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Nama org tu ialah Pua Khein Seng (gambar), seorg engineer juga presiden
sykt Phison Electronics Corp, umor 31 thn, asal Sekinchan, Selangor dan skg
menetap di Taipei, Taiwan.

Pd awalnya Khien Seng berhijrah ke Taiwan utk melanjutkan pengajian dlm
bidang kejuruteraan. Tapi penglibatan die dlm perniagaan membuatkan Khien
Seng terus menetap di Taiwan sehingga skg.

Khien Seng dan 4 org rakan setugasnya (1 warga Malaysia, 3 warga tempatan
Taiwan) telah membuka sykt Phison Electronics Corp pd November 2000. Dlm
masa 6 bulan, skyt diorg berjaya menghasilkan ciptaan terbaru iaitu alat
menyimpan data USB yg mana hari ni dipanggil sebagai pen drive. Pd usia 27
thn, Khien Seng dan rakan2 nya merupakan org2 yg pertama dlm dunia mencipta
USB Drive SoC (System on Chip).

Pua's mighty 'Pen'


S. INDRAMALAR speaks to the creator of the now indispensable Pen Drive


Name: Pua Khein Seng
Age: 31
Hometown: Sekinchan, Selangor
Education: SJKC Yeok Kuan, Sekinchan; Pin Hwa Independent school, Klang;
Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
Occupation: Engineer/ president of Phison Electonics Corp Current base:
Taipei, Taiwan Years abroad: 12


WHEN he set off for Taiwan in 1993, Pua Khein Seng's only aim was to
complete his degree in Electrical Control Engineering at the renowned Chiao
Tung University and return home to work in Malaysia.


Never did he envision himself heading a multi-million dollar Taiwanese
company that developed the world's first USB flash removable disk, which
they called Pen Drive.

Pua Khein Seng went to Taiwan
to get his engineering degree but ended up staying on, starting his own
company and inventing the pen drive.


"I went to Taiwan to pursue my undergraduate degree. I chose Taiwan only
because it was too expensive to study either in the United States or
Singapore.


"However, I did well in my undergraduate programme and was offered a place
to do my masters," explained Pua, who was back in Kuala Lumpur recently for
a holiday.


After completing his Masters in July 1999, Pua worked for about six months
in a local company before deciding to set up his own venture company with
four fellow engineers who had studied with him at Chiao Tung.


"We were confident that we had the know-how and ability to start our own
business, which is focused on USB technology. The company is called Phison
because there are five of us - two Malaysians and three Taiwanese
engineers," said Pua, 31, who hails from Sekinchan, Selangor.


Phison Electronics Corporation was set up in November 2000 and within six
months the young entrepreneurs came up with their first invention - a USB
storage device called Pen Drive.


"We were the first company in the world to develop the USB Drive SoC
(System On Chip) and we were very confident that the market for USB will be
huge. At the time, no one believed in us so we had to do everything
ourselves - from developing the technology, the chips to the product
itself.


"We were only 27 at the time and inexperienced. But we were confident that
we could design good systems and chips but we didn't know anything about
selling. So, we sought partners or traders who could help sell our products
for us," Pua added.


Through smart partnerships and shrewd strategies, Phison soon made its way
into European, American and Japanese markets. One quick move was securing
Japanese tech giant Toshiba as Phison's largest shareholder and customer.


"We launched Pen Drive in June 2001 and by August the same year, we broke
even! From September 2001, we were reaping monthly profits from our
invention and there has been no turning back since."


Having established himself in Taiwan, Pua is in the midst of setting up
Phison's branch in Malaysia, due to begin operations this February.


"I am starting a branch in Malaysia because this is my country. I would
like to do contribute to its development.


"We have about 100 engineers at Phison in Taiwan, 20 of whom are
Malaysians. Though they studied in Taiwan, I had to re-train all the
engineers I hire because, like most fresh graduates (in this field), they
are not industry-ready upon graduation.


"Unfortunately, some of the Malaysian engineers want to return home after a
couple of years because they are homesick, about to start a family and so
on. Some prefer to work in Singapore, as it is closer to home. Instead of
losing them to competitors, I decided to set up an office in Malaysia where
they can still work for me," said Pua.


Another problem faced by returning computer engineers from Taiwan, Pua
added, was the lack of job opportunities for hardware engineers in
Malaysia.


"There is no environment or support for design engineers here in Malaysia.
One of my Malaysian engineers from Phison returned home and ended up as a
teacher in a Chinese school! I was shocked and thought, 'After all that
training and re-training, he is going to just teach?' I told him to hold on
till I open up the Phison branch in Malaysia."


Though he has been in Taiwan for the past 12 years and married to a
Taiwanese, Pua is not sure how much longer he will remain there.


"I have really no idea where I will be in 20 years. Maybe Taiwan, maybe
Malaysia, maybe somewhere else ... it all depends on my business. The
industry is moving so fast that I cannot predict what or where I will be,"
he said.


For the moment though, Taiwan is home for Pua, his wife and two children
even though he misses the Malaysian way of life.


"I come home once a year for Chinese New Year and will usually stay for
about two weeks. There are several things I really miss about Malaysia. One
is the food! For the past 12 years I have been craving for Malaysian
food ... I miss laksa, curry noodles, chee cheong fun and all the other
delicious dishes we have here.


"I also miss the lifestyle and quality of life here. When I come back, I am
always amazed to see people hanging out and relaxing at mamak shops at
night. In Taiwan, most people would still be at work at that time of the
night!


"Before I got married, I used to work for 15 to 17 hours a day, everyday.
Now that I have children, my wife has forbidden me to stay so late. Now, I
go to work at 9am and come home by 11pm. These hours are quite normal for
the Taiwanese."

(sapa ckp idea org Malaysia tk bleh pakai..Hip hip hooray!!!)