[gallery td_gallery_title_input="Incredible journey of a true-rags-to-riches hero" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" size="medium" ids="73807,73808,73809,73810"]
Hassan Cheruppa
JEDDAH — Prominent Gulf-based Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr. K.T. Rabeeullah unveiled plans to expand his large healthcare conglomerate to the Western countries, mainly Britain and the United States. Rabeeullah, chairman of Shifa Al Jazeera Medical Group, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UK-based prominent Indian businessman Sabu Kurian to open dermatology/cosmetology & dental clinic in Chelsea, southwest London, in the near future. There is also a plan to open a world-class healthcare facility in Atlanta in US.
During his recent visit to London, Rabeeullah held wide-ranging talks with prominent business leaders and members from the royal family of UAE and Qatar. They included Mohamed Bin Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Makthoum of UAE and Mohamed Nawaf Al-Thani and Khalid Bin Nawaf Al-Thani of Qatar. “We also discussed about enabling the benefits of the humanitarian and charity works to reach all the deserving people who are living in the GCC countries,” Rabeeullah told Saudi Gazette.
Rabeeullah, a true-rags-to-riches hero, started his career as an ordinary worker in Dammam with SR600 salary 37 years ago. He boasts of having an amazing track record of enterprising entrepreneurship. He scaled ladders of success with his hard work, undying will power, dedication, perseverance, and readiness to face any crises with a smile. This made him now a billionaire, who earmarks a big portion of his wealth for charity and humanitarian works as well as to alleviate the suffering of the poor and destitute.
Starting off as a small clinic 36 years ago, his network of healthcare centers has spread cross Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, consisting 32 medical facilities offering super-specialty healthcare treatment for the common man and making it affordable and accessible to all. With over 6,000 staff, including doctors and paramedical staff, the group has now become one of the largest medical service providers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Realizing the suffering and financial difficulties of many of the customers approaching his clinics, way back in 1980s, he took a drastic decision to cut the consultation fee that amounted up to SR150 to a token SR10. He is keen to maintain the fee even today at all clinics across the Kingdom as part of his decision to share a slice of his earnings with the poor and needy. He also introduced special discount card costing SR10 for poor customers.
Rabiullah gives the credit for making a fortune in the healthcare sector first to Almighty Allah, and then to his friendship with a benevolent Saudi citizen the late Dr. Muhammad Saeed Badruddin, and later with Prince Abdullah Bin Mansour Bin Jalawi Al-Saud. He is one among the expatriates who tasted the bitterness of migration when he reached Dammam in 1979 at the time when the Kingdom started flourishing thanks to the oil boom. All his dreams about having an affluent life in the Gulf got shattered when he saw the hard reality of life in the desert. After 11 months of hard job with a meager salary of SR600, he reached Jeddah. He directly went to meet his brother who was working with Dr. Badruddin. He joined Badruddin clinic on Sitteen Street (King Fahd Road) of Jeddah on leave vacancy when the Sudanese receptionist went on vacation.
Dr. Rabeeullah says the friendship and intimacy with Dr. Badruddin was the stepping stone of all his prosperity in future. He started drawing initially a salary of SR1,300. At that time, treatment was so expensive with consultation fee ranging from SR75 to SR100, and most doctors were Arabs. It was not affordable for ordinary expatriates, especially for those from the Indian subcontinent, who were doing mainly blue collar jobs.
Rabeeullah was instrumental in popularizing the healthcare sector with opening the first polyclinic in Sharafiyah, the major center of Indians, especially Keralites in the city. He stood by Dr. Badruddin to open the clinic and brought several Indian doctors to serve at the clinic. It was a great relief for the patients to have doctors who knew their mother tongue. Rabiullah’s contributions in the healthcare sector were immense, especially under the sponsorship of Prince Abdullah Bin Mansour Bin Jalawi Al-Saud. At present, there are several clinics across the Kingdom offering affordable and quality medical care to the middle and low income people in the society, especially expatriates. The chain of healthcare clinics has expanded from Jeddah to Riyadh, Dammam, Jazan, and Khamees Mushayt. He is one of the few expatriate investors who has obtained license from Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority. Plans are afoot to open a big hospital complex in the Kingdom in order to make available of quality healthcare at reasonable rates especially to ordinary expatriates.
Rabeeullah’s network of medical centers has also been expanded to other GCC states such as Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. He is also serving as chairman and managing director of Royal Shifa Hospitals and Naseem Al Rabeeh Medical Group.
Rabeeullah is renowned for his philanthropic activities. For him, charity begins at home in every sense of the word. He has won accolades after he launched extensive charity initiatives in the Middle East and India. He has recently started a charity initiative worth $1.5 million to be distributed within three years for the needy and destitute families. He also contributed Rs.50,000 ($750) each to the families of those killed in the fireworks accident at the Puttingal Temple at Paravur, in the southern Kerala district of Kollam. The victims from nearly 300 families benefited from the relief package. In addition, he has offered jobs for the qualified members of the victims’ families to the group’s establishments in the GCC.
Rabeeullah spread a charity network around his native village of East Kodur, identifying major concerns of the area. The much acclaimed pension scheme that he has implemented at his village is the finest example of his benevolence. He also constructed a sports stadium, named after his father Mohammed Fazalullah. By offering free auto rickshaws to unemployed youth he helped strengthen livelihood for dozens of families. He offered scholarships to economically-backward students boosting their educational prospects. In May, he extended help for the family of Jisha, a law student who was brutally raped and murdered in Perumbavoor, Kerala, by offering five cent of land to construct a house and financial assistance to Jisha’s mother.
Last month, Rabeeullah was honored in UK with a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his philanthropic activities. The award, constituted by the London-based Rotary International — Trivandrum Royal, was presented by Dr. Geoffrey Clements, chairman of Commonwealth Association for Infrastructure Development. Virendra Sharma, veteran member of British Parliament, was among those who attended the function held on the British Parliament premises. The recognition in UK has added a new feather to his crowned cap.
Renowned Indian film actor Bharat Mammootty presented the prestigious “Pravasi Ratna Award” to him at Europe’s first Malayalam Movie Award Show held in Manchester on May 28. Felicitating the Indian philanthropist, Mammootty described Rabiullah as one of the most popular expatriate businessmen who carved a niche in the humanitarian and charity work.
“Rabiullah has been involved in numerous humanitarian activities with the sole motive of alleviating the suffering of the poor and the destitute at a time when the bonds of love, empathy and compassion lose their real essence and value in the society,” Mammootty said, adding Rabiullah has proved that business is not only the means to earn profit but also a great blessing from God to lend a helping hand to the poor and weaker sections around. In 2013, he was conferred with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Award, the highest honor accorded to overseas Indians by the Indian government for their pioneering role in enhancing India’s image globally. He also figured in recent issue of Forbes Rich list in the Gulf.
Rabeeullah is the son of late Mohammed Fazalullah and Mariyumma, who hails from East Kodur, Malappuram district of Kerala. Zahra Banu is his wife and has four daughters — Niveena Miandad, Naziha Munthasar, Nada Rabeeh, Amal Rabeeh and one son Fazal Rabeeh. Miandad and Munthasar Majeed are sons-in-law.
