KUCHING: There is no shortcut to success, stressed Naim Holdings Berhad managing director Datuk Hasmi Hasnan.

Youth looking to make a name for them must work hard and work diligently, he said, adding that honesty was the key and that at the end of the day, it was about the services given to the people.

“I am still passionate about my work, but one important thing I’ve learnt in the last 25 years is that no matter what, at the end of the day, you must be humble,” he said in an exclusive interview with New Sarawak Tribune at his office on Tuesday (July 14).

Hasmi added besides providing good services to the people, the most important thing to have was integrity, adding that it was not possible to attain success without it.

Asked about his life philosophy, he replied, “I don’t have one, but I am happy I can give back to the community. What we did was to identify John, who wanted to build a house for 10 years. His wife is not well,” he said.

He was referring to John Away, the recipient of Naim Group of Companies ‘Better Homes’ initiative under its corporate social responsibility project last year.

Hasmi said the middle-aged worker had asked him to help complete the brick house that he had been trying to build for his half-paralysed wife.

“He (John) said to me, “Datuk, can you help me?” I said, “I will see what we can do. At the end of the day, we managed to complete the house within two months.

“We did it on a gotong-royong basis. When I saw the tears of joy from John and his wife, that to me was my greatest satisfaction,” he said.

Hasmi said Naim would continue its corporate social responsibility project in the future and was identifying a few candidates for it.

Asked about the company’s secret on winning many awards for its work in the last few decades, Hasmi said it was all due to the hard work and dedication of his staff.

“They work very hard for me, so they are dedicated. Of course, we have our strategies but if the staffs are not with you, then there is not much that you can do,” he said.

Hasmi pointed out while the government tried to help here and there with its policies,   the products developed by a company must be appealing to buyers.

“At the end of the day, we are only as good as our products. If we cannot sell (them), we cannot develop the other products.

“The fact that we have been able to sell 23,000 units in the last 25 years means to me that we must be doing something right for the community,” he said.

Hasmi added in the next 25 years, the company planned to give back to the community by building affordable housing.

“We are thinking of building 250,000 units of houses and if you multiply that with four, we are building homes for one million people.

“If we can do that, build that, the staff will be very proud and if I am still around when that happens — that I can build homes for one million people — I would feel very proud and happy. That should be one of my achievements in life,” he said.

Looking back on the achievements and successes that he had attained since starting out, Hasmi said it had been a humbling experience.

“I feel happy and at the same time, I feel humbled, because along the way, I have made a lot of mistakes, too, and nobody wants to talk about mistakes.

“I’ve learned that, whatever it is, we have to do it together and we have to support the community as you are only as good as your community.

“All my achievements have been a team effort,” he said.

Source: https://www.newsarawaktribune.com.my/no-shortcut-to-success/