JB Koo has been handed the RM5,000 award that came with his 1979 sportsman of the year title, while Shirley Chow, the sportswoman that same year, will receive hers in Ipoh.
For Koo, the moment carried double significance.
The Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) not only righted a historical wrong but also lifted the suspension that had kept him estranged from the sport for 37 years.
The long-overdue recognition came at the interstate championships opening at Sunway Mega Lane on Saturday.
MTBC president Najeeb Abdullah handed Koo his cheque before an audience of past and present players.
Chow, who could not attend, will receive hers soon from MTBC officials.
A wrong finally righted
Between 1966 and 1982, Malaysia’s sportsmen and sportswomen of the year were promised RM5,000 cash prizes. But the money never came.
Officials said the athletes’ amateur status would be threatened if they accepted it.
Some were told they would be paid after retirement. They never were.
Bowling’s decision to make good now brings closure to two legends.
It also sharpens the contrast with athletics, where nine recipients are still waiting as Malaysia Athletics delays action behind a “task force.”
“This means more than money,” said Koo. “It’s recognition, it’s dignity restored. And after so long away, it feels good to be back with the bowling family.”
Chow, speaking from Ipoh, said the award was bittersweet. “We gave our best for Malaysia. To finally receive what was promised is heartening, even if it has taken decades.”
The dawn of a reign
Bowling was just coming into its own when Koo and Chow reigned.
At the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, Koo, PS Nathan, Allan Hooi, Edward Lim and Holloway Cheah struck gold in the five-man team event.
A year later, Koo, Hooi and Lim stunned the semi-professional Americans to win the trios title at the 1979 World Tenpin Bowling Championships in Manila.
It was extraordinary. Malaysia, outside of badminton, had never produced world champions.
The trio’s preparation was spartan and self-funded — six games every morning for six months at Federal Bowl in Kuala Lumpur before heading to work.
Then came the world title, achieved against all odds.
Yet their return was muted. No parade, no kompang. Just a handful of MTBC members at the airport, with the sports ministry conspicuously absent.
Recognition only arrived later when then prime minister Hussein Onn presented medals, and Koo was named 1979 sportsman of the year.
That year Chow was crowned sportswoman, completing a rare double for bowling.
The long exile
Koo’s career, however, was cut short in 1988 when he was suspended by MTBC.
His “offence” was going to the press to criticise the federation for handpicking the national team for the Hiroshima Asian Games instead of selection based through roll-offs and merit.
The two-year suspension effectively ended his bowling days. Unwilling to apologise, he retired from the sport and turned to golf.
The ban was never formally lifted until the MTBC general assembly moved to revoke the ban on Saturday.
For Koo, 82, the moment was deeply personal. “When you’re cast out, you carry that weight,” he said.
“To have the suspension erased after 37 years means I can stand with my peers again, not as an outsider but as part of the fraternity.”
A lesson in respect
MTBC’s decision to act stands in contrast to other sports bodies still dragging their feet.
Hockey, cycling, badminton and bowling have moved to repay their champions. Athletics, swimming, basketball and tennis, by comparison, remains bogged down.
For Koo and Chow, the payments mark the end of a wait too long.
For Malaysian sport, they are a reminder that recognition cannot be left to gather dust in forgotten files.
“Tonight, we close a poignant chapter,” Najeeb said.
“This isn’t just about money. It’s about restoring honour and thanking a man who put Malaysian bowling on the world map.”
For Koo, the applause that rang out that night was more than overdue. It was redemption.