Lim Goh Tong: Shaping Genting Highlands’ Iconic Legacy

Discover the history of Genting through Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong’s autobiography, ‘My Story.’ Learn how, in 1963, he collaborated with engineers and surveyors to develop what is now Resorts World Genting. Explore detailed accounts from various resources.

Lim Goh Tong: Summary

• Attraction: Genting History Lim Goh Tong
• Location: Pahang, Malaysia
• Attraction Type: News

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong: History and Legacy

The Genting History | Lim Goh Tong

When it comes to the Genting story, most Malaysians will recognise it as synonymous with the rise of its namesake hill resort, Resorts World Genting (formerly known as Genting Highlands Resort). Many though, may not have truly appreciated the mammoth task involved in its construction and the vast resources and reserves mobilised to ensure what has proven today to be an unprecedented success in resort development and the making of a successful and growing conglomerate – the Genting Group.

The Genting History: Looking Back with Pride

The idea of a hill resort came upon Genting founder, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong in 1963 when he was in Cameron Highlands working on a hydro-electric power project and experiencing the crisp cool mountain air. He envisioned a prosperous Malaysia of the future, desiring a cool mountain holiday resort within the reach of all Malaysians.

The Genting History: The Challenges

In his autobiography, ‘My Story’, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong recounted the story of an arduous journey he took with engineers and surveyors in 1963 to map the topography of the area now home to Resorts World Genting, the flagship highland resort of the Genting Group. “Along the way,” he wrote, “we struggled through dense jungles, climbed over many steep mountains and crossed numerous streams and rivers before reaching the summit.” But the entrepreneur was in high spirits, awestruck by the pristine beauty of the mountain and its bracingly cold climate. He worked tirelessly, recording every relevant detail. “I had fallen head over heels in love with this virgin wilderness and vowed to transform it into my dream resort”.

A study of the maps and Kuala Lumpur’s vicinity located the ideal site – the 1,800-metre Gunung Ulu Kali, just 58 km from Kuala Lumpur. Amidst the dense virgin tropical jungle and rugged terrain, the task to transform a remote mountain into Malaysia’s premier holiday destination might seem impossible, but not for Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong.

The Genting History: The Access Road

Setting up a private company called Genting Highlands Berhad on 27 April 1965, with the late Tan Sri Haji Mohammed Noah bin Omar, Tan Sri Lim successfully obtained approval for the alienation of 12,000 acres and 2,800 acres of land from the Pahang and Selangor State Government respectively between the years 1965 and 1970.

On 18 August 1965, a technical and construction team began the herculean task that took four years to complete the access road from Genting Sempah to the peak of Gunung Ulu Kali.

To ensure the sound and prompt construction of the hotel-cum-resort, Tan Sri Lim devoted all of his time, capital and resources, including the reserves of his family’s company, Kien Huat Berhad, towards the making of this “dream resort”. That dream has long since become a reality. It has also given birth to a corporation that has played a major role in Malaysia’s economic development.

The Genting History: The First Hotel

On 31 March 1969, the late YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s first Prime Minister graced the official laying of the foundation stone for the company’s first hotel, marking the completion of the access road to the mountain top.

The Prime Minister was very impressed that the private sector, without the assistance of the Government, could develop a mountain resort for the enjoyment of all Malaysians; a gaming licence was suggested to help accelerate the development of this remote area.

In 1971, the first hotel was successfully completed and was then named Highlands Hotel (later renamed as Theme Park Hotel).

The Genting History: The Development

Since the opening of its first hotel in 1971, Genting Highlands Resort (rebranded as Resorts World Genting in 2009) has progressively grown from strength to strength. In 1981, the 18-storey Genting Hotel (now known as Genting Grand), the flagship hotel of the resort was opened. This was followed by Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Resort (now known as Awana Hotel) in 1984, Resort Hotel and Genting Indoor Theme Park in 1992, Outdoor Themepark in 1994, Highlands Hotel and Genting Skyway cable car system in 1997.

Genting Skyway, a 3.38-km cable-car ride to the hilltop was recognized as the “World’s Fastest Mono Cable Car System” with a maximum speed of 21.6 km per hour and the “Longest Cable Car in Malaysia and Southeast Asia”.

The First World Complex comprising First World Hotel, First World Plaza, indoor theme park and Genting International Convention Centre, was officially launched in 2002.

The continuous enhancements since 1971 have enabled Resorts World Genting to be the premier holiday destination in the region while ensuring that the natural beauty of its rainforest surroundings is maintained. Resorts World Genting has grown from one single hotel with 200 rooms in 1971 to five hotels with over 10,000 hotel rooms (namely Genting Grand, Maxims/Crockfords, Resort Hotel, First World Hotel and Awana Hotel), providing a myriad of world-class entertainment facilities, ranging from indoor and outdoor theme parks, gaming facilities, concert venues, hotel accommodations, food and beverages, and many more attractions– a “city of entertainment”, at 2,000 metres above sea level.

The Genting History: The Expansion

From the resort activities in Genting Highlands, the Genting Group, guided by the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong and his successor Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, have diversified from its initial hotel and resort activities to plantations (since 1980), cruise operations (since 1993), power generation and oil & gas exploration activities (since 1996) and biotechnology research activities (since 2006).

Today, Genting Berhad is a leading multinational corporation in Malaysia that has constantly been acknowledged by various organisations for its exemplary leadership and management. The recognitions include being acknowledged as the No.1 in Malaysia for Best Managed Public Companies 2015 by Finance Asia, and No.1 in Malaysia and No.2 in Asia for Overall Best Managed Company for the Decade by Asiamoney.

The Genting History: The Passing of a Great Man

In December 2003, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong retired and handed over the chairmanship of the Genting Group of companies to his son, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay.

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong passed away peacefully on 23 October 2007 at the age of 89 and was laid to rest at Gohtong Memorial Park on 29 October 2007.

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong: The Journey

Under the leadership of Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the Group continues to expand its global presence. In 2006, he led the Genting Group to bid and was successfully awarded the Sentosa integrated resort project by the Government of Singapore. Resorts World Sentosa broke ground in 2007 and was officially opened in 2010. This was followed by the opening of Resorts World Casino New York City, USA (2011), Resorts World Bimini, Bahamas (2013) and Resorts World Birmingham, UK (2015). Resorts World Las Vegas broke ground in 2015 and is targeted to complete in 2021.

Resorts World Genting has embarked on the multi-billion-ringgit Genting Integrated Tourism Plan in 2013 to progressively transform the resort over the next 10 years with the latest state-of-the-art and world-class attractions, including Sky Avenue – a new and trendy shopping mall, a new cable car system, and many more new attractions.

Genting History Lim Goh Tong the Founder of Genting Highlands

Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay has also expanded the global presence of the Genting leisure brand, through Genting Hong Kong, which owns and operates Star Cruises – the leading cruise line in Asia Pacific since (1993), Dream Cruises – the first ever Asian luxury cruise line launched in 2016), Crystal Cruises – the world’s most awarded luxury cruise line acquired in (2015), German shipyard, Lloyd Werft acquired in (2015) and associate Resorts World Manila launched in 2009).

Through his stewardship, Genting Plantations ventured into oil palm plantations in Indonesia, namely in West Kalimantan (2005) and in Central Kalimantan (2008). Genting Energy acquired power plants in Fujian and Jiangsu provinces in China (2005), the Jangi Wind Farm in India (2011) and began the construction of the Banten power plant in Java, Indonesia (2013).

The Banten power plant began commercial operations in the first quarter of 2017. Genting Oil & Gas discovered gas in the Kasuri Production Sharing Contract in West Papua, Indonesia (2012) and acquired a working interest in the Petroleum Contract at Chengdaoxi Block, China 2014).

Resort World Genting (RW Genting)

Resorts World Genting (Abbreviation: RWG) /ɡənˈtiːŋ/, originally known as Genting Highlands Resort is an integrated hill resort development comprising hotels, shopping malls, theme parks and casinos, perched on the peak of Mount Ulu Kali at 1,800 meters elevation near the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor, Malaysia.

The integrated hill resort is accessible by car within an hour’s drive from Kuala Lumpur (about 35 km), or accessible by two different cable cars, Genting Skyway which at its opening was the world’s fastest and South East Asia’s longest gondola lift, and the newer Awana Skyway.

The Genting History : Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong

The idea of a hill resort located near Kuala Lumpur occurred to Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong during a business trip to the Cameron Highlands in 1964. He mooted this idea while enjoying the fresh and crisp air from the balcony of his hotel room. A private company called Genting Highlands Berhad was set up on 27 April 1965, with the late Tan Sri Haji Mohammed Noah bin Omar, Tan Sri Lim successfully obtained approval for the alienation of 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) and 2,800 acres (1,100 ha) of land from the Pahang and Selangor State Government respectively between the years 1965 and 1970.

An anomaly happened during the obtaining of the land approvals. While the Pahang state government swiftly approved a freehold lease, the Selangor state reluctantly approved a 99-year lease. As a result, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong met the then Menteri Besar of Selangor, Dato Harun Idris and told him that a freehold lease would be more feasible than a 99-year lease. Finally, the Selangor state government agreed to grant a freehold lease.

The Genting History : With Technical And Construction Team

On 18 August 1965, a technical and construction team began the four-year task to complete the access road from Genting Sempah to the peak of Gunung Ulu Kali. On 31 March 1969, the late YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s first prime minister, laid the foundation stone for the company’s pioneer hotel, marking the completion of the access road to Genting Highlands Resort.

The Prime Minister was impressed that the private sector, without the assistance of the Government, could develop a mountain resort for the enjoyment of all Malaysians[citation needed]; subsequently a gaming licence was suggested to help accelerate the development of this remote area.

The Genting History : The First Hotel Was Completed

In 1971, the first hotel at Genting Highlands was completed and was named Highlands Hotel (now renamed as Theme Park Hotel). The Genting Highlands Resort continued to expand since the opening of the first hotel in 1971. Development of the area continued with care taken to ensure the maintenance of the natural beauty of the rainforest of the region. In 1997, Genting Highlands Resort added the Genting Skyway cable car system that provides a 3.38 kilometres (2.10 mi) transport to the hilltop.

The Genting History : Genting SkyWay

Genting Skyway is also recognised as the “World’s Fastest Mono Cable Car System” with a maximum speed of 21.6 kilometres per hour (13.4 mph) and the “Longest Cable Car in Malaysia and probably in Southeast Asia”.[citation needed]

In 2013, Genting Malaysia embarked on a master plan to reinvigorate and transform RWG under the Genting Integrated Tourism Plan (GITP). Genting Integrated Tourism Plan is a 10-year master plan for development, expansion, enhancement and refurbishment of hotels, theme parks and infrastructure at Resorts World Genting. The plan with different phases involves a new 1,300 rooms hotel expansion to the current First World Hotel, a new 10,000 seats arena and reconverting the Genting Outdoor Theme Park to 20th Century Fox World. In 2019,the refurbishment of the infrastructure have been completed, with only the outdoor theme park that is left renovating, and is expected to be completed in early 2021.

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