The Malaysian oil palm industry has certainly gone through its fair share of ups and downs over the last century. From the moment Frenchman Henri Fauconnier first planted oil palm at Tennamaram Estate in Batang Berjuntai (now known as Bestari Jaya) in 1917, it set off an adventurous yet fruitful journey for the industry.

From pioneers who laid the foundations in the early days, to dynamos who took it to greater heights in the decades that followed, everyone had an important role in shaping the industry to its present dominant state.

Today, Malaysia is at the forefront of championing the sustainability of this fiercely contested crop amid many disputable smear campaigns. Yes, the Malaysian oil palm industry has come a long way since the primitive days at the turn of the 20th century.

We owe our success to the leadership and stewardship of many people across different generations. Even though some have passed on, their legacy just lives on. And there is one man in particular, whose name is truthfully upheld by the industry fraternity as - “The Palm Oil King” of Malaysia.

Danish born Tan Sri Borge Bek-Nielsen may not be a household name that lingers on our lips, but he certainly left a trail of commanding footprints in our history book, as far as the Malaysian oil palm industry is concerned.

Knowing so little about a name that is so iconic to the industry is such a shame. Call it a tribute to a special man, the late Bek-Nielsen deserved many rounds of applause for his selfless contributions to the industry, spanning nearly six decades from 1951 to 2005.

The story of this very down-to-earth former chairman of United Plantations (UP) can be both fascinating and inspiring. The way he dedicated his life to the industry made him a man of determination and tenacity with a sharp vision driven by his courage and farsightedness.

Bek-Nielsen carried with him the embodiment of an engineer (how he started his career at UP), innovator, entrepreneur, industrialist, leader, mentor, motivator, philanthropist, discipline and integrity – all of which made him such a respected figure in the industry.

He was a game-changer who would stay ahead of his peers, putting his ingenuity to good use.

Bek-Nielsen was affectionately known as the de facto guardian who stood the ground for the Malaysian oil palm industry when the American soybean lobby launched the infamous smear campaign against palm oil in the 1980s.

Armed with detailed research findings and a dedicated organizational support structure from the Malaysian government, he took on the propaganda power of the rich, protectionist West. Together with Tun Dr. Lim Keng Yaik, the then minister for primary industries, and Tan Sri Dr. Augustine Ong, then director-general of Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia (PORIM), they toured America to restore the reputation of Malaysian palm oil, crushing the make-believe myths with hard scientific facts.

Not discrediting the other team members who fought hard for the livelihoods of all the stakeholders, Bek-Nielsen was instrumental in turning the tide on their opponents in the counter-attack, fueled by his fervent and energetic temperament.

Bek-Nielsen arrived in Malaysia (known as Malaya then) in 1951 as a young mechanical engineer for UP and worked his way up to be the senior executive director in 1971 and was finally appointed as the chairman of the plantation group from 1978 to 1982.

The Dane is known for his resourcefulness that revolutionized UP to a very efficient state with industry-wide standards, thus becoming a role model for the Malaysian oil palm industry ever since.

The Unitata refinery in Jendarata, Teluk Intan, which came into operation in 1974, is one of the export-led industrialization efforts by Bek-Nielsen to open up more markets.

“Few have managed what Bek-Nielsen has done and nobody in the industry has ever doubted it, that UP is considered the best oil palm plantation in the world,” said John Madsen, the former CEO of Carlsberg Malaysia, who first met Bek-Nielsen in 1981.

Recalling his visit to UP’s refinery, Madsen said: “The refinery from the outside looks like an office building….. Not a single drop of oil or a spot on the floor. Everything is stainless steel and as clean as your living room! Bek-Nielsen was an extremely tidy, orderly and fastidious person. Everything just had to be right, to be perfect.“

Some of Bek-Nielsen’s colleagues told Madsen: ”We could never have had a better leader. He was tough but always fair”.

Bek-Nielsen won enormous respect from his workers by being thorough, never compromising on quality but by showing his passion for work. He also showed them how much he cared by providing all workers with the best housing, schools, nurseries, sports facilities, old folks homes and houses of worship for all religions.

Even the lowest paid worker had his own house for his family. Bek-Nielsen did everything he could to ensure that all workers were treated well and respected as human beings. He understood and lived by the philosophy that you get much more in return, business-wise, by giving.

“Mr. Bek-Nielsen lived and worked by the principles of honesty, integrity and hands-on leadership…. or management by walking around! He was often spotted around the estate checking up on work, progress and so forth,” said one of his workers in remembrance of the great Dane.

Bek-Nielsen had shown us what a good corporate citizenship should be. He cared for everything. He ploughed the fruit of success back into the community. He put things into action and turned dreams into reality.

He fully understood the importance of knowledge sharing to steer the industry further and that was how the Bek-Nielsen Foundation Lecture Series came into fruition.

I wish I could tell you everything about the remarkable life of Bek-Nielsen and the UP legacy he left behind in fewest words possible. But I think Susan M. Martin did a really great job. This is a must-read: The UP Saga.

And on the sustainability issue that flared up in the West in the early 2000s, UP took this new trend very seriously under the auspices of Dato’ Carl Bek-Nielsen, current chief executive director of UP and his younger brother Martin Bek-nielsen, UP’s executive director, after the official retirement of their late father in 2003.

Concerted efforts were taken by the two brothers to ensure that the spirit of sustainability was “built into” the UP fabric and not just "bolted on", hence leading to United Plantations becoming the world’s first certified producer of sustainable palm oil under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2008. Since then, UP has taken a step further, obtaining Asia's only producer with the RSPO Next certification then, surpassing even the strictest sustainability criteria in the West.

“The fight to uphold palm oil's name continues, this time it’s under the topic of sustainability. This will be a long drawn battle but a war which we can win by doing what is necessary and by adapting to change.”

“I believe very much in the notion of conservation, which means striking a vital balance between development and environmental protection, and living up to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, so no one is left behind and where opportunities are provided for all, especially the developing nations and not just the developed nations.”

“The palm industry has a vital role to play here and I believe that if we make the right but tough decisions, we can come out on top far ahead of all other agricultural crops,” remarked Dato’ Carl Bek-Nielsen, affirming UP’s commitment towards nurturing a healthy oil palm ecosystem through environmentally and operationally sustainable practices.

To sum it all up, the big-picture thinking of this story - the Malaysian oil palm industry certainly needs more movers and shakers like Tan Sri Borge Bek-Nielsen, whose lifelong enthusiasm and optimism, together with his botanical and mechanical innovation, brought forth good practices that add value to the industry.