Celebrating A Milestone: Humility & Positivity Stand Datuk Khor Siang Gin in Good Stead

At 46 years’ of age, the managing director of Hunza Group Khor Siang Gin was conferred the honorary title of Datukship by Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas.

Taking over from his father Datuk Seri Khor Teng Tong to helm the company, the junior Khor had faced doubts and encountered more than a few challenges in his first few years as Managing Director of Hunza Group.

As its second generation leader, he faced expectations of the investors and his father to carry on the legacy of his father, who had founded the company single-handedly and led it to a public listed firm on Bursa Malaysia. Nevertheless, under his steady, unwavering leadership and ever-humble, positive attitude, he has steered Hunza Group to a new chapter in history, successfully carving a name for the company with the development of award-winning projects such as Gurney Paragon and Alila².

Gurney Paragon Mall has clinched numerous accolades including “INPenang Top Shopping Mall (Northern Penang)”, “Best Experiential Marketing Silver Award 2017” by Malaysia Shopping Malls Associaiton (PPK) and “FIABCI World Prix D’Excellence Award 2014” in Heritage, amongst others.

Looking back now, Datuk Khor recalls the problems faced by his team during the initial planning and conceptualisation stages of the mall, where the company’s shares took a dive due to investors’ anxieties and concerns about the huge capital required to realise development plans. Keeping his head cool amidst market pressure and making the right decisions at crucial stages are definitely qualities he honed on the job. Indeed, with the team’s united efforts and the junior Datuk Khor’s characteristically firm yet human-centric brand of leadership, Gurney Paragon was not only successfully completed, the unique heritage mall which also includes a residential development is now a premier luxury address and a shining gem in Penang’s vibrant real estate landscape.

Yet, despite it all, Datuk Khor never lets success go to his head. A well-respected leader, Hunza Group staff fondly recount that their boss will always make it a point to express his gratitude for their team efforts during company gatherings and outings. A strong bond and team spirit are also palpable amongst the Hunza staff community, thanks to the management’s practice of staff welfare benefits, support towards employees’ training and education to strengthen capabilities, and a welcome attitude to promote competent to take on roles and responsibilities in higher management. All members of the Hunza family dress in a unified colour scheme during company events, in a display of team camaraderie. It is this Hunza spirit and shared understanding between the management and staff, which enable the organisation to achieve greater milestones with every endeavour.

The man himself has never forgotten his father’s teachings, and seeing Senior Khor as a genial, well-loved leader, founder and role model whose decades of business expertise he continues to consult and tap on. While Datuk Khor has huge plans for his company, including investing heavily in Penang International Commercial City (PICC) to develop a mixed use space that would open up employment opportunities and revitalise tourism, he expresses how he will keep his father’s vision of putting Malaysia and its citizens first, never sacrificing it for economic interests in mind. In a world where short-cuts in business seem the easier way out, his commitment is a rare display of business foresight and ethics that will serve the organisation well, and contribute towards long-term sustainability and continued prosperity.