Our story begins with our late grandfather, a first-generation migrant from Shanghai who arrived in Malaysia with steady hands and a visionary heart. In the 1930s, he founded Shu Tong Mow (许同茂) — a pioneering boutique specializing in spectacles and timepieces, nestled in the heart of George Town, Penang.

Over the decades, Shu Tong Mow earned the trust of the local community through honest service and skilled workmanship.

As the second generation stepped forward, Mr. Shu took the helm in the 1970s and led Shu Tong Mow into a new era. Rebranded as Shu Tong Mow Contact Optical, it became one of Malaysia’s early providers of contact lenses to the public.

The business soon evolved into a modern optical centre for progress, training, and personal care. Families returned, generation after generation — not just to buy glasses, but for guidance they could trust.

Shu Tong Mow became part of everyday life, fondly remembered by countless Penangites who grew up with it. For many, the name still brings back memories of their first pair of spectacles.

Mr. Shu mentored many aspiring eye care professionals, nurturing a new generation of opticians and optometrists who have become respected figures in Malaysia's optical field today.

Among them was the former President of the Association of Malaysian Optometrists, who once trained under his guidance and now leads the very profession he helped shaped.

During this pivotal era, Mr. Shu introduced a breakthrough in eyewear frame manufacturing — ion-plating technology. This process created frames with superior resilience — resistant to fading, tarnish, and wear, even after decades.

Pioneering the use of ion plating in Malaysia, Mr. Shu set a new benchmark for eyewear longevity and craftsmanship, long before it became industry standard.

In the 1990s, Mr. Shu dedicated his focus to research and development in advanced lens coatings — a field still in its infancy across Southeast Asia. With limited engineering support locally, he brought his expertise abroad, overseeing the setup and fine-tuning of first-generation vacuum coating machines in China and Hong Kong.

These machines required delicate calibration — precise mastery of temperature control, layer deposition, and refractive index balancing. His work laid the foundation for Malaysia's future optical coating capabilities, eventually bringing this advanced technology home once the time was right.

After years of R&D and fine-tuning vacuum coating systems, he helped pioneer one of the industry’s earliest HD anti-reflective coatings — engineered for near-zero reflectivity. The result: lenses with crystalline clarity and ultra-dim surface reflection, minimizing glare and distractions while enhancing both vision and appearance.

Advancing our in-house manufacturing and lens offerings, we expanded into industrial-grade polycarbonate lenses tailored for occupational and safety eyewear. Engineered for optical clarity and high impact resistance, our lenses comply with key global safety standards — including ANSI Z87.1 (USA) and EN166 (Europe).

Our facility was also awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification, affirming our commitment to quality management and compliance.

Our safety lenses meet stringent regional requirements and are supplied to optical partners across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong. These standards guide how we design, test, and deliver our products today.

Founded in 2009 by the third generation and led by Mr. Shu’s children, eSaver Optical was built on a clear mission: to make quality eyewear affordable and accessible for all. The optical retail venture quickly grew into one of the largest eyewear chains in northern Malaysia.

We introduced a radical idea for its time: to bypass the middlemen and sell directly to consumers, offering factory-direct eyewear at prices ordinary families could afford.

📍 Notable Milestones:

• 5-Storey Optical Flagship: Our most iconic location on Upper Penang Road, Georgetown. We transformed a former bank into a five-storey eyewear showroom, offering the widest variety of optical products under one roof.
• 13 Retail Outlets: At its peak, eSaver operated 13 outlets across northern Malaysia — including high-traffic malls and neighborhood locations — creating jobs, access, and a name that stood for value with integrity.

We didn’t just make glasses affordable — we redefined the standard.
We didn’t just serve cities — we went on the road.

A milestone campaign across Northern Malaysia, spanning from Penang Island, Seberang Perai, Alor Setar, Sungai Petani, all the way to Perlis, introduced complete eyewear package at just RM99 — including refraction, frames and lenses.

At a time when optical care was still seen as a luxury by many, this campaign proved that vision care could be high-quality, compassionate, and truly accessible. The RM99 movement helped reshape pricing standards across the industry, and opened the door for thousands to see clearly for the first time.

Community Reach: From school screenings to factory campaigns, we brought refractions and affordable eyewear directly into underserved spaces, helping thousands of Malaysians see clearly.

Long before blue light became a trend, we were already studying its impact. Our SpectroBlue lenses were developed with targeted cut-off filtration in the 400–420nm HEV light range, protecting eyes from digital glare without the heavy yellow tint of early-generation coatings. We refined the formula through wavelength-specific attenuation studies and user testing, ensuring comfort, visual transparency, and lasting wearability.

Lensmaker Mr. Shu continued developing lens tinting innovations to support aging eyes sensitive to light, including those affected by cataracts and AMD.

His work led to solutions for occupational and therapeutic use, from colour-enhancing filters to polarized sunglasses and photochromic lenses.

The product range evolved into our signature Chromex photochromic line, offering seamless adaptability for changing light environments.

SaferOptics was founded during the stillness of the COVID-19 lockdown — a time when families, work, and education all moved indoors. As digital exposure surged, the growing impact of screen time on children's eyes became increasingly evident.

As parents and professionals, we set out to design a better option: eyewear that combined clinical-grade blue light protection with child-friendly design.

Backed by decades of optical expertise, we launched SaferOptics to address the overlooked needs of young users — especially children with smaller facial features and prolonged exposure to digital devices.

What began as a simple idea has since grown into a purpose-driven brand. Today, SaferOptics offers families eyewear made with safety, comfort, and everyday reliability.

In September 2022, SaferOptics opened its first showroom at Gurney Walk, Penang — a welcoming space where families can explore screen-safe eyewear, receive guidance, and experience our full product range.

Meanwhile, eSaver Optical Bukit Jambul remains under our management — the final outlet from our earlier retail expansion. While other branches have transitioned, this location still reflects our original values: accessibility, quality, and trust.

Together, both locations represent our ongoing commitment to making professional-grade eyewear more approachable for every age, every lifestyle, and every pair of eyes that matters.