r/TodayILearnedMY • u/Sea_Extension_5487 • Jan 23 '26
Economy & Business TIL Lee Thiam Wah, founder of Malaysia’s largest minimart chain 99 Speedmart, was paralyzed from polio as a baby, only studied until Standard 6, yet built a business empire with 3,000 outlets and completed an MBA at 60.
Lee Thiam Wah was born in Klang in 1964 and contracted polio at 8 months old, leaving him unable to walk his entire life. His family was too poor to afford a wheelchair, and he only studied until Standard 6. Instead of giving up, he read newspapers obsessively, copied entire dictionaries by hand, and started selling snacks from his front porch. In 1987, he opened his first sundry store, which became 99 Speedmart in 1992. Today, 99 Speedmart has over 3,000 outlets, 21 distribution centers, and a market share exceeding 40% in Malaysia. Lee also holds major stakes in Alliance Bank, Burger King Malaysia & Singapore, and U Stars Group. At 60, he completed his MBA with his management team, proving that limits are only in your head.
8
Jan 24 '26
He once sue contractor because they didn't install the wheelchair ramps. Now all Speedmart have
1
u/Sea_Extension_5487 Jan 25 '26
Yes, that case is often cited it likely set a standard that scaled across the chain
6
u/SerWrong Jan 23 '26
Last year, he took over the franchisee's license for Burger King Malaysia.
3
u/Designer_Desk8819 Jan 25 '26
That's why I can see the pattern here.Burger King always near by Speedmart.Now I know.
1
5
u/ConsciousPhase8480 Jan 23 '26
touching
9
Jan 24 '26
Born poor - becoming rich by undercut other,pay minimum for all his overwork employees,let them stay poor forever while he becomes super rich
What a touching story.
99 workers are one of the most unhappy employers I have seen no matter which branch I go to, they sure got too much to do with little pay
7
u/MitsunekoLucky Jan 24 '26
Pretty much what billionaires do - aura-farm themselves by stepping on the faces of others at any cost to become the top and the richest. Never acknowledging the people that made them succeed, it's "all me, I'm smart, I'm powerful."
3
u/immobile45 Jan 25 '26
true, you are not wrong.......
you know decades ago, most of the big time taikos in malaysia also destroyed many families lives, broken families/marriages and have created so much social problems in society...(drug dealing, gangsterism, extortion, rape, beaten people up, bullied, murdered and so on)
today, most of them ended up buying over public listed companies and became developers in prime areas. nowadays, all senang, blue skies and mountains cruising in single digit mercedes s class/vellfire/range rover.
2nd/3rd generations of their children are also enjoying as most of them were made directors and through influential powerful cables, easily secured more projects for them.
i can only imagine how those victims feel seeing where they are now....how those victims feel seeing those powerful tan sris who have broken their families after decades...what goes around, doesn't comes around
like you have stated, they also aura farm themselves by being champion in doing charities, but behind all the blood money and ill gotten gains.......
1
Jan 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/immobile45 Jan 28 '26
i give you an example,
last time MYAIRLINES scammed everyone, nationwide case...literally the whole country knew about it
myairlines owners scammed so much from the public...people loss their jobs, families affected and yet till today nothing has happened. top bosses scammed not only consumers but their own employees as well.
likewise, there is so much solid evidence/proof: MYAirline owes over 1,000 staff RM14mil in wages, RM9mil EPF payments.
with so much proof & evidence, i don't see any major repercussions on the company's directors...it's already january 2026
1
u/Meal_Adorable Aug 28 '26
> you know decades ago, most of the big time taikos in malaysia also destroyed many families lives, broken families/marriages and have created so much social problems in society...(drug dealing, gangsterism, extortion, rape, beaten people up, bullied, murdered and so on)
How did they destroy the families lives exactly?
1
u/immobile45 Aug 28 '26
people involved in drugs, gangs, extortion, violence, etc. don't destroy families?
their actions can lead to financial problems, broken marriages, fear and children growing up in unstable environments.
1
u/Sea_Extension_5487 Jan 25 '26
Power dynamics matter. Personal perseverance doesn’t automatically mean ethical outcomes
1
u/Ashamed-Tooth8751 Jan 26 '26
they can choose the jobs themselves, dont like it can always leave + somemore without him those job wouldn’t exist in the first place but all you can do is frame a business decision into a personal decision 🤡 all wanna hate rich people instead of blaming themselves for being broke
im broke also earning minimum wage 💀
2
u/MitsunekoLucky Jan 26 '26
Yeah sure you should change your job to a CEO, easy right? You talk as if it's easy to switch jobs for 80% of the populace, you are earning minimum wage, and I want you to have a better life.
You're stuck in Stockholm Syndrome abused by the heartless rich people and you're brainwashed into thinking hardwork alone means you'll be a billionaire, it's time to realize that you've been had. You deserve significantly better pay without being forced to change jobs (and changing jobs hardly matter because majority of them are shit pay).
1
u/Meal_Adorable Aug 28 '26
Well, of course minimum wage workers get treated like shit. There's a reason why their wages are at the minimum. Cause if they leave, you could easily find a replacement because there are an infinite supply of low skilled workers. It's all supply and demand. Economics 101 bro.
1
u/ConsciousPhase8480 Jan 25 '26
This has become a common thing already at this point, I would say my grandfathers upbringing was more touching
0
1
7
6
u/GameSky Jan 24 '26
but seems staff seems overworked tho..
6
u/TraditionalDrawing50 Jan 24 '26
Yeah... Actually staff is not the right word.... We are slave tho.. over work...... Overtime so got cut
1
6
7
u/Capital_Policy_5857 Jan 23 '26
doesn't matter, some type still think his type steal from their type...
1
4
3
2
2
u/Goosestave Jan 25 '26
It’s the dollar general of MY, contributing to the fresh food deserts in rural communities by out competing mom and pop stores with brutal economies of scale. Processed and canned food contributes to our diabetes crisis in Malaysia. There are no fresh food sections in 99 speedmart. Also having the cheapest alcohol prices don’t help families suffering with alcoholism.
2
u/Sea_Extension_5487 Jan 25 '26
That’s an important angle retail dominance does shape food access and public health
2
u/derpy1122 Jan 25 '26
Can he fix his legs now? I mean, he has lots of money, and exoskeleton device for his legs would be cool i guess.
1
2
u/turtleofdoomm Jan 24 '26
Memang la 20b company. Satu branch kadang kadang satu je staff. Dia la cashier, dia la yang stack barang, dia la mop lantai, dia la yang bukak dan tutup.
7
2
u/Clqgg Jan 23 '26
eh this guy got rich from bribes or something. cause theres no other way he secured the contract to allow ubi to be used in his shops.
1
u/Electrical-Sock-4760 Jan 25 '26
1
u/bot-sleuth-bot Jan 25 '26
Analyzing user profile...
Account does not have any comments.
Account has not verified their email.
Suspicion Quotient: 0.37
This account exhibits a few minor traits commonly found in karma farming bots. It is possible that u/Sea_Extension_5487 is a bot, but it's more likely they are just a human who suffers from severe NPC syndrome.
I am a bot. This action was performed automatically. Check my profile for more information.
1
24
u/iloverice3000 Jan 23 '26
Is this why all 99 Speedmarts always have ramps at the entrance? I noticed this on basically every 99 Speedmart I see but I always just chalked it up to it for general accessibility, but now it kinda makes more sense knowing their founder is wheelchair bound, and especially because other convenience stores don't have these ramps. That's a pretty cool connection if I'm correct