it is a sad day for friends and loved ones of john lee, my ex-partner of music matters, the first online hifi trading portal in malaysia.

suferring from major depression and compounded by financial and family problems, john took his life on the eve of the new year. john was supposed to get married in march 2009.

the news came to me this morning and i couldn't recover from sadness ever since.

i recruited john to be my partner when i started music matters in late 2004. at that time, i wanted to make music matters not only a hifi trading portal but also a total hifi website offering reviews and write-ups. we started very well and john was enjoying his life as a 2nd hand hifi dealer, operating his business out of a house in kepong.

soon we parted and he took over music matters from me. the business began to dwindle and he soon branched out to trade motorbikes, one of his passions in life.

john was a very humble and nice chap. he always wore a big smile on his face. he also addressed all his friends and customers with the best possible manner and courtesy. his passions in life were hifi, music, motorbikes and dogs. he is an avid animal lover. john was also a very filial son, always mentioning his mum and his dad to his friends.

john had major depression problems in 2007 and all his close hifi friends, me included, were trying very hard to help him. he shunned himself from the world, preferring to live life as a recluse. he lost weights and looked pale the last time we met up for tea and that was more than 1 year ago.

the last time i spoke to john was 3 months ago when i discovered that music matters website had since been closed. he told me that he has since moved his trading to mudah.com. he also told me that life was tough but he was happy that he has got a girlfriend to share life with with.

i couldn't describe the extent of my pain of losing such a nice friend. i couldn't write any longer than this.

john, may you rest in peace.

16 comments:

Unknown said...

the news came as a shock to me too... i have known John since his Brickfields days and remember well how he guided me into the realms of hifi when i first started. John was always accomodating, and never said he was too busy to entertain or to educate me whenever i was in the neighbourhood's vicinity.

for a while, we were very close to the point of brotherhood.

always a cheerful and positive person, i will never forget his pleasantness and enthusiasm whenever his music passion is discussed.

John, may you rest in peace now... your fellow Naimee, Terence.

Panzer said...

That's a shock to me!

Me and some buddies bought and sold some hifi through John in the music matters days and always had good friendly services from him.

It's a terrible loss.

Anonymous said...

I am taken aback by the news. John and I had met only a couple of times but he was a nice person to know.

If you can read this, take care John. Hope you have found the audio nirvana that most of us are still looking for.

Sting said...

I know him personally as I've had traded few items with him. He was a soft spoken person with great customer etiquette.

It's a sad thing...

The show must go on....

Anonymous said...

RIP John Lee

Anonymous said...

Its sad to hear John has returned to the Lord. May God bless him.
RIP my friend, You're in a better place now.

hifikaki said...

I can't say I know John personally. But as gathered from your tributes, he must have been a great soul.
I am sorry for your loss.

Anonymous said...

Although I have not see him personally but I have managed to speak to him via phone some years ago.

From the way he speak, I know he is a nice guy.

may god bless you

Anonymous said...

Its a loss to us all.

Extremely sorry to hear this.

Anonymous said...

RIP JOHN LEE

Peter said...

I was shock and sadden by the news of John's death.I have known him since the Brickfields days.He is always smiling and a very kind fellow.Its a great loss to me and all his HiFi buddies.
John, may you rest in peace.
Leong.

anakbuah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Sad to hear John is not with us anymore.

I've been to his house a few times and I've bought some items from him too.

Very kind and nice person...

Anonymous said...

I was shocked to learn about his death recently. I feel very sorry and sad.

BTW how can I get my amp back which was with him?

Pls email me if you have any info.
hcl_sd@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

John Lee,

Was just thinking about him over the christmas holidays and browsing for his name card but were not able to locate it for some reason or other. I had left some equipment and speakers for him to sell on my behalf.

Have not been able to get in touch with him and I did a search on the website and the news is shocking.

John Lee is a decent chap. I knew him in the early 90's when he used to rent laser disc and travel from office to office.

I helped him set up his business in 1997 and allow him to operate from my office at Sri Gombak then until 1999.

He did well and worked very hard.

May his soul rest in peace.

zainal baharuddin
zainalb@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Anyone knows how or who should I get in touch with to get back my equipments?

Do email me zainalb@gmail.com