(This article was first published on the Sarawak Tribune Website on 8th September 2025.)
“A mentor is not someone who walks ahead of us and tells us how they did it. A mentor is someone who walks alongside us to guide us on what we can do.”
– Simon Sinek, American author and inspirational speaker
When our Class of ’75 gathers in Kuala Lumpur from September 11-14 for a mini reunion, the air will be filled with nostalgia; laughter about schoolboy pranks, tales of teachers who shaped us, and reflections on how far we have come since those carefree days.
For me, however, this reunion carries a deeper significance. It is a moment to pay tribute to a classmate, a colleague, an employer, and above all, a mentor who set me on the path that would define my life: Tan Sri Clement Hii.
Today, Clement is celebrated as a billionaire entrepreneur, a visionary educator, and the driving force behind SEGi University. But long before the world knew him as a corporate leader, I knew him as a classmate with an extraordinary gift for words.
In the classrooms of our secondary school, Clement already stood out as a budding essayist and storyteller. His command of language, his sharp observations, and his ability to breathe life into the written word were qualities that made all of us sit up and take notice.
Even in those early days, Clement was not content with confining his talent to school assignments. While still a student, he was already contributing articles and news reports to the Sarawak Vanguard and the Brunei-based Borneo Bulletin.
By the time most of us were still wondering what to do after Form Five, Clement had already secured his place in the professional world of journalism, joining the Borneo Bulletin as a sub-editor in the late 1970s.
For me, that was a turning point. Inspired by Clement’s leap into the world of newspapers, I resolved to follow in his footsteps. At 19, barely out of my teens, I made the bold decision to enter journalism. In 1979, I joined the Sarawak Herald as a sub-editor.
My rise in the newsroom was swift; within a year I was appointed editor-in-chief. But it would be misleading to say I achieved this on my own. Clement’s guiding hand was never far away.
He had briefly served as the Herald’s editor-in-chief before being headhunted to lead a brand-new paper, The Borneo Post. Although we found ourselves in rival newsrooms, we remained in close contact. He was my sounding board, my critic, and my greatest encourager.
Looking back, those years were formative not just for me but for a generation of Sarawak journalists. Clement had a natural instinct for leadership. He was never selfish with his knowledge; he readily shared his insights into editing, writing, and the delicate balance between accuracy and readability.
To me, he was more than a friend; he was my mentor. I can say with certainty that without Clement Hii, I would not have become the journalist I am today.
Our paths crossed often in the early 1980s. I joined Clement in his ambitious ventures such as Borneo Business, a publication that chronicled the economic pulse of Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei. Together, we also produced a special edition titled ‘Headlines and Highlights’ to mark Brunei’s independence in 1984, a project that remains etched in my memory.
Later, Clement launched Malaysian Focus, Sarawak’s very own weekly newspaper in the mould of the Borneo Bulletin. He invited me to serve as its editor, a responsibility I embraced with pride.
These experiences were more than just jobs. They were lessons in vision and courage. Clement taught me that journalism was not merely about reporting the news; it was about capturing the heartbeat of society, amplifying voices, and shaping discourse.
He showed me that to be a journalist was to be a custodian of truth, and that conviction has never left me.
Of course, our careers also diverged. In 1983, I moved to The Borneo Post, where I served as sports editor before eventually rising to editor-in-chief.
Clement, meanwhile, took a different path, leaving journalism to embark on entrepreneurial ventures in education and later into property and his own print and online newspapers and magazines. His foresight and tenacity led to the creation of SEGi College, which grew into SEGi University, a name synonymous with quality higher education in Malaysia.
Yet, even as he scaled new heights in business, Clement never forgot his journalistic roots, nor the people he had worked with along the way. In 2010, when The Star decided to expand into East Malaysia, it was Clement, then the paper’s deputy chairman, who personally recruited me to head the Sabah and Sarawak edition as its senior editor. It was a role that brought me back into the national media spotlight, and once again, it was Clement who believed in me and opened the door.
Our professional collaboration did not end there. Years later, when Clement established the news portal theantdaily, he invited me to take the helm as its editor. I accepted, and once again found myself learning from his entrepreneurial daring and editorial instincts.
Even when I charted my own course, from The Star to running my own restaurant, and later to editing the New Sarawak Tribune, Clement’s influence remained a constant.
Today, I continue to serve as associate editor of the renamed Sarawak Tribune, where I also pen a weekly column, Gasak Ajak. Each week, as I write my column, I am reminded of the values instilled in me by Clement: clarity, integrity, and the courage to speak truth.
Along this journey, another of our classmates, Philip Hii, also pursued journalism, carving out a career as a reporter and feature writer before venturing successfully into business alongside Clement.
Our trio’s shared beginnings in the newsroom are proof that Clement’s influence extended beyond just one life; it inspired a generation of us.
As I reflect on more than four decades in journalism, I am struck by one truth: once a journalist, always a journalist. The thrill of chasing stories, the satisfaction of crafting narratives, and the duty of serving the public interest.
These are passions that never fade. But behind my story lies the story of another, the classmate whose inspiration sparked my journey and whose mentorship sustained it.
Tan Sri Clement Hii is often described today as a property magnate, an educationist, and a philanthropist. To me, however, he will always be first and foremost a journalist, and the mentor who believed in me before I believed in myself.
My career, my success, and my continued passion for journalism are, in no small measure, because of him.
And so, as our Class of ’75 gathers once again, I will raise a quiet toast to Clement. For the words we once wrote as idealistic youths have shaped not only our lives but also, in their own way, the history of journalism in Sarawak.
Thank you, Tan Sri, for lighting the spark. It still burns bright today.