In 1975, Frank Goon, the son-in-law of Phillip Kuok, the brother of Robert Kuok and director of Kuok Group, ventured into property development.He bought the first piece of land in Tebrau, and named it Taman Pelangi. which means Rainbow Garden.
Thus, is the beginning of Pelangi Sdn Bhd.
It was tough in the beginning but Frank was determine in his one man crusade to proof to the Kuok's family that he can built an empire from dust.
Frank believes in doing things differently. He pioneered the 24 feet (8 meter)wide terrace houses. Those days, houses are built at 20-22 feet width. Frank saw the need of residents for a wider home where the hall and dining hall can be slightly bigger for comfort.Frank felt that at 20-22 feet, houses are claustrophobic. With the wider space, the bedrooms can be bigger and the built-in furnitures design can be more posh. At the same time, these houses can have the space to park a minimum of two cars within the compounds.
Frank's business boom and Pelangi became a household name in Johor Bahru. The company was listed in the stock exchange and for decades, they made good money and gave investors something to cheer about.
Then, this year, Kuok Brothers exited Pelangi and sold the entity to Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB). Frank resigned from Pelangi.
Today, Frank is rebranding a new product called Berinda. Berinda will spearhead the property business of Kuok Brothers (KBSB). The existing housing projects under Kuok, that is, Taman Impian Emas, Taman Molek, Taman Redang and Taman Penderosa will be brought under the Berinda brand name.Berinda will now challenge the established brand Pelangi in Johor market. Will they succeed? I believe so. Frank is known to be an innovative and creative crusader. He had hand-picked and pluck away the good salesperson from Pelangi and all his core personals from Pelangi is now with him in Berinda.
In the six months since Frank exited Pelangi and headed Kuok Bros property division, KBSB had chalked up housing sales totalling RM150 million, while Pelangi seems to have lost much of it rigour. In the last two years, KBSB was not even achieving half of the sales amount. That's testimony of the leadership of a property crusader.
Within the next six months, the results will tell.
So, did PNB made the right decision to remove Frank or to acquire the interest of Pelangi? I think that decision will be fatal to Pelangi's future.
Read this article: Robert Kuok Exit Pelangi
