Respected Malaysian business and finance leader Tan Sri Datuk Oh Siew Nam has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Canterbury (UC) in Christchurch, New Zealand, recognising his contribution to business, finance, public service and philanthropy.
The honour is conferred today at the university’s Faculty of Engineering graduation celebration, with his son, Andrew Oh, accepting it on his behalf.
Siew Nam graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours in Electrical Engineering in 1962 and has since supported educational opportunities for Malaysian students in New Zealand.
His connection with New Zealand began in 1958, when he received a Colombo Plan scholarship to study electrical engineering at the University of Canterbury.
For Siew Nam, the scholarship was life-changing.
“If I hadn’t got the Colombo Plan scholarship, I would not have been able to continue university,” he says.
He had begun studying science at the University of Malaya in Singapore, expecting a government bursary and later to become a teacher. However, policy changes in 1957, the year of Malaysia’s independence, meant he was no longer able to receive that support.
Unable to cover his university fees and hostel costs, he walked to university to save bus fare and cut hair for other students.
“I wrote a note in the hostel and said, ‘I’m in a bit of a mess here, so I’m going to give haircuts. Please help me’.
“I charged them 90 cents a haircut, but they took pity on me and gave me $1 and said keep the change.”
The Colombo Plan scholarship brought him to Christchurch, where he studied electrical engineering at UC. After graduating, he married Puan Sri Datin Margaret Lois Oh, a Christchurch nurse, before returning to Malaysia.
Siew Nam built a distinguished career in telecommunications, business and finance. He worked as assistant controller of Telekom Malaysia before joining Federal Flour Mills Berhad Group in 1968, later serving as managing director and executive chairman.
He also served as chairman of PPB Group Berhad and was a board member of Bank Negara Malaysia from 1989 to 2015.
Siew Nam’s contributions have also been recognised through two Malaysian federal honours. In 1999, he received the Panglima Jasa Negara and the title Datuk, followed in 2015 by the Panglima Setia Mahkota and the title Tan Sri.
Together, he established a scholarship for Malaysian students at UC in memory of his mother, Tan Tang Mooi.
“Receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Canterbury is a deeply humbling honour,” Siew Nam says.
“The opportunity to study at Canterbury through the Colombo Plan changed the direction of my life, and I remain profoundly grateful to the University and to New Zealand for the education, friendship and opportunities I received.
“Establishing the scholarship for Malaysian students was our way of giving back and helping others receive the same life-changing opportunity that was given to me.”
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