Malaysian football legend Wong Choon Wah dies

UPDATE (Feb 1):
 
Funeral / prayer service at Room E, The Association of Kwong Tong Cemetery Management Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Dewan Bahasa.

Day 1: Saturday,  Feb 1
Time: 1pm - 10:30pm

Day 2: Sunday, Feb 2
Time: 10am - 10:30pm

Cremation at Cheras DBKL Crematorium, Jalan Kuari, 56000 Kuala Lumpur
Date: Monday, Feb 3
Time: 1pm

-----

Malaysia lost another legendary football player when former national midfielder Wong Choong Wah passed away due to a heart attack this morning. 
   
The death of Wong at age 67 is all the more saddening as today is the first day of the Chinese New Year.
    
His contemporary Datuk Soh Chin Aun, also a household name in local and regional football, said he found out about Wong's death from Wong's wife.

He said Wong's wife said he suffered a heart attack at home in Sri Petaling here and was rushed to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital at 3 am.
    
"I'm very shocked, because Wong still used to send SMS greetings to me and other friends during Chinese New Year. However, this time I was a bit surprised to receive the greeting from him early yesterday," he said when contacted by Bernama here today. 

Soh said he was informed that for now only Wong's closest family members are allowed to pay their last respects to Wong whose body has been temporarily placed at the Kwang Tong funeral complex in Sungai Besi here.    

He is expected to be laid to rest on next Monday.
    
Wong was one of the earliest Malaysian football players to turn professional.
    
He started his professional career with South China Club in Hong Kong where he played from 1972 to 1974.
    
He was also a member of the national football squad that competed in the Munich Olympics in Germany in 1972.
    
Wong was also a main pillar of the Selangor team who were difficult to beat in the local leagues in the 70s and 80s. In his heyday, he was a midfield maestro who was highly regarded by players, coaches and officials alike.
    
Other illustrious local players who have passed on include goalkeepr Datuk R. Arumugam aka Spiderman (died in 1988), striker Datuk Mokhtar Dahari (1991) and "Raja Bola" Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Minhat (2012).

HD says: RIP sir!

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 1, 2014 at 9:53 AM

    Dear Bro Haresh,

    It is indeed a sad day to hear the death of Malaysia's finest midfield player !
    Wong Choon Wah was no ordinary footballer......he was a cultured midfielder.I would even go the extent of comparing him with the great Bernd Schuster of Germany.Yes Malaysia has produced players whose skills and play techniques were at par with world class players.But it was all in the 60's,70's and 80's.
    Wong together with V.Krishnasamy, Abdah Aliff and Wan Zawawi were the engine room for Malaysia then.
    Wong shined during the Munich Olympics and in our first match with W.Germany......he held our midfield together superbly to walk away 0-0 at the end of the 1st half.
    Karl Weigang and Dettamer Cramer were some of the great coaches who admired Wong for his close control,dribbling skills and his ability to read the game.
    I have seen him in the flesh during his heydays,A very quiet unassuming fellow who does all the talking in the field.In the 70's, Malaysian Chinese FA used to have the Ho Ho Cup games with Hong Kong and most times he used to play in this tournament along with other fellow Malaysian Chinese. MCFA used to prepare their team with friendly games with state teams and during such friendlies I had a chance to play against him ((or rather stand in awe watch him display his array of ball control skills)
    Wong,like Mokhtar,Chin Aun and Arumugam, are rare footballers that have passed by our country and I bet to my last ringgit, we will never ever produce such luminaries again lah bro.....no ...not even in the next 100 years !!!!!!
    Btw, FAM sudah kena penyakit bisu.....KJ is waiting for the lords to respond for almost 2 months on NFDP

    May Mr. Wong Choon Wah rest in peace.....Many thanks for your magic on the pitch......hope your family stays strong during this difficult period.


    Cheers
    Peminat Sukan JB.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 27, 2014 at 10:24 AM

    NO NO NO !

    I can't believe this ! I am so sad , I idolised him as a youngster, I met and I got his autograph. He was a great guy and a true blue gentleman.

    How did it happen, he was so fit and always in the peak of health.

    Indeed he was Malaysia's Bernd Schuster and that's no bull WCH talent was immense.

    People forget that the 70s Malaysia was not a 1 man show, though Mohkthar was a superstar, the whole team were stars !

    WCH remains some what of an unsung hero. May God bless him .

    I'll miss you forever.

    ReplyDelete

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