Gui
KOTA KINABALU: Some five decades ago, rain or shine, a teenager who just completed his Form Five could be seen cycling around Sabah’s small town of Kota Belud, selling ice cream and snacks earning as little as five sen for each item sold.
Few years later, the son of a carpenter and tamu (market) trader started selling snacks using a pickup truck with his elder brother, going from one village to another, honking as they went.
This boy, Gui Khiau Leong, now 66, would turn out to be the founder of Kota Belud’s largest chain of businesses – Gui Brothers Sdn Bhd – that have over the years helped hundreds of locals get employed.
The seventh of 15 siblings said prior to his successful venture in business, his life was difficult.
“We lived in poverty, as there were just so many of us. My dad was a carpenter while my mum sold in the local weekly tamu so there wasn’t much money and most of us could not even further our studies after Form Five,” he said.
Their house was dilapidated and there were times when they didn’t even have enough to eat so Gui wanted to change that, and therefore started saving bit by bit from his small time sales until he had enough to rent a sundry shop with his brother.
In 1985, with their savings and loans given on the basis of trust, Gui Brothers enterprise was born. Both Gui and his elder brother were in their early 30s.
“When we first started, we had to do everything on our own. I was still doing my usual truck sales around villages while my wife helped to open up the sundry shop at 7am,” he said.
Gui said for years, they worked 12 hours a day with rarely an off-day because by hook or by crook, they had to pay a RM2,000 rental fee every month.
Later, when business started to pick up, he and his brother decided to take another risk in the early 90s by buying their own shop and expanding their business which went from an enterprise to a private limited company.
They hired locals regardless of their education and social backgrounds, as long as they promised to be honest and hardworking.
“I was once poor, had little knowledge of business but I learnt and that is why we do not care if a person is educated or not, or whether he did jail time because ultimately, we want those who really wish to change their lives to work,” he said.
From there, they expanded to six main premises ranging from sundry shops, supermarket to hardware shops, all in the town centre of Kota Belud.
Now, several of the Gui brothers and dozens of their children altogether manage their business.
“I don’t know if I helped improve the economy in this small district but I know many of our former workers now have their own sundry shops and canteens, while those who used to be unemployed, now have jobs,” Gui said.
Asked if he plans to expand the chain of businesses outside Kota Belud, he said that was a dream that he hopes their children would realise one day.
Throughout Gui’s journey, there were no such words ‘give up’, even during tough times and this is what he hopes everyone out there will adopt, a fighting spirit to only emerge stronger despite obstacles.
Towards this end, he wished to mention Lui Kim Chok, who was among the very few who dared to trust him, a nobody back then, by giving him a few months loan of stocks to start his business, over 30 years ago.
“I will never forget him. Without him, I wouldn’t be here today,” he said, adding trust was vital to start, sustain and grow a business.