Constructing her own path
Tey Fui Kien hopes to grow the company beyond Kluang
IT IS not as common to see construction companies that are helmed by women compared to those led by men.
So when Tey Fui Kien took over the reins at Majupadu Development Sdn Bhd from her father, she had to work doubly hard to prove herself in an industry where dirty boots, dusty construction sites and loud-talking men are a norm.
Being the boss’ daughter made it somewhat harder for her to succeed.
“You are really judged left, right and centre,” says the 39-year-old executive director of Majupadu.
Tey recalls many an occasion where she would be the only woman in the meeting room.
She admits that there have been many times when she has been embarrassed for not having adequate knowledge, but there have also been many times when she has been talked down to because others have assumed that she lacked the ability to steer a development project.
“You have to learn to be comfortable in these uncomfortable situations,” she says.
And if she had let circumstances overwhelm her, her story with the construction firm could have stopped there.
Tey grew up with Majupadu but she had little to no experience in the construction line prior to joining the company.
Tey, a law graduate from London, joined Majupadu in 2004 after completing her pupillage and doing a short stint as a junior editor in a research firm.
Construction was a steep learning curve for Tey who only helped out with clerical and receptionist work during her school holidays.
After her father called her back to the company, she started with basic administrative work and attended to customers. Then she joined the leasing and marketing teams, which gave her the opportunity to learn to manage a mall and to engage retailers.
In 2010, she was given permission to enter the construction site of her first project, Taman Delima 2, and eventually, she had the opportunity to participate in the whole process of delivering two major projects – the company’s RM104mil Taman Delima 3 and Kluang Mall, the largest lifestyle mall in town.
But working for her respect in the construction industry was tough. Contractors rarely took her seriously and in e-mail correspondences, she is often referred to as “Mr”.
Having the determination to complete her projects was an important ingredient for her to succeed.
“And so is having humility. We need other people’s help to see things through. We need to be open to ask for help when we don’t understand something and openly admit our mistakes when we’ve made them,” she says.
After many years of working with her team and with contractors at construction sites, Tey has earned the respect of her team. And on many occasions, they have supported and stood by her.
To-date, she has been involved with more than 200acres of development projects including the planning, designing and construction of residential and commercial projects.
Nonetheless, Tey reckons that she has much more to do at the company.
While her father has built the company and brought it to where it is today, Tey says her role is now to elevate Majupadu to a different standard.
“I am proud to be a part of the company. Majupadu has a good reputation in a small town and I have big shoes to fill.
“But just because we are from Kluang, it doesn’t mean that Kluang don’t deserve better. As a developer, we want to share what city lifestyle can be for a town like Kluang. We want to elevate people’s lifestyle through what we create.
“And as an employer, we want to adopt the best practices out there and bring in the standards,” she explains.
She notes that her challenges in leading the company is different today as she has to manage a different generation of employees.
While her earlier days in the company were marked by her need to prove herself, she thinks she now has a bigger role to play in helping her staff grow. She tries to interact with her staff and encourages them to develop themselves not just as employees but also personally.
About two years ago, Tey carried out a human resources audit at the company to look at ways she could improve its human resources policy and to find out the grouses of her employees to cultivate a more conducive working environment for her team.
“I want to create the right culture at the company,” she says.
Subsequently, she formed a common vision, mission and core values for the company to steer the team to start looking at opportunities beyond Kluang.
Tey emphasises that the success of each project comes from the collective hard work of the team and it takes the effort of the whole team to grow beyond Kluang.
“The opportunities that have
construction sites.
come by weren’t easy but I am happy to have had them.
“I think I’ve always had a passion in construction. I love playing with Lego, even till today. But I also have an interest in law. So in that sense, I am fortunate to be able to do both. If you like it, it is not an issue to work hard for it,” she concludes.