Malaysian Millionaire Caught Collecting Trash While No One’s Looking

Jeffrey Cheah, one of Malaysia’s richest men who’s just shy of being a billionaire, was reportedly spotted collecting trash in what looked like a team patrol.

In a Facebook post, Gary Chong recounted the sight he saw during a walk:

“Today, I was taking a little evening stroll around Bandar Sunway when I chanced upon a group of mature and elderly looking Asian gentlemen who were walking in a pack and picking up little bits of trash on their way.”

At first, Chong assumed they were Japanese men, recalling similar behavior in Osaka and Kyoto. Curious, he pushed himself closer and overheard “distinct Malaysian accents.”

Interestingly, Chong found one of the men’s faces familiar. That’s when he started scratching his head and figured:

“I walked past them, still mildly intrigued by who they were and saw a recognizably familiar looking face heading this pack of old gentlemen, wait…could it be? After a quick Google image search…it was none other than Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Jeffrey Cheah!”

Caught by surprise, Chong expressed admiration for the pack’s actions. He paid respect “with a capital ‘R'” to Cheah and to the team he believed were corporate directors and Sunway Group’s “big guns.”

He was particularly amazed at the humble gesture:

“This is truly an amazing thing to see a billionaire and giant icon across a multitude of industries, doing something so simple and humble, literally without any press coverage, any sort of elaborate entourage of media/CSR presence via wearing corporate uniforms and etc.”

However, Chong can’t help but notice how Cheah left the site. The observer joked:

“The only thing which would have been cool to seal the deal on his simple and humble act was if he exited the scenario via a simple Proton rather than a blazing red Ferrari! Lol.”

Cheah and his men picked up trash along their way including “small bits of used tissue paper to little strands of plastic,” Chong said.

Cheah, once an accountant in a motor assembly plant, is the founder of Malaysia’s Sunway Group. As per Forbes, he has a net worth of $865 million and sits as the country’s 18th richest man. He gave away $12 million in scholarships last year.

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