James Wong Kim Min (;

Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Pha̍k-fa-sṳ () is an orthography similar to Pe̍h-ōe-jī and used to write Hakka, a variety of Chinese. Hakka is a whole branch of Chinese, and Hakka dialects are not necessarily mutually intelligible with each other, considering the large geo ...

: ''Vòng Kîm-mìn'') (6 August 1922 – 18 July 2011) was a Malaysian politician active in the politics of

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

for decades. Wong holds the record as the longest serving assemblyman in the history of the state of Sarawak, holding the office for nearly fifty years. Wong served as the first Deputy

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

of Sarawak and the president of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP). He held several other ministries of Sarawak politics until his retirement in 2001.

Personal life

Wong was born in Limbang, Kingdom of Sarawak, on 6 August 1922. Sarawak was a

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

at the time.

Early political career

He began his political career in 1951, when he was elected to the Limbang District Council. In 1956, Wong was elected to Sarawak's legislature, the Council Negri, which is now known as the

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is the legislative chamber of the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Sarawak; the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak forms the other part of the legislature. The Assembly is modelled after th ...

. He continued to hold office in the Legislative Assembly until his retirement in 2001. Malaysia became an independent country in 1963. Wong had been a member of the Malaysian Solidarity Convention's Sarawak delegation in 1962, which negotiated the formation of the new nation. Stephen Kalong Ningkan, the then president of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP), became the first Chief Minister of Sarawak, while Wong became the state's first deputy Chief Minister.

Member of the opposition

SNAP pulled out of the national coalition government, led by the Alliance Party, and became an opposition party. Wong, a member of the SNAP, won a seat in the

Parliament of Malaysia The Parliament of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, Literal translation, lit. "People's As ...

in the 1969 general election, representing the Miri-Subis

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

. Wong became the leader of the Malaysian Opposition in August 1974. Wong would later be arrested under the Internal Security Act on 30 October 1974 and held at the Kamunting Detention Centre for several years. In 1981, Wong became the third president of the Sarawak National Party.

Reconciliation with Barisan Nasional

Wong's Sarawak National Party reconciled and rejoined the successor of the Alliance, the

Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...

. Under the new coalition, Wong became a minister in Sarawak's state cabinet, holding several portfolios during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Wong became the Environment and Tourism Minister of Sarawak from 1987 to 1994. He then became the state Minister of Environment and Housing from 1995 to 1997 and finally the state Minister of Environment and Public Health from 1998 until his retirement in 2001. In 2001, Wong, who was still serving as Environment Minister, was awarded the Langkawi Award for to work in launching a

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

satellite tracking program and spearheading a new reefball project for

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

Retirement from politics

Wong retired from politics in 2001. He continued to author new books and poems during his retirement. Wong authored ''The Price of Loyalty'', a book about his imprisonment at the Kamunting detention center under the Internal Security Act. By 2003, Wong had published the third addition of ''The Birth of Malaysia'', a history of the country. He also released a third book, ''Memories of Speeches at the Council Negri''. In addition to his books, Wong also wrote poetry during his later life. His poetry collections included ''A Special Breed'' in 1981, ''Shimmering Moonbeams'' in 1983, ''Buy a Little Time'' in 1989 and ''Beautiful Butterfly'' in 2009. Wong also spearheaded the push to have

Malaysia Day Malaysia Day (; Jawi: ) is a public holiday held on 16 September every year nationally since 2010 to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on that date in 1963. This event saw Malaya (already a sovereign state since 1957 ...

declared a national holiday. In 2010, Malaysia Day was finally declared an official holiday, to be celebrated nationwide on 16 September of every year. Wong spoke of Malaysia Day in 2010 saying, "It is my hope that Malaysia Day will be celebrated every 16 September. People should remember it because it's a historic occasion."

Death

James Wong suffered a heart attack on 18 July 2011. He died shortly after 10 a.m. at the Normah Medical Specialist Centre in

Kuching Kuching ( , ), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak Ri ...

, Sarawak,

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, at the age of 90. Wong was survived by his wife, Datin Amar Valerie Bong; five daughters; three sons; thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was buried in Limbang at the family cemetery in Jalan Pandaruan. Dignitaries in attendance included members of each of Sarawak's major ethnic groups, including the Chinese, the Kedayan, Bruneian Malays, Bisaya, Tabun,

Lun Bawang The Lun Bawang (formerly known as Trusan Murut and Mengalong Murut or Southern Murut) is an ethnic group found in Central Northern Borneo. They are indigenous to the southwest of Sabah (Interior Division including Labuan) and the northern reg ...

and Iban. Sarawak government announced that it will put together an exhibit of Wong's documents at the state museum.

Election results

Honours

* : ** Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (DA) – Datuk Amar (1985) ** Knight Commander of the

Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak The ''Darjah Utama Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak'' (Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak) is the highest state order in the state of Sarawak. It is conferred to those who rendered excellent service towards the development of the state of ...

(PNBS) – Dato Sri, formerly Dato' (1965)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, James 1922 births 2011 deaths Deputy chief ministers of Sarawak Members of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Sarawak state ministers Leaders of the opposition (Malaysia) Sarawak National Party politicians Malaysian poets Malaysian people of Hakka descent Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent 20th-century Malaysian poets Malaysian MPs 1971–1974 Malaysian MPs 1990–1995