Malay Mail chief editor Wong Sai Wan dies of heart attack - Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: Malay Mail editor-in-chief Wong Sai Wan died this morning after being admitted to Subang Jaya Medical Centre for heart-related issues. He was 59.

His son Chee Mun confirmed to Malay Mail that Wong had suffered heart failure.

“He came into the hospital at 5.30am and was admitted to the emergency room at 6am. His heart stopped beating.

“They tried CPR on him but they couldn’t revive him,” Chee Mun told Malay Mail.

Wong, who was a popular figure in the industry, first joined The Star in the early 1980s as a cub reporter before being promoted as the staff correspondent in its Seremban bureau.

He was transferred to its headquarters in Petaling Jaya in 1995 as an assistant news editor, and was also later posted to Hong Kong for about three years in 2001 as its correspondent there.

Wong rose through the ranks to be appointed as the newspaper’s executive editor before he left in 2013 to take up the top post in Malay Mail. His friends and colleagues remember him particularly for his direct links to political leaders when they needed their comments for stories.

His deputy, Joseph Raj, said the staff will miss him dearly as he was not only their boss but a friend who had time for anyone who wanted professional or personal advice.

“If at all you needed help, he was the one to turn to. Because he was always there,” he said.

His former colleagues who were close to him in The Star described him as the most jovial editor despite being a tough boss when it mattered, adding that he was someone who loved to dine with them after a hard day’s work.

He was also an avid golfer.

Star Media group adviser Wong Chun Wai said it was devastating news to him because they entered journalism at the same time.

“He was an ultimate old school journalist who was on 24/7 mode. He had excellent connections with direct calls to our top leaders. There are less and less of such committed journalists.

“Many of us will miss him,” he said.

Wong is the younger brother of veteran MCA leader Dr Wong Sai Hou, a former assemblyman for Kampung Tunku in Selangor.