The rise of Causeway Link founder — from car salesman to Malaysia's 50 richest list

He once found it hard to land a job, but went on to run three listed companies

- Cheong Poh Kwan

Before he made it to Forbes Malaysia's 50 richest list, Mr Lim Han Weng — the founder behind the Causeway Link buses that ferry thousands of cross-border commuters daily — was once a young man with a simple dream: landing a stable job.

Born in Kedah, he graduated with a Higher School Certificate but figured his results were not good enough for university.

So he started applying for any job he could find listed in the local classifieds, including an air steward role with Malaysia Airlines.

Rejection letters dashed his hopes of getting an office job or a jet-setting career.

"Every time I'm on an airplane, I'm reminded of this," the 73-year-old laughed when recounting his challenging job hunt in an interview with The Straits Times in his Kranji Green office.

Eventually, he became a car salesman for Wearne Brothers, earning a basic salary of just RM250.

His monthly target was to sell two cars — no easy feat in a small town where the big, expensive Jaguar, Holden and Opel models he sold were less popular than Japanese cars. Still, he met his target and appreciated the sales training.

Next, he joined Lori Malaysia, a semi-government-owned logistics company, where he was posted to different parts of the country.

When he arrived at the Johor branch, a driver commented that this was the best place to make money because of its proximity to Singapore. He stayed for the next five years, and when it was time to return to the Kuala Lumpur headquarters, he chose to resign.