Tan Sri Dato' Sri Utama Sheikh Mohammad Nasimuddin Kamal bin Sheikh Mohamad Amin (27 January 1955 – 1 May 2008) was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of the Naza Group of Malaysia. Background Nasimuddin was born to a Minangkabau ancestry. He was always interested in cars and the automobile industry. He received his early education from Sekolah Rendah Tunku Munawir (1961–1966). He then studied at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tuanku Muhammad (1967–1972). Both schools are located in Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan. In 1974, when he was 19, he had RM80,000 in his bank account which he saved from his remunerations from helping out his contractor father. He started his automobile business with an allocation of Approved Permits (APs) to import foreign cars. APs are government-issued permits to import cars for bumiputras. He made his first million in about a year. Going into business After starting up the business, he flew to Japan where he spent three months purchasing his first 20 units of used Japanese cars. Upon his return to Malaysia, he sold off all 20 units within three months. Nasimuddin's automobile business began with a shop lot in Taman Maluri selling 10 to 15 units of cars each month. In 1979, he opened a branch in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur doing retail and selling 40 to 60 cars monthly. During those years, Nasimuddin decided to import used Japanese cars at a time when Japanese cars were popular with Malaysians. He faced some challenges, including financing and how to convince customers to buy used cars when many were then not keen on foreign cars. Businesses The Naza Group now has 15 business divisions covering industries such as cigarette distribution, credit and leasing, engineering, hotels, insurance, machine tools and parts, manufacturing, motorcycles, property, transport services, plantations and water craft. He owned TTDI Development which is one of the most prominent real estate companies in Kuala Lumpur. The Naza Group currently holds the Malaysian franchise for South Korea's Kia vehicles, and France's Peugeot vehicles. It also holds the import permits for Mazda vehicles. Naza has now also become the biggest and most prominent importer of luxury high-end vehicles like Mercedes Benz in Malaysia with endeavours such as Naza-Brabus. He was reported to be interested in buying a 40% interest and taking over Malaysia's national carmaker, Proton, which was reported to be in financial turmoil. He stated that he had already drawn