Empowering Societies Through Space Tech: Dato’ Dr. Sean SEAH, Chairman of WITSA & Angkasa-X Group

Dive into a special episode with Dato’ Dr. Sean SEAH, a serial tech entrepreneur, satellite innovator, and global technology leader, as he shares insights on digital transformation, space technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership for the future of Malaysia and beyond. With experience spanning Silicon Valley companies such as Sun Microsystems and Netscape, Dato’ Dr. Sean SEAH has played a key role in advancing Malaysia’s digital and space ambitions. As the founder of Angkasa-X and Chairman of WITSA, he is passionate about using technology to create social inclusion, connect underserved communities, and inspire future generations to dream boldly and innovate fearlessly.

• 0:09Speaker 00

  Welcome to another episode of The Brand Called You, a podcast and video show which brings you leadership essence, knowledge and experience from hundreds of successful individuals from around the world. I'm your host, Fritz Bismarck, and today I'm pleased to have with us Dato Dr. Che Che. Che, welcome to the show.

• 0:26Speaker 01

  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Fritz.

• 0:28Speaker 00

  Yes. Che, allow me to briefly introduce you to our audience. You've been the founder of a number of successful tech companies over 30 years. You're the executive chair of Enkasa, chief director of Asia Fin Holdings, chairman of the Witsa, chairman of Space Tech Malaysia. And, well, you started your career in Silicon Valley, where you graduated master's in computer science in California.

• 0:55Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 0:55Speaker 00

  So I'd like to say, you're based out of Malaysia, out of KL?

• 1:00Speaker 01

  Yes, I'm based on KL.

• 1:02Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 1:02Speaker 01

  Kuala Lumpur, yeah.

• 1:03Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 1:03Speaker 01

  But my R and D is in Penang. Yeah, another, another state, yeah.

• 1:08Speaker 00

  Oh, very good place to be, good, good food eater. But let me go back to the main topic. We're going to talk about your work on your vision on the impact of digital on society and specifically what it could bring to Malaysia. But first, we do that, how did you get there? You, as a Malaysian, how did you end up getting a master in computer science in the States? How did that happen?

• 1:33Speaker 01

  Well, I started my grad, my undergraduate studies, okay, back in 1989, okay, and after finished my, my junior college in Malaysia, so I studied my undergraduate as a computer engineer in California State University Chico, because that was 89, okay. So again, after finished, it's one of the earliest schools in the US, in the California state, you actually offer computer engineering. So back in the early days, you know, I thought those are the days when the computer just become popular, you know, the general computer become popular. So I, I decided, you know, the best, the best place to be is in computer engineering,

• 2:18Speaker 01

  and the best place to be is in California. So after finishing my

• 2:24Speaker 01

  I thought, you know, now I know a bit of a hardware. Okay, but really what is power of the technology is the software. So immediately after the graduation in the undergraduate of computer engineering, I decided to embark into computer science, okay, which is a hardware and software combined. And I finished my master in computer science, graduated in nineteen ninety-three. Again, I spent a few years working in Silicon Valley. Okay, I was working for, yeah, so again, it is an aspiration to learn the technology, computing technology from the US. It is an action that I actually went to the extent to apply to be accepted by the California University CSU to get my degree.

• 3:09Speaker 01

  And quickly I finished my undergraduate and master degree.

• 3:14Speaker 00

  Wow.

• 3:14Speaker 01

  So, yeah.

• 3:16Speaker 00

  Good vision. Did your parents, how did your parents react that you moved to the States and stayed there?

• 3:25Speaker 01

  I was, I was twenty years old, so of course a lot of reluctance, you know. Yeah, you're underage, you know, you're flying so far away. It took me like a day and a half, two days, again, to fly from Kuala Lumpur to San Francisco and Chico. So again, it was, it was a courageous experience, I thought. Okay, again, as a, as a twenty-year-old teenager.

• 3:54Speaker 01

  But our parents gave me all the blessing, you know, go learn what you need to learn, you know, go out, explore the, and don't forget, that was late nineties. Okay, again, with their blessing and their financial support, okay, I achieved what I achieve today. So one led to another, from a small country in Malaysia, learning how to do computing, you know, and I joined a company like Sun Microsystems, Netscape. And then later I started my own company. I've listed two companies in the, in various capital markets in Asia. So again, a lot of things done, okay. Without really planning, it just, I think, it all fall into places.

• 4:36Speaker 01

  And I'm happy where I am today, founded another space technology company. And we'll get into a bit more on how and why I did that. It is based on my own conviction. Okay, a lot of businesses, a lot of companies that I founded by myself is based on my own convictions. I, I thought the market need this. And therefore, I built the business. So again, I have, I have Angkasa X built because we thought the Asia world needs to have a satellite constellation. Okay, without this, okay, we are in the blind, especially using satellite to serve the service to poor population in the rural area.

• 5:19Speaker 01

  So it is a conviction that I thought, okay, we should, we should strive forward to deliver this technology for the betterment of mankind.

• 5:29Speaker 00

  To what extent is it next to conviction also a vision? Because question relates to that. Did you, did you have a vision or what you, did you foresee that we could be doing what we're doing right now? That you are, we are on other parts of the world and you're just driving in your car and we can still have this conversation?

• 5:52Speaker 01

  Um, I think it is, okay, vision, conviction and the courage. Okay, again, starting a company like Angkasa X, which is a space company, requires a lot of personal funding. Okay, again, my exposure with Vizuta also taught me technology for betterment of mankind. And also give me the global perspective. Okay, even though I'm staying here, but really I'm connected to the world. Okay, through my own network, through the Visa network, which you are aware of.

• 6:31Speaker 01

  So I can talk to my counterpart in Brazil, a phone call away, Robert is there. I can talk to you in, in Europe, I can talk to somebody in the Middle East. It is that network that I have built along the year, okay? And with that, okay, there's a lot of courage and a lot of money that needs to spend. Yeah, again, I, I think, I think a combination of that and that's why.

• 7:01Speaker 01

  That's why I'm, what I'm doing right now, okay. And I just wanna add another point, okay. The vision that I built, we built this satellite company is from ground, uh, from, uh, from scratch. Year two thousand, uh, twenty was where the pandemic started. Twenty twenty one is where the pandemic seriously hit all the countries in the world. Es- uh, especially the poor country in Southeast Asia. Which you are basically, uh, uh, need to stay home, you're not traveling anywhere. No education, everything, the world stopped. So again, at that point, our realization is that if you are fortunate, you can still dial up into the internet to get education. But if you are not, if you do not have access to internet, your world just stops, okay.

• 7:46Speaker 01

  And, uh, again, uh, we, we looked around, what will be a technology that can bring social inclusion? Technology goes social inclusion to the people who are less fortunate.

• 7:59Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 7:59Speaker 01

  You're living in the rural area, you're really in the mountains, you're really living in the, the island. It's not by your choice, you are born into that family. So you are, you may be a bit, uh, unlucky. But again, how do we actually bring social inclusion by using technology? And enable the development, the economy development in this region? And that's why we started our satellite company. Not only to provide internet, but to provide remote sensing application as well.

• 8:28Speaker 00

  Uh, sure, um, thank you for sharing that. Cause I think you've already answered a question I had. When, uh, I've talked to several people who work in space and space environment and their primary motivation is they're fascinated by space itself. And wanna get as close as possible to that. And what I'm hearing you is space is just a new way to provide a much needed infrastructure.

• 8:59Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 9:00Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 9:00Speaker 01

  Yes, I I I I am not fancy on technology, uh just technology itself. Again, I I didn't get into much into A I, I didn't get much into blockchain. I think I think it has to be technology can bring a vast value uh for the general public. Okay, again, I I uh I mean, of course, in I, because my background is a computer engineer. I always see satellite as a box.

• 9:26Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 9:27Speaker 01

  It's not a holy grail, it's a box, it's a what, it's a C P U based, software, R A M, C P U box, okay? Powered by software, maybe robotic arms, okay, maybe some solar panel, that's all. It is not, it's not a rocket science.

• 9:42Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 9:43Speaker 01

  Okay, you just build a satellite box, it could be six U, twelve U, okay? In in in my jargon, it's basically a stack of C P U.

• 9:54Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 9:54Speaker 01

  Okay, but to move this C P U into the space, you need to harden the O S, you need to have a different structure to the to the design. It's just, you know, I used to work for companies like some micro system, we have hardened right, a a hardened O S or even a server that can operate into in a very bad environment. So if you have, my exposure, I do not think satellite is a, oh, I can't do it, it's something that beyond my reach. It is just a technology, okay? And coupled with my my graduate, uh my years in the U S, for people like Netscape and some micro system, I know it can be done, it's just, do we have enough

• 10:36Speaker 01

  vision, conviction and money to to move the first step? The first step is to get people to believe it's doable.

• 10:45Speaker 00

  That that you you that's my question, because uh as you trained as a master in computer science, and I can I confess, I have a more or less similar degree.

• 10:55Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 10:56Speaker 00

  Not really get trained and educated in a management, in communication skills, so.

• 11:03Speaker 00

  See, having the conviction that it was possible. How did you build up the expertise to be able to convince the people around you that we need to invest in this technology and the solution?

• 11:19Speaker 01

  Very good question, okay. I think every establishment, every business start with one or two founders. These other people has the strong conviction, okay? And then we look around and find who are the people can help us to contribute to build that fiction. So we started in year 2021, two of us. Become five of us, become seven of us, become twenty of us. So we go out and find the right people to actually put together a tixor puzzle.

• 11:51Speaker 00

  How do they listen to you? Why do they want to come?

• 11:55Speaker 01

  Share the conviction, conviction with them, okay? Talk to them, it's doable, it's not rocket science, okay? You just have to put it in there, okay? Bear in mind, in year 2021, Elon Musk is not the Elon Musk today. You know, he, he started his journey as a darling in 2014, 2016. But Malaysia started our satellite journey back in year 2000. So in fact, just for the wide audience, okay? The talent that we have recruited over the years are the people actually launched satellites way before Elon Musk launched his darling. Back in 2009, 2009, okay? We launched RASAT, RASAT was the first satellite that developed by Malaysian

• 12:40Speaker 01

  under the funding of Malaysian government, okay? And we completed the R and D assembly A I T in 2020, 2006, 2007. Elon Musk flew to Malaysia, I want to launch your RASAT. Because Elon Musk had something one, but it's something one by, at the, during 2006, 2007, he had three trial launched, all ended with explosion.

• 13:05Speaker 01

  So you came to Malaysia, I want to launch your satellite satellite. Okay, you just have to pay me whatever the amount is, I'm not going to review the amount. By two thousand nine, Elon Musk Falcon one successfully launched, brought up that into the Victoria Belt in June two thousand nine, you can check the internet. So again, the early success that Malaysia has, we have developed the talent, certain talent. Okay, we know how to go to I T U to get the orbit, we know how to design a six year cubesat, we know what are the components, what are the software, what are the hardware. So that give us these, the not only the conviction, the courage to try something that nobody has embarked, because we have people in Malaysia.

• 13:48Speaker 01

  So again, it is a bit of luck and then, but again, one, once we get the team together, we share with them the conviction. So we used to use the word the rekindle the Malaysia space dream. Because we had the space dream back in two thousand nine, two thousand ten. Again, but as the dream disappeared because of change of government. So by twenty twenty one, we, we told the whole Malaysia, Malaysians, we rekindle the Malaysia space dream. So people join us.

• 14:18Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 14:19Speaker 01

  We are where we are right now, we built our first launch of satellite in two thousand three, after the incorporation of company, we built one, we launched. Now we secure a few hundred satellite orbit. We have a constellation, we're looking with partners to build a constellation. We call it the space network.

• 14:36Speaker 00

  Nice.

• 14:40Speaker 00

  You, already earlier in our talk, you mentioned the WITSA. Could you maybe explain to the audience a little bit what WITSA is?

• 14:50Speaker 01

  WITSA is for the World Innovation Technology and Services Alliance. It's a global alliances, association that comprises of eighty countries and economies.

• 15:01Speaker 01

  Again, this country in column is our member. Are the, uh, the leading tech association or ICT association in this country. So imagine, you know, eighty of these countries, okay, come together. We share our vision to build, use technology to build what is the betterment of human, humankind. How is AI is going to drive the next twenty, fifteen years? Okay, we've been around for the last forty, now forty years, I think. Okay, uh, again, uh, AI has been around. So we have our HOMA event, which is called W I, W C I T, the World Congress of Best Innovation Technology. Again, we have been doing that for twenty-seven, twenty-eight times.

• 15:44Speaker 01

  Basically to bring the world together into a, a country, a city, to share what technology, okay, will lead to the next human technology development. So we have been doing that for many years. Right now, I'm the chairman, okay, and I'm sure you, you, you were, you were the director as well. So again, uh, we are still going out there, okay, advocating AI for good. Again, AI, AI is the most advanced technology and most appealing technology or most dangerous technology, whatever you call it, yeah, in the next one or two decades, okay? I mean, people thinking about how do we better manage AI at this point of time?

• 16:26Speaker 01

  Okay, to avoid a lot of bad things could happen to us, to human civilizations. So it is, uh, uh, it is a, a, a, a bizarre, uh, uh, uh, vision, okay? Through the working with not only our members, the eighty country members association, also working with the rest of the tech agency, again, and, uh, one of our members are in the US, okay, is CTA. Every year they organize the C E S event in Vegas. So through this kind of networking, again, we are actually expressing the vision. The good things about technology is it has to be, it has to be resilient, it has to be safe, it has to be good for human being.

• 17:07Speaker 01

  Okay, so again, a bit of what we do, okay, um, yeah, thanks.

• 17:12Speaker 00

  Um, I like, I, I see that, uh, what you're doing with your own organization with the, with, it is very much aligned, it's putting, uh, tech, technology, uh, to good use and bring that to mankind, uh, promoting inclusion. Now, I was wondering, um, uh, because I have a cup, well, more than enough questions for you, Sean. Okay, um, first of all, um, in your dealings with the industry associations, with governments, with NGOs, um, how, uh, what's your view? How do you navigate those different stakeholders to come together?

• 17:54Speaker 01

  Yeah, I mean, another very good question, uh. Government is always

• 18:01Speaker 01

  looking for new ideas.

• 18:02Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 18:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, when they say they're looking for, just look at Malaysia, other government, okay, they're looking for new ideas. When they hear a new idea, a blockchain, yeah, then you will hear all this excitement from the agency, they want to adopt this or want to adopt that. Again, the recent, uh, excitement is all AI. But AI has many facets and many areas of development. Is the AI infrastructure, AI standard? So again, a lot of ideas are floating into, uh, into the market from the government. Really, it is our job, okay, to educate, to work with the government, to prioritize, okay? And most importantly, okay, where are the need?

• 18:47Speaker 01

  Government like to build things without really looking into whether there's a business for it. We want to build a larger data center GPU in Malaysia. But the next question is, who are your customers?

• 18:59Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 19:00Speaker 01

  Who's going to pay for it? Okay, again, um, Among the nations, I mean as a chairman of VISA, we are very aware. Among the nation, they compete as well. Compete for FDI, foreign direct investment, compete of technology. Nvidia coming to my country, Tesla coming to your country. The investors, the investment, the technology, they are among the country, among the states. They compete. So again, this competition sometimes healthy, okay? In our job, our job is to actually work with the government for the agency to find out whether it is good for you or whether it's not good for you to bring Tesla into Malaysia. Why do you want to bring a super factory to build cars in Malaysia?

• 19:43Speaker 01

  Okay, and why do we want to build a now a 1.5, 1.1, 1.5 gigawatts of GPU data center in Malaysia? Who are the people using this? So again, again, the government create policy. The policy not necessarily actually benefit to the industry. They just think, you know, I want to, I want this brand Nvidia to come to Malaysia. It is our job, the industry, association, to work with them, to provide the proper consultation and to provide the return of the investment. Is that going to be a white elephant that you build? You're building an 800 kilogram AIG facility. Who is going to build the next satellite 800 kilograms?

• 20:28Speaker 01

  Everybody is building a 20 kilogram. So again, I think, I strongly believe the private, private partnership, okay? Not only coming in the angle of putting the money, but is to set the direction of the market, the adoption, and also most importantly, work together to build the ecosystem together.

• 20:49Speaker 00

  Yeah, I fully understand that. In that sense, it leads me to a couple of other questions I have you, Sean. Where do you draw your inspiration from? What motivates you?

• 21:03Speaker 01

  Uh, meditation, uh, think of, uh, read a lot, okay, and, uh, talk to people. Sometimes it's weird, okay, because, uh, I'm fifty-nine. Okay, when you reach a certain age, the knowledge and then the experience, uh, that you accumulated all these years, okay, you just need to see a one new idea. Uh, like I say, we knew, we see an idea, a technology, social inclusion is in satellite. That was about four years ago and we went on to get a constellation. And because to get a constellation of five hundred satellites orbit, we need to launch five hundred satellites. Each satellite cost a million to five, three million. So it's a billion dollar investment.

• 21:43Speaker 01

  Somehow we gotten away with a concept called satellite as a service, an asset light. A simple jumper, I know you're running a cloud, okay, Amazon cloud have one thousand customers. Okay, you have the delivery channel to deliver software as a service to all these enterprises. Are you actually investing on the server? Okay, there will be server company come to you and say, can I work with you on the leasing of, I can unleash my server to you so we can do revenue sharing. So again, a lot of business model over the years from buying a, a rack of server to store into a data center, now to a cloud.

• 22:23Speaker 01

  The transformation of hosting to data center to cloud in the last ten to ten years. The entire transformation. So the point is satellite actually go faster because two years ago you buy and launch a satellite. As you go, as we think, we see forward, actually whoever, whoever can service a customer, own the orbit and find a partner to launch a satellite. So again, all this basically, as I say, I've been in industry long enough, from NetKit to some micro system to my own entrepreneurship, I visited a couple of company. So when I see a new idea, I think about it, I meditate, the idea just came, you know, I think the right way to do it is to look into what has happened in the, in the past.

• 23:08Speaker 01

  Okay, you do not need to reinvent. It's just when we go out there to tell people, you should invest in this industry, it's about sharing the past experience.

• 23:20Speaker 01

  We say technology is the only way, it's the only way to develop economy. Okay, I'm telling people in nineteen thirty eight, when Saudi was still poor, dust and desert, there's no technology. But nineteen thirty eight, the California Oil Company bought the technology into Saudi. They drilled the ground, they found out the first well. Again, they refined the oil, the rest is history. The richest country in the world, one of them is Saudi. When the technology meets with the natural resources, it would develop the nation. How can we use the next technology, whether it's AI, satellite, okay, to develop the rest of the poor country? So I think that is what our challenge is, is how do we see a technology put into a

• 24:04Speaker 01

  combination of application can help the country to develop the economy?

• 24:10Speaker 00

  It's, um, reminds me of big hairy audacious goals. Um, basically, I'm here, I'm seeing you're not afraid of those.

• 24:21Speaker 01

  Uh, a bad thing, so I'm not too afraid of that.

• 24:26Speaker 01

  I mean, like I say, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm a deep believer, life is, life is by experience.

• 24:32Speaker 00

  Good.

• 24:32Speaker 01

  A success is an experience, failure is experience, rejection is experience, okay? And again, um, um, maybe for me, it is, um, I've been through a lot. Okay, this is my, I've listed four companies, this is my first. I've been through up and down, failure, investment, success, investment. For me, it is, um, how do we build the next legacy? That this platform, the space network, I call it the ASEAN link, again, that actually cover a twenty eight degree inclination on the equatorial belt. How do we use this so-called space network to provide, to develop AI economy and to

• 25:16Speaker 01

  develop digital economy for this country, eighty, eighty, eighty countries on this belt? How to use technology to develop and harness their natural resources?

• 25:26Speaker 00

  Got that. Okay, two more questions, Sean FMA. Uh, first of all, uh, as mentioned, you started a number of enterprises. Uh, as a manager, as an executive, how do you coach and advise young managers starting their own journey?

• 25:43Speaker 01

  My advice is there to think big, okay? Because the foundation of a business is how you start, how the foundation, okay? So you cannot think, I want to sell Hocke's Store. Okay, I mean, where like, I likely, the Hocke's Store investor will become a supermarket investor. Okay, again, I think the foundation is really there to think. Okay, why do you start thinking, I want to build a franchise? Okay, and then you start thinking, why to put a franchise together? So my first lesson is there to think big. Second thing is never give up. Because every business, every venture, everything that you do, even if you date a girlfriend, okay, you are running into failure.

• 26:28Speaker 01

  You never know. But if you give up too easily, the day you give up is certified, gone. Because, yeah, I mean, I've seen entrepreneur come in and out, okay, make a new mistake, give up, went back to employment, come back out again. This cycle, okay, you just have to be persistent. The third thing is, I think, always seek for ideas, ask for opinions. I go around the world, I ask people, what do you think about this? What I think about that? Because again, the sharing of idea is not about secret, I can't tell you. But the sharing of idea actually create more new ideas.

• 27:12Speaker 01

  Okay, so my suggestion is there to think big, okay? Really do not give up easily. I mean, if I were to say, do not give up at all, okay? And learn from others.

• 27:24Speaker 00

  Great advice, John. Um, two more small questions. Uh, first of all, um, the dato in front of your name, completely off topic maybe, but what does that mean?

• 27:37Speaker 01

  Okay, Dato is a confirmant, okay, from Sultan, okay, which is the local king in one of the states in Malaysia, okay, it is equivalent to what in the UK calls sir.

• 27:54Speaker 00

  Oh, nice.

• 27:55Speaker 01

  So in the US, in the UK, okay, you are ordained, you know, become knight and sir. Okay, same thing, okay, it just, it's been localized, we don't give away sir, we give away Dato, okay, T A T O. So it's a recognition for us, okay, I have been contributing to the state of Penang, I have been contributing to build a satellite ecosystem. I organize a society in Penang, so in recognition of that, okay, the state of Penang confirm me as a Dato ship of the state.

• 28:27Speaker 00

  Congratulations with that.

• 28:29Speaker 01

  Thank you, that was a few years ago, so thank you.

• 28:32Speaker 00

  Last, last question then, how do you want the world to remember you? What's going to be your legacy?

• 28:39Speaker 01

  I mean, coincidentally, I was just talking to somebody this morning, I mean, just an hour ago, okay, and what am I building right now? Okay, I, I, this entrepreneurship I had, okay, my DBA, Doctor in Business Administration is about entrepreneurship, okay. It's born with it, it's by train, so I just want to be remembered, okay, and this Dr. Sean, okay, for the courage to build something that a Malaysian company not supposed to build a space, satellite company, for this courage, okay, as conviction, actually, if I fail, we celebrate more.

• 29:20Speaker 01

  Okay, because at least I dare to think, okay, I have not give up, I'll continue. But if I succeed, okay, I would like to people to remind me, to remind us. An idea, okay, no matter how crazy the idea, Malaysian company start from beginning to build satellite, become a constellation of the poor, okay, I want to people to remember, no matter how big or small the idea is, you just have to grow it, you need to um grow it into something people can see. Five years down the road, people will still see Angkasa, I hope, okay. I can be very successful, I may not be very successful, okay, but at least people remember.

• 30:03Speaker 01

  A person like Sean, Dr. Sean started this, okay, I don't know what is successful or not, somebody started this. It's not easy, I can say, to be remember, to do something crazy enough in a place that's not uh not ready for it, ready for it.

• 30:21Speaker 00

  Well, you are successful at the moment in achieving that, so well done there. So um I'd like to thank you so much for being on The Brand Called You, sharing your life story and your insights. Dato Dr. Sean Sheehan, thank you so much.

• 30:38Speaker 01

  Thank you very much, okay, I am my honor, as I say, uh uh for sharing my my story, but I I looking forward to well to contribute more to the human time. Thank you very much, Fred. Thank you.

• 30:56Speaker 02

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• 31:09Speaker 02

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