Get to Know the Vintage Psyentist^®: Datuk Danel Abong, Director of People Psyence^®

Datuk Mohamad Danel Abong has always been operating behind the scenes in advising and supporting People Psyence^® since its conception. In January 2021, he emerged into the spotlight as our director. An experienced entrepreneur, he is the Founder, Owner, and Managing Director of Global Upline, FLIR Asia, and Real Icon, to name but a few. His valuable experience and keen business acumen have earned him the Vintage Psyentist^® title, which he has accepted in good humour, taking honour in having aged like fine wine. He hopes that his valuable ‘vintage’ experience will help People Psyence^® grow.

Datuk Danel is an ex-philatelist and ex-corporate man. Now, he is an avid golfer and successful entrepreneur with several businesses under his belt. Despite his accomplishments, he is a humble and down-to-earth person who is analytical, curious and open-minded. He attributes who he is today to his past experiences.

Datuk Danel started dabbling in business from a young age. At 12 years old, he turned his love for philately into an avenue for profit. This hobby prompted him to spend a lot of time in post offices, telegram offices, banks and libraries, granting him early exposure to business and financial operations.

He did not, however, pursue a career in business, but in electrical engineering. He graduated from the University of Melbourne and joined Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (SESCO) shortly after. There, he was involved in the groundbreaking discovery of numerous locations in Sarawak suitable for building hydroelectric plants, one of which became the Bakun Powerplant project. As Datuk Danel worked his way up the corporate ladder, he continued to undertake other progressive roles such as heading the IT department, where he spearheaded initiatives to encourage the adoption of computers and new technology. He went on to become the managing director of the Bakun Powerplant project. However, in 1994, the Bakun Powerplant project was privatized. Searching for something new, Datuk Danel left SESCO and embarked on his entrepreneurial journey. It was not all smooth sailing; he had a rocky start and experienced his share of failures but overcame them and emerged wiser and stronger. He then founded Global Upline, FLIR Asia, Real Icon, and several other businesses in various industries.

Under Datuk Danel’s wise leadership, Global Upline defied global statistics of high project failure rates and fatalities in the engineering industry, gaining a reputation for completing projects ahead of time at no cost over-runs and a good safety record of zero fatalities instead. Similarly, FLIR Asia and Real Icon flourished and gained prominence. Through introducing infrared scanning technology in Malaysia, FLIR Asia is responsible for reducing the number of electrical substation explosions from 60 to 70 explosions per year to only three to five explosions per year – saving countless lives and thousands of ringgit of taxpayer money. Real Icon pioneered the commercial use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology in Malaysia through the Sarawak Smart Green Home project, enabling people to cut down on their utility wastage.

As with most things that Datuk Danel involves himself in, he believes People Psyence^® to be a pioneer that will make waves in the human capital industry. He believes that People Psyence^® has the potential for exponential growth and nationwide impact and desires to see People Psyence^®’s growth become one of his notable achievements.