Prima founder 'worked hard, cared for staff'

THE man who set up Singapore's first flour mill and made Prima a household name did not mind getting his hands dirty.

Colleagues at his wake, which took place earlier this week, recalled Mr Cheng Tsang Man rolling up his sleeves to carry and stack 70kg bags to show them how to lift the bags without hurting their backs. He died on Sunday, aged 97, and was cremated on Thursday.

"He would often visit the mill to make sure we could cope," said a tearful Mr Saik Ah Har, 76, who worked alongside Mr Cheng from 1963 as an electrical engineer.

"Once, when he saw workers seated on the floor eating, he ordered the technical department to build them chairs. He was a very kind man."

Mr Cheng's fourth son Primus, 65, is now chairman and chief executive of the Prima group. He said his father "worked hard from young and spent some of his youth repairing watches and bicycles to make ends meet".

The funeral at Mandai Crematorium was attended by about 300 Prima staff, dignitaries from across the globe and well-known names in the food industry such as billionaire Sam Goi, the Popiah King.

"A lot have come to pay their respects because he has made an impact on all our lives," said his former secretary of more than 20 years, Madam Lim Lek Sze, 52.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, where Prima has operations, also sent his condolences to the family while Singapore ministers attended his wake.

Mr Cheng, who was born in China's Fujian province in 1916, had little formal education. He left for Indonesia when he was eight and stood outside classrooms to listen in on lessons.

Later he worked as an assistant in a trading firm where he picked up trading and business management skills.

His performance caught the attention of its boss who asked him to marry his daughter Wang Miao Ling. They wed in their early 20s and a few years later he set up his own firm.

It was in the 1960s when he made Singapore his new base. He beat other foreign investors to win the Government's project to set up South-east Asia's first flour mill in 1961.

He also homed in on business opportunities elsewhere as more Asian countries opened up. He started a mill in Indonesia in 1970 and in Sri Lanka in 1977. In the 1980s he embarked on joint ventures in China. His affable manner helped him win the trust of political leaders locally and abroad.

Prima also diversified its interests into food manufacturing and services, restaurants, property management and information technology.

It was also Mr Cheng's idea to start Singapore's longest-running revolving restaurant at the top of the firm's 55m-high wheat silos in Keppel Road in 1977 - which at the time was high enough to command a panoramic view of the port. Its chain of PrimaDeli bakeries and Prima Taste range of pastes and sauces were developed later on by Primus, who took over in 1998. The late Mr Cheng retired as executive chairman the same year, after 37 years in the post.

Mr Cheng, who was a widower, leaves behind six children, 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Grandson Lewis, 42, an executive director and general manager at the firm said: "We want to keep his legacy going and do him proud."

melodyz@sph.com.sg

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