Kota Kinabalu: WSG Group Managing Director Datuk Susan Wong Siew Guen has been honoured with the “Lifetime Achievement Award 2025” by the Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda), recognising her 43 years of outstanding contributions to Sabah’s property development and construction industry.
At 69, Susan, who packs 25 years working with her father and 18 years leading her own company. said property development has become more than a career.
“It’s no longer work – it’s my hobby. I love creating development projects for communities.
“My dream is always to build homes that everyone can afford and to create a liveable environment for them,” she said at the 47th Shareda Nite here.
The event was officiated by caretaker Deputy Chief Minister cum caretaker Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam who represented the caretaker Chief Minister.
Susan, who also received the Top Property Developer of the Year and Endurance Urbanization Transformation Excellence Award 2024 by Shareda, described the recognition as both an honour and an inspiration for her to continue shaping sustainable and liveable communities in Sabah.
“I’m very excited and honoured to receive this award and the recognition is deeply meaningful,” she said and dedicated it to her late father, Datuk Seri Dr Wong Kwok, and beloved mother, Datin Seri Wong Chen Si Mui.
“They (Shareda) told me there’s no more award to give, that this is the last one.
“I told them, this is not the end but a new beginning. I will continue working with love and patience to bring more innovative developments and to build beautiful homes for our communities. In fact, I still have new dreams to build which is my new project in Tuaran,” she said.
Susan said she has set a new vision for Tuaran with a different concept from her other completed projects such as the latest mixed development and township projects in Kinarut and Benoni in Papar.
She revealed that she aims to develop the Tuaran new project with a water-themed park as attraction to boost tourism and property value.
“The project site in Tuaran is near the crocodile farm and our fish farm, so I thought – why not create a small water theme park? It can attract visitors and make the area livelier,” she said.
Susan, who was Shareda president from 2009 until 2012, said the upcoming project will feature several hundred terrace houses and family-oriented facilities designed to draw both local and out-of-town buyers.
“You must have an attraction. That’s why I choose to build a water theme park in the new project. A KL developer I met at Shareda Nite agreed to introduce me to a developer who build such park.”
Susan began her independent venture 18 years ago, founding WSG Group in 2007 with husband Datuk Wong Ten An and their children after years of experience working under her family’s company, Wong Kwok Group.
Under her WSG Group, Susan launched notable projects including Taman Sungai Wang, Rose Garden, Palm Condominiums, followed by recent developments – Kinarut Palm City and Kinarut Palm Avenue, with a total development consisted of more than 1,000 units of terrace houses and condominiums and more than 200 units of shoplots.
“Together, these developments have turned Kinarut into a new township,” she said.
“I then moved to Benoni, Papar for 10 years to build 100-acre land with Benoni Commercial Centre and Parklane City especially dedicated for my mother as Papar is where she was born and raised.” Each development embodies her philosophy of creating self-sustaining communities with balanced residential and commercial growth.
“My goal is to transform Benoni into a sports city while providing affordable housing for people and also to young people so that they can stay, work, and raise families in Papar,” she said.
Her late father Datuk Seri Dr Wong Kwok, founder of Wong Kwok Group, is credited with landmark projects such as Far East Garden, Daman Southern, Beverly Hills Apartments, and Melinsung Summer Bay Apartments.
