines Department later on, Mustapha then diverted his focus to the private sector following his appointment as the managing director of Shah Alam Properties Sdn Bhd.
In 1983, he founded EMKAY Group, which made its maiden major breakthrough with the Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh township project, driven by his vision of “Building a Better Tomorrow Today”.
Mustapha later listed his property business via MK Land which made its debut on the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia) on Aug 27, 1999 following a reverse takeover of Perfect Food Industries Bhd.
With the injection of nine privately-owned property companies by its founder, MK Land became one of the largest capitalised property companies with a paid-up capital of about RM1.2 bil.
At its prime, the MK Land Group has a diversified portfolio of projects which include residential and commercial developments, hotels and resorts, a water theme park, an education arm and property investments.
Its notable property development projects are Damansara Perdana, Damansara Damai and Taman Bunga Raya @ Bukit Beruntung in Selangor as well as Meru Perdana and Klebang Putra in Ipoh. As per MK Land’s Annual Report 2020, the group has delivered over 48,000 residential and commercial units.
As per a news report by The Malaysian Reserve on Dec 6, 2019 following the company’s annual general meeting, it was revealed that MK Land had by then developed a total of 48,206 residential units with gross development value (GDV) worth RM7.6 bil. Of these, 31,224 units were affordable homes with a GDV of RM2.1 bil.
Moreover, the company currently has 1,942.5ha of land in Selangor and Perak with a GDV of about RM16 bil.
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has hailed Mustapha Kamal as a “shining example” of successful Malay entrepreneurship, and commended him on his humble attitude.
“He took full advantage of the opportunities opened to him (as a Bumiputera), but unlike others, he never abused them. He was not interested in the ‘get rich quick’ route. He knew how to be (humble),” said Dr Mahathir.
Mustapha Kamal’s journey with the EMKAY Group is documented in the book Building Passion with Mustapha Kamal (published in 2009) as well as the EMKAY Gallery located at the lobby floor of Menara Mustapha Kamal in Damansara Perdana. – July 25, 2022
