He had finished every task on time and within budget. Also, Aziz's good command of English and Bahasa Melayu proved to be a blessing in disguise for the company. Aziz, although still young by most standards, was well suited to the Melaka project. He was raised in a middle-class family, his father was a palm oil plantation worker, and he completed his masters in Human Resource Management.
Additionally, Aziz had a brief stint in a small palm project in Indonesia before becoming the Melaka Estate manager. However, as site manager, he soon developed empathy toward the workers. He was expected to maintain a professional relationship with the workers in order to protect the company's interests and command the workers autocratically, but he soon found himself socializing with them. Aziz became popular with the workers, and he openly showed concern for them. He spent his evenings at the "Futsal" (a place where soccer games are played indoors) near the workers' residential complex or watched soccer on the television and dined with the workers. Being on site, Aziz understood the workers' issues and felt that the company did not take cultural issues into account when formulating their policies.
His proactive nature, excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills, in-depth technical know-how, and ability to work independently with minimum or no supervision proved to be a trump card for the company.