Cambodia honours Perlis businessman

> Sabree named economic adviser, recognised for humanitarian work

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Sabree Salleh was caught by surprise when he received the appointment letter from the Cambodian government to fill the position of economic adviser to the country’s senate last month.

While Sabree (pix), 68, is not a stranger in the kingdom, having flown regularly to the country for his charity missions, he had never expected that his years of selfless effort to help the needy would lead to this recognition.

“I was not prepared to be appointed. I never hoped for anything in return when I decided to help the needy there,” he said.

“I view the appointment as an acknowledgement for my service to the kingdom, as well as an opportunity for me to improve the economic ties between Cambodia and Malaysia,” Sabree told theSun recently.

His appointment came just after he was conferred with the title of “Oknha” – a prestigious state-level award – from the ruler of Cambodia, King Norodom Sihamoni.

Sabree has been involved in the business world and is serving as president of the Selangor Dato-Dato Chamber of Commerce.

Having strong economic positions in both Malaysia and Cambodia, Sabree said he saw himself as a bridge to link the business opportunities that could benefit both nations.

“Of course, my appointment as the economic adviser indirectly allows me to serve my own country, by opening up prospects to promote Malaysian businesses and vice versa,” he said.

For a start, Sabree, who is from Perlis, hopes that he would be able to draw local business players to tap into the Cambodian market which has been mostly overlooked by Malaysian businesses.

Sabree added he had the task of changing the perception of Malaysian businesses towards Cambodia, which was previously marred by several fraudulent business deals.

“There were plenty of Malaysians who planned to invest there but got cheated. This mostly happened as they did not do their business through proper channels, and instead resorted to a backdoor false opportunity,” he said.

“I take this as my job to ensure that Malaysians can set up their businesses in Cambodia safely by adhering to the laws of the country,” he added.

Sabree also said that his position could help bring in better healthcare to the people of Cambodia with the investment from Malaysian businessmen into the sector there.

This, he said, was due to the good stature of Malaysia’s health tourism internationally.

“Healthcare is lacking in Cambodia. Many Cambodians spend a fortune for better healthcare in other nations such as Thailand and Singapore, ignoring the fact that Malaysia is among countries with the best healthcare in the world,” he said.

“Malaysians should grab the chance to establish their hospitals there which can offer better services to Cambodians. While it will help them in terms of healthcare, it could also help to bring in more investments to the country,” he added.