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View from the top / Into the minds of leaders who make a difference / Malaysia
David Ng
Meng Wah
Charismatic, visionary, mentor
David Ng Meng Wah is Group Managing Director of Palmgold
Corporation Sdn Bhd and Tai Thong Resources Bhd.
David Ng has over 20 years of senior level management experience
in Leisure and Entertainment, Food and Beverage, Retail Operations,
Hospitality, Event Management, Online Game Publishing, Digital
Media Distribution, Information Technology, Telecommunications
and Fast Moving Consumer Goods industries in the Asia Pacific
region. David Ng graduated with a MSc in Marketing from the
prestigious City University of New York in 2005.
One must recognise that
risks are necessary in order to
bring about positive change
David Ng Meng Wah, Group Managing Director,
Palmgold Corporation Sdn Bhd and Tai Thong Resources Bhd

View from the top / David Ng Meng Wah, Group Managing Director, Palmgold Corporation Sdn Bhd and Tai Thong Resources Bhd
i In your view, what are some key characteristics that make leaders different? / I believe that
an effective leader should perform a crucial intermediary role to create and maximise value
for all stakeholders such as shareholders, staff, customers, suppliers and the community.
Ideally, an effective leader should:
• Convey a clear vision for the organisation. The leader must be able to energise its human
capital and mobilise its resources to attain the vision by charting the relevant strategic
directions and outlining the proper corporate values and standards of excellence.
• Put in place an integrated performance measurement system to track all deliverables
regularly and where necessary, review and modify the business strategies.
• Be an effective communicator (being articulate as well as a good listener) and should be
able to engage with all levels of staff on a regular basis. As a leader, one should also put
emphasis on human capital development in order to realise and elevate potential of staff.
• Possess strong business acumen with a knack for problem-solving by employing innovative
and pragmatic solutions. One should also possess the unwavering resolve to produce
results and to build enduring greatness for the organisation.
i What are some specific beliefs or values that you work by? How do you ensure that
your values and vision permeate the organisation? / Throughout my career, I have
consistently subscribed and advocated the following key beliefs and values which should
be engrained in all leaders: continuous improvement; integrity and trust; professionalism;
sense of urgency; attention to detail. To ensure that the desired corporate vision and values
permeate the organisation, I believe that the vision and values must first be well defined
and clearly articulated to all staff. Conscious and on-going efforts must be made in all
aspects of the organisation to reinforce the corporate values among staff. In ensuring that
the vision and values are owned throughout the organisation, it is important to secure the
support and commitment of the management staff so as to align and cascade the vision,
strategic directions and values to all staff. Furthermore, there should be open channels of
communication to foster healthy interaction between the management and staff to ensure
that the organisation’s vision, strategic directions and values continue to stay relevant.
i Leadership involves risks. What kind of risks are you generally willing to take? Why?
/ As leaders, one must recognise that risks are necessary in order to bring about positive
change. Leaders should therefore not be averse to taking risks and be courageous to blaze
new trails. Nevertheless, I mitigate the inherent risks so as to derive calculated risk-taking.
For example, I would ensure that an extensive feasibility study is undertaken to examine the
viability of the exercise or proposal. One also needs to pay particular attention to details
so that proper planning and execution may be carried out in the most efficient manner.
More importantly, one needs to closely track the implementation status and benchmark the
results at regular intervals to assess its performance and to take corrective measures, if and
where necessary.
i As a leader of the organisation, what initiatives have you taken that you thought made
a positive difference to the organisation and the community? / The key initiatives I have
introduced to transform the organisation and to benefit its stakeholders include:
• Articulate a clear vision for the organisation and put in place the relevant business directions
• Implement Enterprise Resource Planning to derive efficient resource utilisation and
greater operational synergy
• Improvements to the supply chain management to derive operational efficiency and cost
savings
• Put in place a performance management system to provide for a fair and transparent
assessment of the performance for all staff based on the key performance indicators
assigned
• Formulate a complete and integrated marketing campaign to further strengthen the
organisation’s brands and to ensure that the brands remain relevant
• Enhanced IT infrastructure by procuring new technologies and hardware systems
• Enhanced and strengthened operational policies and controls
• Initiated turnaround programmes for restaurant operations with specific plans to
address top-line sales and covers, mid-line cost savings and improvement to bottom-line
performance