Riding on his buggy to success
KULAI: The adage “if there’s a will, there’s a way” is what truly drives entrepreneur Hassan Embi to succeed in his buggy-making business.
In 2002, the former chicken rice seller from Penang was passing a workshop in Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Baru, when he spotted a buggy there.
His interest in the vehicle was sparked but he was snubbed by the workshop owner.
“He not only refused to sell the buggy to me at the price I offered but sarcastically told me: ‘Go make your own buggy!’
“I was pretty upset with him at that time but decided to take it as a challenge,” the 49-year-old recalled.
He had then closed his chicken rice business in Bayan Baru on Penang island and moved his family to Johor in search of a new livelihood.
So he went from chopping chicken meat up north to building buggies down south.
First, Hassan bought a used-car engine and started to build his own buggy.
Hassan remembered being labelled a “crazy guy” back then by many of his friends and relatives who were sceptical about his ambitions when he had zero knowledge of automotive or mechanical engineering.
To test the market for his first buggy, Hassan placed an advertisement in a local magazine dealing in the buying and selling of cars.
As luck would have it, a German expatriate residing in Melaka paid RM8,500 for it and Hassan was pleased that the buyer had nothing but praise.
He later used RM100,000 from his own savings to set up his company in Taman Asiatic Indahpura here and in 2015, shifted to a new place in Taman Lagenda Putra Kulai.
The father-of-two is now assisted by his 26-year-old son Muhammad Zulfaqar and five workers.
Zulfaqar is also the sole distributor of all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and minor cross motorcycles in the southern region.
Protol earned a place in the Malaysia Book of Records in October 2012 as the first company to produce buggies in the country.
Today, his handcrafted buggies are much sought-after and his clientele includes Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar and Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim.