Award goes to Malaysian alumni leader

Alumni

High-profile Malaysian businessman Sim See Kee has been honoured with a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Adelaide for his leadership and charity work.

Mr Sim, a highly respected figure in Malaysian corporate circles, is well known for his business acumen in the commercial and industrial sector, carving out a successful career in trading, rubber and oil palm plantations, quarries and property development.

A University of Adelaide alumnus, Mr Sim graduated with a Bachelor of Technology (Electronic Engineering) in 1965.

He was presented with his award by the University's Chancellor, the Honourable John von Doussa QC, at an alumni dinner in Kuala Lumpur in April.

Mr Sim's tireless work for charity over the past 40 years is well known. In the mid 1960s he founded the Apex Club of Petaling Jaya, spearheading the formation of the Selangor Foster Care Scheme to raise funds for ill and recovering children requiring temporary foster care.

In the late 1970s he initiated a fundraising drive to send Malaysian children to Adelaide for reconstructive cranio-facial surgery.

As a student Mr Sim was an active participant in the Malaysian Student Association, organising National Day balls and other Asian Festivals both on and off campus, helping Australians to better understand the Malaysian culture.

In 1995, he served as an inaugural committee member on the University of Adelaide's West Malaysia Alumni Chapter and was its President over three terms. His encouragement for younger alumni to join the committee and take leadership roles has seen the chapter grow and strengthen over the years.

Mr Sim currently donates construction materials to upgrade schools and places of worship, irrespective of religion. He also helps to raise funds for the Buddhist charitable organisation Seu Tech Seam Tong in Muar, Johor, which runs a clinic providing free medical treatment to all, again irrespective of religion.

The Malaysian businessman is also recognised as an outstanding ambassador for South Australia.

Story by Candy Gibson