Malaysian philanthropist Tan Sri Sir Dr Jeffrey Cheah KBE AO has been conferred Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) by His Majesty King Charles III.
Tan Sri Sir Dr Jeffrey Cheah KBE AO is the founder and chairman of Malaysia’s Sunway Group. His Honorary knighthood is a recognition of his extraordinary achievements in, and his services to, higher education, health services and philanthropy.
In addition to being the founder of the Sunway Group, Cheah is also the founder and trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, which owns and governs all entities in Sunway Education Group under a not-for-profit structure.
To date, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation has awarded more than MYR 670 million (about US$150 million) in scholarships to provide educational support to qualified students in need and endowed several chairs and professorships at world-renowned universities, including Cambridge and Oxford universities in the UK as well as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, to facilitate knowledge transfer and bring world-class experts to Malaysia. Cheah aims to give out several billion Ringgit in scholarships in his lifetime.
Cheah has also deepened educational ties with the UK, forging successful affiliations with several other renowned institutions, including Lancaster University, the Royal College of Physicians, Chevening Awards, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
In terms of healthcare, a partnership between Sunway Group and the University of Cambridge saw the Sunway Medical Centre in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur become a Regional Site Partner of the Cambridge University Clinical Research Centre and the recently named Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre at the Cambridge University Biomedical Campus – the largest such facility outside the US – played a vital role in the UK’s COVID-19 response strategy.
This honorary knighthood marks the culmination of a successful 2023 for Cheah. The Sunway founder and chairman was also recently announced as the winner of this year’s Ernst & Young (EY) ASEAN Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, which recognises successful Southeast Asian businesses that contribute to the economy and community in the region.
Menara Sunway, Sunway Group’s 19-storey global headquarters in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is home to the group’s 13 business divisions.
Cheah’s stalwart leadership and entrepreneurial vision have led Sunway from its inception in 1974 to today’s leading conglomerate in the ASEAN region.
In 2008, Cheah was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) by the Prime Minister of Australia to deepen the educational link between Malaysia and Australia. The Order of Australia is one of Australia’s most prestigious and highly regarded awards conferred on citizens and non-citizens of Australia.
For his commitment to nation-building and full embrace of the sustainability agenda, Cheah has also been conferred 12 honorary doctorates by leading universities worldwide, including an honorary doctorate in education from Universiti Malaya, the highest-ranked and oldest university in Malaysia. Cheah is the first Malaysian and second in Asia to be named four times as Forbes Asia’s Hero of Philanthropy.
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Sunway City Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia’s first integrated green township.
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