Press Release

Sunway Group founder and chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Sir Dr. Jeffrey Cheah KBE AO has been conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan.

The government of Japan announced the award of this prestigious honour during the 2025 Spring Imperial Conferment in recognition of Cheah’s services in promoting academic exchanges and strengthening economic relations between the peoples of Malaysia and Japan.

“I am deeply honoured and humbled by the conferment of this prestigious award by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, recognising not only my personal efforts and accomplishments but also those of my Sunway and Jeffrey Cheah Foundation teams,” said Cheah.

Cheah also paid tribute to Japan’s resilience, innovation and discipline in the post–World War II era, where it emerged as a global leader across multiple business industries.

“It is these very qualities that have inspired me and continue to guide the work we do at Sunway and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation,” Cheah said.

Since its inception in 2010, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, building upon the legacy of the Sunway Education Trust Fund established in 1997, has awarded more than RM892 million in scholarships and grants as of 2024, advancing its mission to make quality education accessible and affordable to as many deserving students as possible.

Sunway’s collaboration with Japanese partners includes its joint venture through Hitachi Sunway Information Systems, delivering advanced IT solutions across ASEAN, while working together on energy management and cybersecurity initiatives.

In addition, Sunway works with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in offering its vibrant and integrated Sunway City Kuala Lumpur township as a testbed for Japanese entrepreneurs and start-ups to tap into the Southeast Asian market.

On the education front, Sunway University has established active collaborative partnerships with more than 20 Japanese universities, with eight more in the pipeline, focusing on research collaboration, technological innovation and student exchange programmes.

These student exchange programmes build upon and further strengthen the people-to-people connection which has been fortified through years of academic exchange, where tens of thousands of Malaysians have studied, trained, and worked in Japan and vice-versa.

In 2024, Cheah became the first Malaysian to be conferred the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom, which carries the title “Sir,” for his extraordinary achievements and services to education, healthcare and philanthropy, which include forging high-level links with a number of UK institutions, including University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of Lancaster, the Royal College of Physicians, the Chevening Scheme, ACCA as well as ICAEW.

In 2008, Cheah was appointed by Australia’s Prime Minister an Officer of the Order of Australia – one of the country’s most prestigious and highest recognitions conferred to a non-citizen, in recognition of his contribution in building bilateral relations between Malaysia and Australia through education.