Engineering Consultancy Practice after 35 Years

On 28.11.2024 at a dinner function at Hilton Hotel, I met one of my ex-engineer staff, Wui Chung who is now known as Datuk Ir. Yong Wui Chung. Wui Chung first joined our C&S engineering consultancy practice way back in the 1990's as a fresh graduate engineer at our old office at the 9th Floor of Wisma Karamunsing. He left our company a couple of years later and joined another company. He and another engineer eventually formed a new C&S engineering consultancy practice. He later joined a local political party, LDP and eventually rosed to become its Secretary General. He was nominated as a Senator in the Dewan Negara of Malaysia for three years from August 2017 to August 2020 (Read here). 

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Wui Chung is not the only one who has made a name for himself. Many who have joined us have left and set up their own consultancy practices or becoming contractors. Some have moved overseas and continued practicing engineering while some have switched to doing other professions.

Occasionally, we met some of them in unexpected occasions. 

Met our ex-engineer, Low Wooi Kiang ai KLIA2 on 21.01.2015
who left the company and moved back to West Malaysia in
2007.

Met ex-engineer, Johnny Ting for coffee at Damai on 04.09.2024

With David Sun (Middle) on 25.02.2024

David Sun who worked as one of the engineers of the supervision team for the KK Water Supply Project in the 1980's now resides in Hong Kong. He came back in February 2024 and dropped by to join the Sunday Church Service at our BCCM KK(E). The photo was taken immediately after the service together with the founding Director just outside the church hall. David no longer practices engineering but has gone into Christian ministry.  

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The changes of staff throughout the company 35-years operation are best appreciated in some of the photos taken during the staff lunches or dinners during Christmas and CNY over the years.

CNY Staff Dinner at Silk Garden, Pacific Sutera Hotel
on 02.02.2024

CNY Staff Dinner at New Gaya Seafood Restaurant at Plaza Shell on 23.01.2023.

A staff dinner at Hilton Kinabalu.

CNY Staff Lunch at Kampong Narayan Floating Seafood
Market Restaurant on 21.01.2019

CNY Staff Lunch on 19.02.2018

CNY Staff Lunch in Jan 2007.

One of the old photos of CNY celebration lunch for staff taken in January 2007. ln those years, practically all the engineers recruited were fresh graduate engineers.

Jonathan Wong (Seated 1st at right). 

Seated second from right is Lai Pui San who was with the company for 5 years from Feb 2002 to Feb 2007. She later left the company after marriage and moved to Hong Kong. After spending 12 years in Hong Kong working for an international consultancy practice, Aecom Asia, her family moved to Melbourne in 2019 and she continued working for the same company in the Australian office.

Frederick Yew (standing second from right) worked only a year with the company from June 2005 to June 2006. He has since his departure worked for numerous companies. Currently, he is the General Manager of a Development Company.

Ian Wong (Standing 3rd from right), He worked for the company for a significant period of time principally in engineering design and project management. 

Low Wooi Kiang (Standing 2nd from left). He joined the company immediately upon graduation from UMS in June 2006 (Read here). A year later, he left the company and moved back to West Malaysia and joined Lumut Naval Base. I recalled contacting him when my wife and I visited Lumut in 2012 soon after spending CNY in West Malaysia (Read here). 

Coincidentally, my son Paul who happened to undergo internship training at the company during his third year at Newcastle University, Australia also joined us for that particular staff lunch.

Interestingly, among the staff in the photo, only three are still with the company to this very day. They are Liew PC, Searon and Tony George. Liew PC who joined the company in January 1992 as a trainee draftsman has risen to become a Senior Engineering Assistant taking charge of drafting work and project management.

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Significant change has occurred since I first joined the consultancy practice in mid-1989, a year after the practice was set up by the founder in 1988. At the time of switching to consultancy practice, I was working as a Senior Civil Engineer with Antah-Biwater in the implementation of the Rural Water Supply Scheme for Sabah.

In October 1994, the practice was re-structured to become a private limited company. Together with the founder, we were the only two directors of the company.

Today, the company has four Directors and an Associate Director. Ir. Wah was made the third Director in 2011 after working for the company for a couple of years. Ir. Arzahri joined the company as a fresh graduate engineer in 2007 and upon his securing his professional practice license in 2016, he was made the fourth Director.

Unlike some of consultancy practices, we manage to have secured the second generation of engineering consultancy practitioners to continue the consultancy service.