From left: SJK (C) Cheah Fah Parent-Teacher Association chairman Eric Ee Chin Sen and its headmaster Ing Boon Keong, Sunway City Iskandar Puteri CEO Gerard Soosay, SJK (C) Cheah Fah School Board of Governors vice-chairman Datuk Steve Chong Yoon On, and Sunway City Iskandar Puteri general manager — project management Ng Chai Teck (Pix by Sunway)
KUALA LUMPUR (March 13): Sunway Bhd (KL:SUNWAY) has invested a cumulative RM23 million in SJK (C) Cheah Fah as the Chinese national-type primary school begins the second phase of its expansion in Johor’s southern corridor.
According to a statement, the school opened in 2022 with RM18 million contributed by Sunway and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation as the first of 10 Chinese national-type schools approved under the Johor state government’s allocation.
Enrolment has grown to more than 820 students in under four years, pushing existing facilities close to the school’s current capacity of 1,000 pupils.
The expansion will add 12 classrooms and increase total capacity to 1,500 students while enlarging the canteen to accommodate the full student body at one time.
“As Sunway City Iskandar Puteri matures into a family-oriented township, access to quality education becomes fundamental,” said Sunway City Iskandar Puteri chief executive officer Gerard Soosay.
“Education remains the most powerful pathway out of poverty and the strongest foundation for social mobility. This expansion ensures public schooling capacity grows in tandem with population growth,” he added.
Sunway pledged RM5 million towards the project following a 2025 fundraising dinner that attracted more than 900 donors and raised RM1 million.
Construction is expected to be completed by year-end and will proceed without disrupting school operations.
SJK (C) Cheah Fah is one of eight schools nationwide adopted by Sunway and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, Malaysia’s largest education-focused social enterprise. Sunway and the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation have contributed more than RM62 million towards the development of these schools to date.
The foundation has also awarded more than RM967 million in scholarships and grants to students across the country.
