Liew Chin Tong
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Liew Chin Tong (; born 27 November 1977) is a Malaysian politician and author who has served as the deputy minister of investment, trade and industry in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister
Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...
and Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz since April 2023, member of parliament (MP) for
Iskandar Puteri Iskandar Puteri (formerly known as Nusajaya) is a Cities of Malaysia, city and the administrative capital of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is situated along the Straits of Johor at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula and the southernmos ...
since November 2022 and Member of the
Johor State Legislative Assembly The Johor State Legislative Assembly () is the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is composed of 56 members who are elected from single-member constituencies throughout the state. Elections are held no more than five yea ...
(MLA) for Perling since March 2022. He served as
deputy minister of international trade and industry The Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry is a Cabinet of Malaysia, Malaysian cabinet position serving as deputy head of the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Malaysia), Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry. The Min ...
in the PH administration under Prime Minister Anwar and Minister Tengku Zafrul from December 2022 to April 2023, State
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
of
Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...
from April 2022 to his reappointment as a deputy minister in December 2022, the deputy minister of defence in the PH administration under former prime minister
Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...
and former minister
Mohamad Sabu Mohamad bin Sabu ( Jawi: محمد بن سابو; born 14 October 1954), commonly known as Mat Sabu, is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security in the Unity Government administration under Prime ...
from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020,
senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
from July 2018 to July 2021 and the MP for Kluang from May 2013 to May 2018 and Bukit Bendera from March 2008 to May 2013. He is a member of the
Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...
(DAP), a component party of the PH coalition. He has served as the National Strategic Director of DAP since March 2025 and the State Committee Member of DAP of Johor since October 2024. He served as Deputy Secretary-General of DAP from March 2022 to March 2025 and was the National Political Education Director of DAP and the State Chairman of DAP of Johor.


Background

Liew was born on 27 November 1977 at
Subang Jaya Subang Jaya is a city in Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia. It comprises the southern third district of Petaling. It consists of the neighbourhoods from SS12 to SS19, UEP Subang Jaya (USJ), Putra Heights, Batu Tiga as well as PJS7, PJ ...
,
Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...
. He had his early education at Kwang Hua Private High School up to 1995 before he pursued his tertiary education at
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
(ANU) and graduated with Bachelor of Asian Studies (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2004. He later obtained International Masters in Regional Integration at Asia-Europe Institute,
University of Malaya The Universiti Malaya (lit 'University of Malaya'; abbreviated UM) is a public university, public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest Malaysian institution of higher education, and was the only university in ...
(UM) in 2006. Liew previously was the executive director of Penang Institute (previously Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute, SERI), 2009-2012 and executive director of Research for Social Advancement (REFSA), 2007–2011. He was also former visiting research fellow, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore. In 1999, Liew joined the
Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...
(DAP).


Political career

Liew was first elected to the Malaysian Parliament in the 2008 general election winning the constituency of Bukit Bendera, Penang. A political strategist prior to his election, Liew has been credited for masterminding
Pakatan Rakyat Pakatan Rakyat (PR; ) was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP), and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Par ...
's takeover of the
Penang State Legislative Assembly The Penang State Legislative Assembly is the legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 40 elected lawmakers representing single-member constituencies throughout Penang. The state legis ...
. In the
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
general election, Liew wrestled the Kluang parliamentary seat in Johor from the predecessor,
Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (Abbreviation, abbrev: MCA; Malay language, Malay: ''Persatuan Cina Malaysia''), formerly known as the Malayan Chinese Association, is an ethnic List of political parties in Malaysia, political party in Malaysi ...
(MCA)'s Hou Kok Chung. In May 2018, he contested for the Ayer Hitam federal seat against the incumbent,
Wee Ka Siong Wee Ka Siong ( zh, t=, s=魏家祥, p=Wèi Jiāxiáng, c=, poj=Gūi Ka-siông; born 20 October 1968) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician and engineer who has served as the Dewan Rakyat, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayer Hitam (federa ...
, who is also then-Deputy President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a component party of 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 ...
(BN) coalition. Liew was narrowly defeated by 303 votes in the 2018 general election which then-Opposition coalition PH coalition claimed victory and ousted the then-ruling BN coalition from the administration for the first time. In 2017, Liew pointed out that the overall prices of goods had increased since 2013 general election due to the combined effects of GST implementation, a 30 percent depreciation of the ringgit since October 2014, and successive subsidy cuts. He said Prime Minister
Najib Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...
and the government should cease blaming the victims of their failed economic policies.


Deputy defence minister

Liew was appointed deputy defence minister on 17 July 2018 until 24 February 2020, being the first Malaysian not of Malay descent to hold this office. During his tenure, together with then-defence minister
Mohamad Sabu Mohamad bin Sabu ( Jawi: محمد بن سابو; born 14 October 1954), commonly known as Mat Sabu, is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security in the Unity Government administration under Prime ...
, the Ministry of Defence unveiled the inaugural Defence White Paper (DWP), a blueprint on building a national policy on defence and security. The DWP is an open document containing the direction and priorities of defence for a period of 10 years, from 2021 to 2030, spanning the 12th and 13th Malaysia Plans.


Deputy secretary-general of DAP

On 20 March 2022, on the 17th DAP National Congress, Liew was re-elected into the Central Executive Committee with 1008 votes, the 22nd highest vote. He was then appointed deputy secretary-general in the 17th DAP CEC under current secretary-general,
Anthony Loke Loke Siew Fook (; born 28 April 1977) also known as Anthony Loke is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Minister of Transport for the first term in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim since Decembe ...
.


Bibliography


Books

* Liew Chin Tong (2024), Second Takeoff * Liew Chin Tong (2021), Lim Kit Siang: Patriot. Leader. Fighter * Liew Chin Tong (2020), The Great Reset: 100 Days of Malaysia's Triple Crisis * Liew Chin Tong (2013), Putrajaya Milik Siapa?: Genta Media * Liew Chin Tong (2013), Middle Malaysia: Centre Ground Is Battle Ground: Genta Media * Liew Chin Tong (2009), Speaking for the reformasi generation Kuala Lumpur: Research for Social Advancement (REFSA)


Journals

* Liew Chin Tong and Francis Hutchison (2010), “Implementing Pro-Employment Policies at the Sub-national Level” in Ooi Kee Beng and Goh Ban Lee (eds) Pilot Studies for a New Penang, Penang: Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI), pp. 111–128. * Liew Chin Tong (2007), “PAS’ Leadership: New Faces and Old Constraints" in Lorraine C. Salazar and Daljit Singh (eds) Southeast Asian Affairs 2007, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp. 201–213 * Liew Chin Tong (2007), “PAS politics: defining an Islamic State” in Edmund Terence Gomez Politics in Malaysia: the Malay dimension Oxon: Routledge, pp. 107–137. * William F. Case and Liew Chin Tong (2006) How Committed Is PAS to Democracy and How Do We Know It? Contemporary Southeast Asia, Volume 28, Number 3, December 2006, pp. 385–406


Chinese Books

*《追寻理想国家:马来西亚政治史上的林吉祥》(2021) 吉隆坡:义腾研究中心 *《大复兴:马来西亚三重危机下的百日反思》(2020)吉隆坡:义腾研究中心 *《决战在中间:共创马来西亚2.0》(2013) 吉隆坡:众意出版 *《小市民的政治经济学》(2011)吉隆坡:众意出版 *《华教运动,动或不动》(2011)吉隆坡:新纪元学院校友会 *《亮剑—踢爆马来政治》(2007)吉隆坡:义腾研究中心


Election results


Honours

* : ** Recipient of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Installation Medal (2024)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liew, Chin Tong Living people 1977 births People from Selangor Malaysian people of Hakka descent Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent Democratic Action Party (Malaysia) politicians Members of the Dewan Negara Members of the Johor State Legislative Assembly Malaysian MPs 2008–2013 Malaysian MPs 2013–2018 Malaysian MPs 2022–