Nadia keeps Naza flag flying

It is easy to write off anyone who is born into a business empire but Nur Nadia SM Nasimuddin seems to have a good head on her shoulders and the competence to continue the work of her late father.

FOR all her youth, Nur Nadia SM Nasimuddin is beginning to walk the talk as she strives to become another force behind the Naza brand.

“I have always been interested in the family business,” says the youngest child of the late Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin, who in 1975 started what was to become Malaysia’s biggest importer of luxury cars and which eventually evolved into a giant conglomerate with about 30 companies.

Nadia, 24, is the director of Naza Hotels and F&B Group, and oversees five hotels and two restaurants.

During a one-hour interview, Nadia talks about how she always knew her primary calling in life.

“When I was studying, my dad had mentioned the hotel business. And I knew earlier on that this was what I wanted to do,” she says.

Nadia has been in the family business since graduating in management studies from the University of Nottingham almost three years ago.

She would go to the United States about once every two months for business trips to inspect the two hotels in California owned by Naza.

“It’s a tough business, but I have a passion for it,” she says.

Her work philosophy is all about pleasing the customers and providing consistent service.

“We want to build trust. It has been a learning curve for me and I have a good support team.”

She gets down to details, too, as she notes that one of her pet concerns is the cleanliness of the hotels.

“I would even check the toilets. I would be upset if I find that things are not clean. Things like these are not tolerated in my hotels,” she stresses, referring to the three Naza Talyya hotels in Johor Baru, Malacca and Penang.

As the boss of about 210 staff members, Nadia describes herself as someone quite strict yet understanding.

“I discovered that I have a drive to motivate people. They feel that they can work with me.

But questions on the so-called “lifestyle of the rich and famous” draw few comments from Nadia who prefers to talk about being at home with her family.

“I don’t really go out at night.”

There is, apparently, no nightlife nor parties for this young woman, which perhaps explains why she has largely sidestepped the public spotlight or scandals usually associated with the wealthy.

Asked where she would “hang out”, she names KLCC and Pavillion but even then, it would mostly be for lunch or dinner with business associates or family members.

During the interview, she appears hesitant, even tentative in her replies. One can only surmise that she is not entirely at ease being in the public eye.

What comes through, however, is a seemingly sensible and well-brought up young woman who cares deeply about family ties, the family business and reputation.

Where does she shop for clothes? “Zara, Topshop,” she replies. Her wedding ring was purchased from Habib Jewels.

That isn’t entirely expected from someone who is part of an empire that has been estimated to be worth at least RM3bil.

Her upbringing has to be credited for that.

According to Nadia, her parents had been strict with her and her four older siblings, drilling into them that they should not squander the family fortune.

“We were taught to control our expenses and not to splurge. We are mindful of the hard work that my dad put in to build the empire.”

She recalls her father bringing them to the orphanages so that they would appreciate what they had.

“During Ramadan, he would host buka puasa for orphans. In fact, he had always wanted to take us to India so that we could see how different life is for others.”

As a child, her parents would tell her off when she used up her pocket money faster than she should have.There were no compromises, too, where their studies were concerned.

As a result, Nadia had excelled in school; first in Sri Cempaka, then at Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar (KTJ).

Does she like cars? “Yes, but not the way my brothers like them!”

She does not own any vehicle and would hop into any car that the chauffeur brought in the morning.

In July, Nadia married Hamzah Alang, 26, the son of the Holiday Villa Hotels owner.

Going by the murmurs in the blogs, the wedding was one of those things she had indulged in as the reception had been a grand affair.

“I knew him during our days in KTJ. We were just friends then.” They dated for about a year before they got married.

Shortly after Hari Raya, the couple headed off to Hawaii and French Polynesia for their honeymoon.

Asked about her daily routine, Nadia says her day would usually start with breakfast with the family. “I would see my brothers and update them on the hotels.”

There is no sibling rivalry, she insists. “We are all in the business, doing different things.”

Naysayers will think that she merely serves as a garnish in her father’s massive empire.

“People tend to judge you, thinking that those born with a silver spoon don’t even have to finish their studies,” Nadia confides.

But with her resume, she knows she has the last word.

Dating on the cards

Never mind that little black dress. A new, essential tool these days is a little black card for single women (and men) who have eyed someone out there.

WHEN Lori Cheek, an architect, spotted an attractive stranger during a Fourth of July party in the Hamptons, she quietly slipped a black calling card into his back pocket.

The man did not even see Cheek, 37.

Since then, however, they have been going out on dates; the guy had decided to take up the bidding in the card where, stated in small print, was the message “find me”.

Also on the card was a website address (www.cheekd.com) and a unique code.

Intrigued, he checked out the site and keyed in the code, which linked him to a private online profile about Cheek.

“He e-mailed me after the weekend and we met for a drink,” Cheek said.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a true account of the latest dating tool which has hit New York, a city with almost four million singles according to the 2008 American Community Survey.

A report in The New York Times stated that there are more single people in New York City than the entire population of Chicago which has 2.7 million inhabitants.

Thus, lonely hearts who are wary about online dating or tired of speed dating now have another option that is “fun and non-intimidating” to hit on someone who has just sparked their interest.

“You see someone attractive, you make eye contact or perhaps even offer a wink. Then you hand out the card,” said Cheek, who started the website in May and found her own success story to share.

The cards come with catchy taglines such as “Emotionally Available”, “Our Story Begins”, “We’ll Laugh About This A Year From Now” and “Don’t Overthink This”.

At the website, a deck of 50 cards are offered at US$25 plus one month of free service where users post information or receive messages on the site.

“The advantage here is that the world is your shopping cart,” said Cheek in an e-mail interview. “You are practically shopping on the streets, in real life.”

This, she said, is unlike online dating where everyone knows that men and women out there tend to exaggerate their merits on online dating networks.

The service was a refreshing alternative to online profile browsing, she said. “It is also unlike speed dating or ‘It’s Just Lunch’ events, where your only options are the other individuals at the event.”

Cheek said she had been getting happy feedback from singles who have handed out the cards surreptitiously.

“I got the nicest e-mail from a 53-year-old man with three children whose wife had recently left him. He thought it was a great way to give his card away to women while he was with his children and they wouldn’t really know that he was handing off a pick-up line!”

Cheek said she thought of the idea for such cards about two years ago when she had just finished dinner with a male friend in SoHo, a neighbourhood in Manhattan.

Her friend wrote on the back of his business card “Want to have dinner?” and handed it to a girl at an adjacent table as he and Cheek were leaving the restaurant.

“I thought it was pretty bold and mysterious that he’d slipped her the card, but thought it would be much more interesting if that card hadn’t had the information of his place of employment on it.

“I then started thinking how interesting it would be to have different suggestions pre-printed on cards that you could use in all kinds of different scenarios. The process seemed like a ‘Tag. You’re It’ kind of game for urban singles,” Cheek said.

So far, the response to the cards had been incredible.

“I’ve received thank you letters from users for creating the idea and ‘sharing the magic.’ We’ve gotten thousands of sign-ups on our site.”

The users come from all over the United States.

“Most of the orders are coming from the larger cities but we also have many orders from small towns that I’ve never even heard of!” she enthused. The age range is usually about 20 to 50.

In fact, Cheek had also been getting e-mails from other countries, inquiring how the cards could be purchased overseas.

“We’re working on shipping worldwide and hope to have that set up on our site within the next month.”

She said “Cheek’d” had organised many events since its launch where users and other singles would come for happy-hour drinks.

Cheek’d, of course, isn’t the only such website available now. There are other similar services for singles to mingle with the ones that they fancied.

Still, there are those who question the need for such cards. Why not just walk up to someone and say hi?

“The truth is, people (for the most part) don’t do that. These cards give users a chance to do so without interrupting their lunch/ dinner/previously engaged conversations.”

However, she acknowledged that it takes a bit of courage to hand the card to someone.

“But I also see it as an opportunity to bridge the gap of a certain level of shyness,” Cheek said.

Cheek, who looks for a caring man with a sense of humour, has been seeing the guy whom she “Cheek’d” at the Hamptons a number of times now.

“I’m finding myself really liking him! The bad thing is – I don’t want to get serious about someone because handing these cards out is so much fun!” she said.

Driven by a desire for dance

HE knows all about the grace of the ballet world, learning to “speak” with his body and perfecting his steps along the way ever since he took up dance at age 13.
But until today, Raymond Chai has not learned to see the “colour” in his arts.
“I had never gone for an audition thinking that I might not get the role because I was not of the right skin colour,” Chai said of his earlier days living abroad as a dancer and actor.
Racism, he said, remained somewhat alien to him.
“I never had to play an Oriental part because the performance needed a Chinese person.”
The rare times he did play an Asian role were in Miss Saigon (Stuttgart, Germany, from 1996 till 1999), The King And I (London West End, 2000 till 2002) and Anything Goes (Royal National Theatre and the West End, 2003 till 2005).
Chai first left for London in 1978 when he got a scholarship to study ballet at the Rambert School of Ballet.
“It was a lot of hard work, dancing the whole day, but I didn’t mind. Every day I felt closer to becoming a professional dancer. I remember the teachers being very hard and expecting a lot from all of us in the class,” he recalled.
“The school was tough – if you were not up to the standard, you were out.”
Contract
Four months before he graduated in 1980, Chai was offered a place at the National Ballet of Portugal.
“I was so excited that I accepted the contract immediately and left in three days,” he said.
As the youngest in that ballet company then (he was 19), Chai said he learnt a lot during the eight years he was there doing both classical and modern repertoire.
“It was my time in Portugal that made me what I am today as a ballet teacher and choreographer.”
Chai has also lived and performed in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Zurich and Lisbon. In Lisbon, he won the top prize in the National Choreographic Competition in 1985.
In Britain, he has worked with the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
“I’m grateful to have experienced nearly every part of the art form from classical ballet to musical theatre, to acting. And I’ve performed in opera houses for royal families and heads of state.”
At one point, the Royal Shakespeare Company was doing a production of Kiss Me Kate in which Chai became the first Asian to play a non-Asian role in the West End.
Currently Chai, who has been living in London for 13 years now, is chief ballet master of the Ballet Black Company (Britain).
He is also a lecturer in ballet technique at the London Contemporary Dance School where students come from top conservatories around the world.
“Each year, about 2,000 applicants audition for the 40 places available,” he said.
Chai is also a guest teacher at several dance companies, guiding professional dancers who have completed their training.
Looking back, Chai said his early days were tough as he had to keep up with the competition.
“In a way, things are easier now for the young people because dancing and performing are considered proper jobs. The market is also bigger,” he said.
He recalled the many auditions in which he was rejected and merely told, “Thank you very much.”
But Chai considered himself fortunate that he had never been unemployed.
“I have always had work. I never had to do something else to support myself. I have stayed in business, so to speak.”
He attributed it to being in the right place at the right time. “I am really blessed. God has played a big part in my life.”
Fong Siew Lan, his ballet teacher during his childhood days in Ipoh, deserves mention, too, as she had been instrumental in his formative training.
“She was a very good teacher. She knew I was very interested and gave me extra classes. She helped make my body limber.”
(Incidentally, Bond Girl Michelle Yeoh was also in his class.)
Chai also feels lucky that his parents never objected to him wanting to be a ballet dancer.
“I love being on stage. I have always wanted to be a ballet dancer. I already knew then that ballet wasn’t just a game for me.”
Chai comes back to Malaysia every year to visit his family. Besides, he misses the food and the sunshine.
The Malaysian arts scene, he said, seems to be thriving although he hopes there will be more training for artistes in the advanced and professional levels.
“With better training, Malaysians can be just as good as the Westerners. We are not any lesser than them.”
There must, however, be a bigger desire to succeed, he said.
His advice for youngsters who want to dance their way to a career?
“You’ve got to be committed. You should follow your heart, (even if) that may sound corny,” he said.
Fact File
NAME: Raymond Chai
AGE: 49
HOMETOWN: Ipoh, Perak
EDUCATION: SRK Methodist (ACS), SMK Methodist (ACS) Ipoh; Rambert School of Ballet, London, Britain
OCCUPATION: Ballet lecturer and choreographer
CURRENT BASE: London, Britain
YEARS ABR OAD: 32 years