KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — Sunway Group founder and chairman Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah name have been included in the “Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy” list for the fourth time by Forbes Asia.
The list honours individuals who have demonstrated personal commitment to various social causes.
In a statement, Sunway Group said Cheah was only the second philanthropist in Asia to be included in the list four times with him previously recognised in 2019, 2015 and 2009 and the sole Malaysian on this year’s list.
It said Cheah was recognised for his commitment to education and his efforts to set up an endowment fund worth over RM1 billion to ensure Sunway Education Group could be self-sustaining in perpetuity and offer more scholarships to deserving students from underprivileged households.
The real estate and properties conglomerates said while most of the RM1 billion seed endowment would come from Cheah’s personal fund, Cheah was also working with the government to amend existing rules requiring a foundation to disburse at least 50 per cent of funds received annually by the following year.
“This initiative is in addition to Cheah’s previous commitment to gift his entire personal stake in Sunway Education Group, which is valued at several billion ringgits, to the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, the largest education-focused social enterprise in Malaysia,” it said.
Published annually by the US-based business magazine, this year’s definitive list includes a select group of 15 prominent philanthropists across Asia, such as Alibaba co-founder Joseph Tsai, Vingroup founder and Vietnam’s richest person Pham Nhat Vuong as well as Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, who signed the Giving Pledge to dedicate a majority of his wealth to charitable causes in his lifetime in March.
Previous Malaysians named in the list include business tycoons Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary of the Al-Bukhary group of companies, YTL Group executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh and Air Asia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
— Bernama
