From The Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak met visiting Indonesian reporters ahead of his official visit to Jakarta in April, he singled out businessman Peter Sondakh.

The Indonesian billionaire’s investments in two large Malaysian hotels were a prime example of the close links between the two countries, he said.

Last month, Malaysia’s King conferred the prestigious title of Tan Sri on Sondakh. It was a rare honour for a foreign businessman who hardly has a public profile beyond his country.

It was not the first time Sondakh was visiting the palace. The controlling shareholder of the Rajawali Group, an Indonesian conglomerate with diverse interests ranging from cement to cigarettes, was also at the palace when Najib was sworn in as Malaysia’s sixth Prime Minister in April. He was among a select few private individuals invited to the event.

Sondakh’s growing prominence is stirring interest among Malaysia-watchers keeping tabs on additions to the ‘who’s who’ list of the country’s political elite.

The tight nexus of business and politics has long been a key feature of corporate Malaysia and analysts say that Najib’s takeover is set to usher in a new group of powerful economic players even as several already well-known ones gain greater prominence.

His younger brother Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, for example, is an urbane and influential banker who heads regional financial group CIMB.

Nazir is highly regarded by local and foreign businessmen and is considered to be the prime minister’s most influential adviser on economic and financial matters.

Many people close to Najib say that Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is often consulted when it comes to politics.

But businessmen like Sondakh, whose interests in Malaysia include the upmarket Sheraton Imperial Hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur and the Westin Hotel in resort island Langkawi, are beginning to emerge on the national corporate radar screen.