KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — Tan Sri H.M. Shah was a man of many firsts and he will always be known as a pioneer in developing Petaling Jaya.
Shah, who died from cancer at the age of 93 on Monday, is also recognised as one of the first Malay entrepreneurs in the country.
He was treated for his illness in Guangzhou, China.
Among the iconic landmarks he is most known for is Shah’s Village Hotel, which opened its doors in 1967 and is still in business.
Shah opened Shah’s Village and Resort in Tanjung Keling, Malacca in 1971.
His list of firsts, said his daughter Prof Dr Farida Shah, included opening the first petrol station in Petaling Jaya, the first drive-in cinema, the first bowling alley, and the first venue for traditional Malaysian dances.
“He was also the first Malay to get involved in film-making,” Farida said.
Shah also owned Shah Tower which, she said, was a culmination of his entrepreneurship.
He also had the distinction of being the oldest man to score a hole-in-one in his favourite sport, golf, when he was 81.
His son, Khairudin, fondly recalls that Shah was also the first to bring in the Russian circus in the 1960s.
“He wanted to be the first in everything,” Khairudin said.
As a father of eight, Khairudin said, his father did not spoil him and his siblings while they were growing up.
“He made us work for our money to learn the value of a dollar. He wanted us to know how hard one has to work to get paid,” he said.
Khairudin said his father always placed importance on education and charity, and would go out of his way to help anyone in need.
“He was a giving man and was always ready to help anyone in need, especially when it came to education,” he said.
“Look at me and my siblings, he made sure he gave us the best education so we could be where we are today.”
He said Shah was a great father and man.
“Growing up, he used to tell us, ‘Don’t ever look at people higher than you, but at the ones less fortunate who are grateful for all they have’,” he said.
Shah was also in the midst of setting up the HM Shah Foundation for Education.
In terms of the media and film industry, Shah was a former managing director of Utusan Malaysia while former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew worked as a legal adviser for the publication.
His interest in the entertainment business also led him to open his own film production company, Merdeka Studio, where he produced many films, with his first being Tun Teja.
He was also a close friend of Tan Sri P. Ramlee.
Magazine writer Mustapha Mahidin said Shah paid for the actor’s funeral.
“That showed what kind of friends they were,” he said.
Mustapha said Shah always made it a point to hire Malaysians to work in his hotels.
“Regardless of how difficult it may be to hire a local, he would make sure of it, for sheer patriotism,” he said.
Shah leaves his wife, Puan Seri Viera Sarina Shah, eight children, 17 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
He was buried at the Muslim cemetery in Jalan Ampang yesterday.
