FIVE decades ago, a one-day visit to an island on the east coast of Malaysia set the course for a life-long relationship with the island and its people.
A young insurance agent had the opportunity to accompany several members of the Marine Police, commander Michael Lee and assistant commander Zainal Sinat to Teluk Dalam in Pulau Redang, Terengganu.
Just like everyone else there, the young man enjoyed the usual activities such as snorkelling, and returned home after a very tiring day.
But he could not forget about the natural beauty of the island.
Vowing to return to the beautiful island, he told himself he would one day build a home at Pulau Redang.
That insurance agent was Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan. Many years after his visit to Pulau Redang, Tan grew in his career.
At 21, he had become the youngest AIA manager, and at 29, he opened the first McDonalds outlet in Malaysia. In 1982, he bought shares in Berjaya Kawat, a company dealing in iron and eventually renamed the company to Berjaya Group.
In 1995, he crystallised his dream. He built his "house", called Berjaya Redang Golf & Spa Resorts, opposite the Redang Island Jetty.
Second love, after football
Tan's name is synonymous with the world of business and now he has also carved a name for himself in the international football circles.
Most Malaysians know him as the owner of football club Cardiff City which plays in the English Championship League.
Most recently, Tan brought Malaysia's talented young striker, Luqman Hakim Shamsudin, to another one of his clubs, KV Kortrijk in Belgium.
Tan's love for the natural beauty of Pulau Redang is no secret. The grandeur of The Taaras Beach & Spa Resorts shows how serious he is in elevating Malaysia on the world map.
Building a housing village for locals
However, it was not a smooth ride for him. There were many obstacles in the path to turning Pulau Redang into a world-class destination. Reminiscing about when he started on his endeavour, Tan said he was disturbed that most of the 1,000-odd residents of the island lived in "villages on the water", near the Pulau Redang jetty with little or no access to basic amenities such as clean water and electricity.
Building resorts on Pulau Redang was his dream, but he was also determined to improve the general quality of life for the villagers.
While he continued with the construction of The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort, the fate of the villagers remained a priority for Tan.
He submitted a working paper to the Terengganu government to build housing for the residents. The relocation of the villagers from the sea to better houses meant better facilities for them and also helped in marine conservation efforts.
It was unhealthy living in the water villages. To make things worse, the beauty of the sea was being compromised by indiscriminate dumping of rubbish into the water.
They didn't have a proper disposal system. Sadder still, was that young children would fall into the sea. Young lives were lost," he said.
The sad state of affairs compelled me to make a difference in the area. I would often meet up with the village head, Ladin Awang and advised them to move inland for their own well-being," he added.
In 1987, Tan took his proposal to the then Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Wan Mokhtar Wan Ahmad.
Most of the residents were fishermen earning RM150-RM 210 per month and had no capacity to buy land from the State government.
I proposed that Berjaya Group would take over the entire jetty area and build houses free for the villagers on government land. It was worth RM4 million at that time. It was more like a barter system.
"I started building a housing village in one area in 1990 and finished in 1995. But the state government did not agree to release the jetty to us and instead wanted to compensate us for the housing which we built.
I had to comply at that time. But I am satisfied. I made a big change to the lives of the villagers in Pulau Redang who now enjoy a more comfortable and safer existence," he said.
Evolution of The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort
Before The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort, Tan built the nine-hole Berjaya Redang Golf & Spa Resorts in front of the Pulau Redang jetty.
Berjaya Redang Golf & Spa Resorts, which was opened in 1995, was the first resort owned by Tan. It was closed in 2006 for upgrading works and reopened in 2012 as Redang Island Resort.
After building the water village, in 1996 Tan built another resort in Teluk Dalam, located less than 2km away from Pulau Redang jetty.
It is now known as The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort. In 2012, Tan built a runway and an airport terminal to make it easier for tourists to fly in directly from Kuala Lumpur.
He assured visitors they would have a different experience when they visit The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort.
In 1996, I finally made another dream resort in Teluk Dalam which I had earlier visited with the Marine Police. I bought 60 hectares of land from a landowner for RM2 million in the early 90s.
"Here, I built Berjaya Redang Beach & Spa Resort, which was renamed The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort in 2012.
I am thankful and proud of each of these resorts. The enchanting beach, beautiful deep sea and coral reefs, and also the uniqueness of seeing turtles on our seafront — they are invaluable and irreplaceable," he said.
*The author is a freelance writer