KUALA LUMPUR: At an awards ceremony held here on Dec 15 evening, Datuk Shahril Shamsuddin of Sapura Group of Companies was named as Malaysia’s Ernst & Young (E&Y) Entrepreneur of the Year 2009.

Shahril was chosen from among 12 outstanding entrepreneurs, each and every one of them leading captains of industry in their own right.  

Shahril received his award from Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Besides receiving the Country Award, Shahril was also named the winner of the Master Entrepreneur category.  

As the Malaysian Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year 2009, Shahril will represent Malaysia at the World Award event in Monte Carlo in June  2010.

This event is the stage where more than 50 of the top entrepreneurs from around the world will compete for the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year® Award which has become the global benchmark of entrepreneurial excellence.

“We take great pride in the role we have played, and continue to play, in celebrating the stories of how so many hard-won dreams have come true. It was indeed a challenge for the judges to select one single award recipient, as each top nominee is a winner in his or her own right,” said See Huey Beng, country managing partner, Ernst & Young.

Shahril is an innovator at heart, with a keen interest in details of key technologies and a profound passion for technological development.

Combining those qualities with immense foresight, agility and resourcefulness, Shahril has transformed his organisation from a telecommunications infrastructure and service provider into one of Malaysia’s foremost homegrown conglomerates, with diversified business areas ranging from oil and gas, secured communications systems, to education and automotive services.

Three other awards were also presented.  The recipient of the Emerging Category Award was Cheong Chia Chieh, the group managing director of the RH Media Group Sdn Bhd. He is the creator of the AxChange business model which guarantees sales or revenue in exchange for advertising space purchase.

Sun Chee Kong of CBS Technology Bhd was named the Technology Category Award recipient. CBS is a company that has pioneered many RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and e-security solutions in Malaysia and the region, with some being the first of its kind in the world.

Datin Freida Mohd Pilus of Cempaka Holdings Sdn Bhd was announced as the recipient of the Woman Category Award. The founding chairman of Cempaka Holdings Sdn Bhd’s Group of Schools, Freida is regarded as the doyenne of private school education in Malaysia.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® awards are a culmination of several months of interviews and judging sessions by an independent panel of judges.