Driven by a passion for purpose-driven philanthropy, Tan Sri Sir Dr. Jeffrey Cheah KBE AO has given his life’s calling to nation building with his foundation pledging scholarships in perpetuity
”It does not matter how long you live, but how well you do it.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
“The longer I live, the more I will give,” – Tan Sri Sir Dr. Jeffrey Cheah KBE AO
By YVONNE YOONG
The true measure of a man is not in how long he lives, but in how well he makes use of his time here on earth. Martin Luther King Jr consecrated this striking truth in two separate but meaningful quotes – “It does not matter how long you live, but how well you do it,” and “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” which great men throughout the ages have had to endure.
Closer to home, we have our very own exemplary Tan Sri Sir Dr. Jeffrey Cheah KBE AO, founder and chairman of Sunway Group, who has dedicated himself to a lifetime of purpose-driven philanthropy.
Recognised five times to date as a “Hero of Philanthropy” by Forbes Asia, he is also the first Malaysian to be conferred a “Knight Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire”.
It was no mean feat to receive the Officer of the Order of Australia title either- one of the country’s most prestigious and highest recognitions conferred on a non-citizen by the Australian Prime Minister.
Besides being a pro-patron of the British Malaysia Chamber of Commerce serving alongside the British High Commissioner, he is also a member of Harvard University’s Council. The decorated entrepreneur is also the first Malaysian to be conferred the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Receiving the WOW Lifetime Luminary Award presented by the Branding Association of Malaysia (BAM), he held the audience captive, endearing them to his recollection having grown up in the poverty-striken small town of Pusing in Ipoh – or as he joked, kepala pusing as his childhood friends used to call it.
Advocating that everyone should have a higher purpose in life imbued with the right mindset and ethical values to succeed, his higher calling is driven by “a commitment to nation building” via the avenues of entrepreneurship and philanthropy to give back to society in impactful and meaningful ways.
Identifying three core values for the group as espoused in “integrity as its guide, humility as the group’s virtue and the pursuit of excellence as a choice”, these “human values and character” are entrenched in Sunway Group. He believes these values will be crucial in defining future success – especially in an age of robots and in a constantly evolving world.
Old photographs of him standing at the site with loyal comrades offer precious glimpses into the early years – whose arduous journey would be written in sleepless nights, iron-clad resolve and sheer strength of determination with unimaginable odds stacked against him.
EARLY YEARS & THE UPHILL CLIMB
The early years were met with incredulity, as most could not grasp how anything good could have emerged out of the vast barrenness of the wasteland upon which Sunway City now proudly sits upon – gleaming with all the trappings of prosperity.
Professor Dato’ Dr Elizabeth Lee, Chief Executive Officer of the Sunway Education Group who has been working with him for a ripe 33 years now since joining the group in 1992, recalls him having taken a group of bankers to view the site.
“He’s either a man of great vision or a man of hallucination, one of his bankers told me when he pitched his idea of building a resort city in the desolate wasteland that Sunway City once was,” she vividly recalled.
Undeterred and having his own resolve, he continued to trust his higher calling with an unmatched consistency and clarity of vision backed by disarming down-to-earth charisma, can-do spirit and a desire to do good – which won him a set of admirers all his own.
And, when adversity hit – not once but twice – with two epic Asian financial crisis, silent admirers – sold on the strength of his vision for building Sunway City – emerged with reinforcements and assistance.
His plight did not escape the attention of the late former prime minister of Singapore Mr Lee Kuan Yew – a co-share holder of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (SIC). Over lunch with him and his late wife in 2004 when they came to visit him for a day, he recalled with pride what the former premier had told him: “And I quote, ‘So, this is what entrepreneurialship is all about. You have transformed a Wasteland into a Wonderland’,” he recalled.
“Singapore GIC saw the opportunity in what I was doing. They came and pumped in about RM1 billion and helped me to restrategise, restructure, refocus and recover. And, I am grateful to them,” he affirmed.
This sense of gratitude continues to resonate deeply with him as he could certainly not have otherwise possibly survived the aftermath of two unprecedented financial crisis that had threatened to wipe him out.
SURVIVING TWO PERFECT FINANCIAL STORMS
The perfect financial storms which swept across Asia were ruthless and unexpected.
Miraculously, Tan Sri Sir managed to eventually emerge quite unscathed. Looking back, the perfect financial storms he faced forged an even stronger resolve in him to pursue his ultimate dream. This is the baptism of fire in the pits of adversity which serves to separate the hero from the faint-hearted.
“I almost went bankrupt twice because of two very bad economic storms that were beyond our control. One was the economic recession of 1985/1986, and the other was the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997/1998.”
The baptism of fire during these unexpected times tested every fibre of his being – and banks back then, initially lenient with loans – started demanding their money back. Instead of asking for concession though, he instead personally met with the bankers to give his word that he would settle his debts with full interest. His one only request was simply to be given more time.
“One of the bankers even told me: ‘Jeffrey – many of our borrowers are running and hiding from us. But you are the only one who came personally to meet with us. That takes courage, integrity and humility. We will give you time’,” he quoted of what was relayed to him by the late former Chairman of Maybank Tan Sri Mohamad Bassir Ahmad and husband to Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.
CHARACTER DETERMINES DESTINY
A firm believer in the saying “Character Determines Destiny”, his conviction of doing the right things are guided by his values, as vouched by Professor Dato’ Dr Elizabeth Lee, Group Chief Executive Officer of Sunway Education Group who has worked for a ripe 33 years with him.
“He’s a person who honours family and honours his elders, like his own (late) father whom he named a school he built after. He believes in working hard, doing good and doing well. That’s why the values that he espouses for Sunway Group reflect his own. He is very exceptional and is a self-made man in many ways,” she affirmed.
Even though Sunway College suffered significant losses in the early years, he chose to build an even bigger and proper campus in the current Sunway University precinct. He would rather endure losses than disrupt the future of the students or let parents down who had given their trust.
Professor Lee affirms that he has never let his staff down by never closing any of his companies indiscriminately, inspiring in them loyalty in return. Even during the pandemic, when other hotels were closing down, he chose to pump in money to renovate the hotel. His foresight in anticipating that the pandemic would end was accurate with the hotel’s Gordon Ramsay restaurant opening to rave reviews.
“He is very visionary and also very charismatic. He can spot trends and at the same time, he’s a trendsetter himself. He is able to do that because of the credibility that he has amassed over the years. Because of his values, his integrity, his humility and his excellence – people believe him,” she added.
When he wanted to put the Sunway Education Group shares into his Foundation – several bankers tried to instead, persuade him to list the Education Group on Bursa Malaysia instead – anticipating the market capitalisation to be at least RM3 billion or RM4 billion.
However, he sided with his own belief: “In line with my conviction that education should be a not-for-profit venture, I politely turned them down and I founded the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.”
What Professor Lee admires most in him is his parenting skills. “If there was one thing I learnt from him is watching him as a father to his children. He brought up three incredibly wonderful young people. It’s really ascribed to his upbringing. As a young mother then, watching him and how he dealt with his children was very inspiring to me. He trusted his children at all times and they never let him down.”
As exemplary father to three of his children – his capable daughter Sarena Cheah, and sons Evan and Adrian – all work in the family business.
Tan Sri Sir she said, ensures that his children have “good experience and exposure of the whole group of companies from all levels”.
In Cambridge 2017
Today, Sarena is Executive Deputy Chairman of Sunway Group while Evan is its Deputy President and the much younger Adrian is Senior Manager of Sunway REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust) owned by Sunway Group.
A FEW GOOD MEN
Social activist and former Member of the House of Representatives of Malaysia Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye – bestowed with the “‘WOW’ Icon of Humanitarian Excellence” and who also presented at the “WOW” Conference, also grew up in another small poverty-striken town of Mengelembu, Ipoh. Acknowledging that while Tan Sri Sir and him are a “North Pole and South Pole or a world apart” in the avenues they’ve chosen, (him via social justice and the former via entrepreneurship and philanthropy) – they are both totally dedicated to serving society.
“As you all know, Tan Sri Sir is a successful businessman. He has the ability, capacity, wisdom and so many qualities bestowed upon him which enables him through his company, education and property divisions, etc to contribute to the betterment of society,” he said.
Admiration for his compelling vision and endeavours have earned him widespread respect and admiration among industry peers near and far, including that of Datuk Seri Garry Chua, President Council of the Malaysian Retail Chain Association (MRCA) and Vice President of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Malaysian Chapter.
“He is a man of vision with the Midas Touch. A man of strong principles with sharp business acumen with a charitable heart. All his businesses soar from retail malls, property developments, construction and from the medical sector,” said the serial entrepreneur and founder of Rotol Group as well as Chakri Group of Restaurants who is also an exco member of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF).
Younger years with Tan Sri Sir at the MRCA Chinese New Year dinner with Datuk Seri Garry Chua
I ASPIRE TO INSPIRE BEFORE I EXPIRE
“The Jeffrey Cheah Foundation deliberately engages in a form of structured and purpose-led philanthropy,” explained Tan Sri Sir.
“This is the reason why the Sunway Education Group is owned under a not-for-profit structure by the Foundation and we are the only education group to offer pre-school to post-doctorate programmes in Malaysia,” he added.
Continually pledging RM100 million per year for the next five years amounting to RM500 million, in addition to the RM967 million in scholarships and grants that was awarded recently, he believes that the foundation is on track to give more than RM1 billion by 2026.
“And, we expect to scale up our philanthropy contributions even more in the coming years. I have personally pledged this in front of the Raja Permaisuiri of Selangor. Not a single cent now goes into my pocket or the bank account of my family members so I’ve given all of this to society. In other words, the longer I live, the more I will give,” he said.
Besides the foundation, The Group’s Healthcare division has also been performing exceptionally well with its current five hospitals with 600 doctors anticipated to grow to 11 hospitals with more than 1,000 doctors by 2030.
THE LONGER I LIVE, THE MORE I WILL GIVE
Impressive indeed for Tan Sri Sir who started on his quest to achieve his dream by taking on a salaried job as an accountant before quitting and forming his own company – the Sungai Way Corporation Sdn Bhd which was initially focussed on tin mining and quarry but later expanded into construction planning and manufacturing, property development, education, healthcare and building materials.
True to his belief that “Character determines destiny”, he worked diligently until the group was public-listed in 1974 as Sungai Way Holdings Bhd, with its name eventually changed to Sunway Group of Companies with the conglomerate achieving a market cap of of more than RM33.74 billion as of Dec 1, 2025 (with its market cap having increased by 33.88% in just one year) from an initial investment of RM100,000. Incredible but true.
And, what a journey it has been with the group having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. “This significant milestone puts Sunway among a selected limited group of global companies that have succeeded in marking their Golden Jubilee,” he said of Sunway’s 13 business division operating across diverse sectors with core interests in healthcare, education, construction and real estate, etc.
“The formative experience convinced me that education offers the best route out of poverty and misery. Not just any education – but good quality education. And, to make quality education affordable and accessible to as many deserving young people as possible, I also decided that education should be a not-for-profit-venture. My dream was to establish a foundation to pursue this mission,” he shared.
Rising above a profit-oriented approach – in line with his conviction that education should be a not-for-profit venture, he even turned down the suggestions of several bankers urging him to list the Education Group on Bursa Malaysia, as they anticipated market capitalisation would be at least several billion ringgit and instead formed the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation.
“The Foundation today is managed by a distinguished independent Board of trustee under the partronage of His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor. The Foundation also owns and governs all the entities under the Sunway Education Group in a not-for-profit structure. Such a structure ensures all financial surpluses are ploughed back into the Foundation for research, scholarship, grants, expansion of facilities and recruitment of top-notch faculties from all over the world,” he said.
His latest muse is a 24-hour library that never sleeps to cater to the youths residing in Sunway City complemented by the Kenny Hills Bakers serving pastries, etc.
THE POWER OF A BRAND
“As an entrepreneur, I believe that branding is more than just a logo or a tagline.
“A strong brand builds trust and loyalty and emotional connection with all its stakeholders. In my mind, a truly Malaysian brand must represent a mindset of excellence, a commitment to excellence and to always act with integrity and humility.
“At Sunway, these are embodied in our core values of integrity, humanity and excellence. These values have helped us earn the trust and credibility leading us to this current status as one of the leading conglomerates,” he said.
Distinguishing philanthropy from charity – he stressed that the mission-driven approach to philanthropy differentiates his Foundation from many other such entities which largely engage in charitable work.
“In my mind, philanthropy is different from charity. Charity, while important, is a means to provide immediate short-term assistance for help. And philanthropy, on the other hand – when carried out in a holistic and structured way, is about finding innovative solutions to the challenges facing our society. Of course, identifying the root causes and fixing the problem takes time. This is why my gift to the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation is in perpetuity because it takes a long time and should be forever,” he said sharing on why he is invested in legacy building and is also subscribed to the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – not only in terms of nation building but also in the future of Malaysia to build the world.
@Paparazzi360
