Reposted on behalf of Olympic Council Malaysia
*IN REMEMBRANCE OF MR. GEORGE HENG KIAH CHOONG*
The President, Executive Board and Management of OCM express their heartfelt condolences to the family members of the late Mr. George Heng Kiah Choong, who passed away peacefully on Wednesday, 23rd June 2021, at the age of 72.
The late Mr. George Heng Kiah Choong (well known as Uncle George) and his wife, Mdm. Tan Yuet Ching (well known as Mrs. Heng) co-founded the MESUMA Sports Sdn. Bhd. on the 2nd September 1983, to provide customized sports apparel, medals and trophies and sports equipment. The company which is named after their three daughters: Melissa, Susan and Maya, was once the sole distributor of Football Thai Factory Sporting Goods Co Ltd, a Thai sports equipment company, well known as FBT in Malaysia. Currently, the company is an exclusive distributor of Marathon (Thailand) Co. Ltd., a wholesale and manufacturer of all-in-one sport equipment in Malaysia.
Uncle George was one of the early pioneers of sports marketing and sponsorship in Malaysia and with the OCM. He was a member of the Marketing and Sponsorship Committee of the Organising Committee of the 15th SEA Games Kuala Lumpur 1989.
Uncle George was one of those who introduced the installation of Light Boxes onto street lamp posts for sponsors to advertise their products prominently and to make the 15th SEA Games Kuala Lumpur 1989 a great success both financially and commercially.
MESUMA Sports Sdn. Bhd. under his leadership had come onboard to become the Official Attire Sponsor of the OCM from 2006 to 2012. The company had provided sports attire and gears for the Malaysian Contingents to 2 Olympic Games, 1 Asian Games, 3 Asian Beach Games, 2 Asian Indoor Games, 1 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, 2 Asian Winter Games, 1 Asian Youth Games, 1 Commonwealth Games, 2 Commonwealth Youth Games and 3 SEA Games.
Besides that, Uncle George had also secured the sponsorship from the AmBank Group and the Double A for OCM in 2006.
Besides being involved in marketing and sponsorship in sport, Uncle George was also one of the long-time dedicated supporters of the development of Tenpin Bowling at both national and state levels. He was first elected as a Council Member of the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) in 1977, then as Vice President (2001 to 2009) and Senior Vice President (2009 to 2015).
During his tenure with the MTBC, Uncle George was tasked to be a Team Manager for the national Tenpin Bowling Team to numerous International Tenpin Bowling Championships including 5 Multi-Sport Games under the jurisdiction of OCM namely the 12th SEA Games Singapore 1983, the 13th SEA Games Bangkok 1985, the 16th SEA Games Manila 1991, the 17th SEA Games Singapore 1993 and the 18th SEA Games Chiang Mai 1995.
At the state level, he was first elected as Council Member of the Kuala Lumpur Tenpin Bowling Association (KLTBA) from 1976 to 1988, as Vice President from 1988 to 2004 and President from 2004 to 2008. As part of his succession plan, he took up the position of Deputy President from 2008 to 2010 for the transition process to his successor, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohamad Noor Abdul Rahim.
Overall, Uncle George had devoted much of his time and resources to the development of the sport of Tenpin Bowling in Malaysia for the past 45 years which had contributed to the great achievement of Malaysian Tenpin Bowlers at the Asian and World levels.
Many may not have known that Uncle George had also contributed to the development of Sepaktakraw at the state level for many years. He was first elected as a Vice President of the Federal Territory Sepaktakraw Association from 2002 to 2009 and as its Deputy President since 2009 till now (2021). He was once appointed as a Member of the Marketing Committee of the International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF).
During his lifetime, Uncle George always caring and sympathetic for the disabled community. He had founded and chaired the Selangor Rehabilitation and Recreational Association for the Disabled since 2009. He was also a Council Member of the Malaysia Association for the Blind since 2011, where he chaired the Fund-Raising Committee and raised over RM 1,000,000 for the Association in 2013.
The sudden and unexpected demise of Uncle George is indeed a sad loss to Malaysian Sport. May his soul rest in peace.
