When Nicholas Zefferys stepped to the front of the room to formally introduce himself at a recent Rotary of South Whidbey meeting, his acquaintances were unprepared for the tremendous series of events their “quiet,” and “unassuming” fellow member would unfurl.

Zefferys, like many South Whidbey residents, first moved to the island in search of post-retirement respite from the bustle of King County; he shares a part-time home with his spouse, an author and fellow adventurer, Marlene Zefferys, near the shores of Mutiny Bay and is active in local non-profit organizations; and, every year, the couple leaves the chilly Puget Sound for someplace warmer.

But Zefferys’ second home, and his life outside of Whidbey, is far from average.

In Kuala Lumpur, where Zefferys has lived and worked for the past 24 years, he is a knight. King Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, the 7th Raja of Perlis and 12th Yang di-Pertual Agong, bestowed the honor upon him at the recommendation of the former prime minister. According to Zefferys, he was the first “foreigner” to be knighted.

“I was quite surprised, quite shocked actually,” said Zefferys, speaking via Skype from Kuala Lumpur, adding that when he first received the letter, written in a Malaysian language, he was in disbelief. In Malaysia, his title is Datuk.

“I was blown away … He is very quiet, very pleasant. He doesn’t put himself forth as anything special at all,” said Karen Franklin, treasurer of the Rotary of South Whidbey, recalling the moment Zefferys presented his multitude of accomplishments. “He just mingles with everybody and is a really nice person. …You never would have known that he had had such a fantastic experience.”

As a part of the Rotary Club induction process, each member must give a formal presentation to introduce themselves. Often these presentations include a note of remarkable achievements. Franklin noted that she was not aware of any stories similar to Zefferys’ in Rotary of South Whidbey.

“Although the focus of his talk was historical and geographical, what came across to me in his story is how very much we are all the same,” said Franklin in an email to The Record. “Kings, rulers of nations, so-called ‘important’ peoples and their subjects, we all have the same basic drives and desires; food and shelter, the technology to achieve them, but most of all the need for love and acceptance.”

Initially, Zefferys had been sent to Malaysia to begin a new fiber-optic-based telephone company with a $1 billion dollar budget to be spent over five years.

Due in large part to the success of his work, he was elected President of the American Malaysia Chamber of Commerce, becoming close with the prime minister at the time.

A newly anointed knight, Zefferys, not one to shirk responsibilities, became increasingly involved with the government and was assigned to a handful of task forces, including one intended to improve the ease of conducting international business with the nation. Zefferys explained that, at the beginning of his tenure on this task force, the World Bank rated Malaysia as 26th on the list of several countries in terms of ease of transactions. By the end of five years, the task force had bumped the nation to number six.

“We would have countries from around the world come in and ask what we did [to improve] and I would explain to them how we approached things,” he said.

Afterward, Zefferys was appointed to implement a new economic model and justice system for the country. These, too, proved hugely successful.

“It was very ambitious, but very rewarding,” he said. “We effectively laid out the plans for the future of the country.”

The former judicial system, he explained, was not working between a backlog of unresolved cases and a court system wanting for justice.

“Justice was not being doled out,” he said. “The first thing [a country] has to have is law and order that people trust.”

Through a series of interviews with legal professionals, the bar association and head of the judicial system and implementation of a new court system, Zefferys said he and his cohorts were able to make a notable difference.

“Malaysia can really claim law and order now,” he said.

He explained that, as a part of the new economic model, a project which is still underway, the group addressed the issue of the previous 20 percent poverty rate, employing more effective hiring and training methods for the betterment of employees and businesses, raising the minimum wage, decreasing the amount of labor outsourcing and bettering the education system. The group will continue with this work until 2020.

His career in communications and work in building a broad-world view began after his term in the Navy came to an end in the early 1960s. While many of his fellow sailors and officers re-enlisted for the Vietnam War, Zefferys headed to the library of the South Methodist University to request all of the books on Vietnam. To his surprise, there were none.

Soon afterward he accepted work as a civilian contractor for the military, building tropospheric scatter communications systems for the United States military.

It was there, in Thailand and Vietnam, that Zefferys said he realized the immense potential of South East Asia, and became determined to help the region’s citizens achieve it.

“It was a most extraordinary, eye-opening learning experience,” he said. “I saw how the future [opportunity] for this part of the world is massive.”

In addition to his work in Malaysia, he has served on the board of several companies and has assisted in government projects with Singapore, Philippines, Myanmar and others.

Although Zefferys is “deeply entrenched” in Kuala Lumpur, he and his spouse will be permanently leaving their home in Malaysia for Whidbey in order to spend more time with their children and to tend to an ailing family member. Despite the difficulty of leaving, Zefferys said he is looking forward to spending more time with family and catching up on United States affairs.

“[Nick’s] story fluoroscopes how very much we need each other,” said Franklin. “I left the meeting with renewed insight.”