In the world of competitive memory sports, few names command the same level of respect as Chew Kin Meng. Born in 1989 in Kuala Lumpur, Kin Meng made global headlines in 2019 when he entered the Guinness World Records for “The Most Decimal Places of Euler’s Number Memorised” — flawlessly reciting 4,556 digits of the irrational number in just over 67 minutes.
Though his academic journey at SEGi University — where he pursued a Bachelor of Accounting — was disrupted by financial hardship, his story is a powerful testament to resilience, discipline, and the transformative potential of self-education. Despite leaving university without a degree, Kin Meng’s pursuit of cognitive excellence continued undeterred, leading him to become one of Malaysia’s most decorated memory athletes.
From Discontinuation to World Recognition
In 2015, Kin Meng broke four Malaysian memory records at the Asian Memory Championship, and added another three records in 2016. That same year, he earned the prestigious International Master of Memory (IMM) title at the World Memory Championships — an elite recognition awarded to top-tier global memory competitors.
By 2016, he had become the No. 1 ranked memory athlete in Malaysia and No. 80 in the world, based on competitive standings tracked by the World Memory Sports Council.
In 2018, he was appointed International Arbiter and Head of the Committee of Arbiters at the Global Memory Championship in China, becoming the first Malaysian to be entrusted with such a role — a move that signalled international recognition of both his technical mastery and his credibility in the field.
In 2019, Chew Kin Meng was also honoured as one of the Top 30 Finalists of the Ten Outstanding Young Malaysians (TOYM) by JCI Malaysia, placing him among the country’s most promising young changemakers.
Championing Mental Literacy and Human Potential
Memory sports — a discipline that tests the limits of brain function under timed conditions — is increasingly recognised as a high-performance field. According to the World Memory Statistics database, memory athletes routinely memorise decks of cards, long numeric sequences, and abstract patterns in record time, using advanced mnemonic systems such as the Method of Loci and PAO (Person-Action-Object) systems.
Kin Meng’s record-breaking feat — reciting Euler’s number to 4,556 decimal places — required not only mastery of these techniques but also extreme mental endurance and precision.
His journey continues to inspire students, educators, and aspiring competitors across Malaysia and beyond. Despite not completing his degree, Kin Meng credits SEGi for shaping his early academic discipline and analytical thinking — both of which laid the groundwork for his later breakthroughs.
Advocating for Inclusive Education and Second Chances
Chew Kin Meng’s story is especially powerful in the context of educational access and equity. His success underscores the reality that talent and determination can thrive outside conventional academic pathways, and that institutions must work to provide more flexible, inclusive support systems for students facing financial hardship.
His continued engagement with national and international memory competitions, as well as public speaking appearances, highlights his commitment to promoting mental literacy, lifelong learning, and cognitive empowerment.
This event is organised in support of the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG):
SDG 4: Quality Education
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals