He “passed away peacefully” on Tuesday, his Media Chinese International Ltd. said in a statement late Tuesday, as quoted by Forbes.
“The board expresses deepest sorrow and regret and wishes to show its gratitude.”
Tiong was MCIL’s honorary chairman and the executive chairman of Rimbunan Hijau Group, one of Malaysia’s largest multi-industry firms.
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Tiong Hiew King, executive chairman of Rimbunan Hijau Group. Photo courtesy of the company |
MCIL owns Sin Chew Daily, China Press, Nanyang Siang Pau and Guang Ming Daily, four of Malaysia’s leading Chinese-language newspapers that together hold substantial sway over the country’s 6.84 million Chinese population.
It also publishes Ming Pao Daily News, which serves Hong Kong residents as well as Chinese communities in Canada.
Tiong also had interests in timber, plantations, real estate, hospitality and information technology, making his business empire one of Southeast Asia’s most influential, according to The Business Times.
Forbes in April ranked him as the 25th richest in Malaysia with an estimated net worth of US$820 million.
Born as the eldest of nine siblings to a poor family in Sibu, Sarawak, Tiong grew up in hardship. He began tapping rubber in his youth to support the household before setting up Rimbunan Hijau as a small timber venture in 1975 with several of his brothers.
The company later expanded into one of Southeast Asia’s biggest forestry groups and also diversified into various sectors.
In 2007, Tiong played a crucial role in bringing together Malaysia’s Sin Chew Media and Nanyang Press Holdings and Hong Kong’s Ming Pao Enterprise to create MCIL, a media group aimed at reaching Chinese readers in Southeast Asia, Greater China and North America, The Straits Times reported.
He envisioned MCIL becoming a global Chinese media network comparable to major Western groups.
“We Chinese should build and own a Chinese-based media network. We should express our voice through our own stance and values,” he said in 2009, as quoted by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of China’s State Council.
While Rimbunan Hijau is privately held, its listed plantation and media units collectively carry a market value of RM2 billion (US$484.3 million).
He is survived by his wife Ngu Yii Chuo and five children: son Tiong Chiong Ong and daughters Tiong Ing, Tiong Ching, Tiong Chiew and Tiong Choon.
His youngest daughter, Tiong Choon, became MCIL’s executive director in 2017 and assumed the role of chairman in 2022 while other family members manage the group’s plantation and property operations.
Teo Nie Ching, Malaysia’s Deputy Communications Minister, offered condolences during a parliamentary session on Wednesday, calling Tiong’s passing a great loss to the country.
“Under his leadership, the Chinese-language media flourished,” she said, as quoted by The Star.
She noted that his group’s publications reach millions of readers in multiple countries and added that his contribution to the media industry and local economy will endure as his legacy.
“May his family, as well as colleagues within Media Chinese International Limited, find strength and resilience in facing this difficult time,” she said.
