Punjab-origin man is Brunei’s oldest Indian, successful entrepreneur
Monday, 08/02/2016
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (BRUNEI): Looking for greener pastures, Mohinder Singh Bhullar cycled his way to Brunei at the tender age of 19 and now having seen 90 springs, he is the oldest Indian living in the oil and gas-rich country and contributing to its economy through his carpet business.
Bhullar, who became a citizen of Brunei in 2009, was conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, in 2010. His journey from Punjab began in 1936, when he travelled to Malaysia and stayed in Sarawak — one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo — with his uncle.
He studied there up to class 6, but after some years, he decided to move on and chose Brunei as his next destination.
“I heard that job opportunities in Brunei were better. So I cycled my way to that country in 1946 and got a job of bulldozer driver at Shell Company in Seria (a town in the Belait district),” Bhullar told PTI.
Simultaneously, he used to earn some extra bucks by re placing damaged tennis strings at tennis courts.
But slowly, he disliked his driver’s job and decided to start a small business with whatever savings he had. So he resigned from Shell in 1949 and opened a shop Seria Sport Regency dealing with sports goods.
In 1953, Bhullar married a young Bruneian and visited India in 1964 for the first time since he left home 28 years ago. And 20 years later, he started his carpet business.
