A 90/10 Rule

Corporate commander Tan Sri Shamsuddin Abdul Kadir had his rags-to-riches tale detailed in his memoir, but reveals to Kathlyn D’Souza the people who brought him to where he is today.

- Kathlyn D'Souza

At the behest of some very dear (and powerful) friends the normally publicity-shy founder of Sapura Holdings gave the green light to one of the most emotional, comprehensive and inspiring biographies this year. The deeply self-effacing man sat across me after the launch of A Driver’s Son, giving me a toothy grin when I asked ‘what brought the book about?’ “Well, writing the book had nothing to do with publicity. I’ve never dreamed of writing a book. That one person who kept urging me was Tun Mahathir, who said, ‘You’ve lived long enough to write something.’ So then I told him, ‘Tun, I have never written a book in my life. I’m not a writer.’ But Tun Mahathir said that there is always a beginning.”