Announcing the appointment, Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, Group Chairman of UMW Holdings Berhad and Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn. Bhd. Said: “Mr. Kuah has had an excellent track record in managing the Industrial Equipment Division prior to his appointment to UMW Toyota Motor. I am confident in his capabilities in carrying out his new duties as the Managing Director and to lead UMW Toyota Motor to face future challenges in the competitive automotive industry.”

Paying tribute to the predecessor of Mr Kuah, Tan Sri Asmat said: “Dato’ David Chen successfully laid down a strong foundation for the company to move forward and to be a strong competitive player in Malaysia’s automotive industry. He was the driving force in increasing Toyota’s market share for the past four years, through initiating and continuously enhancing the quality and standards of all aspects of the company’s operations. He also contributed immensely in the establishment of Lexus brand in Malaysia and the development of human resources in the company”.

UMW Toyota Motor, a joint-venture company established by UMW with Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Tshusho Corporation, has been the assembler and distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Malaysia since 1982. It also has its own assembly plant, ASSB, in Shah Alam, Selangor.

The UMW Group is principally engaged in the trading and manufacturing of a wide range of light and heavy equipment for use in the industrial, construction and agricultural sectors and trading in related spares and is also involved in providing services to the oil and gas sector including drilling and pipe-coating. It also imports, assembles and markets passenger and commercial vehicles and related spares, manufacturing parts and components for the automotive sector.

An interview with the former MD, Dato' David Chen, is in the January 2008 issue of AUTOCAR ASEAN.