BY CAMILIA REZALI

Proposed factory site .

Just ask any businessmen who spent time and money finding a water source on the legendary island but failed .

But this did not deter entrepreneur Simon Wang from trying . After three years of trying to find a suitable water source , he was almost on the verge of giving up . But Wang , CEO of MC Gemilang ( Natural Water ) Sdn Bhd , persisted and finally hit paydirt in 2018 .

Today , MC Gemilang is the sole mineral water producer in Langkawi . The well retrieves and pumps water from an aquifer .

Not bad for a businessman who before this had no interest at all in the water resources industry . In fact , Wang was known as “ Iron Man ” given that he was with a steel industry conglomerate and knew nothing about the mineral water business .

“ I worked in the steel industry . I never dreamt of starting my business in Langkawi . Water resources were something new to me ,” he told The Health .

It all started for LWI Blue in December 2016 when Wang ’ s father told him there was an opportunity to do something in Langkawi .

“ According to him , we probably needed a small investment .

“ I was in my comfort zone , and it was a tough decision to leave my comfortable job . But we saw the opportunity . So , I thought , why not we give it a try .

“ But it was not easy . Imagine having to find water droplets from granite rocks without seeing them .

“ With help from the USM team , using the ultrasound technology to detect , we discovered a source of water . But the

Wang : “ I never dreamt of starting my business in Langkawi . Water resources were something new to me .”

capacity was not good enough . “ So , I almost gave up because , with the amount of money we had spent , we couldn ’ t continue further ( finding water to start the business ),” added Wang .

Leaving behind a legacy One day , he went to a location accompanied

by an Indonesian contractor ( to help him operate the machine ). The site was in the middle of Langkawi . It was a forest area called Gunung Raya .

Wang said finding the water source was not a walk in the park , but the Indonesian contractor continued to help Wang .

I asked him : “ Why do you insist on helping me find the water ?”

He told Wang it was not because of money .

“ He said life was very fragile . If we find the water , we can leave something for the next generation .

“ Sometimes fortune is not in the form of money , but it is in the form of blessing for good health ( by consuming good water ). When I heard that , I thought it was terrific .”

Determined , Wang acquired another piece of land which was located within walking distance from the previous site .

His determination and persistence paid off .

“ A few months after we bought the land ,