No one believed in him when he had a vision to build a cool climate holiday resort on a mountain for local Malaysians to escape the tropical heat. At that moment, it was an impossible wild dream. Nevertheless he took the plunge against all odds proving his farsighted vision will eventually be one of Malaysia top holiday destinations, attracting approximately 19 million visitors annually in the last five years (Genting Malaysia 2012). This self-made magnate is no other than Malaysia’s highly praised Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong. Goh Tong’s humble take on life and strong entrepreneurial qualities is the epitome of a true rag to riches story. Today’s his multinational empire is worth at RM $23 billion (AUD $7 billion) as of 31st December 2011, making it one of Malaysia largest and most respectful listed company (Genting Malaysia 2012). Goh Tong’s diverse business empire thrived slowly year by year because he believed in the simple approach of success through determination, perseverance, hard work and self-conviction (Lim 2004). His entrepreneurial qualities bloomed from a tender age of 16 and evidently the qualities became more apparent with age and experience (Lim 2004). His admirable qualities and success prompted Malaysia then Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad to correlate the country’s economic development during the economic boom of Southeast Asia to the success of Goh Tong’s story. Mahathir implied entrepreneurs such as Goh Tong will benefit the country’s economic development and growth in a long run, encouraging more Malaysians to looked up to Goh Tong and his story of success (France-Presse, 2007). Goh Tong’s entrepreneurial qualities are nothing of the extraordinary, they were qualities that many taken for granted when seeking success.

Life would have been very different for Goh Tong if he didn’t have the courage to take the big leap of faith to leave his homeland Anxi, China in 1937 for British then colony, Malaya (Lim 2004). Courage and bravery are two of Goh Tong’s prominent traits which enabled him to weather the many storms he experienced from the moment he touched foot on Malaya to building the crown jewel of his empire, Genting Highlands, in the cool dense wilderness. Young Goh Tong fled hardship from his home country in the midst of the Japanese occupation uncertainty in hopes for a better one with a small suitcase and $175 in his pocket. His first challenge landing in Malaya was the inability to converse in the Malay dialect. His inability left him majorly handicapped especially when it comes to business dealing and networking with the locals but he quickly overcome his language limitations by earnestly learning them (Lim 2004). Many would agree what Goh Tong did so far was simply brave and courageous for sailing to a foreign land without knowing the certainties life brings. His early life in Malaya personified the struggle and hardship of a Chinese immigrant of low wages and hard labour. Life was going nowhere as he stated in his biography (Lim 2004). With the countless struggles Goh Tong experienced in Malaya, he stood courageously not letting his downfalls hindered his dreams of a better life and future when he boarded the boat from China. His near death experience during the Japanese occupation gave Goh Tong more reasons to drive himself and his personal achievements (Phang 2007). He believed the struggles and obstacles were just lessons for greater wisdom.
Many would now agree Goh Tong’s decision to build a holiday resort on a harsh terrain of a cool dense wilderness is the highlight of his career heroism as it portrayed his courage and bravery like no other. Back in 1964 when Goh Tong first had his idea of a hilltop holiday resort for locals to enjoy the crisp air, no one believed in him instead he received all kinds of negative criticisms and feedbacks. His idea was also regarded as the biggest joke by his business friends (Lim 2004). As expected by Goh Tong himself, the construction of his dream resort was a nightmare, every stage of the construction had its own obstacles yet he remained optimistic throughout the course of the construction which lasted seven years (Lim 2004). He endured the seven brutal years alone with just the support of his intimate family and his own discipline self. He braved the possible consequence of ultimate project failure at every stage of the project’s life. If he would have lost it at any stage of the project’s life, Goh Tong wouldn’t have anything to spare for himself or his family. He was indeed closed to declaring bankruptcy at one point because the Genting Highlands project together with the Kemubu irrigation project which he was working on both was draining all of his finances as he didn’t have any incoming income during the course of the Genting Highlands project which took seven years to complete (Lim 2004). Goh Tong’s didn’t only braved his risky investment single-handedly, he braved the fact that he narrowly escaped six different counts of accidents that could easily killed him from falling trees to driving mishaps and landslide (Lim 2004). His hilltop success prompted Goh Tong to advice others not to allow ridicule criticism effects the confidence of one’s initial decision (Lim 2004). Goh Tong often stressed on the importance of one’s confidence in decision making, in other words, self-conviction. He believed no one should make him indecisive or uncertain of the decisions he made but he himself. To date, Genting Highlands resort whose name also synonyms with ‘on top of clouds’ in Mandarin, boosts 5 hotels, 2 apartments, golf and country resort, an integrated world-standard entertainment facility of indoor and outdoor theme parks, Malaysia one and only legally operated casino and the fastest and longest mono cable car system in Southeast Asia (Genting Malaysia 2012). Malaysia Chinese Association president, Datuk Sri Ong Ka Ting was inspired by Goh Tong formula of success emphasizing on bravery, determination, perseverance and optimistic (The Star 2007).
Tracing back Goh Tong’s humble career in petty trading back in China to world renowned multinational corporation today, one can assure his had an eye for business. He’s fast at seizing opportunities, capable of administering work and confident in his personal senses and beliefs (Lim 2004). Every successful entrepreneur worked by these qualities, often incorporating risk taking which Goh Tong is careful yet clever at doing. In retrospect to Goh Tong’s long career, one can identify that Goh Tong was often open to new business ventures even the ones that he wasn’t entirely familiar with, he’s an independent self-starter whose brave to take on ventures alone and he’s often confident with his proposals and plans to succeed. In his mid 20’s Goh Tong made his first fortunate by selling second hand machineries after the Japanese occupation ended. He was engaged in scrap metal and hardware trading previously and saw the need of such heavy machineries for work to resume in rubber plantations and mines once the Japanese occupation ended. He bought them cheaply and sold them at a higher price (Lim 2004). His farsighted vision proved him right for the first time. From his first fortunate his business grew strength by strength, he ventured next into iron mining and eventually into tin mining (Lim 2004). During the mining peak, Goh Tong begin recruiting new partners for his new iron ore project. The numbers he proposed during the meeting believed to be over the top for all the potential partners to believe in, that no one agreed with him except for one particular partner. He projected earnings of $4 million if every investor contributed $300 000 to the project. He didn’t mind when others called him crazy with the figures he projected because he went with what he believed was a lucrative investment and ended up being the second largest shareholder in that company (Lim 2004).
At that point in life, Goh Tong wealth soared substantially from his growing investment in machineries and mining. Knowing he had the wealth and business experience now, Goh Tong ventured out into construction, joining force with his uncle under the family construction company of Kien Huat Private Limited (Lim 2004). He was given projects that were never given before to any local independent firm due to the magnitude nature and complexity of the project (Lim 2004). Goh Tong took over a four mile sewer project in Kuala Lumpur that had defied completion by both local contractor and a reputable British firm. Many yet again disapproved of his involvement fearing the high possibility of failure and financial lost. The same incident happened when he won the contract to build the Kemubu irrigation scheme in Kelantan, Ayer Itam Dam in Penang and of course his infamous plan to build Genting Highlands in 1964 when he was in his 50’s (Lim 2004). Everyone thought he was downright out of his mind whenever he decided to take on such projects but at the end of the day, everyone acknowledged his success and wished they had partnership with him. When Genting started showing promising signs after its opening, Goh Tong’s friend was willing to take the stake in the company who initially declined the offer for partnership. Goh Tong turned him down politely, the way his friend did a number of years ago (Lim 2004). Goh Tong felt it was a blessing in disguise whenever his friends turned him down for his supposing crazy ideas and proposals. Indeed he had to fight many lonely and draining battles single-handedly but that gave him the opportunity to listen to his inner senses and speed up the rate of decision making without any interference of opposing opinions (Lim 2004). In essence, Goh Tong is a bold yet a caution risk taker. In his mid 50’s he had the choice to retire knowing he had saved sufficient amount to live a comfortable life but he wasn’t going to slow down regardless of his age. As long as he was healthy to take risks, he will.
One thing that differentiates Goh Tong from other businessman was his undying dedication to self-determination. Goh Tong reminded himself to stay determined to complete what he was committed too and not to give up easily when thwarted by defeats. Goh Tong was determined to earnestly learn to speak the colloquial Malay upon arrival in Malaya because he knew he needed the ability to negotiate business contracts (Lim 2004). He showed tremendous effort in staying determined and focused on his duties when he was on the verge of facing bankruptcy, exhausting all he had including money, health, time and effort. He continued to work tirelessly withstanding until the worst is over because Goh Tong also believed, with hard work and perseverance there will be an achievement waiting at the end of the road (Lim 2004). Every stage of the Genting project had its own perils that could easily deterred Goh Tong from his dream resort. The idea came about when Goh Tong was taking a breather on his balcony after having a few drinks when a swept of cool breeze went past him. The following thing he knew he was conducting an expedition into the wilderness, 54km away from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur to search for the perfect location. He was determined to make his dreams to reality, collecting very important documents from his nine days expedition which was later incorporated into the formal planning for works to be carried out. The herculean task began and Goh Tong was working very closely overseeing how his empire was built bit by bit. The many fatal near death experiences he experienced were his testimony of pure determination and perseverance. Literally nothing will stop him working his way up the 1800 metres tall mountain.
Goh Tong talked about living a disciplined simple life in his memoir, ‘My Story’ (Lim 2004). A successful entrepreneur would have some sort of disciplinary in him so he doesn’t stray off his path. For Goh Tong is was getting up early each morning and making full use of the day doing beneficial duties (Lim 2004). Goh Tong was administering two very different yet equally complex projects when he took over the Kemubu irrigation project and working his way up the mountain for Genting Highlands. During that period of time, Goh Tong would travel back and forth 7 days a week to make sure construction was operating smoothly for both. It was at a point where a landslide nearly swiped his beloved project away which prompted Goh Tong to confess to his wife that ‘he had gone to hell but was told to turn back and continue with my work’ (Rance-Presse 2007). It was day after day, perils after perils to overcome yet he never showed signs of giving up. Goh Tong was very focused in his vision eliminating any hindrances and distractions along the way which potentially could jeopardize his dreams.
Passion was the ultimate driver behind Goh Tong impressive conglomerate portfolio which sealed his fame and fortunate amongst one of Malaysia most legendary entrepreneurs. He was named Forbes 204 richest man in the year of 2007 (Forbes, 2007) with a diversified range of business ventures in hospitality, entertainment, construction, oil and gas, property, power industry, plantation, cruise line, information technology, paper manufacturing and education (Rahim 2009). Goh Tong stated his passion was to succeed and he was plain honest and earnest about it. He practiced what he preached coming from the days of arriving in Malaya with just a small suitcase from China and unknowing he sailed back 59 years later with the 40 800 tonne cruise liner he owned (Tan 2011). Goh Tong had a list of achievements tucked under his belt by his 50’s but his passion for success didn’t slow down with his age because Goh Tong didn’t believed in the notion of retirement as he was still working well into his early 80’s, embarking on business ventures when timing was opportune (Lim 2004). Goh Tong wasn’t only passion in his career in business, he was equally passionate and valued all those that sticked by him while his career took off. On the preface on his biography, Goh Tong (2007) wrote, ‘I believe the most valuable asset of a company is its people. At Genting, we are fortunate to have a pool of dedicated, hardworking employees, many of whom have been with the company since its inception decades ago’. His contribution to his employees won him Manager of the Year Award in 1986 and Best Employer Award in 1996 (Lim 2004). Like any other entrepreneur, Gong Tong’s passion for people went beyond his families, friends and employees. In 1978, he set up a philanthropy foundation called ‘Yayasan Lim’ who regularly involved in different causes such as education funding, the handicapped organisations, medical institutions and old folk’s homes. (Lim 2004) With his passion, he was able to achieve more than he initially bargained for when he landed in Malaya from China, it was the foundation to his empire.
Although Goh Tong didn’t believed in the idea of retirement however he knew he needed to ensure there will be an equally capable successor after him to run his ever growing empire. During the late 90’s with Goh Tong’s deteriorating health, the younger generations were gradually taking over operations of the Genting Group, the group he founded after his crown jewel Genting Highlands resort was built (Lim 2004). In December 2003, Goh Tong stepped down and past his chair to his second son, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, a Harvard graduate. The Genting Group wasn’t shaken with its founder’s retirement because like his father, Kok Thay has the ability and capability to seize fleeting opportunity (The Star 2007). This is evident with the company swift expansion in the global market in recent years. Kok Thay was under his father stewardship at the age of 25, by 52 he proved to his father he was indeed a worthy successor. Kok Thay, like his father portrayed promising entrepreneurship qualities and achievements at a relatively young age. Under Kok Thay’s leadership, the Genting Group grew from a single entity in 1971 to 5 entities within the next 5 years with entitles listed in Singapore Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Today Genting Group global expansion includes establishing strategic partnership with world renowned companies such as Universal Studio and Hard Rock Hotels, developing integrated resort properties in Singapore and Philippines and leisure projects in New York and Miami (Bloomberg Businessweek 2012).Under Kok Thay leadership, the Genting Group will continue to prosper. Like father like son, Kok Thay thrives to ensure the empire his father built will continue to grow especially into the global market.
Goh Tong exhibited the classic characteristics of an entrepreneur. It is something that can’t be acquired if needed instead these characters grows together with the person through experience and age. Goh Tong classic entrepreneurial qualities such as bravery, courageous, confidence, open minded, risk taker, determinate, perseverance, discipline and passion were his key ingredients to success. Such qualities are easy to acknowledge but never easy to stick by for 70 odd years which was exactly what Goh Tong did. Goh Tong difficult early years drove him to success. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth instead he earned them through years of hard work. Goh Tong personal fortunate may worth in the billions but he never strayed away from his humble up bringing roots. Goh Tong (2004, p. 5) wrote, ‘my parents’ teachings and exhortations were the best education that I have had. If had achieved anything in my life, I would like to dedicate it to my parents. Without their earnest teachings and devotion to my upbringing, I don’t think I would be what I am today’. Money is not what he worked for all these years, it was simply out of passion and love.