The late Gianni Versace would probably have felt underdressed in the same room as Razaleigh Zainal. Wearing what is no doubt an eye-wateringly expensive suit, the 45-year-old Malaysian saunters from his office on the 23rd floor of the Menara Telekom, Kuala Lumpur’s famous bamboo shoot-shaped skyscraper, with the contented air of a man who could afford to buy several large yachts with the contents of his inside pocket.
Which is just as well. Money attracts money, so they say, and as head of marketing for Iskandar Investment, Zainal has the job of persuading powerful venture capitalists that South Johor, which lies on the southern rim of Malaysia, is somewhere they should be parking their funds.
Iskandar Malaysia, which used to be called the South Johor Economic Region (among other names) until 2006, has been earmarked by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi as an economic hub of the future. The idea is to attract US$100 billion in investment by 2025. Ambitious, certainly, for a sprawling manufacturing zone that can appear a little shabby and run-down, particularly next to its squeaky-clean neighbour across the causeway, Singapore.
But then Zainal is the ambitious sort. His vision is to transform South Johor into a “100 per cent urbanised metropolis” within two decades. It is early days, but in terms of funding it is a case of so far, so good. “To date, the region has attracted investments worth $10.3 billion, which is 70 per cent of the $14 billion total investment needed for the first phase target in 2010,” he says. “That’s a very good start indeed.”
Once key “pillars of support” materialise, Iskandar will attract other big investors, he explains. The theory goes that if a few big players can be drawn in, others will follow. Rumour has it that Disney has been talking to Iskandar about building a resort, but Zainal won’t be tempted to confirm this.
He won’t be tempted to talk politics either, a real sore point as the shell-shock of Malaysia’s general elections continues to reverberate across the country. Johor has always been a stronghold of the ruling Barisian Nasional party. But the February vote saw the oppostion win almost a quarter of Johor state seats, something that could cause Iskandar problems. Politics has been known to interfere with business in Malaysia.
The issue of Iskandar’s ties with Singapore is equally sensitive for Zainal. On the surface of things, Iskandar looks like Malaysia’s attempt to find an answer to its more prosperous cousin once removed. Not so, insists Zainal.
“It’s not a question of competition,” he says. “We will be complementary to Singapore, what Shenzhen is to Hong Kong - a symbiotic relationship.”
That word ‘symbiotic’ may sit a little uneasily with Malaysians. Or Singaporeans, for that matter. But the reality is that a large chunk of Zainal’s target group resides in the city-state to the south.
Iskandar wants more than just wealthy investors. More than half a million Sinaporeans cross the border every year to shop, eat seafood and play golf at its country clubs, despite scaremongering by Singapore’s press about the muggings and robberies awaiting them in Johor Bahru, the state’s capital.
It is further afield where Zainal sees his biggest problem. “Iskandar is a brand in its infancy. We have lots of work to do to raise awareness overseas. We are certainly not your run-of-the-mill property developer. We need to tell the world what we stand for.”
That is why Iskandar Investment recently revamped its corporate identity. And why earlier this year Zainal hired Y&R, with whom he worked during his time at Chevron, and Ogilvy PR.
They take on a tough brief to communicate Iskandar’s “highly educated workforce, state-of-the-art infrastructure and stable economy” to six different investment sectors (among them finance, education, medical, tourism and creative industries) in the Middle East, India, Australia, China and the rest of Southeast Asia. This will take time, admits Zainal. “Strong brands aren’t created overnight. What is important is that we take a steady, consistent path to glory.”
That sense of determination hints at the sort of client Zainal will be in the months ahead. As Rishya Joseph, Y&R’s MD, concludes: “He is passionate about what he wants. And extremely passionate about what he doesn’t.”
Razaleigh Zainal’s CV
2007 SVP, marketing and branding, Iskandar Investment Berhad
2004 Brand manager, Malaysia and Cambodia, Chevron
2001 Business development manager, food for development and environment, Tetra Pak
1994 Director, overseas, Western Japan, Tourism Malaysia
1990 Assistant director, special projects, Tourism Malaysia
