Khoo Kay Kim (; 28 March 1937 – 28 May 2019) was a Malaysian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Chinese descent Overseas Chinese people are people of Chinese origin who reside outside Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan). As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. As of 2023, there were 10.5 million people livin ...

. He was honoured with

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

title by the

University of Malaya The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...

in 2001. In January 2011, Khoo was appointed Chancellor of KDU University College. Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...

described Khoo’s passing as a truly great loss to the country.

Biography

Khoo Kay Kim was born to Peranakan Chinese parents in

Kampar, Perak Kampar (Perak Malay: ''Kampo'') is a town located in the state of Perak, Malaysia, and serves as the administrative centre of Kampar District in Perak. Founded in 1887, the town lies within the Kinta Valley, an area rich with tin reserves. It w ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

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 A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1959, 1967, and 1974 respectively from the

. His

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

was entitled ''The Beginnings of Political Extremism in Malaya 1915-1935'' (1974), where he was supervised b
Kennedy G. Tregonning
the Raffles Professor of History at the University of Malaya. Khoo was one of the co-authors of the Rukun Negara . He was a highly regarded national academic for his views on local sports and socio-political issues.

Personal life

He had married with Sri Rathi.“We were not an ordinary country”
Deborah Loh, 17 October 2011, The Nut Graph The couple has three sons; traditional arts and culture advocate Eddin Khoo, Rubin Khoo and dancer

Mavin Khoo Mavin Khoo (Mavin Khoo Bu-Aun) is a Malaysian dancer of the Indian classical dance form, Bharata Natyam. Early life and education Born on 30 April 1976 born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a youngest son to Tan Sri and Puan Sri Khoo Kay Kim. His ...

Death

Khoo died of lung failure on 28 May 2019, Tuesday morning at the

University Malaya Medical Centre The Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) (, abbr: ''PPUM''), formerly known as University Hospital, is a government-funded teaching hospital and medical instructions located in Pantai Dalam, southwest corner of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was e ...

(UMMC),

Petaling Jaya Petaling Jaya (), colloquially referred to as "PJ", is a city in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Originally developed as a Satellite city, satellite township for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, it is part of the G ...

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

at the age of 82.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

Companion of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on 15 April 1966 and gazetted on 30 June 1966 ...

(JSM) – (1983) **

Commander of the

(PSM) – Tan Sri (2008) * : ** MY-PERA Order of the Perak State Crown - lower classes

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Perak State Crown The Most Illustrious Order of the Perak State Crown ( Malay: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Negeri Perak Yang Amat Mulia'') is knighthood order of the Sultanate of Perak. Background It was founded by Sultan Yusuf Izzuddin Shah on 12 December 1957. ...

(DPMP) – Dato' (1987) * : ** MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Commander - DPMS

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Selangor The Most Illustrious Order of the Crown of Selangor (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Selangor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an order awarded by Sultan of Selangor as a reward for general services to the sultan and state of Selangor. It was foun ...

(DPMS) – Dato' (2009)

Awards and accolades

* : ** The 10th "''Tokoh Akademik Negara''" of the National Academic Awards or ''Anugerah Akademik Negara'' (AAN) (2017) ** Merdeka Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement (2018)

Places named after him

In July 2019, the Selangor state government with the consent of the

Sultan of Selangor Sultan of Selangor (سلطان سلاڠور) is the title of the constitutional ruler of Selangor, Malaysia who is the head of state and head of the Islamic religion in Selangor. The current monarch, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah ascended the t ...

, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah decreed to renamed Jalan Semangat in

as Jalan Prof. Khoo Kay Kim in honouring the Khoo's contributions during his life.

Selected bibliography

* The Western Malay States 1850-1873: The Effects of Commercial Development on Malay Politics (1972) * Teluk Anson (Teluk Intan) 100 Tahun (1982) * Malay Society: Transformation & Democratization: A Stimulating and Discerning Study on the Evolution of Malay Society Through the Passage of Time (1991) * His Majesty Sultan Azlan Shah (1991) * Taiping: Ibukota Perak (1981) * Taiping: The Vibrant Years (2003) * 100 Years the University of Malaya (2005) * I, KKK: The Autobiography of a Historian (2017)

References

External links

History of Malaysia
''Malaysian National Library''. URL accessed on 10 April 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Khoo Kay 1937 births 2019 deaths People from Kampar, Perak Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Peranakan people in Malaysia 20th-century Malaysian historians Malaysian male writers Historians of Southeast Asia Academic staff of the University of Malaya University of Malaya alumni Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia 21st-century Malaysian historians 20th-century male writers