Sunny Seah is new Singapore Rugby Union president; Terence Khoo steps down

SINGAPORE – There is a new chief in charge at the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU), after civil servant Sunny Seah was elected unopposed as president on Monday.

Terence Khoo, who held the post for more than five years, stepped down after deciding not to stand for re-election at the SRU’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Monday.

A former national rugby captain, Khoo, 52, runs his own sports marketing company, Enterprise Sports Group. He was one of six incumbent members who chose not to stand for re-election – the others were vice-presidents Martin Williams and David Lim, honorary treasurer Eric Ng, committee member Miles Peckham-Cooper and co-opted member David Gull. 

He handed over the reins to Seah, 56, who works at the Istana and previously served as SRU vice-president from 2016 to 2020.

The Straits Times understands that a new constitution was passed at an Extraordinary General Meeting in November 2022 – after consultation with national agency Sport Singapore – to better align with the requirements for charities. The changes include office bearers being allowed to serve a maximum term of eight years and ensuring female representation among elected members.

As a result, the elections were delayed for a year and took place at the AGM on Monday, when all eight candidates were elected unopposed to the SRU board.

In a first for the association, two women were appointed to the board – Angelina Liu and Siti Zulaiqah Rahim, who are from Bedok Kings Rugby Football Club.

Liu, a former national player, said: “It is an honour to serve the sport and my country in another capacity and to contribute back to something that has impacted me personally.”

Khoo, who will remain on the board as an adviser, told ST that the time had come for a renewal in leadership.

He said: “I have enjoyed my journey and found it a privilege but it is a good time for a new team to take over and move the Union forward. The team and I have achieved quite a bit in our time... I do believe that the SRU today is run more as an organisation than it was before. The new leadership will not have to start from scratch.”

The fact that the national men and women’s teams are coached by Singaporeans – Suhaimi Amran and Rex Wang – showed his team’s commitment to develop a deep bench of local professionals, noted Khoo.

Khoo’s successor Seah said: “It is a real privilege to continue the good work that Terence and the previous board have done and we hope that we can take it further for the development of the sport in Singapore.”

The new chief’s targets include re-establishing SRU’s development pipelines of players, as well as medals at the 2025 SEA Games. Both teams medalled at the 2015 and 2017 editions.

Among the issues he will look into include the pitch shortages owing to the impending redevelopment of Turf City. He also hopes to develop the South-east Asia Sevens, which returns here next week after five years, into a marquee event.

New SRU board

President: Sunny Seah
Deputy president: George Danapal
Secretary general: Jonathan Leow
Treasurer: Roger Koh
Assistant treasurer: Shafiq Zulazmi
Members: Lincoln Tan, Jason Kong, Angelina Liu, Siti Zulaiqah Rahim, Richmond Ong