PETALING JAYA: Sunway Group founder and chairman Tan Sri Sir Dr Jeffrey Cheah (pic), who is also the founder and trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, has been named on the Forbes Asia Heroes of Philanthropy list for the fifth time, becoming the first individual in Asia to achieve the distinction on five separate occasions.
The inclusion by the US-based business publication is in recognition of Cheah’s lifelong commitment to nation‑building through quality education and philanthropy, said Sunway in a statement.
Cheah was previously honoured as a Hero of Philanthropy in 2021, 2019, 2015 and 2009. Cheah said: “I have always believed that each and every one of us must have a higher purpose in life. For me, this higher calling is a commitment to giving back to society in a meaningful and impactful manner for the benefit and wellbeing of our future generations.
“I strongly believe that it is the obligation of those who have done well financially to promote educational excellence in the country, because quality education lays the groundwork for a nation to shape the destiny of its people and society,” he added.
To date, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation has awarded more than RM967mil in scholarships and grants to tens of thousands of students, many from underprivileged households, and is on track to surpass RM1bil by 2026.
In November 2025, Cheah pledged RM500mil over five years to establish one of Malaysia’s largest education endowments to drive academic excellence, world-class research and innovation at Sunway University in perpetuity.
This mission-driven and structured approach to philanthropy is modelled after some of the oldest and most renowned universities in the world, such as Harvard University and the University of Cambridge.
It is an approach that has also been adopted in Cheah’s gifts to public schools nationwide, including more than RM57mil to support the construction, development and expansion of 10 public schools across Malaysia.
In addition, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation endowed RM5mil to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) to establish the Tan Sri Sir Jeffrey Cheah Distinguished Chair at the Faculty of Medicine.
The endowed professorship will appoint a pre-eminent scholar to advance research in medicine and public health at UKM, which is also partnering the Jeffrey Cheah Sunway Medical School at Sunway University to train future-ready doctors and specialists.
Adopting a social enterprise model, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation is the largest of its kind in advancing education in Malaysia.
The foundation owns and governs in a not-for-profit structure all entities under the Sunway Education Group, including Sunway University, Sunway College and Sunway International Schools.
