PNG aviator, politician Malcolm ‘Kela’ Smith dies from COVID-19 complications
Brisbane: Businessman and former Papua New Guinea Governor Malcolm ‘Kela’ Smith has been remembered as a fierce competitor and a loyal friend by PNG MP Robert Agarobe.
Mr Smith, 77, died in a south-east Queensland hospital on Monday from COVID-19 complications. Mr Smith had been medevaced from PNG on March 28 and was being treated in the intensive care unit at Redcliffe Hospital, north of Brisbane.
He was a former Governor and MP for PNG’s Eastern Highlands and well known in the region for his work in the aviation industry. In 2017, Mr Smith also founded the Kela Foundation to help underprivileged children and their communities.
Friend and PNG MP Robert Agarobe paid tribute to Smith on Facebook, saying they had enjoyed a strong professional rivalry.
“My aviation life with Malcolm Kela Smith was a love-and-hate relationship as competitors, and we had our moments, however we were best of friends who shared more than a few beers together and assisted each other in times of need when it came to work,” Mr Agarobe wrote.
“We both had the utmost respect for each other as brothers and aviators.”
The businesses owned by Mr
Smith in Goroka in the Eastern Highlands had closed on Monday, following confirmation of his death. He was the owner and founder of Pacific Helicopters PNG, as well as a local shopping centre and hotel.
In a statement, Queensland Health said because Mr Smith had been diagnosed with COVID-19 in PNG, his death would not be included in Queensland’s statistics. Queensland has recorded a total of six deaths from COVID-19, with the last fatal case occurring in April 2020.