Page 14 - 54th UM-NUS INTER-UNIVERSITY TUNKU CHANCELLOR GOLF TOURNAMENT PHOTO BOOK

How It Started :

UM-NUS Golf Tournament

HISTORY OF UM-NUS INTER-UNIVERSITY TUNKU CHANCELLOR
GOLF TOURNAMENT

A Legacy on the Fairways: The UM–NUS Tunku From Talk to Tournament
Chancellor Inter-University Golf Tournament
They acted quickly. On 30 August 1968, the University Staff
The University of Malaya (UM) and the National University of Golf Club of UM was born, under the patronage of Y.T.M. Tunku
Singapore (NUS) share a bond that runs deeper than most Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the Prime Minister of Malaysia and
inter-university ties. Once a single institution under one roof, Chancellor of UM.
they grew together, parted ways, and matured into two of
Southeast Asia’s most respected universities. For decades, The leadership team read like a roll call of campus legends:
their students have met on the courts and across playing fields Professor W. Pallie as President; Dr. Tan Beng Cheok as
in spirited Inter-University and Inter-Hall games. Friendships Secretary and Treasurer; Dr. Chatar Singh as Captain; and
were forged, traditions strengthened, and a shared heritage Professors Francis Morsingh and Dr. Lau Kam Seng as
kept alive. committee members. Support came from the very top: Tan
Sri Dato’ Dr. Haji Abdul Majid — fondly known as “Coco Majid”
Yet for years, these connections were largely student affairs. — a famous orthopaedic surgeon and UM Council Chairman,
Among the staff, an idea began to form — why should the and Tun Ismail bin Mohamed Ali, the Governor of Bank Negara
students have all the fun? Why not give the academics a Malaysia and a UM Council member.
chance to meet, compete, and renew the camaraderie of old
colleagues now separated by national borders? Colleagues Across the Causeway, the idea found a champion in Professor
who once worked together now found themselves on different Yeoh Chim Seng, Chairman of the University Council in
campuses, often longing to reconnect. Golf became that Singapore, a surgeon of regional renown. He had been the
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj bridge. first to perform closed-heart surgery in Singapore in 1957, and
Donor of The Trophy open-heart surgery under hypothermia in 1960. Born in Ipoh,
he became the first local Professor of Surgery at UM — a fitting
The Spark That Started It All bridge between the two worlds.

It happened in 1967, at a friendly game on the lush greens of
the Royal Selangor Golf Club. Four men — Chan Khai Cheong, Patron : Y.T.M. Tunku Abdul Rahman
Professor Francis Morsingh, Dr. Tan Beng Cheok, and Dr. Putra Al-Haj, Chancellor of UM
Chatar Singh — found themselves talking between swings. President : Professor W. Pallie
They were more than golfers; they were scholars of the
highest calibre: Tan Beng Cheok, a laser physicist ahead of Secretary/Treasurer : Dr. Tan Beng Cheok
his time; Morsingh, a chemist of distinction; Chatar Singh,
a respected physicist. All were professors, all renowned in Captain Dr. Chatar Singh
their fields — and all believed in the power of sport to connect Members : Professor F. Morsingh,
people. Dr. Lau Kam Seng

Somewhere between the fairway and the green, they mooted
a bold idea: a regular golf tournament for the academic staff
of UM and NUS.

12 54th UM-NUS Inter-University Tunku Chancellor Golf Tournament