Infinity8 Reserve opens at Mid Valley Southkey

 

I am familiar with Infinity8 because I had the privilege to document the story of Infinity8 among other proudly Johor brands featured in My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, the third and final instalment of My Johor Stories launched in December 2022.

 

Lee [Left] with VIPs at Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
to officially declare open,
Infinity8 Reserve Mid Valley Southkey

Recently when I received the invitation from co-founder of Infinity8, Lee Sheah Liang, to the grand opening event for their ninth branch at Mid Valley Southkey, I did not hesitate to accept and expressed my congratulations on yet another exciting milestone on their journey to establish quality coworking spaces in Johor Baru, Kuala Lumpur and beyond.

 

When we emerged from the Covid19 global pandemic which resulted in lockdown periods, limited travel and border closures, Lee observed how the past challenging years had adversely affected businesses, both local and foreign investments here.

 

With a changing trend where coworking spaces was the preferred choice, Lee had the foresight to increase quality Infinity8 coworking spaces in tandem with the demand.

 

Infinity8 Reserve on Level 28
of the North Tower at 
Mid Valley Southkey Mall

Then in January 2023, Lee opened the first Kongsi Work by Infinity8 coworking spaces in Taman Molek. And now he was ready to open the premium Infinity8 Reserve at Mid Valley Southkey.

 

I thanked Lee for the invitation and was pleased to see that the Guest of Honour for this event was YB Liew Chin Tong, Deputy Minister of International Trade & Industry and the VIPs included Johor Baru City Mayor, Dato’ Haji Mohd Noorazam Dato’ Haji Osman and executives from Think City and Rapid Transit System.

 

I told Lee that I looked forward to renewing my acquaintance with YB Liew and Dato’ Noorazam because I recently met them, the former at our neighbourhood Chinese New Year gathering and the latter at his office when he received the trilogy of My Johor Stories on behalf of the Johor Baru City Council for the Sultan Ismail Library.

 

On the morning of the grand opening event, I followed Lee’s directions to find my way to the entrance of North Tower at Mid Valley Southkey Mall and the reception counter where I should receive my keycard for access to Level 28. 

 

Lee presenting his opening address at the event

With such superior standards of security, I could see how Infinity8 Reserve at Mid Valley Southkey promises to offer an exceptional coworking experience.

 

There is something very special about being welcomed in by name and I hugged this small pleasure to myself, pleased that some of the Infinity8 team members were familiar with My Johor Stories and me.

 

Among the distinguished guests whom I recognised were my friends from Think City Johor Baru and co-founder of the art of the 24 Festive Drums, Tan Chai Puan.

 

Lee Sheah Liang, Infinity8 co-founder,
presenting his opening address

Incidentally, Tan was featured as an exclusive story under Portraits in my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage, published in partnership with MPH Publishing Kuala Lumpur and Think City Johor Baru.

 

Then in 2022, the 24 Festive Drums – a brand proudly established in Johor and now exported abroad – was among the Johor brands featured along with Infinity8, in My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now.

 

Tan led me over to join Lee’s mother and shared with me about their earlier conversation as they celebrated Lee’s success as an entrepreneur.

 

Tan told me that Mrs Lee said her son attributed this success to his education at Johor Baru’s prestigious Foon Yew School and the discipline he acquired from being an accomplished drummer in the art of the 24 Festive Drums.

 

Johor Baru City Mayor,
Dato' Haji Mohd Noorazam
Dato' Haji Osman

Mrs Lee smiled modestly when Tan reminded her that she forgot something very important: Herself, a caring and supportive mother who loved and guided Lee through the past 34 years!

 

Among others, I was delighted to meet my friends from Think City Johor Baru, Edey Suresh, the Director for UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei, and H K Lai, better known as Kit, Senior Business Manager, Corporate Accounts, with BMW Group Financial Services.

 

Smartly decked out in her corporate attire, it took me a few moments to place Kit because the last time we met, she was dressed causally in shorts and T-shirt complete with a jaunty backpack when she joined the final My Johor Stories in Downtown Johor Baru Heritage Walk in April.

 

Then the event MC invited guests to be seated ahead of the arrival of the Guest of Honour and VIPs and the event proper kicked off with a brief introduction of the Infinity8 coworking spaces.

 

YB Liew Chin Tong, Deputy
Minister of International
Trade & Industry

In his opening address, Lee introduced himself with brief details of his childhood, career and early business ventures along with how the brand name, Infinity8, was coined.

 

While I was familiar with his story – documented in Book Three of My Johor Stories – it was good to hear it again along with his plans for the opening of the next and 10^th branch of Infinity8 coworking space in Penang.

 

With the proud recognition of awards as the Best Coworking Space in Asia & Malaysia in 2022, Lee said that the facilities in Infinity8 Reserve at Mid Valley Southkey aims to surpass quality standards with its ready-to-use private suites and work stations.

 

Lee then unveiled his eight predictions for Johor Baru in 2030, thoughts which he said were seeded since 2021 and developed over recent years.

 

While the data may not be conclusive, his predictions were both relevant and inspiring as Johor Baru, which is linked to the Republic of Singapore by a Causeway and the Second Link, has one of the busiest border crossings in the world.

 

All smiles after the Ribbon-Cutting

In his predictions, Lee discussed the uniqueness of Johor Baru in terms of growth in residents and investments, nurturing future generations with digital skills, making the city sustainable, supporting the movers and shakers, increasing tourism and the future of work here in 2030.

 

In closing, Lee shared a quote by Jim Rohn who said, “If two or three agree on a common purpose, nothing is impossible.”

 

Encouraged by how a song was written to unite the people of HongKong, he proposed that a song should be written to unite the people of Johor, to “Dream Big!” and push the boundaries to turn the vision for 2030 into reality.

 

Lee closed with a clarion call, “Let’s build Johor Baru city together!”

Lee presenting souvenir to
Mayor Dato' Noorazam that
included Book Three of
My Johor Stories

Johor Baru City Mayor, Dato’ Noorazam expressed his appreciation to Lee for his inspiring predictions for Johor Baru in 2030 and agreed that we have to be in sync to achieve set goals.

 

He said there should be cooperation among the State government, Federal government and private companies, and expressed his support for initiatives that would add value to the city.

 

Guest of Honour, YB Liew said that while he was on the campaign trail for the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections, he was pleased to take time off to attend this event.

 

He outlined the great transition where the economy was moving away from the shareholder to stakeholder economy, and the move away from the “car-dependent” model which is not climate friendly, and the need to invest in bus, ferry, railway and public transport.

 

YB Liew discussed about the need to decentralize and move away from Kuala Lumpur for a second metropolitan city in the country, which will be a gain for the nation.

 

YB Liew receiving event souvenir
from Lee that included Book
Three of My Johor Stories

He also remarked that Singapore and Malaysia need not be in competition but can be complimentary with greater integration between the two nations to create a better life for Malaysians.

 

He remains optimistic for a time when fellow Malaysians can enjoy a better quality of life with good jobs and a decent pay here than to work in Singapore as cheap labour.

 

The event continued with the Ribbon-Cutting ceremony by YB Liew, Dato’ Noorazam and Lee to officially declare Infinity8 Reserve Mid Valley Southkey, opened. This was followed by a presentation of souvenirs, first to Dato’ Noorazam and then to YB Liew.

 

When Lee presented the souvenir bag to Dato’ Noorazam, he called out to me to get my attention. Then I saw him pull out Book Three of My Johor Stories from the bag to show me that My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, was part of the souvenir presented to the two VIPs.

 

Lee [Right] and the VIPs having a
chat while enjoying the views

While I was just happy to be part of this event, I was deeply honoured that my book was presented as a precious memento for the occasion and it certainly made my day.

 

Lee then led the VIPs on a guided tour of the premises and paused to showcase various interesting spots like the Teh Tarik room, the phone booth, hot desks, wall murals and of course, panoramic views of the city through floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

 

Congratulations Infinity8 on the opening of Infinity8 Reserve at Mid Vally Southkey and best wishes for the opening of more branches to provide more quality coworking spaces to start-ups, entrepreneurs and businesses.

 

Congratulations Lee and the team at Infinity8 Reserve on the official opening!

Infinity8 Reserve Mid Valley Southkey is located on Level 28, Mid Valley Southkey North Tower of Mid Valley Southkey Mall, No. 1 Persiaran Southkey 1, Southkey, 80150 Johor Bahru, Johor.

 

For more info on Infinity8 go to webpage: infinity8.com.my and latest updates on Facebook @INFINITY8COWORKING