Robert Geneid Giving Back to the People

Robert Geneid

Robert Geneid has also contributed back to the society that has given him so much. He is proud to have given the opportunity to many people (for example, those in the Mulu region) to further themselves and to improve their lives. With the development of the Royal Mulu Resort and the Mulu National Park , Robert Geneid has in his own words, "I have contributed to the establishment of an industry in Mulu based on sustainable eco-tourism. Together with the help of the State Government, my Company has created employment for the local people of Mulu and in doing so, has given them useful skills through training, providing them with income, dignity and hope for the future. This has been a source of much personal satisfaction."

He has also helped the community's future through other ways such as his Annual Scholarship for SK Batu Bungan. This school services the rural Penan community of Batu Bungan, located in the remote region of Mulu. What Robert Geneid hopes to achieve through this act of charity is to encourage the children of SK Batu Bungan to study harder and help their fellow students in the ongoing development of a vibrant, strong and successful community in the region.

Robert Geneid is also a keen conservationist. His years of living and working with the regions people have made well aware of the richness and beauty of the culture of the indigenous people of Borneo. He has also noted that there has been a downward trend in the interest in arts and crafts of the region especially from the younger generation. While this is an inevitable result of progress, he feels that there should be an effort to help conserve this cultural heritage. Thus he founded the Borneo Culture Conservation Foundation with the mission to protect the heritage items of the indigenous people of Borneo so that the rich culture of the past will endure for the benefit of future generations.

Robert Geneid - A Passion For Tourism

Robert has also become a leader in the tourism sector. He has successfully developed two international hotels in Sarawak. The Miri Marriott Resort and Spa is one of his hotel properties. This resort is part of the flagship brand of Marriott International. It is the first and only international five star hotel in Miri. 

His other property is the Royal Mulu Resort. This resort is another international class destination with its 188 rooms and modern conveniences. Its proximity to the Gunung Mulu National Park allows the resort to offer the best combination of resort experience, nature and comfort. This resort also hosted HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco whom visited the resort and left good reviews of the resort.

Even the National Park next to the Resort, the Gunung Mulu National Park is under the management of one of Robert’s companies (in conjunction with the Sarawak Forestry Department). The park was awarded the status of UNESCO’s World Heritage Site in 2002. The park is famous for its caves and the multitude of expeditions that have been mounted to explore them and their surrounding rainforest. The most famous of those expeditions was the one undertaken by the Royal Geographical Society in 1977-1978. That expedition saw a force of a 100 scientists working in the field over a 15 month period. Nowadays, the park has shifted its focus to ecotourism, with a view to the promotion of an awareness of the significance of the park.

Robert Geneid is also contributing back to the industry by agreeing to be on the board of directors for a few of Malaysia’s top tourism entities. He is currently serving as a board member of Tourism Malaysia. He also serves on both the Malaysian Convention and Exhibition Bureau and at the Sarawak Convention Bureau.

Construction and Property Developer - Robert Geneid

Robert Geneid has also found success in the field of property development and construction. He is the Executive Director of the Malaysian construction company, Kumpulan Parabena. The company is the developer of the mega housing project, the Taman Tunku Township. This project has housed a population of 20,000.

Robert Geneid - Property Developer

His other companies had also worked on a number of other major construction projects. Both the New Kuching Port and the Kuching Outdoor Stadium was developed by them. Those projects were awarded to them after going through an international bid. The projects were both successfully completed within the stipulated time period and within the construction budget.

Robert Geneid's Law Career

Robert began his career in law in one of the Australian Big Six Law firms. He was a solicitor with the firm Freehill, Hollingdale and Page. Freehills was a commercial law firm that operated in the Asia Pacific region. Now the firm has merged with the UK law firm Herbert Smith to become Herbert Smith Freehills on the 1^st of October 2012. When Robert was there, he was given the task to handle major construction projects of the time. Obviously his previous education as a civil engineer helped alot. He was involved in the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and the Channel Island Power Station projects. It was at this firm that Robert had his first dalliance with South East Asia as Freehills had opened an office in Singapore. 

The next chapter in Robert Geneid’s legal career was at another Big Six Law firm, namely Mallesons Stephen Jacques. This firm is one of the oldest in Australia (one of the founding firms was established in 1849). Currently the firm has merged with the Chinese law firm King & Wood PRC Lawyers to become King & Wood Mallesons. During his tenure at the firm, Robert was involved in the firm’s South East Asian property and construction portfolio.

King & Wood Mallesons Ad Campaign (From http://www.campaignbrief.com/)

Robert was also involved in the establishment of Jakarta’s first commercial TV Station, Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia. RCTI was officially launched on the 24^th of August 1989. Robert Geneid was also appointed as a legal advisor in a joint venture development project in the Malaysian Peninsular for a gas pipeline. 

Robert Geneid - The Early Years

Robert Geneid is an Australian businessman born in Sydney, Australia back in the fifties. After finishing high school, Robert chose to attend the University of New South Wales and study civil engineering. The University of New South Wales, located in his hometown of Sydney, is recognized as one of the leading teaching and research universities in Australia. Their civil engineering program has been around since the foundation of the university back in 1949. It is currently the largest engineering faculty in Australia and are able to offer the biggest range of engineering courses.

A Sydney Tram in 1954 (Photo from wikipedia)

So after 4 years of study, Robert graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and went into his first career as an engineer. After a few years in the workforce, Robert Geneid then decided to improve himself by returning to his old university to further his studies. He chose to go into the field of law because he foresaw that there was a need for a lawyer with engineering background. At the time, the law faculty at UNSW was still relatively new. The faculty was established on the 1^st of March 1971. Today, the faculty is one of the top law schools in Australia and was even ranked as the 29^th best law school in the world.

The University of New South Wales Coat of Arms

The two degrees that Robert Geneid had garnered allowed him to set himself apart from the rest of the graduates at the time. He was part of a small handful of double degree holders with degrees in both civil engineering and law. He was also one of the youngest Fellow in the IEAust at the time. Both of these facts had allowed him to start off on a good footing in his career. And he did find plenty of success, in the fields of law, property & construction and tourism.