Datuk Dr Jessie Tang’s secret of success
datuk dr Jessie Tang blazes a trail in an industry that is often deemed too rugged for women.
FROM the hushed lounge of Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu, a picture perfect view of the South China Sea snatches one’s breath away. The ocean, however, has found a worthy rival in the form of the immaculately groomed Datuk Dr Jessie Tang, who stole much of the attention.
The svelte 45-year-old is probably used to being in the limelight. She is the CEO of East West One Consortium, a plantation management company which she co-founded.
A tenacious go-getter, Tang is the epitome of an alpha female, carrying the weight of the once-stigmatised label with ease as if it were a billowing superhero’s cape on her shoulders. Yet, unlike other alphas, she is deeply respected by her peers.
Tang, who was formerly a qualified medical practitioner in her home state of Kedah, dived headlong into the palm oil industry in 2004 when land prices were still affordable. It was a natural transition for someone who grew up, and loved, living in her grandfather’s rubber plantation.
“I used to help in the smoke house, drying rubber sheets. I also love nature and the wilderness. I used to catch frogs, caterpillars and leeches and love all kinds of animals. The experience of estate life must have rubbed off on me somehow since I eventually opted for a business career which is very much plantation-related,” says Tang.
Today, the East West One Planter’s Scheme has evolved into the biggest oil palm investment scheme in Malaysia by virtue of land size. Tang is also a director of several companies with businesses ranging from timber to real estate development as well as commodities trading. Her astounding success, she claims, is attributed to the way she was brought up by her parents.
“I have five siblings – two boys and three girls, an average size family during that time. I was taught that being a girl is no lesser than being a boy and nothing is impossible to achieve, as long as we devote ourselves to do our best and to focus on what we want to achieve,” she says.
Tang’s mother was strict, and there were days when the precocious child yearned to escape her watchful eye. A huge fan of Bruce Lee, she began sneaking into a temple behind her home with her brother to learn Shaolin Kungfu from the monks.
Today, one cannot guess that Tang is a regular Kalis-Kuen Tao practitioner and chairman of Kalis-Kuen Tao Martial Arts Association, just by looking at her. An intriguing blend of Chinese, Filipino and Indonesian martial arts, Kalis-Kuen Tao incorporates the use of weapons in its fighting style.
But Tang, whose curiously polite and win- some demeanour reflects her delicate-as-arose exterior, is a walking contradiction. Inside, she’s a tough nut. She knows what she wants, and would never take no for an answer. She credits this extraordinary “discipline, mental strength and endurance in business” to what she has learned. “I also learned how to attack with weapons, like this fork, for instance,” she says jokingly, waving the cutlery about in a rare display of humour.
If there was a single defining moment in her life, however, it was the time she stumbled across a book called Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill at the age of 13.
“It was tattered and covered with dust,” she says. “Something made me want to read it. I hid it under my bed because I didn’t want my siblings to make fun of me. What fascinated me was not so much the prospect of becoming rich but the discovery of the law of attraction, which I successfully applied in my studies and later on, the various aspects of my life and business.”
Despite her burgeoning interest in entrepreneurship, the filial daughter heeded her father’s wish for her to become a doctor, just like him.
“So, although I was not really into medicine, I underwent the whole course and qualified as a doctor. I have served my four years’ compulsory government service,” she says.
After her medical stint, however, Tang’s interest in business was rekindled. Thus began her foray into the palm oil business. While her gender sets her apart from her colleagues, she always insists on being treated as an equal. “Gender does not matter. It is more important to be passionate about what you do and strive to be the best you can be in order to excel,” she shares her philosophy enthusiastically.
Of course, setting a milestone achievement does not come without a few compromises. While Tang makes it a point to keep the lines of communication open 24/7 with her two adolescent boys, she admits she is not the perfect mother.
“As a woman, having to spend long hours working and being away from my family would be the biggest sacrifice I have had to make. However, as a career woman, such sacrifices are not an option,” she states matterof-factly.
Her hero – Body Shop founder Anita Roddick – may give clues as to why Tang works the way she does. She explains: “Roddick has inspired me to create my very own business model based on passion and compassion in which I believe we have to give 120% in whatever endeavour we undertake. We have to be deeply interested and able to persevere to face impossible odds.”
Like Roddick, Tang also tries to give back to the community by getting involved in numerous charitable organisations. Not surprisingly, gender equality remains her area of interest.
“As a medical student in India, I witnessed suffering of all sorts endured by women there, especially among the rural less educated community who lived in poverty with no source of income. Many were victims of crime, rape, violence or domestic abuse. It was very sad to see their condition and I felt helpless,” she says.
Her generous donation to Women’s Institute of Management (WIM), a non-profit organisation to promote the leadership of women in all sectors, for their 20th anniversary has made it to the pages of several magazines. The sponsorship will contribute towards WIM’s free courses for disadvantaged women throughout Malaysia.
“I hope my little contribution will go a long way in helping WIM to reach out to less fortunate women, thus elevating their living standards. Financial independence is very important for women, not only to support themselves and their children, but more so to lead a debtfree life without any reliance on charitable sources or even unscrupulous quarters who would only take advantage of their misery,” she says.
A little help will go a long way, explains Tang, who believes that some crucial changes need to be made before egalitarianism between the sexes can be achieved.
“The women of today have already proven themselves worthy of holding any positions that men used to hold, with some performing beyond expectations,” she says. “However, there exists a glass ceiling in the corporate hierarchy where women found their progress impeded. In order for women to make a breakthrough, there is a need to change the male mindset. Perhaps through more education and greater public awareness, women can perform better than men, and there may come a day when both parties can be treated as equals.”
There’s no denying that it’s a man’s world – gritty, unyielding and even occasionally frightful – out there. But if Tang’s mighty presence has proven anything, it’s that the women of Malaysia are ready to correct this power imbalance by adding their own brand of empathy and determination into the mix.