Malaysian timber, media magnate Tiong Hiew King dies at 91

Malaysian timber and media tycoon Tiong Hiew King, who built a Chinese-language media conglomerate with operations in Malaysia and Hong Kong, died on Nov 11 at the age of 91.

- Lu Wei Hoong Malaysia Correspondent

Tan Sri Tiong was a major figure in Malaysia’s Chinese-language media scene.

He played a pivotal role in merging Malaysia’s Sin Chew Media and Nanyang Press Holdings and Hong Kong’s Ming Pao Enterprise to form Media Chinese International Limited (MCIL) in 2007, with the aim of serving global Chinese readers in Southeast Asia, Greater China and North America.

The company owns four of Malaysia’s leading Chinese-language newspapers — Sin Chew Daily, China Press, Nanyang Siang Pau and Guang Ming Daily - which collectively exert a strong influence on the country’s 6.84 million-strong Chinese community.

The group also publishes Ming Pao Daily News, serving Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents, and the Greater China diaspora in Canada.

Mr Tiong had aspired to develop MCIL into a media network comparable with those in the West.

Mr Tiong Hiew King was one of Malaysia's most influential tycoons, with interests from forestry to media and telecommunications.

"We Chinese should build and own a Chinese-based media network. We should express our voice through our own stance and values," he was quoted as saying in February 2009 by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of China.