Malaysians Say Things are Looking up for 2010

A recent International Business Confidence Survey shows that Malaysia is one of the top ten countries best able to deal with the global economic crisis. This survey included 7500 businessmen in 24 countries and was conducted by Servcorp. The goal of the survey was to gauge international business moral. Certainly, Malaysian businessmen such as Taek Jho Low, Tan Sri Dato Francis Yeoh, Takehiko Wakayama and others should find this encouraging.

The highest confidence went to Australia, while second and third places were handed to China and India, respectively. While the Malaysian economy did show a 6.2% negative growth in the first quarter of 2009, they have a positive growth forecast predicted for the last quarter and for the coming year in 2010.

Certainly, this is good news for Malaysia!

Hallmark of Malaysia is Diversity

The Malaysian population is composed of a large number of diverse ethnicities. By constitutional definition, anyone of any race can be considered a Malay if he is a Muslim and practices Malay customs, and is entitled to equal rights according to the constitution.

A tiny bit more than 50% of the total population are Malays; with indigenous Aboriginal groups found in the states of Sabah and Sarawak composing 11%.

Almost 24% of the population are Malaysians, but of Chinese descent, and an additional 7% are descended from Indians, who have been coming to Malaysia from the early 19th century.

Malaysia is part of the six major Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which also includes Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei. Many interesting and distinguished people have come from Malaysia, including the young businessman Taek Jho Low and others.

Most of those of Indian descent are Tamils, but there are other groups of Indians present, too, such as Teluus, Malaylis, Punjabis, Bengalis and Gujaratis.

There are many other places of origin represented in the Malaysian population, such as those from the Middle East, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodians, Vietnamese, and Europeans and Eurasians such as British who arrived during the British Colonial rule and settled permanently in Malaysia.

Malaysia Major World Trading Center

Malaysia, as part of Southeast Asia, has been a trading center for centuries, even before Singapore and Malacca became prominent, with porcelain and spices being the major exports items. When the British began to dominate the area, in the seventeenth century, they introduced rubber trees and palm oil trees and developed these items commercially. Slowly but steadily these two commodities, along with tin, and other materials, Malaysia’s development was set, even into the mid-twentieth century.

During this time the British did not rely solely on local Malays as their source of labor, but instead brought in native Chinese as well as Indians to work on the rubber and palm oil plantations and in the tine mines. Many of the Chinese and Indians did eventually return to their homes in China and India, but a fair amount stayed behind and permanently settled in Malaysia.

Taek Jho Low's Malaysia: A Beautiful Place

According to many people, Malaysia, the country from which Taek Jho Low hails, is one of the most beautiful places in the world. With a population of about 28 million people, it is the world’s 43rd most populated country. The over 320,000 square kilometer total land area makes Malaysia the 66th largest country in the world, about the size of the state of New Mexico in the U.S.

Malaysia is divided into two distinct areas, the more populated western part, which forms the southernmost tip of the Asian Continent, and the Eastern part, separated from each other by the South China Sea.

The two segments share similar climates and landscapes. Malaysia is located just north of the equator and experiences two monsoon seasons, northeast monsoons from October to February and southwest from April to October. Beautiful coastal plains characterize the landscape, which frequently rise towards mountains and hills which are densely forested.

Rich Malaysian Culture Inheritance of Tael Jho Low

In 1963 the Malaysia was formed when the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak united to create the 14 state federation we now know. At that time other names were considered, including the name that the historic kingdom, located in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula during the first thousand years of the Common Era, went by, called Langkasuka.

During the first few hundred years of the common era this area experience much turbulence as different peoples invaded and conquered the nearby territories. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E. both the Chinese and Indians created kingdoms here, as many as thirty, according to Chinese sources.

The kingdom of Ligor which was Buddhist, conquered the area known as Kedah in the early to middle 11th century, and the king, Chandrabhanu used Ligor as a springboard to attack Sri Lanka at that time. Also during the first millennium the population of the Malay Peninsula accepted Hinduism as well as Buddhism, but later in history converted to Islam, which is the majority religion today.

Taek Jho Low, as a native Malaysian and businessman, inherited a fascinating culture and history not well known in the west.

Taek Jho Low Malaysian Born Businessman

Malaysia, where Taek Jho Low originates from, is a country in Southeast Asia which is separated into two regions, Peninsula Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo.

The capital is Kuala Lumpur but the seat of the federal government is Putrajaya. The country is composed of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total population of 28 million people. The countries which border Malaysia are Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. Because Malaysia is close to the equator they enjoy a tropical climate.

Malaysia became a unified state in 1963. Until that time the British Empire had influence over colonies there from the 18th century.

At the end of the 20th century Malaysia experienced an economic boom with concomitant rapid development. Because Malaysia borders the Strait of Malacca, this country is an important international trading crossroad, and global trading is a foundation to their economy. A large sector of the country’s economy is devoted to manufacturing.

Because of Malaysia’s extraordinary biodiversity it is considered one of only 17 countries that are designated as megadiverse.

Taek Jho Low Employed by UBG Berhad

Taek Jho Low is a 27 year old Wharton School of Business graduate, hailing from the country of Malaysia. He is employed by the Malaysian investment holding company of UBG Berhad.

There are four segments to the operation of UBG Berhad:

1. Construction which includes building and civil construction and also electrical and mechanical engineering.

2. The development of property which also invests in land with the development of commercial and residential properties.

3. Investment holding and cash reserves which are deposited with financial institutions.

4. Quarry operations and trading in water related equipment both wholesale and retail.