Prominent tycoon behind Selangor townships dies

Businessman Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar died early this morning at the National Heart Institute. He was 73. 

His daughter Felina said Mustapha died of old age at IJN at 7.45am.

She said her father's remains arrived at their Petaling Jaya home at 10.15am for funeral arrangements and will be buried at Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery after zohor prayers.

Mustapha, born in Kampung Changkat, Pusing, Perak, was once nicknamed the "affordable housing king" due to his development of more than 12,000 low-cost houses in Selangor and Perak.

He founded the Emkay Group and was behind Damansara Perdana and several other prominent townships in Selangor. 

In a 2014 talk to students at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Mustapha said he had been "an average student".

"Uncle was never a bright student. I am not ashamed to acknowledge the fact that I was never one of the top five in the class. 

"But at the same time, I was not an idiot," he said, adding that his success story should motivate others.

"But it requires you to do a lot of things. There's no shortcut to it."