Malaysia lost another legendary football player when former national midfielder Wong Choong Wah passed away due to a heart attack, Friday morning.
The death of Wong at age 67 is all the more saddening as Friday 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 Thursday," he said when contacted by Bernama, Friday.
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).
Bernama
Fri Jan 31 2014
-BERNAMApic
Rakyat Israel desak kerajaan bawa pulang tebusan yang tinggal
Ribuan berkumpul di Tel Aviv pada Sabtu malam bagi mendesak kerajaan Israel mencapai perjanjian gencatan senjata dengan Hamas dan membawa pulang tebusan yang tinggal
Hamas keluarkan video dua tebusan Israel
Kumpulan pejuang Hamas mengedarkan video menampilkan dua tahanan Israel yang menyeru kepada Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, untuk memenuhi perjanjian pembebasan mereka.
Israel sedia tangguh serangan ke atas Rafah
Israel bersedia menangguhkan serangan ke Rafah jika perjanjian pembebasan tahanan Hamas tercapai. Menteri Luar Israel, Israel Katz, menegaskan keutamaan pembebasan tahanan.
Restoran nasi kandar dibaling cat, polis kesan tiga lelaki
Cat merah tersebut terkena papan tanda dan pintu hadapan restoran yang mula beroperasi pada Sabtu.
Kawasan Beris Lalang terbakar lagi
Cuaca panas melampau di Kelantan menyebabkan kebakaran ladang dan semak di kawasan Beris Lalang. Penduduk dan pekebun mengalami kerugian
Ringgit dijangka diniaga dalam jajaran kecil
Ringgit Malaysia dijangka berada di sekitar 4.77 berbanding Dolar AS minggu depan, bergantung kepada keputusan FOMC dan data ekonomi AS
Bursa Malaysia dijangka diniagakan dalam jajaran kecil
Analisis terkini menunjukkan Bursa Malaysia berpotensi naik dalam jajaran kecil minggu depan, dengan pandangan positif terhadap kembalinya dana asing. Paras sokongan dan konsolidasi disebutkan.
PM tiba di Riyadh untuk hadiri mesyuarat WEF
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tiba di Riyadh bagi menghadiri Mesyuarat Khas Forum Ekonomi Sedunia. Beliau dijadual terlibat dalam dialog strategik, panel, dan pertemuan bersama pemimpin serantau
Battle Of The Reds: Legenda Liverpool masih bertenaga
Legenda Manchester United terpaksa akur dengan kekalahan kepada legenda Liverpool dengan jaringan 4-2.
Boling Padang: Farah Ain muncul juara dunia!
Farah pamer aksi luar biasa dalam penampilan sulungnya di pentas bertaraf dunia dengan kemenangan straight sets 6-2 dan 6-3.