PropertyGuru appoints new managing director for Malaysia

PropertyGuru has appointed Vic Sithasanan as managing director for its Malaysia business, effective immediately.

PropertyGuru is a property technology firm operating marketplaces in Southeast Asia.

Sithasanan will oversee PropertyGuru and iProperty in Malaysia and join the company’s executive leadership team, reporting to CEO Lewis Ng.

He most recently served as managing director for Singapore and previously for Malaysia at SEEK, and co-founded the AI firm Hyperlab.

The appointment comes as PropertyGuru shifts from country manager roles to managing directors for key markets.

Kenneth Soh, the current country manager for Malaysia, will leave the company at the end of December 2025.

Soh’s tenure included the launch of the Verified Badge to address property scams, and continued integration of PropertyGuru and iProperty Malaysia.

🔗 Source: PropertyGuru

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Malaysia logged RM1.919 billion lost across 47,854 online fraud cases as of September 2025 1 2. In 2024, losses grew 29% while case numbers rose 3% 1 2. The State of Scam Report 2024 says 74% of people face attempts each month, and AI-powered deepfakes (fabricated audio or images or video that convincingly impersonate real people) are rising 3. High-value housing ads attract attackers, so marketplaces face heavy pressure 3.
PropertyGuru launched a Verified Badge under Soh, which tackles this problem 3. Only 2% of victims got money back in 2024, down from 8%, and 63% now distrust digital platforms 3. Sithasanan, who built artificial intelligence systems at Hyperlab, can apply machine learning for real-time post checks and agent authentication 3. Speed matters since 33% of schemes finish within 24 hours 3.

Annual losses reach RM54.02 billion, equal to 3% of GDP, per the State of Scam Report 2024 3. Investment pitches lead at 23% of incidents 3. Real estate marketplaces need strong identity checks and transaction screening 3. Non-reporting sits at 70%, while 63% show reduced confidence, so third-party verification tools are urgent 3.
Banks blocked over RM780 million in suspicious transactions across 2023 to 2024, which signals budgets exist for prevention 2. Vendors that deliver Know Your Customer (KYC) automation, machine learning anomaly detection, and real-time agent credential checks can target over 50,000 real estate agents who connect with PropertyGuru’s platforms each month across Southeast Asia as the Verified Badge scales 4.