KUALA TERENGGANU: The people of Terengganu have been urged to emulate renowned Japanese industrialist Konosuke Matsushita to become successful entrepreneurs.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman reminded them how Matsushita successfully marketed the Panasonic and National brands of electrical items during ‘The Great Depression’ in 1929.
“Unemployment sky-rocketed and many went hungry. Companies stopped purchases from manufacturers as their warehouses were packed to the brim with unsellable goods.
“But Matsushita managed to turn things around for his company by optimising resources and minimising overheads.
“The chips were down, but Matsushita overcame the odds brilliantly with several tactical actions,” said Razif at the ‘Terengganu Incorporated (TI) Group Excellence Awards 2017’ at the Duyong Marina and Resort here.
Razif, who is TI Sdn Bhd chairman, added that Matsushita first took the bold initiative to halve the production of his goods.
“No worker was retrenched. Instead, factory employees were told to work half a day, but they had to work every day of the week. There was no pay cut and Matshusita motivated his staff to be industrious and push sales from his warehouse,” said Razif.
Matsushita displayed a big heart for the welfare of his workers, with his extraordinary initiatives, with no loss of jobs and eventually overcoming the depression, added Razif.
“Likewise, I hope TI employees will use Matsushita’s success story as an inspiration to move forward.
In order to achieve the New Terengganu Transformation objectives, Razif advised the TI management to adopt a high-performance culture benchmark to reward staff appropriately when their companies reap good profits.
Razif revealed that strong fundamentals had allowed TI to remain afloat despite the group’s gross earnings dropping from RM1 billion in 2015, to RM960 million last year.
TI subsidiaries TDM Berhad and Ladang Rakyat helped prop the plantation sector to RM640 million last year, as compared to RM629 million the previous year.
TI declared a 23 per cent dividend and RM26 million pre-tax profit for last year.
Keywords: Terengganu Menteri Besar, Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman, Terengganu Incorporated (TI) Group Excellence Awards 2017, TI Sdn Bhd, New Terengganu Transformation