The Doctor Who Started the Malaysian Bowling Revolution

Dr. PS Nathan, who dominated the bowling alleys in the 1970s, with his trophies (right) after winning the national masters title in 1974. (Photo: MTBC)

PETALING JAYA: In the 1970s, traditionalists laughed at Dr PS Nathan’s suggestion that bowling become a major sport in Malaysia.

Although Nathan’s passion for the sport was as clear as the sound of a perfect strike, the skeptics had their reasons, as bowling was a social game at the time.

Despite all the criticism, Nathan rose to the occasion, ignored the critics, silenced the critics and took Malaysian bowling to the world stage.

In 2018, a conversation between former Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) chairman Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja’afar and Nathan came to light about making bowling a mainstream sport.

Five years after the establishment of the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress, Dr. PS Nathan received an award for sports leadership from the then Prime Minister Hussein Onn in 1979 (photo MTBC)

Tunku Imran told reporters: “I would call myself a traditionalist. Dr Nathan once told me that tenpin bowling would be big and I told him how a parlour game can be big. He proved me and many other people wrong.

“I’ve learned that you can’t ignore things like that, and ignoring them (new sports) can actually be dangerous. It’s about having a good system and making sure it’s done right.”

He made these statements after the Ministry of Youth and Sports announced that skateboarding and climbing had been included in the agenda of the National Sports Council.

In sports, the good is elevated to the great, the amazing to the incredible, the remarkable to the fantastic, and so on up into the stratosphere.

Nathan, who was a dermatologist by profession, deserves all the superlatives thrown at him.

The king of bowling

Dr. PS Nathan was the first Malaysian bowler to win an international title at the SEAP Games in 1975. (Photo: MTBC)

The tireless mastermind found ways to make a great Malaysian sport even greater.

For Nathan it was a victory of determination, of team spirit and unity, of the absence of ego and of good old-fashioned hard work.

These are all qualities that are becoming increasingly attractive in a world where fame and success are too often the domain of ordinary, superficial people.

Nathan was the goalkeeper of the Malaysian bowling team for 50 years and that gave us everything we love about the sport: belief, glory, optimism and romance.

As a bowler and administrator who laid the foundation for the Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC), he is a unique example of loyalty to one sport, one association.

Nathan was the longest serving chairman of a national sports association in Malaysia and has also served as chairman of international and Asian bowling associations.

He played a major role in the inclusion of bowling in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, the only time the sport has featured in the Games’ history. Malaysia won two gold medals and one silver medal in the five events contested.

Nathan tried unsuccessfully to get bowling into the Olympics. He once said that it would never be an Olympic sport, mainly because there are limited spectators per venue and therefore it is not attractive to television channels.

As a player, he became the first national bowling champion in 1974, the same year he founded and led MTBC, a role he skillfully combined.

His popularity in the sports world earned him an appointment as vice-president of OCM and his leadership qualities made him a natural choice for the position of chef de mission for the 1991 Manila Sea Games.

His legacy is not normal. It is so overwhelming that Malaysian bowlers have won six medals so far at the ongoing Asian Championships in Bangkok, a fitting farewell for Nathan who passed away on Sunday at the age of 91.

It was also in Bangkok that Nathan, who took up bowling at the age of 35 and became national masters champion in 1974, became the first Malaysian to win gold at an international championship.

At the 1975 SEAP Games he won the men’s singles by beating Thailand’s Likit Fahpyochon by one pin. That title was not only his triumph but also the arrival of Malaysian bowling on the international stage.

Three years later, when bowling was first featured in the Asian Games, also in Bangkok, Nathan, along with JB Koo, Allan Hooi, Edward Lim and Holloway Cheah, won the gold medal in the five-man team event.

They won the first gold for Malaysia at the Games. The only other gold was for Saik Oik Cum in the 400 meters athletics.

Sweatsuits and champagne

The Malaysian bowlers who won the gold medal at the 1978 Asian Games, with Dr PS Nathan (third from left). (Photo MTBC)

Yesterday, Cheah talked about the stress and fun they experienced in Bangkok, with Nathan at the center of the story.

He said Malaysia were leading the hosts by 144 points after the first break in the team event when team captain Nathan stopped them from returning to their hotel.

Nathan, who was also the chairman of the MTBC, told them that they were not allowed to change outfits.

Since there was no point in traveling all the way to their hotel, Koo asked them to take a bath at a nearby massage parlor of the hotel. MTBC paid for the shower.

They returned to the bowling alley and continued their game in the same sweaty outfits, and in the ensuing marathon session they produced magic.

For their excellent performance, the chef de missionaire, Mohamed Rahmat, promised the players a bottle of champagne.

Koo told him that the one bottle he offered was just good enough for him. When they reached their hotel room, there were three bottles ready to celebrate.

World-class, mainstream

During the 1979 World Bowling Championships, amateurs Koo, Hooi and Lim defeated the semi-professional Americans at their own game to win the title.

They did something special at a time when Malaysia had never become world champions in any other sport, except badminton.

Their story is fascinating because before the tournament in Manila, they played six games every morning for six months at Federal Bowl in Kuala Lumpur before going to work, at their own expense.

The trio were world champions, but upon returning from Manila the heroes missed the shrill beats of their companions and the grateful pat on the back from the government.

According to the press, only a handful of MTBC members were present and the absence of representatives from the Ministry of Sports was notable.

They only came to national attention when former Prime Minister Hussein Onn later presented them with a medal and Koo was voted National Sportsman of the Year in 1979.

It was a ‘three bagger’ (three strikes in a row), as Shirley Chow was named national sportswoman of the year, while Koo, Hooi and Lim took home the team award (players under six).

Under Nathan’s leadership, bowling grew from a fringe sport to the mainstream of Malaysian sport.

The youth started to take up the game and the bowling alleys were buzzing as Malaysia were defeated by the heroics of Nathan’s team.

When we trace the epic story of bowling’s transformation, a larger story emerges: how a less popular sport itself changed and how it evolved decisively as a spectator sport into what it is today.

The father figure

Dr. PS Nathan’s warmth, curiosity, openness and joy endeared him to many. (Photo MTBC)

Nathan had a thriving medical practice, but was on the tennis courts almost every day observing the national players in training, making new plans and updating development programs.

He kept pace with the radical changes in the sport, with the sole aim of continuing to produce talent and maintaining the tradition of players taking home medals from tournaments every year.

Nathan, born in Seremban and educated at St. Paul’s Institution and later at the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, is remembered by many for his warmth, curiosity, openness and joy.

The tributes that poured in said he was a great friend and life advisor who brought joy to many. He stepped down as MTBC president in May, but remained in close contact with members of the bowling community here and abroad.

The obituary names his personal assistant Muriel Lee and his Indonesian caregiver Khamimah, as they served Nathan faithfully for 32 and 23 years respectively.

Nathan is survived by his wife Malathy Satkuna, a former national bowler, his daughter Malini and son Dr Ruban, and six grandchildren.

The prayers will be held at 8:30 am in 30, Lorong Travers, Bukit Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpurbefore the procession leaves for the Hindu crematorium, Kampung Tunku in Petaling Jaya at 11am.