Remembering The 3 Malaysians Who Perished In The 9-11 Attacks

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On 11 September 2001, al-Qaeda attacked the United States. Two of the four commercial airliners they hijacked crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.

The third plane struck the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Department of Defense, while the fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers fought back.

The 9-11 attacks killed thousands of people and over the years, there are conspiracies regarding who truly prompted the attack.

However, we’re not going into conspiracies today. What we’re going to do is talk about the three Malaysians who were part of the 2,977 people killed that day.

The three Malaysians were Vijayashanker Paramsothy, 23, Khoo Sei Lai, 38, and Ang Siew Nya, 37. They worked in the same building but were on different floors.

Vijayashanker Paramsothyaka Vijay was born in Petaling Jaya and was a financial analyst at Aon Insurance which was on the 103^rd floor of the South Tower. He came back from a friend’s wedding in Spain on 10 September and returned to work the next day.

Vijay stayed back to help his injured manager despite suffering from burns and injuries and having the opportunity to escape with his colleagues via the emergency staircase.

He was caught in an elevator that overshot its highest floor. He hit a ceiling and then fell 15 feet, injuring his back. He spent four months in a cast before passing.

Vijay’s father, Paramsothy Sivapakiam, said his son would call his parents in Malaysia every day and visit them when he could.

Vijay’s parents commemorated him by publishing a biography titled The Perfect Son, depicting how he had grown into a caring and loving man. They also established the Fulbright-Vijayashanker Memorial Exchange Fellowship.

Khoo Sei Lai was born in Sandakan, Sabah and majored in computer science with a minor in economics at Columbia College. She was a mutual fund manager at Fred Alger Management and worked on the 93^rd floor of the North Tower.

She was working her way up to become executive vice president and portfolio manager. Prominent US media outlets frequently sought and featured her insights on market trends and public offerings.

At the time of her death, she was engaged to be married. Khoo was known for her dedication to her family, friends, and colleagues.

Her younger brother, Khoo Yeng Leng, remembered her as a supportive sibling who taught him survival skills and shared her favourite dining establishments.

Just like any other Malaysian, her love for food was apparent when she exclaimed in shock that a subordinate of Vietnamese descent had never sampled Vietnamese cuisine. She made sure they ate Vietnamese food after that.

Meanwhile, Ang Siew Nya from Penang pursued her studies in Canada at 18 years old and earned a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. She was a technical analyst at Marsh USA and worked on the 95^th floor, two floors above Khoo.

She and her husband bought their dream home with a spacious backyard two months before the tragedy.

Ang was a devoted mother of two and always called home once she reached the office to encourage her daughters with their schoolwork. She was also deeply invested in her daughter’s interests, shuttling them between ice skating, piano lessons, and other activities.

After her death, her young daughters kept a picture of her in their bedroom as a nightly tribute. Ang’s husband, Lee Kui Liong, struggled to explain her absence to their daughters. Their daughters were left with the comforting thought that their mother was in heaven.

Lee said Ang never stopped gaining knowledge. She kept updated by studying industry magazines and earned additional professional certificates. As such, she was quickly promoted at work.

In 2020, the US Embassy shared the names of three Malaysians who perished that day were etched on the National September 11 Memorial in New York City. Their memorial guide can be viewed here.

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