Sime Darby Plantation | Tribute to the late Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim

Today we pay tribute to the late Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, a man who touched the lives of many through the organisations he served during a stellar career that included corporate and public service.
He served as Permodalan Nasional Berhad’s second Chief Executive during the pivotal period between 1979 and 1994, after which he was appointed Chief Executive of one of the most iconic plantation companies in Malaysia, Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad. On March 13, 2008, he became the Menteri Besar of Selangor, Malaysia’s richest state, a position he held for two terms.

In 1981, Khalid played an instrumental role in the dawn raid of the London stock exchange, which brought ownership of Guthrie to Malaysia. It was one of his finest moments and an indelible part of Malaysian corporate history. He also played a central role in the establishment and success of Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad during his tenure at PNB.

When he became CEO of Guthrie in 1995, Khalid took over a large company with the potential to become great. He was a highly principled person with the highest integrity. He was known to be frugal which positioned the company in good stead during difficult times.

In 2001, with Southeast Asian economies barely beginning to recover from the Asian financial crisis, he made the bold decision to acquire what were then described as the Salim Group’s “distressed estates” in Indonesia. Guthrie borrowed heavily to acquire the plantations and many questioned the wisdom of his move. Within a few years, it was obvious to even his most strident critics, that the acquisition of what is today Minamas Plantation was a masterstroke. The acquisition increased Guthrie’s landbank by 265,777 hectares in Aceh, Jambi, Riau, South Sumatra, Central, and East Kalimantan and Central Sulawesi. Today those estates are an integral part of Sime Darby Plantation.

His vision in building the highway known as Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE) which connected all estates of Guthrie from Shah Alam to Rawang helped to propel the development of mega townships known as Bukit Jelutong, Denai Alam, and Elmina, which today have become the locations of sought-after residential properties.

As the Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Khalid won the hearts of the people by implementing initiatives for the disadvantaged. For instance, in Selangor, the first 20 cubic metres of water are free of charge because of Khalid. He was returned as Menteri Besar for a second term after a successful 2013 general election campaign.

During his six-year tenure, he was praised for bringing stability to state subsidiaries and turning around loss-making companies, which also led to the Selangor government’s cash reserves increasing to RM3.3 billion by the time his tenure ended in 2014.

Tan Sri Khalid, we salute you and we will always remember your legacy.

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