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TRIBUTE TO HO KOH CHYE
His greatness was
in his humility
GREGORY Ho Koh Chye was a
champion on and off the field.
He had his early education in
St Paul’s Institution Seremban
where he began his foray into
hockey. I was in Tapah but we
would meet often for the na-
tional trials in Kuala Lumpur.
He was goalkeeper, I, a for-
ward. Trust me, it was not easy
getting past him. What more
can you say of a guy who stops
a ball with his head?
Our friendship grew when
we became dorm mates at
the Malayan Teacher Training
College, Penang, where we ma-
jored in Physical Education and
played hockey, among others.
An all-rounder and straight
A student who obtained his
Masters in the US and coaching
certificate in India, Koh Chye’s
motto was simple: “Whatever
you do, make sure you do your
best, to the point that you
would not want to be embar-
rassed if you fail.”
We would visit each other’s
hometowns, where Koh Chye
was introduced to Indian food
through my mum’s cooking and
began a life-long love affair with
koli varuvel and fish cutlet.
He was surrounded by a co-
terie of friends of various faiths
and races. He even picked up
Tamil from his local barber
– some of his favourite phrases
cannot be repeated.
Once, he tried to kill a snake
in his home with a piece of
bamboo. But it broke and the
snake escaped. Koh Chye con-
sulted his Indian friends who
said the snake will return for
him! They advised him to offer
prayers at a Hindu Temple and
break several coconuts, which
he did! This just goes to show
how Koh Chye embraced cul-
tures and beliefs of others.
Younger athletes would
know Koh Chye as the stern yet
compassionate disciplinarian;
after all he believed toughness
and tenderness are not oppo-
sites, but partners. However, he
could be full of mischief too!
Once in college, he took a
friend’s Norton without permis-
sion and went for a ride along
Batu Maung Beach. Our joyride
came to an abrupt end when
he hit a rock and the two of
us went flying. We had to push
the bike back to college where
the furious owner was waiting.
Koh Chye paid for the repairs
by gambling!
In College, Koh Chye met
Karen Lee Siew Chan. This pretty
Chinese Option high jumper also
played table tennis. Soon Koh
Chye would take up ping pong
too, although his eyes were on
her rather than the ball.
Upon graduation, Karen was
posted to Kulim and Koh Chye
to Seremban. But, he braved
the long and windy roads, mak-
ing frequent trips up north in
his trusted Volkswagen Beetle.
Such was the endurance of
their love. They married in 1967
and were blessed with Adeline
and Ian.
Koh Chye goes down as
the best hockey goalkeeper
Malaysia had ever produced.
His achievements will stand for
theSun
by R. Yogeswaran
many years, perhaps forever.
But the most attractive thing
about Koh Chye was how
humbly he managed his
achievements.
He did the whole Olympic
circle as player, coach, admin-
istrator and official, completing
his tour of duty as chef-de-mis-
sion to the Beijing Olympics.
He raised the bar for chef
de-missions. He was not a mere
passenger on a free ride. He
knew every athlete personally
and spent time with them long
before they left for Beijing.
Whether it was with his
students, athletes under his
charge, or family and friends,
Koh Chye was always a great
listener and would often quote
this phrase: “God gave men two
ears and one mouth so he can
listen more and speak less.”
He always thought out of
the box, that’s why Sports Ex-
cel produced many performers
when he was its director.
Koh Chye was popular with
everyone for his wisdom and
gentle demeanour; slow to
anger, preferring dialogue to
confrontation.
He often said: “Everyone
has the opportunity to win, but
winning is hard work, winning
is team work”.
But Koh Chye’s favourite
word was “YOU”. During a
hockey match, a student broke
his hand. Koh Chye ran to his
aid. The player said “Sir, don’t
worry about me, the game is still
on”, to which Koh Chye, replied:
“the game is not important; it is
you who are important.”
He never took credit for
himself. When Malaysia beat
Holland in the World Cup, Rahim
Razali was on cue to interview
Koh Chye. The nation waited for
his response and all Koh Chye
said was “Alhamdulillah!”
Koh Chye continued playing
hockey as part of the Sultan
Ahmad Shah Veterans Team,
where he discovered that after
all these years, he was still a tar-
get of
Koh Chye (third from right) and Yogeswaran (right) with the
national hockey team at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.
| TUESDAY DECEMBER 9 2008
the forwards.
So, he decided to swap his
hockey stick for a golf club,
discovering he was better at
hitting stationary balls than
moving ones. When a shot ends
in the rough, he would quote
his grandson: “What the matter
you?!”
Even in the most try-
ing times, humour never
escaped him. When he tried
a 16ft putt to win, he
will sing this song: “Miracles
may come true and it can hap-
pen to you when you are young
at heart.”
However, Koh Chye’s great-
est love was his family. He
once philosophized of his love
for Karen: “Henry Ford stuck
to one model. Likewise, I have
done the same.”
While recovering from
surgery, he said affectionally
of Karen: “I am blessed to have
Mummy with me.”
That was Koh Chye, always
looking for that silver lining.
The 1968 Olympic team was
our best hope for a medal. Alas,
the results were shocking and
Koh Chye was a broken man.
But, as team captain, he kept
his chin up for the sake of his
teammates.
As the 1975 World Cup team
coach, he was so close to tast-
ing glory but had to settle for
fourth place; finally this year, he
was confident Malaysia would
get its first Olympic gold medal.
But when we had to settle for
silver, he remarked that the
silver lining was there was no
untoward incident concerning
the Malaysian Contingent.
“No regrets!” was an oft-
quoted mantra.
The sports fraternity has lost
a mentor and role model. He
also leaves a vacuum among
his friends, many of whom he
meets in small groups – the last
being the Sports Parliament,
which Datuk Dr. Mani Jegathe-
san and I are part of.
Life goes on but will never
be the same. We will always
have fond recollections of him.
Thank you, Koh Chye for those
memories. We find solace in
these words of yours: “after
every winter, there will be a
spring”.
This is an excerpt of the
eulogy delivered by Datuk
R. Yogeswaran at Datuk Ho
Koh Chye’s funeral yester-
day.