PHILANTHROPIST, ENTREPRENEUR, ACTIVIST AND MAVERICK: VINOD SEKHAR

How does one measure a man? Is it by his wealth or his experiences? Do we use his material goods as a gauge or can we judge by what his friends say about him? Is it monetary success or do we look for other factors to make the call?

One popular way to measure a man is to see how well he has faced up to adversity. In Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem “If”, there are two lines, which read “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same”

One man who has met both in his time is Datuk Vinod Sekhar, the Chairman and Chief Excutive of the Petra Group. There are many words that can be used to describe Datuk Vinod - he is a billionaire entrepreneur, a philanthropist, an educationist, a patriot and an innovator to name but a few. Perhaps one can best describe him as a visionary as he was at the forefront of promoting many innovations. Yet, when it all boils down to the raw facts, Datuk Vinod Sekhar is a man. He is a man for having faced up to adversity, for having climbed out of the depths, not by compromising on his ideals or principles, but by sticking by them. Through triumph, disaster and triumph again, Datuk Vinod Sekhar has remained in essence the man who he has always been.

The Golden Boy Realises The Golden Truth

Our journey with Datuk Vinod and The Petra Group takes us back to 1990 where we can find the origins of The Petra Group, which was founded by him. He was then a young man of 20, still studying biology in the US, when he received job offers from several companies.

Datuk Vinod recalls going to a close friend who was a successful businessman for advice on what to do with his career in those days. He was still a scholarship student in the US and had started a business with $50 making shirts out of India, successfully. He had already by then founded Malaysia’s first multi- racial, non-partisan youth organisation (Malaysiana Muda). His friend told the younger Vinod Sekhar that if he joins a corporation, his forceful and driven personality will either cause him to lose his job within three months or he would stage a management coup.

It was obvious then that the only viable choice open to him was to be his own boss and that he’d either be a consultant or an entrepreneur. Two weeks after that conversation, he had decided that the entrepreneurs journey was for him.

That incident probably best shows the supreme self- confidence possessed by Datuk Vinod. It is difficult to imagine a young man of just 20 years with the maturity and foresight to go into business but that was exactly what happened to Datuk Vinod. Thus was formed the STI Group, which later merged with global investments to become the Petra Group. STI’s objective was to explore new technologies, and it was indeed amongst the innovators of that decade. Revolutionary ideas and ground breaking businesses just poured out of the company, from the world’s smallest optic engine to South East Asia’s first commercial Internet company – at that time there were a total of 700 internet users in Malaysia. Its multimedia arm was also involved in a joint venture to produce the 2-hour pilot and TV movie of “Tarzan: The Epic Adventures” at Disney MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, thus becoming the first South East Asian company to do so.

STI was the shooting star of Malaysian companies in its heyday and Datuk Vinod was the golden boy of Malaysian business. Just imagine, a young man in his early twenties heading a company that was considered to be one of the regions top private business groups. At its peak, the trading operations recorded around a billion dollars worth of sales. And at the forefront was Datuk Vinod, the wiz kid heralded as the man with the Midas Touch.

When Datuk Vinod was 26, the Yang di Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja’afar Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the then 10th King of Malaysia, conferred the title of Datuk on him. He was the youngest person to be conferred a Datukship.

In 1997, Datuk Vinod’s star was at its peak, but the clouds were gathering in the horizon and in the same year, the foreign exchange market in South East Asia collapsed and with it the star went crashing down.

The Asian financial crisis of 1997 brought him thundering down to earth. According to his reflections, part of the problem was the setting in of what he calls, “the God complex.” It was a time when, in his words, “everyone was telling me I was the best thing since sliced bread... and that everything I touched turned to gold.”

It is important that we bear in mind that he was still a young man at the time when all the accolades started pouring in, or as he called himself, “a 23 - 24-year-old kid”. It was definitely a heady experience, being praised to heavens like that, and at such a youthful age, it was just too much.

He told us that the lack of experience caused him to start believing the hype and thus he started doing things that “common sense says you don’t... business experience says you don’t”. He was in everything from East Asia’s largest fruit and vegetable farm, to Malaysias first sports car company.

The ringgit collapses and the market falls

The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis was an electric shock, which shook the core of the East Asian Boom. Datuk Vinod recollected that at that time, he was hospitalised in Los Angeles for health problems and that there was “a situation where the ceiling had collapsed and I am not there.

Datuk Vinod is a man whose finger is always on the pulse of things. Unfortunately, during the Asian Financial Crisis, he was handicapped by his illness. His inability to be present in the country during that time severely hampered his business. By the time he came back to Malaysia, the bomb had already dropped and it was just a matter of waiting for the fallout. It was in his words, “a disaster”. And yet, as he recalled, “there was nothing we could have done about it. We had US dollar debt. Now, I’ll give you an example, say we had borrowed a hundred million US dollars but we had taken it in ringgit, which was 245 to 250 million ringgit. But because of the Crisis, we suddenly do not owe just 250 million ringgits but 300 million and then 350 million and this just increased day by day. At one stage, it would have been half a billion but all that would have been given was 250 million. And you had no control over it!”

Another cause of the problems at that time, as identified by Datuk Vinod, was that they were in some businesses that he had no clear experience or strength in, which caused him to rely partners too much. And there wasn’t anything anyone could have done. In the areas where he had direct control, things weren’t as bad but there were those without his finger on the pulse and it was in those areas that were the most affected. ‘But at the end of the day, the buck stops with me. It was my responsibility. And whatever roles others played, there’s no denying the mistakes I made. The key is to try and not repeat them,” he insists. He woud be tested again first during the global financial crisis after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and then again when Najib Razak (now jailed for corruption) and the machinery of government was used to against him because of his close relationship with the jailed leader of then opposition, Anwar Ibrahim. Vinod refused to budge or step away from supporting his friend. He publicly called for political reform and judicial indepemdence – not something senior business leaders in Malaysia are expected to do. Whenhis friends would ask him to just focus on business and not speak out and in return he would get the benefits in the country he deserves, his reply was “I’m a businessman, I’ll sell many things….but my soul is not for sale.” In the following many years, he and his wife would endure constant attacks, fake news stories, created legal actions – with the constant message to just back off and all will be well. If they had only learnt from Vinod Sekhar’s history – he doesn’t like bullies and he doesn’t back down. And as eventually the government fell, and in December 2022, Anwar Ibrahim became the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia and head of a unity government of moderates.

The Malaysian Disease

There is a disease in Malaysia, which is prevalent and extremely contagious. It is a disease that affects all strata of Malaysian society and its name is Rumour Mongering. It is caused by pettiness and small mindedness and fed by avarice and envy.

And Datuk Vinod was not immune from being a victim. One has to remember that this was a man who was praised as a genius and yet when the crash came and then the political attacks, the true colours of people began to show. One day, he was lauded and feted, the next he was shunned. It is indeed unfortunate how people’s faces seem to change when one is in adversity.

And then there were the rumours, the wild and vicious rumours about him. He laughs about it now by jokingly claiming that he does not mind what they said about him but he would prefer it if he could have done what the rumour mongers were accusing him of doing.

But this is now and that was then. And back then, as he reflected, he was hurt and angry by what was happening. Rightly so as well. As he said, he did not steal money, he did not cause a public company to collapse, he did not commit any crime, yet the knives were stabbing him in his back. People whom he had helped before began to treat him like a leper. The worst part of the ordeal for him though was not that he had to hear what people were saying about him but that his family had to face them as well. Through this time, his wife, Datin Dr. Winy Sekhar, was the rock who kept him going.

It was during this time that a friend of his mother gave Datuk Vinod a piece of advice that helped him accept the situation. He remembered her telling him, “Why are you getting angry? Are your friends from five years ago still your friends today? Are your friends from twenty years ago still your friends today? You are the most consistent person around. Your friends know who you are. And anyone of any real character will make a decision on their own, not on some silly rumours and fictional stories.”

The Comeback Kid

At that point Datuk Vinod was at the lowest point as far as business was concerned, and so the only direction in which he could move was up. Before the crash, he had invested money overseas and the pay offs were beginning to show. The time was ripe for his comeback, but first he had to decide in which direction he wanted to move or as he puts it, “whether to depend on friends and government contracts or go back to what I believe in... go back to technology and the toys I believe in.”

The key to his and The Petra Group’s comeback was his return to innovation and taking risks on new ideas that would make money and enhance society. His late father Tan Sri Dr. B.C Sekhar, a man whom Vinod describes as one of the biggest influences in his life, cultivate the strong feeling of nationalism and patriotism that is apparent to everyone today. So even as the global pandemic hit, Vinod still pushed forward. He created a national news site that became the fastest growing New site in the country, he donated heavily to those in need and invested in smaller companies to give them a support as the pandemic crushed global economies. He funded and produced the Hong Kong film “Sunny Side of the Street” that would earlier this year win 5 Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan (the Asian equivalent of the Oscars), and a Nepalese short film called “Lori” that would be given a recognition at the Cannes Film Festival. This is not new to him as just several years earlier he funded and produced “Liar’s Dice” which was directed by his niece, acclaimed Kerala director Geethu Mohandas. It would become India’s sole submission for the best foreign picture Oscar at the Academy Awards for that year.

The Businessman in the Philanthropist

Petra is now in sustainable technology, recycling, biotechnology, IT, modular housing, media technologies, film, transportation technology and even sustainable furniture. The one common theme all of Petra’s activities share is that they are all geared towards the betterment of society in one form or other.

This does not mean though that Datuk Vinod is a dreamy idealistic person. Yes, he has his principles, he has his ideals but he is very much a canny businessman. He is willing to take risk and invest in places where others might fear to tread because he believes that the initial outlay will be returned with many times interest compounded. But more important than that, that he is able to make a positive impact on people is lives by doing so. He says. “It doesn always work out the way we would like it to. And sometimes we will fail to make the positive impact we wanted – but we will always keep trying.”

When one hears Datuk Vinod talk about any of his venture, the belief and passion in his voice is obvious. He says he needs them to bring about profits and have a positive impact. Investments mean businesses have a chance to flourish, businesses flourishing means jobs, jobs mean money, money means more purchasing power, which in turn lead to more businesses being set up and the cycle continues. It is a self-replicating process. And at the end, we would have created employment and wealth for the people, improve their lives and as a corporation, we would have made profits. “Fidel Castro called me a Social Capitalist.” says Datuk Vinod. “Maybe he’s right. The future of the world is social capitalism - where everyone can strive to be the best they can be, but where others are not just left behind and forgotten. Sustainable wealth creation is the only forward for today’s world”

A champion of education

As one can see from the above, Datuk Vinod is more than just a business leader. He is a man who firmly believes in social justice and social development, traits which his mother, Puan Sri Sukumari Sekhar instilled in him when he was younger.

One cause he is particularly dedicated to is education. It is something that he recognised many years ago and at the young age of 21 in 1991, he had the foresight and initiative to create the first “Global Education Conference” in Kuala Lumpur where principals from 30 top schools from around the world were invited to discuss on the building of bridges between different educational curricula.

In recognition of this initiative, he was named the first Asian and youngest fellow of Kappa Delta Pi, a US based international Honours Society for education. Furthermore, he and his friend N.K Tong were responsible for the establishment of the Mont Kiara International School, which further highlights his commitment to the cause of education.

With Governor of Virginia, USTerry McAuliffe

There is real joy in Datuk Vinod’s face when he talks about visiting the schools, orphanages and centres for at risk youth he has helped build. And having the children hug him and how that is “the best high in the world... no drug or drink in the world can do that. Seeing the faces of those children and knowing that you’ve touched their lives.”

Datuk Vinod Sekhar, business leader, entrepreneur, visionary, innovator, educationist, philanthropist and crusader for social justice... it remains as hard to define him in just a few simple words. He has presented papers at and participated in international conferences such as the International Human Rights Conference in Brussels, the First Malaysian International Youth Conference for Unity in Kuala Lumpur, The Asia Europe Young Leaders Conference in Ireland and the World Economic Forumís Annual Meeting in Davos to name but a few. He has been named one of the 40 New Asian Leaders by the World Economic Forum and a decade ago Forbes magazine ranked him as one of the richest persons in Malaysia. He also won the Global Green Award from the US based Global Green Organisation. The only other non-Americans to have won it before him then was Mikhail Gorbachev and Giorgio Armani.

To this list of accolades, we must also include playwright, poet and raconteur. The arts are definitely something that is close to Datuk Vinod’s heart and Petra has sponsored several top arts and music events such as “An Evening with The Master and His Angel” featuring renowned sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and Annusha Shankar.

Datuk Vinod has definitely led a colourful and exciting life, which is made all the more remarkable because he had done most of the above before he was even hitting 40, which is when (some believe) life truly begins. His life and achievements read like a movie script, choke full of highs and lows. Did we say movie script? Well, how about play script then? Enter “In The Mind’s Eye”, which signalled Datuk Vinod’s debut on the Malaysian stage as an actor and a playwright. “In The Mind’s Eye”, which opened in July 1999 for an 11-day run was staged during a particularly difficult time of Datuk Vinod’s life, the Asian Financial Crisis that was touched upon earlier. It has also been produced in stage in London and in the US.

A play is but the reflection of the playwright’s thoughts and feelings albeit in a dramatised form, and “In The Mind’s Eye” was no different. It is probably best to let Datuk Vinod speak to us directly in the words he wrote in the programme notes, “... Life in its essence, is grey - no absolute right or wrong, no black or white. But we are separated from other animals because we have the ability to lighten and darken the shades that make up life – we have the role and responsibility to say that this is right and that is wrong.”

His Way

He is today facing his biggest challenge yet. After two decades of having a physically weak heart, he collapsed in January this year while on a flight from India. The plane, over the Indian ocean was forced to turn around. He had gone into shock. His wife Winy, a medical doctor with the support of doctors on board (as fate would have it the flight was full of doctors who were returning from a medical conference) kept him alive. His wife has told friends that she nearly lost him again in the ambulance, but he survived. After 7 weeks in hospital in Chennai, the decision was made that he needed a new heart. A heart transplant was the only pragmatic option. And now he is in India under the care of some of the best in their fields awaiting a matching heart.

At times, it is easy to forget that this is a man who is now still only 55, has lived a life few can attest to. He now waits to have a highly risky heart transplantation surgery – but he and the doctors are confident he’ll come out stronger than ever. So what then does the future hold for Datuk Dr Vinod Sekhar and The Petra Group? For starters they have technologies that could revolutionise the world and help humanity. This is a story of a man who believes he can change the world. A strong desire, but perhaps justified. If you recall that old adage “Beware of what ye want, for ye shall get it.” He will have energy, time and talent in one hand and friends who are Kings and Presidents in the other. If there is a man to watch out for in Asia today, it may well be Vinod Sekhar.