Mirzan Mahathir, the son of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, will be honoured as ‘entrepreneur of the year’ at the ‘Malaysian Business Awards 2012' ceremony on Nov 30.

syed amin aljeffri interview 220905 talking Kuala Lumpur Malay Chamber of Commerce (DPMKL) president Syed Amin Aljeffri (left) said the award is "to recognise individuals and companies that contribute to the economic development of Malaysia".

Mahathir, who is DPMKL ‘grand fellow’, is scheduled to attend the ceremony which will be graced by the Agong and opened by International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamad.

Syed Amin extolled the business attributes of Mirzan who - via a San Miguel Corp subsidiary - recently acquired a majority stake in Esso Malaysia Bhd, now known as Petron Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

He told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today that the judging process to select recipients is a "very subjective" exercise.

"Business is an art, business is not a science," he said.

The awards committee weighs each set of candidates based on their firm's business growth, effective employment of Malaysians, technological innovation and corporate social responsibility contributions, he said.

Met later, he welcomed the statement by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the Budget 2013 speech, that 43 percent of the subcontract works for the MRT project have been handed out to bumiputera contractors.

He said he is “pleased as this is a big opportunity" for bumiputera contractors, and that it would benefit many DPMKL members who are construction industry players.