If my business fails, it's because of political instability - 'Pen Drive man'

Summary

• Pua Khein Seng returns to give Malaysia another try with new venture MaiStorage.

• Malaysian businessperson believes the country today has better political stability and a stronger support system.

Malaysian businessperson Pua Khein Seng has high confidence that his new venture MaiStorage - a short form for Malaysia AI Storage - can soar high.

Having set up the company operations in Puchong just last year, this would be the technologist's second attempt to find a business footing in Malaysia after a failed 2012 venture.

The founder of Taiwan-based Phison Electronics Corporation said he has returned to give Malaysia another try, believing the country today has better political stability and a stronger support system.

"I believe today's political environment in Malaysia is getting much more stable than in previous years.

"As an investor, if politics is not stable, I don't think I'm able to sustain the investment and development," the inventor of the world’s first single-chip USB flash drive told Malaysiakini in an interview.

In 2012, Pua established Phisontech Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, which turned out to be unprofitable before it was shut down and eventually liquidated in 2020.

He admitted that Phison had made several mistakes that contributed to the failure, including treating the Malaysia branch as a cost centre.

The company also faced another issue: its engineers were poached by competitors in Singapore, who could offer better pay due to the republic's higher exchange rate.

"... after we train them for two years, they're good, then they go to Singapore, because Singapore can pay more, right?

"Then I asked myself why I'm doing that. I don't think I have a value in training students just for them to go to other companies and countries... So, I decided to shut down," he said.

PM’s support

According to Pua, among the factors that convinced him to set up MaiStorage was the commitment given by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to support the integrated circuit (IC) design industry.

The government today, he added, also has a better vision in regards to developing technology compared to 10 years ago, when it was more focused on the manufacturing industry.

Pua said for MaiStorage to be successful, the company needs a local market for IC design, and this, according to him, is what Anwar agreed to look into.

"And he gave a commitment because I asked him, I can train engineers, but local products are a must.

"The government spends a lot of money to import everything from Korea, Taiwan, China, and the US. Why not take some budget to support the local industry? He (the prime minister) said 'reasonable'.

"Then, after the meeting, I decided to immediately set up an office. The office was established by July 1 last year after I talked to the prime minister," he recalled.

Political stability

The entrepreneur said it was during the same meeting that he also stressed to the prime minister the importance of ensuring a continuous political stability.

Pua said with Phison's experience in the industry, he believed MaiStorage has a very good chance to succeed.

"The prime minister asked what risks I worry about that can cause my company to fail again? My answer was simple: 'political stability'.

"If I fail again (this time), it will not be because of me. This time, I have already done my best. I have transferred the technology, I’m training the people, and they are also doing good. We can prove it.

"So, if we fail again, it will be because of politics. We need political stability. However, if my business fails again within the next two or three years, then I will have to walk away," he said.

With government support, Pua expressed hope that his company can be listed on Bursa Malaysia by 2028.

He said this would be the only way to ensure that MaiStorage can be profitable and sustainable.

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