For over 60 years, “Lenny,” as he was fondly called, shaped the way Malaysia viewed fitness, sports, and physical education (PE).
He didn’t just teach games, he taught the nation how to move with purpose.
His life was a steady workout: focused, disciplined, and never idle.
From sprint tracks to hockey fields, from Tuanku Muhammad School in Kuala Pilah to Columbia University, de Vries stood for one belief: a fit Malaysia is a stronger Malaysia.
De Vries died in hospital on Saturday at the age of 86, said his daughter Jo-Anne.
She said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved Lenny. His final days were challenging, but he faced it gamely.
“While dementia claimed the best parts of his mind during these last few years, it did not extinguish the strength of his spirit, determination, and will that remained with him until he drew his last breath.”
Her sister, Abigail, said her family was profoundly moved by the many stories shared about de Vries’s lasting impact on many lives throughout his career.
“We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support from near and far. It brings us comfort as we celebrate his life and mourn our loss,” she added.
Strength forged in loss
De Vries’s early life was steeped in hardship. His father, Roy, died in prison during the Japanese Occupation. His mother passed away soon after.
Yet he carried his grief with resolve, building strength instead of surrendering to sorrow.
When communist threats in the 1950s made travel from Alor Gajah to the St. Francis Institution in Melaka unsafe, his guardians sent him to Perth.
Later, he trained at Brinsford Lodge in Britain before returning to teach in Negeri Sembilan.
He had brief stints as a PE teacher at Tuanku Muhammad School and St Paul’s Institution (SPI) in Seremban before joining Victoria Institution (VI) in Kuala Lumpur in 1967.
At SPI, he crossed paths with legendary hockey goalkeeper Ho Koh Chye. The two men would later reunite at the national sports council, helping lay the foundations for modern sport in Malaysia.
De Vries came to VI just as it was rising in both academics and sport. Under headmaster V Murugasu, he led the PE programme.
Creating a movement
In 1961, de Vries was a sprint champion, holding the Paulian Old Boys’ 100m record at 11.3 seconds. He also played hockey and cricket at club and state levels, and in later years, enjoyed golf.
By 1962, he was enrolled in a groundbreaking course at the Specialist Teacher Training Institute (STTI) in Cheras, training under the renowned Teoh Teik Lee.
Opened by then deputy prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein, the course produced many of Malaysia’s top coaches in various sports.
Among them were Mohamed Noh Che Noh, Peter Lee Guan Chye, C Ramanathan, MP Haridas, and Lionel Rajamoney.
Teoh, founder of the Physical Education Association (PEAM), became a lifelong influence. He had also started the Royal Life Saving Society in 1964.
De Vries later served as PEAM president in the 1980s, expanding it into the Malaysian Association for Physical Education, Sports Science and Fitness.
His partnership with Teoh helped shift PE from the sidelines to centre stage in schools and society.
Fitness and national unity
In 1975, de Vries became the second Malaysian to earn a PE doctorate from a US university, after Idris Nordin in 1970.
While on sabbatical in Canada, he studied “Participation,” a nationwide fitness drive sparked after Prince Philip called Canadians “fat and flabby.”
He adapted the concept for Malaysia, and in 1988, sports minister Najib Razak tasked him with fostering unity through sports in Sabah and Sarawak.
The result was “Malaysia Bergerak Bersama”, a fitness programme to bring communities together.
De Vries believed it even helped inspire the later “1Malaysia” idea.
Champion of PE in schools
In 2002, as head of the national PE association, he sounded the alarm: PE was being squeezed out of the school timetable.
Only 150 hours over five years were given to PE in the secondary curriculum, compared to 4,000 for academic subjects.
He urged then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to make PE a daily subject.
He warned: if children grow up without basic physical skills, how will Malaysia produce fit adults, let alone champions?
For him, PE built not just bodies, but character, health, and habits for life.
Farewell to a reformer
At 71, de Vries beat pancreatic cancer. Even in later years, he stayed active, swinging golf clubs with the same competitive spirit he brought to sprinting.
He cautioned that without proper PE, Malaysia would face a health crisis.
Today, the World Obesity Atlas 2023 reports 30.2% of Malaysian adults are obese, and over half are overweight, the highest rates in Southeast Asia. Among children, Malaysia also tops the list.
De Vries, a former associate professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia, saw it coming.
His work was a lifelong reminder that movement is medicine, and that fitness belongs at the heart of national identity.
He didn’t just live through history, he shaped it. He trained coaches, wrote national plans, and redefined how Malaysia saw physical education.
His legacy lives in every coach, teacher, and student he inspired, and in every citizen who moves for life, not just for medals.
Wake services will be held at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, St Joseph Luu Prayer Room, 1, Tingkat Besi Satu, Island Park, Penang, with nightly prayers at 8.30.
Funeral mass is at 10am on Thursday at the cathedral, followed by cremation at Bukit Gantong Crematorium.