TAN SRI DR. JEFFREY CHEAH, AO
Founder and Chairman, Sunway Group
An Accountant by training, Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah, AO began his career as an Accountant at a motor assembly plant in Malaysia. In 1974, he founded and started Sunway Group, a leading property-construction conglomerate today with a combined market capitalisation of RM13 billion and a 14,000-strong employee base. Its twelve (12) established business divisions span across 50 locations worldwide.
Tan Sri Cheah has been conferred nine (9) honorary doctorates by leading universities worldwide.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (“AO”) by the Prime Minister of Australia in 2008. AO is one of Australia’s most prestigious and highly regarded awards conferred to a non-citizen of Australia. He is also the Chairman and Co-Founder of Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (“ASLI”). He was conferred the Honorary Assistant Commissioner of Police (“ACP”) title in February 2013 by Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police (“IGP”) for his commendable efforts as Chairman of Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (Selangor Chapter).
In 2007, he established the framework of Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (“JCF”) and in 2009, he endowed, in perpetuity, all his equity across the 12 institutions of Sunway Education Group, inter alia, Sunway University, Monash University Malaysia, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sunway College and Sunway International School, valued at more than RM720 million (now in excess of RM1 billion) to the JCF. JCF was officially launched by the Prime Minister of Malaysia on 18 March 2010 witnessed by the Foundation’s Royal Patron, His Royal Highness Sultan of Selangor.
Founder of Sunway Berhad Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah
In December 2011, Tan Sri Cheah was appointed to Malaysia’s education panel to review the nation’s education system by the Minister of Education. He is the Founding Trustee of the Board of Mahathir Science Award Foundation, Razak School of Government, and the Perdana Leadership Foundation.
With generous endowments, Tan Sri Cheah through JCF has forged academic ties with Harvard University in July 2013 to establish the Jeffrey Cheah Professorship, the Jeffrey Cheah Funds for Southeast Asia Studies, the Jeffrey Cheah Visiting Professorship, and the Jeffrey Cheah Travel Grants, in perpetuity. This initiative will serve to advance teaching and research on Southeast Asia Studies at Harvard University and to enable a two-way flow of scholars and researchers between Harvard University and the Sunway Education Group. In August 2014, Tan Sri Cheah received a special invitation from the President of Harvard University to be a member of the Global Advisory Council of Harvard University. In recognition of Tan Sri Cheah’s continued commitment to Harvard, he was also bestowed the membership on Harvard’s COUR- the Committee on University Resources, among a select group of benefactors, to strengthen university resources through the unique power of philanthropy.
In 2014, JCF established the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia (JCI) to deepen its academic partnership with Harvard and other world’s leading universities by conducting and promoting joint research and teaching on the economies, societies, politics and cultures of Southeast Asia. The JCI is the first public policy think tank for Southeast Asia based in a private university in Malaysia. JCI was officially launched on 18 March 2014, witnessed by Tan Sri Cheah and the members of the International Academic Advisory Council (IAAC).
In November 2014, with another generous benefaction, Tan Sri Cheah through JCF fostered ties with Gonville & Caius College in the University of Cambridge (Caius) to establish the Jeffrey Cheah Professorial Fellowship Fund which will include Travel Funds and support, in perpetuity, two University of Cambridge professors who are Fellows of Caius. Prof. Kay-Tee Khaw CBE, FMedSci who is a Professor of Clinical Gerontology and Prof. John Todd FRS, who is a Professor of Medical Genetics, both have been named as the first holders of the Jeffrey Cheah Professorial Fellowships at Caius.
In recognition of his unwavering commitment towards advancing higher education, Tan Sri Cheah who is also the Founding Trustee of JCF and Chancellor of Sunway University, has been matriculated as a member of Caius, and admitted as a Gonville Fellow Benefactor of the College. His name has been inscribed on the Benefactors’ Wall at the Great Gate of Caius, which records the names of the greatest benefactors since its foundation in 1348. He is the first Malaysian to have received such an honour. In addition, he has been admitted as a Companion of the Guild of Cambridge Benefactors at a prestigious ceremony in the Senate House of the University.
In December 2014, Tan Sri Cheah and Pro Vice-Chancellor of University of Oxford, Professor Nicholas Rawlins on behalf of the University of Oxford, signed an agreement to embark on academic and cultural project collaborations, among which include the 4th Southeast Asian Studies Symposium. Held outside University of Oxford for the first time at Sunway in March 2015, the Symposium was graced by the Sultan of Perak, HRH Sultan Dr. Nazrin Shah.
In December 2015, Tan Sri Cheah and Principal John Bowers QC, representing Brasenose College, University of Oxford, signed a landmark agreement to support, in perpetuity, two professors of the University of Oxford who are Fellows of Brasenose. Professor James Williams, Pro-Chancellor (Finance and Planning) and Fellow in Medicine in Brasenose, and Professor Mark Wilson, Fellow of Brasenose and Professor of Physical Chemistry in the Department of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, have been appointed as the first holders of the Jeffrey Cheah Professorial Fellowships at Brasenose. Tan Sri Cheah has also been admitted as an Honorary Fellow of Brasenose.
In 2016, Tan Sri Cheah has been invited by the Ministry of Education to serve the Innovative Leadership Forum Series’ panel and will contribute ideas aimed at improving the quality of education eco-system in Malaysia. In recognition of Tan Sri Cheah’s enormous contributions to the industry and to the business world, he is the first Malaysian to receive the Singapore-based Channel NewsAsia Lifetime Achievement Luminary Award, and the Dayawati Modi Award for his outstanding contributions in the fields of philanthropy, education and promotion of arts and culture. Previous recipients include Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa.
SUNWAY (5211) - Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah | Power Talks
https://www.sunway.com.my/group/corporate-profile/chairmans-profile/
