Few companies endure for more than a century. So, as Royal Selangor, one of Malaysia’s oldest and most recognisable brands, turns 141, we ask if a heritage, craft-driven business model can still scale in today’s economy. Dato' Yong Yoon Li, Royal Selangor's MD shares his thoughts on leading this family business now into its fourth generation and into the future.



Image Credit: Shutterstock

Few companies endure for more than a century. So, as Royal Selangor, one of Malaysia’s oldest and most recognisable brands, turns 141, we ask if a heritage, craft-driven business model can still scale in today’s economy. Dato' Yong Yoon Li, Royal Selangor's MD shares his thoughts on leading this family business now into its fourth generation and into the future.Image Credit: Shutterstock

Sharper and stronger than a double espresso. The Morning Run stretches your mind and braces you for the business day. It's your fast track into work where you can hit the ground running. From 6am to 10am weekdays, the Morning Run brings you the biggest stories and must-listen-to interviews. Stay enlightened, make educated business and investment decisions.

The Breakfast Grille

Featuring the cream-of-the-crop as well as the controversial, the Breakfast Grille is the flagship show of BFM. Expect no-holds-barred interviews to get to the truth and into the minds of business leaders, policymakers and changemakers.

Royal Selangor at 141: Can Heritage Drive Performance?

With Whitman’s move on the LEAP market, a fundamental question emerges: Can you scale a 'trust-based' business without losing its soul to shareholder pressure?



After 25 years of organic growth, Whitman Holdings’ public listing signals a shift from dividend payouts to expansion mode, potentially driven by an M&A appetite to consolidate Malaysia’s fragmented retirement advisory market.



Founder and Managing Director Yap Ming Hui also discusses the firm’s quest for vertical integration via a traditional portfolio management license, rejecting pure robo-advisory in favor of human-led expertise, and his aspirations for an "Expert AI" agent designed to clone his 25 years of proprietary wisdom.

With Whitman’s move on the LEAP market, a fundamental question emerges: Can you scale a 'trust-based' business without losing its soul to shareholder pressure?After 25 years of organic growth, Whitman Holdings’ public listing signals a shift from dividend payouts to expansion mode, potentially driven by an M&amp;A appetite to consolidate Malaysia’s fragmented retirement advisory market.Founder and Managing Director Yap Ming Hui also discusses the firm’s quest for vertical integration via a traditional portfolio management license, rejecting pure robo-advisory in favor of human-led expertise, and his aspirations for an "Expert AI" agent designed to clone his 25 years of proprietary wisdom.

Forget Dividends. Inside Whitman’s M&A Hunt & Growth Focus

While the international system undergoes dramatic changes, Malaysian politics seems to be trapped in the same old political scripts and petty political rivalries. Even as many Malaysians yearn for a way out of stagnant politics, the question is will the next generation be part of the solution. We speak to two Kelantanese politicians about rebellion, Kelantan’s governance challenges and mobilising the young.

While the international system undergoes dramatic changes, Malaysian politics seems to be trapped in the same old political scripts and petty political rivalries. Even as many Malaysians yearn for a way out of stagnant politics, the question is will the next generation be part of the solution. We speak to two Kelantanese politicians about rebellion, Kelantan’s governance challenges and mobilising the young.

Counting On Youthful Rebellion?

Following the US-Iran War, Malaysia’s retail landscape is entering a state of "nervous calm" as fuel prices surge and costs ripple through supply chains. Datuk Wira Ameer Ali Mydin of Mydin Mohamed Holdings joins the Breakfast Grille to warn that increases in basic food and retail items is imminent as logistics, LPG, and other costs surge. 



Ameer also breaks down the Madani Mart model, drawing on his own RM185 million loss with Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M), and his key concerns about the model, as well as why he views work-from-home policies as "burning money" for the economy and why Malaysia may be "too nice" to foreign retail competition.

Following the US-Iran War, Malaysia’s retail landscape is entering a state of "nervous calm" as fuel prices surge and costs ripple through supply chains. Datuk Wira Ameer Ali Mydin of Mydin Mohamed Holdings joins the Breakfast Grille to warn that increases in basic food and retail items is imminent as logistics, LPG, and other costs surge. Ameer also breaks down the Madani Mart model, drawing on his own RM185 million loss with Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M), and his key concerns about the model, as well as why he views work-from-home policies as "burning money" for the economy and why Malaysia may be "too nice" to foreign retail competition.

Royal Selangor at 141: Can Heritage Drive Performance?

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