According to those in the industry, however, it is actually not Dr Mahathir’s son but Dr Mahathir’s sons who are amongst the top three richest Bumiputeras or the top ten richest Malaysians. In short, not just Mokhzani but Mukhriz, too, is wealthy and the talk in the market is that one son can match the wealth of the other.

Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir has many business activities to manage. Furthermore, his family lives in Kuala Lumpur. So he needs to spend more time in Kuala Lumpur than in Alor Setar. Anyway, running a state like Kedah must be pretty boring compared to running a multi-billion-business empire.

Mukhriz and his brothers own quite a stable of companies. Out of the ten richest Malaysians three are Malays and one of those three is Tun Dr Mahathir’s son. Whether this is a measure of Dr Mahathir’s success or failure in creating a pool of successful Bumiputera businessmen is probably debatable.

According to those in the industry, however, it is actually not Dr Mahathir’s son but Dr Mahathir’s sons who are amongst the top three richest Bumiputeras or the top ten richest Malaysians. In short, not just Mokhzani but Mukhriz, too, is wealthy and the talk in the market is that one son can match the wealth of the other.

So why does Mukhriz want such a lowly job as the Kedah Menteri Besar if he really does not need the job and if his current status is far higher than that of a mere Menteri Besar? The answer is simple. Although he does not really care about his job as Menteri Besar, he needs it as a steppingstone to eventually become the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Hence he tolerates the trouble and boredom that comes with the job. He spends a couple of days in Alor Setar and then rushes back to Kuala Lumpur and to civilisation to be with his family and to manage his multi-billion-business empire.

And that is why people in Kedah call him a part-time Menteri Besar.

You can see the rest of the story ‘in pictures’ below. However, points that you should note are:

Mukhriz co-founded Opcom Holdings Bhd in 1994 and served as its Executive Chairman until he joined the Cabinet in May 2009. However, he still retained his interest in the company.

Mukhriz served as Chairman of TBWA-ISC Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Airzed Networks Sdn Bhd and Bioven Holdings Sdn Bhd. He also served as the Director of Opcom Niaga Sdn. Bhd, Ajiya Berhad, Kosmo Technology Industrial Bhd and Reliance Pacific Bhd.

Other than owning 51% of the public listed Opcom Holdings Bhd, which is the largest supplier of fibre optic cables for all Telekom’s Unifi broadband services, Mukhriz also owns substantial stakes in at least two other public listed companies — Reliance Pacific Bhd and Ajiya Holdings Bhd.

Reliance Pacific is the owner and operator of the famous travel-and-tour company of the same name while Prestige Avenue is also listed as a significant shareholder of listed Reliance Pacific Bhd.

What is interesting is that Prestige Avenue has “Exempt Company Status” — which means there is no need to lodge their financial reports with the Register of Companies (RoC) — and which also means only Mukhriz will know how much Prestige Avenue is truly worth.

http://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download/?name=EA_DS_ATTACHMENTS&id=149775http://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download/?

name=EA_DS_ATTACHMENTS&id=134717

worth.

http://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download/?name=EA_DS_ATTACHMENTS&id=149775

http://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download/?name=EA_DS_ATTACHMENTS&id=134717

Why would Mukhriz want to live in that town when he can live on top of a hill in Bukit Tunku a.k.a. Kenny Hills, the Beverly Hills of Malaysia, where even the maids have maids?