Building for the future

Sunway Group thrives on delivering on its promise in serving the community

(From left) Sunway Berhad Property Development Division joint managing director (Malaysia and Singapore) Sarena Cheah receiving the Malaysia’s Builder of the Year 2014 award from MDeC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali at Front & Sullivan’s Best Practices Awards ceremony. At right is MDeC CEO Datuk Mohd Badlisham Ghazali.

OVER the years, Sunway has garnered numerous awards and the winning factors lie in its three core values — integrity, humility and excellence.

In an interview with StarMetro, Sunway Group deputy chairman Tan Sri Datuk Seri Razman Hashim shared that Sunway’s goal was to do the right thing, serve the community and deliver what was promised.

“We do not set out to get awards, we set out to do what is right and what is beneficial to the community. We do it honestly and make sure that what we deliver is accepted by the community.

“In the process, we get awards – that is a bonus,” he said.

As a diverse conglomerate with business interest across 12 industries in some 50 locations worldwide, Sunway has garnered a wide collection of awards that recognise its expertise, contribution and leadership in different fields.

“With property and construction being the core businesses, we can be proud of the recent Frost and Sullivan’s Builder of the Year award, which underscores our aspirations to contribute to nation-building efforts in line with the Government’s aim to transform Malaysia into a high-income nation,” said Razman.

Sunway also clinched three highly coveted awards at the Malaysian Construction Industry Excellence Awards (MCIEA) recently, namely Builder of the Year, Prominent Player and CEO of the Year awards.

MCIEA recognises outstanding individuals and organisations that have demonstrated all-round excellence and have contributed towards enhancing the image and performance of Malaysia’s construction industry.

Awards are a benchmark of excellence and strond testament to Sunway’s commitment to high standards.

The FIABCI Prix d’Excellence, which is deemed the Oscars for the international property industry, is a prominent award that Sunway values deeply. Awarded by an international panel comprising top real estate professionals and experts, the FIABCI Prix d’Excellence rewards overall merit and not just aesthetics, functionality or size.

“This award attests to our ability to compete against the world’s best, and emerging as winners goes to show that Malaysian developers can set and elevate the benchmark on the global stage,” explained Razman.

“Thus it represents an outstanding achievement and allows us to gain access to unique international platforms for projects and ventures with companies in the extensive FIABCI network of more than 60 members’ countries and over 120 professional organisations worldwide.”

Elaborating on Sunway’s core values, he said, “Integrity is a value that drives us to do the right thing at all times.

“We are professional and transparent, we do not shortchange our clients, we do not take shortcuts; and that is ingrained in our staff,” he said.

“Humility is also fundamental to our organisation.

“We are respectful. This is very much the Asian culture, it is rooted in our upbringing.

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Razman says the awards would not be possible without the contribution of Sunway employees.

“When people come and tell us what they do not like, we rectify it, we do not shut the door on them just because they have already paid for their property,” he stressed.

Excellence, Razman said, was the guiding principle behind the organisation continuously improving and innovating to progress, and seeking to inspire others to excel.

“It is about continuous and lifelong learning, which I believe is an enduring quality that permeates the Sunway group of companies.

“The awards reflect our persistence in excellence,” he said. “These awards are a benchmark of excellence and strong testament to Sunway’s commitment to high standards.

“We will continue to work towards strategic awards that can benchmark us against regional and international players, in line with Sunway’s vision to be the leading property and construction group in this part of the world.

“Our key goal within the next five years is to expand internationally beyond our current markets, be it in terms of products, services or geographic locations.

“We aim to realise significant contribution in terms of revenue from overseas businesses at the end the five-year period.

“Another of our key goal is to increase the level of innovation at Sunway and the level of research collaboration with Sunway Education Group through its ties with Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge universities.

Sunway Iskandar – Medini’s only seafront integrated city.

“On the property development front, we expect our Sunway Iskandar projects to be in full swing, which will be carried out over the next 15 years or so,” he said.

 Sunway Group is not about to rest on its laurels and if anything, the awards are spurring the Group to reach greater heights.

“We are continuously striving to be the best.

“It is easy to get to the top but to remain at the top and sustain is the challenge,” Razman acknowledged.

“We have a dedicated team who have remained loyal to the company. We know we have the right people because other companies try to hire our staff.”

To encourage employees in pursuit of excellence, he would tell them, “If you love your job and do it with passion, you are bound to do your best.”

“Although the company has achieved so many awards and it helps build up the brand,” said Razman, “at the end of the day if you do not deliver or do not continue to deliver what you promise, you will lose your clients and their trust. And that is definitely not our intent.

 “We build for the future.”

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