LABUAN – Prominent Labuan businessman Datuk Seri Peter Kong, the founder of the Ro-Ro ferry service, died early this afternoon at Labuan Nucleus Hospital. He was 65.
His sister Rozi Kong said Peter died of an infection at 12.40pm.
He has three sons, including a doctor.
Peter’s sister Angela Kong said her brother’s remains will arrive at his son’s house in Taman Fulliwa tomorrow afternoon and be buried after funeral services at the Buddhist cemetery near Taman Fulliwa on Wednesday at 2pm.
Peter was a prominent tycoon on the duty-free island, having pioneered Labuan’s most important sea transport, the roll-on-roll-off (ro-ro) ferry service that served the Labuan-Menumbok-Labuan route for over a decade via Labuan Ferry Sdn Bhd.
He was one of MCA’s pioneers in Labuan, becoming Labuan MCA’s youth leader in the 1990s, and later joining Sabah-based party Upko as Labuan adviser in 2017, before moving to Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah as deputy president.
He was known to have been vocal for many public issues.
Peter bought the oldest hotel in Labuan, Waterfront Hotel – formerly owned by Prominent businessman Tan Sri Chua Ma Yu’s family – later naming the hotel as Billion Waterfront Resort.
To journalists in Labuan and Sabah, he was the friendliest businessman and normally entertained newsmen whenever they had news coverage assignments on the island. – Bernama, January 30, 2023
