Khoo Kay Kim

In this Chinese name, the family name is Khoo (邱).

Yang Berbahagia Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dr. Khoo Kay Kim PSM DPMP DPMS JSM
邱继金
Khoo speaking in a public forum, February 2009.
Born	(1937-03-28)28 March 1937 Kampar, Perak, Federated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	28 May 2019(2019-05-28) (aged 82) University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nationality	Malaysian
Alma mater	University of Malaya
Occupation(s)	Historian, academic
Spouse	Puan Sri N. Rathimalar @ Rathi Khoo (1966–2019)[1]
Children	Eddin Khoo, Rubin Khoo & Mavin Khoo
Parent(s)	Khoo Soo Jin (Father) Chuah Gaik See (Mother)

Khoo Kay Kim (simplified Chinese: 邱继金; traditional Chinese: 邱繼金; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khu Ke-kim; pinyin: Qiū Jiājīn; 28 March 1937 – 28 May 2019) was a Malaysian historian and academic of Chinese descent. He was honoured with Emeritus Professor title by the University of Malaya in 2001. In January 2011, Khoo was appointed Chancellor of KDU University College.^[2]

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad described Khoo’s passing as a truly great loss to the country.^[3]

Biography

Khoo Kay Kim was born to Peranakan Chinese parents in Kampar, Perak, Malaysia on 28 March 1937. During his early education, he attend the English school in the morning before the Chinese school later in the afternoon. He received a BA, MA, and a PhD in 1959, 1967, and 1974 respectively from the University of Malaya. His doctoral thesis was entitled The Beginnings of Political Extremism in Malaya 1915-1935 (1974), where he was supervised by Kennedy G. Tregonning, the Raffles Professor of History at the University of Malaya. Khoo was one of the co-authors of Rukunegara. He was a highly regarded national academic for his views on local sports and socio-political issues.^[4]

Personal life

He had married with Sri Rathi.^[1] The couple has three sons; traditional arts and culture advocate Eddin Khoo, Rubin Khoo and dancer Mavin Khoo.

Death

Khoo died of lung failure on 28 May 2019, Tuesday morning at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Petaling Jaya, Selangor at the age of 82.^[5][6]

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

•  Malaysia :
  • Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (JSM) – (1983)^[7][8]
  • Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2008)^[7]
•  Perak :
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (DPMP) – Dato' (1987)^[7]
•  Selangor :
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor (DPMS) – Dato' (2009)^[7]

Awards and accolades

•  Malaysia:
  • The 10th "Tokoh Akademik Negara" of the National Academic Awards or Anugerah Akademik Negara (AAN) (2017)^[9][10]
  • Merdeka Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement (2018)^[11]

Places named after him

In July 2019, the Selangor state government with the consent of the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah decreed to renamed Jalan Semangat in Petaling Jaya as Jalan Prof. Khoo Kay Kim in honouring the Khoo's contributions during his life.^[12]

Selected bibliography

• The Western Malay States 1850-1873: The Effects of Commercial Development on Malay Politics (1972) ISBN 0196382521^[13][14][15]
• Teluk Anson (Teluk Intan) 100 Tahun (1982)^[16]
• Malay Society: Transformation & Democratization: A Stimulating and Discerning Study on the Evolution of Malay Society Through the Passage of Time (1991) ISBN 9679783863
• His Majesty Sultan Azlan Shah (1991) ISBN 9679783731
• Taiping: Ibukota Perak (1981)^[17]
• Taiping: The Vibrant Years (2003) ISBN 9832759013^[18]
• 100 Years the University of Malaya (2005) ISBN 9831003268, 9831003233
• I, KKK: The Autobiography of a Historian (2017) ISBN 9789671493007^[19]

References

1. “We were not an ordinary country”, Deborah Loh, 17 October 2011, The Nut Graph
2. "KDU UC's website". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
3. "Dr M conveys condolences, says Dr Khoo's passing a great loss". The Star.
4. ejum.fsktm.um.edu.my/article/148.pdf
5. Daryl Goh (28 May 2019). "Historian Khoo Kay Kim, 82, passes on from lung failure". The Star Online. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
6. Beatrice Nita Jay (28 May 2019). "(UPDATE) Historian Khoo Kay Kim passes away". New Straits Times. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
7. "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
8. Eugene Khoo (25 November 2012). "Khoo Kay Kim 邱家金". Overseas Chinese in the British Empire Blog. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
9. "AAN-Tokoh Akademik Negara-JPT" (in Malay). JPT MOHE. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
10. "Building on talent and skill". The Star Online. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
11. Farhana Joni (3 September 2018). "Kay Kim, Hassan penerima Anugerah Merdeka 2018". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Retrieved 16 October 2018.
12. "PJ's Jalan Semangat renamed to Jalan Professor Khoo Kay Kim". New Straits Times. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
13. Turnbull, C. M. (1973). "Review of The Western Malay States 1850-1873. The Effects of Commercial Development on Malay Politics". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 4 (1): 146–147. doi:10.1017/S0022463400016507. ISSN 0022-4634. JSTOR 20070036. S2CID 153805808.
14. Winks, Robin W. (1975). "Review of The Western Malay States 1850-1873: The Effects of Commercial Development on Malay Politics". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 95 (1): 127–128. doi:10.2307/599232. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 599232.
15. Gray, C. S. (May 1973). "The Western Malay States 1850–1873: The Effects of Commercial Development on Malay Politics. By Khoo Kay Kim. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1972. xi, 241 pp. Maps, Genealogies, Bibliography, Index. 15.50". The Journal of Asian Studies. 32 (3): 557–558. doi:10.2307/2052729. ISSN 1752-0401. JSTOR 2052729.
16. Khoo, Kay Kim (1982), Teluk Anson (Teluk Intan) 100 tahun, Persatuan Muzium Malaysia
17. Khoo, Kay Kim (1994), Teluk Anson (Teluk Intan) 100 tahun, Persatuan Muzium Malaysia
18. Khoo, Kay Kim (2003), Taiping: The Vibrant Years, Taiping Tourist Association, ISBN 9789832759010
19. Khoo, Kay Kim (13 April 2017), "Excerpt from Khoo Kay Kim's memoir, 'I, KKK'", The Star

External links

• History of Malaysia. Malaysian National Library. URL accessed on 10 April 2006.