[4] Santokh was a player for Malaysia national football team in the 1970s and 1980s, and played alongside the late Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun and R. Arumugam.
Santokh was part of Malaysia 1974 Asian Games bronze medalist in Tehran, but did not play in any of the matches due to injury before the start of the tournament.
[7] His partnership with Soh Chin Aun was said to be the most solid defence in the much-feared Malaysian team.
In February 1999, Asian Football Confederation recognize Santokh achievement of representing the country 145 times (match including Olympic qualification, against national 'B' football team, club side and selection side), 119 caps is against full national team.
[14] In 2011, Santokh was bestowed the honour of the Panglima Mahkota Wilayah by the Yang Dipertuan Agong of Malaysia, which bears the title Datuk.