Poh Sang Chung, known as his friends as Martin, a Sarawak-born businessman, has hit headlines after he spoke to reporters regarding the “Knight Bachelor” award bestowed on him by Queen Elizabeth II in June.
The school dropout, turned successful businessman, is now “Sir” Martin, thank you very much.
The Star writes that the Malaysia-born Poh modestly told them: “To get this honor is priceless, I did not expect to get this award at all.”
His humble beginnings saw him being born to a financially struggling Heng Hua family, a minority Chinese group from Fujian province, in Sarawak. He spoke no English, and could not finish secondary school, as he needed to support his family by working.
At 18 he became a delivery boy for a wholesale pharmaceutical company in Kuching. Although he was ambitious, his limited English meant that being a delivery boy was the best he could do. His boss encouraged him to learn English, and once he became proficient enough, he took on a sales position.
From this point, he knew that he wanted to be a businessman, and worked towards starting his own company with four other partners. They focused on wholesale pharmaceuticals in Borneo.
In 1996, one of his colleagues suggested that they look to the Papua New Guinea market for opportunity, and have never looked back.
Sir Martin became a PNG citizen in 2007, and his company, Borneo Pacific Pharmaceuticals Ltd, is one of the region’s major wholesalers, providing pharmaceutical products not just to PNG, but Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tonga and the Solomon Islands. The company has grown to distribute cost-effective, quality products across the Pacific.
His charity endeavors, extensive donations, and service to the health industry were recognized by Queen Elizabeth II in 2009, and the Duke of Edinburgh awarded Poh with an MBE (Order of the British Empire) for his work.
He is the founder of the PNG Kidney Foundation, helping to develop kidney care for the masses in the country after he found himself with kidney problems himself 8 years ago. His foundation is responsible for establishing a dialysis clinic at Port Moresby General Hospital.
Congrats, Sir Martin. You are an inspiration to all of us!
ALSO! #tbt to that time Sabahan politician Jeffrey Wong Su En told everyone he was had been knighted by the Queen, and he hadn’t … but then produced this joke of a photo-shopped pic. LOL.
