1. RIMBUN @ EMBASSY ROW
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
By Mizna Doray

2. The Triplex Penthouse (17,000 sq. ft.) is intended to be
interior-designed by the owner. The palatial lounge
has a ceiling that soars to a height of 8.6m (28 ft.).
Amphil Corporation Sdn. Bhd. is a
niche Malaysian property developer of
ultra-luxurious residential real estate.
The company was formed in 2008 by
two long-time golfing buddies, both
veterans of the property industry,
with more than 60 years’ experience
between them. Together, they had a
vision to build a truly exclusive boutique
condominium. The condominium had
to be of top quality, be located within
Kuala Lumpur’s top residential and
embassy enclave, and be infused with
multiple innovative green and special
features that are practical and directly
beneficial to their residents.
Today, that flagship project is
known as Rimbun@Embassy Row, and
it more than lives up to Amphil’s original
vision.
“The people who visit Rimbun fall
in love with it 99% of the time,” said
Datuk PK Poh, CEO of the company.
“That’s because of our experience. We
know what people want, and we set
out to do better than we had ever done
before.”
Datuk PK Poh has been in the
property industry since 1976 and
holds a B.Sc. (Building) degree from the
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Actual view during New Year’s Eve. Residents get to
enjoy this and other views every day and night including
the surrounding lakes, parks, hills and golf course.
University of Singapore. He founded
Amphil with Mr. Alan See, a U.K trained
Chartered Professional Accountant
with more than 25 years of his own
experience in the property sector.
Poh first cut his teeth working
in a QS firm before moving on to
become a Project Manager and then
a Project Director in various property
development companies. In 1992,
he was headhunted to helm the just-
established Tropicana Group with the
pioneering vision to build a 625-acre
multiple award-winning golf resort and
township in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
Tropicana Golf and Country Resort soon
took off and garnered rave reviews.
Over time, the Tropicana Group became
a name that is synonymous with luxury
and innovation.
Poh also spearheaded a joint
venture in the mid-1990s with a
neighbouring landowner to turn its
250 acres into another beautiful resort.
Today, this second resort has been
proudly named Tropicana Indah Resort
Homes.
In 2007 and at the age of 55, Poh
opted to retire from the Tropicana
Group and was looking forward to
a more relaxing pace of life. However,

4. Each unit comes with
moveable sunscreens for extra privacy.Datuk PK Poh – CEO
property development was still very
much in his veins and it did not take
long for his buddy See to re-ignite his
passion for properties.
To achieve their vision for a “truly
exclusive boutique condominium,” Poh
andSeeselectivelyscouredtheprecincts
surrounding Kuala Lumpur City Centre
(KLCC) and found an ideal piece of land
in Jalan Ampang Hilir. Located amidst
many international embassies and lying
within the established high-income
residential zone known for its stately
bungalows and beautiful leafy avenues,
they found the site to build Rimbun@
Embassy Row.
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BEST OF BOTH
WORLDS
Rimbun@Embassy Row is a luxury
boutique project comprising 56 units
spread over 17 well-appointed floors,
with floor sizes ranging from 3,500 sq.
ft. to 17,000 sq. ft. According to Poh,
for Amphil and its shareholders, the
project is “more like a labour of love
rather than a pure business venture.”
“No effort is spared to ensure
that we bring our vision to fruition,” he
said. “For example, we have taken the
initiativetoupgradesomeofthefinishes
to our sold units. Even now, although
we have completed the project, we are
still looking to upgrade some parts of
the facilities.”
As a company, he said Amphil
holds fast to their credo – to “under
promise but over-deliver”.
“There are less than 20 staff in
our boutique company and they all
subscribe to our culture of excellence,
serviceandmulti-tasking,”heexplained.
“The same level of service and courtesy
is provided to everyone, whether they
are serving an individual, or a group of
foreign prospects. We are proud to say
that more than 95% of the visitors to our
project have gone away impressed.”
Every unit in Rimbun has a view of the sculptured pools.

6. Since its recent completion,
Rimbun@Embassy Row has attracted
many enquiries, not only from potential
buyers and tenants, but also from
nearby landowners who would like
Amphil to deliver something similar for
them. The company currently has two
more pieces of land under discussion.
Poh credits the project’s strong
reception to a number of factors
– including its accessible- but-
uncongested location, its spectacular
views, as well as its competitive pricing.
“When we first bought our land
in Jalan Ampang Hilir, we deliberately
stayed away from the centre of the
very popular KLCC area,” he explained,
in regards to the location. “This is
because we were building a luxury
condominium,andnotanofficebuilding
or a commercial serviced apartment
project. That said, we are actually less
than 15 minutes away from KLCC. We
also have amazing amenities around us,
such as international-class hospitals, a
variety of international schools, trendy
restaurants and shopping malls.”
“It’s like having the best of both
worlds – having the city amenities without
the accompanying congestion,” he added.
The “stupendous views” of the
building’sunitsalsosetitapart,Pohsaid.
He explained that the most spectacular
are of the surrounding greenery – The
Royal Selangor Polo Club and The Royal
Selangor Golf Club, for example – and
of the iconic Twin Towers, which can be
seen from the building’s upper floors.
Another advantage of being in
Ampang Hilir is that Amphil can price
their units very competitively compared
to their competition within the KLCC.
They are also able to move away from
the standard unit sizes of 1,500 to 2,000
sq. ft. found in most of the apartments
in KLCC. Rimbun@Embassy Row’s
smallest unit is 3,500 sq. ft. and is
targeted at a niche market of top level
executives, professionals and business
owners. The penthouse, meanwhile, is
a triplex with 17,000 sq. ft. of palatial
space.
DOING IT BETTER
Rimbun@Embassy Row’s success
is also a credit to a myriad of other
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features, many of which are not obvious
to the eye and have to be experienced
first-hand. For example, the design
of some units has incorporated a
“separate, yet together” concept that
encourages multi-generational families
to stay together while maintaining their
individual privacy and space.
Some other examples include
their multi-tiered and unique security
system for better peace of mind, and
Smart Home System which harnesses
technology to make residents’ lives
a little easier, and which has been
incorporated into every unit.
“This system not only helps the
owner to remotely monitor the security
ofhisunitthroughmotiondetectorsand
CCTVs, but also offers the convenience
of controlling the lighting and air
conditioning units,” Poh explained.
Every purchaser at Rimbun@
Embassy Row is given a manual and
an iPad when he collects the keys to
his unit. The iPad will be configured
for each resident to operate his Smart
Home System effectively.

8. Rimbun means
“lush greenery”.
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The project also innovates when
it comes to sustainability, and includes
more than 20 practical green features –
which according to Poh, “must be a first
for a residential project in this part of
the world.”
“In our effort to realise our vision,
a considerable sum of money was spent
on the multiple green features that are
relevant to, and which directly benefit,
our purchasers and residents,” he said.
“The most notable of our green features
is the Solar Photo Voltaic panels. These
costly panels help to generate electricity
– not heat – that can be sold for cash
under Malaysia’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT)
scheme.”
“Although these panels cost us a
considerable sum to set up, we intend
to use the FiT proceeds to reduce our
residents’ service charge after they
have moved in.”
Poh’s interest in sustainability
beganwhenhewasworkingatTropicana
Group developing a golf course in a
“virgin jungle” surrounded by 100-
year old trees he wanted to preserve.
He went out of his way to seek expert
advice, and ended up with a beautiful
course that has been widely praised
for its natural beauty. Since then, he’s
made green living a priority in all his
developments. He currently sits on the
Board of Malaysia Green Technology
Corporation which is a government-
funded organisation to promote
and facilitate the implementation of
Malaysia’s green agenda.
Before commencing work on
Rimbun, Poh visited many cities around
the world – including Chicago, New
York, Osaka, Tokyo and Singapore – to
examine the condos and see where
they stood on energy sustainability. He
decided he could do better. As a result
of that commitment, Rimbun@Embassy
Row was awarded the Provisional
Gold Plus Green Mark certification by
Singapore’s Building and Construction
Authority (BCA).
In the future, Amphil aims to keep
a lookout for even more green features
and technologies that they can infuse
into their projects.

10. CULTURE OF
EXCELLENCE
According to Poh, Amphil’s
success on Rimbun@Embassy Row
wouldn’t be possible if not for the
excellent relationships they formed
with their project partners and
suppliers. He said the selection of
those partners was “of the utmost
importance,” and their hard work and
dedication was pivotal to the project’s
end result.
“During the construction stage, we
were very careful in the sourcing
of our building materials,” he said,
by way of example. “We were very
particular about these products and in
fact, much of our finishes like marble
were imported, as were some of the
kitchen equipment and cabinetry from
Germany for selected units.”
“In the appointment of contractors
and subcontractors who work with us, we
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Rimbun’s Salt Water Pool, serenity,
security and green living form Rimbun’s theme.

11. do not always select the lowest bidder,”
he added. “For example, although our
main contractor’s bid was considerably
higher than that of the lowest bidder, we
nevertheless awarded the contract to
him. On top of that, we also offered him
a six-digit bonus and carrot if he was able
to meet our quality standards.”
“We want to work with people with
a similar ‘culture of excellence,’ and that
has been our guiding light in all we do.”
Additionally, Amphil fosters close
relationships with their team members
internally, which Poh said is also vital to
the company’s ongoing success.
“Being a small outfit, everyone who
works with us will have the opportunity to
multi-task and learn,” he explained. “We
provide a great learning environment,
good promotion prospects and we
reward performers based on a twice-
yearly assessment of our staff.”
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12. One of the more than
100 trees planted in Rimbun.
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Poh said there are lots of
opportunities for a young employee to
grow in Amphil, and the things they can
learn under the personal mentorship of
the two very experienced partners will
certainly benefit them as they move up
their respective career ladders.
“Bigger companies have their
advantages, of course, but generally,
their employees tend to specialise and
have limited exposure; they have less
opportunity to acquire and accumulate
the wider experience that a future
leader would need.”
“I, myself, had personally started
my own career in small start-ups during
my early years, and I can say without
reservation that what I know today is
dueinnosmallparttobeing‘throwninto
the deep end.’ It is also very gratifying
to meet some of my ex-staff who have
moved on to higher positions, and very
often, they would invariably come over
to greet and thank me for the ‘tough’
lessons they had been taught in the
past.”
Moving forward, Poh said Amphil
will continue to grow their staff, if not
necessarily the size of the company.
“At our age, the two of us do
not intend to have too much on our
plate,” he said. “We will continue to do
what we do best – developing special,
niche projects in prime locations in an
unhurried manner.”
“Onapersonallevel,withRimbun@
Embassy Row completed and with the
team being set up to manage it, I now
have more time to share my expertise
with other real estate companies in
an advisory role, while still keeping an
eye on the progress of our own future
projects.”

14. Harmonious blend
of greenery and
architecture
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