I first met Datuk Sieh Kok Chi (main image) in 1991, when he was assisting the late Thong Poh Nyen at the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
Sieh’s table had always looked as though a typhoon had swept across it, but he knew where every single thing was. Orderliness never looked quite the same to me after that.
Having attended the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Solidarity Asian Regional Sports Medicine Course in Bangkok in 1990, I expressed my wish to bring the course to Malaysia. I had Dr Peter Sperryn in mind as the course instructor, who was all impressed and fired up to promote sports medicine in Malaysia.
Thong pointed me in Sieh’s direction and he proceeded to explain all the requirements and processes to apply for the Olympic Solidarity course.
We ended up working together in setting up the course in Kuala Lumpur in 1991 – my very first stab at immersing myself in my chosen specialty.
In my entire career, many people have touched my life, both professionally and personally. Former NSC directors-general Datuk Noh Abdullah and Datuk Wira Mazlan Ahmad were very kind to me and supported me.
But in sports medicine, and my approach to life in sports and serving sports, Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan and Sieh were my examples. They were always ready to offer me a word of advice, or a pointer or two, and treated me with respect, despite the age difference. It was a blessing to one day realise that they have become my friends.
Sieh and I spoke often and I always made it a point to poke my head around his office door to say hello or enjoy his latest rant on some injustice done to Malaysian sport by self-serving personalities who should have been ashamed of themselves.
We met at OCM numerous times as I was in the OCM medical committee early on, almost from the outset, representing my then boss, Dr Noordin Darus.
Through the years, I became involved in not only sports medicine, but also in anti-doping, and finally, administratively – in selection committees, as NSC director-general and the National Sports Institute chief.
Sieh was always there. Always. I had enjoyed the simple, innocent company of his beloved special daughter, Shen-Nern, who was always by his side.
To know and understand Sieh would not be complete without seeing how utterly devoted he was as a father. He was a good man. Any flaws, personal faults that he might have had, were consigned to the distant background.
Many exploited his generosity with time and even money. He took nothing but gave away plenty.
Some saw him as bitterly argumentative but only because they couldn’t get what they wanted.
We have lost a true warrior of Malaysian sport – one who always wiped the windows clean and opened them to allow in fresh air, while others played games with smoke and mirrors.
I was distressed to read him quoted as saying, in utter despair at the current state of Malaysian sports, that he had wasted his whole life in sport.
But I beg to differ, dear Datuk Sieh Kok Chi, for even if only one soul in Malaysian sport had been touched by your inspiration and memory, the whole world would be enriched beyond comparison.
Farewell my friend.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.