Malaysian Visionary 49th Wealthiest In Australia

NEVILLE D'CRUZ MELBOURNE, July 11 (Bernama) – Internationally acclaimed Malaysian-born property developer Maha Sinnathamby has been named Australia's 49th wealthiest person in the latest BRW Rich list with a fortune of A$840 million. Maha, who came to Australia in 1960 as an engineering student after surviving hardship days in an estate in Rantau, Negri Sembilan, during the Japanese Occupation, has had a remarkable journey from an aspiring engineer to one of the most admired property tycoons in Australia. After graduating from the University of New South Wales and stints with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Maha and his young family settled in Perth in the 1970s before moving to Queensland in the 1980s. He and his business partner, Bob Sharpless, began scouting around for a new project when they set foot on about 2,800 hectares of flat, barren land which the duo, after much delibration, acquired for about A$11 million. Now known as Greater Springfield, about 30km from Brisbane, Maha, a visionary, has used his engineering knowledge to turn this once soulless land into a masterpiece, fitting enough to be declared the World's Best Master Planned Community in 2010. A no mean achievement. "It all sounds like a dream come true," Maha told Bernama before leaving for Kuala Lumpur this week on business. "But I can assure you there had been plenty of nightmares along the way," he said. "Creating Australia's largest new city out of nothing and with nothing other than grit and determination is something which requires an almost unbelievable faith in yourself and what you're trying to achieve," he said. "I owe my success to my upbringing in Rantau, at a Malaysian rubber estate where we had very little water and no electricity during the Japanese Occupation. "It's where my life-long dedication to education and the value of learning began under a kerosene lamp. Those difficult times stood me in good stead. It also taught me to look up and never-ever give up," said the former student of St Paul's Institution, Seremban. Besides a massive housing development, Greater Springfield has an education prescience with primary and secondary schools, an highly-regarded university, a fully-equipped and staffed hospital, care for the aged facilities, a thriving shopping town, a IT network and a superb golf course. -- BERNAMA