KUALA LUMPUR: Golden Whistle recipient Amarjit Singh Jessy, 59, died of a heart attack at his house in Ipoh on Wednesday.
He leaves behind his wife, Sujan Singh, and three children – Sharon Kaur, Aaaronjit Singh and Darrenjit Singh. Messages of condolences poured in from around the world.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) had awarded Amarjit the Golden Whistle after he officiated 100 international matches.
Amarjit, who retired with 154 "caps", was the first Asian and the only Malaysian male umpire to receive the golden accolade.
Amarjit, well known as Ali among his umpiring contemporaries worldwide, was one of Malaysia's best hockey products as he went on to umpire in three Olympics and four World Cups.
After Amarjit hung up his whistle, he was made umpires manager by FIH for numerous tournaments.
Amarjit umpired at the Olympics in 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing. He also blew at four World Cups: in Utrecht, the Netherlands. (1998), Kuala Lumpur (2002), Monchengladbach, Germany (2006), and New Delhi in 2010.
"He was one of the best umpires produced by the country in recent times and his record of umpiring at the highest level speaks for itself.
"I was told that he was supposed to go for a bypass (heart operation) last week, but it was postponed to today (Thursday).
He had three blocked (arteries), and it was discovered after he returned from a umpires managers course in Bangladesh in December," said Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) vice president and Umpires Committee chairman Ranjit Singh.
He had been the Perak HA secretary since 2000, and was also the organising chairman of the Azlan Shah Cup. A gentle towering figure, Amarjit was always helpful when budding umpires approached him for advice.
The Asian Hockey Federation, as well as FIH, posted condolence messages on their socmed. "Very saddened by the passing of Amarjit Singh. He was not only a top international umpire and umpire manager, but he also worked hard for the development of umpiring, especially in Asia.
"On behalf of FIH and in my personal name, I'd like to extend my sincerest condolences to his family and friends, as well as the Malaysian hockey community." said FIH president Datuk Tayyab Ikram.
MHC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal and his council posted: "The demise of Amarjit Singh is a big loss to the hockey community in the country as he was not only a world class umpire and umpires manager, he was also the secretary of Perak HA and his contributions towards the sport will be cherished and remembered."