SINGAPORE — With the death of Mr Kwek Leng Joo, the deputy chairman of property giant City Developments (CDL), the Singapore business community has lost not just a prominent leader but also a champion for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and green causes.

Mr Kwek died in his sleep this morning (Nov 16) after a sudden heart attack, shocking many in the real estate industry and the business community at large as he had looked healthy to many who met him in his final days. He was 62.

“We last met about a week and a half ago at an event hosted by the SBF (Singapore Business Federation), when he received the Golden Jubilee Business Awards in the capacity of the deputy chairman of Hong Leong. I had just congratulated and e-mailed a handsome photograph of him shaking hands with Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday (Sunday) and he said ‘OK, let’s meet this coming Thursday’,” said Mr Victor Tay, chief operating officer of SBF.

“We are deeply saddened and shaken by what had transpired,” he said.

Mr Kwek and Mr Tay were colleagues at the Global Compact Network Singapore, the national society promoting CSR here. Mr Kwek was the president while Mr Tay is the vice-president. The latter called Mr Kwek “a pioneer and the driving force behind the CSR and sustainability movement in Singapore”. 

Mr Kwek had been a director of CDL since 1980. He assumed the position of deputy managing director of the company in 1987 and managing director from 1995. His latest appointment as deputy chairman took effect in February last year after Mr Grant Kelley joined the company as chief executive. Mr Kwek’s older brother Kwek Leng Beng is the chairman. 

At CDL, part of the Singapore Hong Leong Group set up by his late father, Mr Kwek was also “a dedicated advocate of CSR”.

“A dedicated advocate of CSR for over two decades, his vision had established CDL’s reputation as a leading green building champion and a forerunner in CSR, raising the bar for Singapore’s real estate industry and driving change for the building sector. His pioneering green efforts for over 20 years have helped put CDL and Singapore on the global map of sustainability,” the company said.

His involvement in the CSR movement also led Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli to take to social media to offer their condolences. 

“The late Mr Kwek Leng Joo was always the perfect gentleman who was so passionate about sustainability, corporate social responsibility, photography and social issues. His humility, grace and generosity was inspiring. I was fortunate to have known and worked with him for so many years on some of his causes. He received the President’s Award for the Environment just last month,” Mr Balakrishnan said in his Facebook post.

Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) president Thomas Chua said the association is “deeply saddened”. Mr Kwek was SCCCI’s honorary president after having served as president for four terms from 1993 to 1997 and from 2001 to 2005.

Mr Chua said that Mr Kwek’s legacy includes the abolition of the clan-based election system, bringing in female council members, as well as joining hands with MENDAKI to offer scholarships to Malay Muslim undergraduates from local universities.

“His leadership and excellent contributions will be recorded forever in the annals of the SCCCI, and be a role model for many successful individuals to give back to society,” Mr Chua said. He added that many of Mr Kwek’s works of photography – an art he was passionate about – are being exhibited in the SCCCI building.

A slew of organisations also paid their tribute to Mr Kwek, including MediaCorp, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). 

“The board, management and staff of MediaCorp offer our deepest condolences to the family of Mr Kwek Leng Joo.  Mr Kwek will be remembered as a remarkable business leader and a devoted community leader… Mr Kwek served on our board of directors between 2004 and 2007 and was a pioneer member of our Editorial Advisory Panel started in 2013. We benefited tremendously from his astute insights and valuable advice,” MediaCorp said.