Ling Liong Sik
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Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik (;
Foochow Romanized Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Mindong linguistic and cultural region. Fuzhou's population was 8 ...
: ''Lìng Liòng-sĭk''; born 18 September 1943) is a
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 ...
n politician. He was the sixth president of the
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), a component party of
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 and also the former Malaysian
Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
. Malaysian 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 ...
filed the suit against Ling Liong Sik on 2015, alleging that Ling had made libellous remarks against him in an article carried on a news portal. He is the current chancellor and former chairman of the
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (abbreviated as UTAR; ) is a not-for-profit private research university in Malaysia. UTAR ranked among top 100 in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2018 and top 600 in the Times Higher Educatio ...
(UTAR). UTAR's Dewan Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik is named in honour after him. In 27 October 2015, 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 ...
is suing Ling Liong Sik for allegedly implying that he had misused public fund for his personal interests. In 22 May 2018, Najib has withdrawn his defamation suit against Ling Liong Sik over the alleged misuse of public funds. He is also one of the most influential Chinese politicians in contemporary Malaysia. He played a significant role in Malaysian politics during his tenure.


Personal life

Ling was born on 18 September 1943, at
Kuala Kangsar Kuala Kangsar (Perak Malay: ) is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of Ipoh, Perak's capital, and southeast of George Town, Penang, Ge ...
,
Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...
,
Japanese occupation of Malaya Malaya, then under British administration,, was gradually occupied by Japanese forces between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 15 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allie ...
. He received his primary education at King Edward VII School in
Taiping, Perak Taiping () is a town located in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located approximately northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak, and southeast of George Town, Penang, George Town, Penang. With a population of 245,18 ...
from 1950 to 1957, and his secondary education at the
Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to: ;Australia * Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory ;Canada * Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario * Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec ;Indi ...
in
Port Dickson Port Dickson (Negeri Sembilan Malay: ), colloquially referred to as PD, is a beach resort in Port Dickson District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. It is the second largest urban area in the state after Seremban, the state capital. The town's admi ...
,
Negri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in ...
from 1958 to 1960. Ling went on to pursue his higher education at the
University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University. The university offers degree program ...
in 1961, graduating with a
MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...
medical degree in 1966. His first post-varsity occupation involved a move to the Pearl of the Orient, where he was stationed as a physician in Penang General Hospital from 1966 to 1968. Ling later left the hospital to set up his own private practice in Butterworth, Province Wellesley from 1968 to 1975. He is married to Toh Puan Ong Ee Nah and has two sons, Ling Hee Leong and Ling Hee Keat.


Education

Ling studied in Royal Military College (Malaysia) in 1956. He graduated as a medical doctor from
University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University. The university offers degree program ...
in 1966. Subsequently, he set up his practice in
Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
.


Political career

Ling Liong Sik joined the MCA in 1968. In 1974, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Mata Kuching, Penang and become a Central Committee member of the party in the same year. He successfully reelected in 1978 and 1982. In 1986, Ling Liong Sik move to Labis parliamentary seat in Johor and elected Member of Parliament of the seat. He also subsequently successfully defended his position in the 1990, 1995 and 1999 general elections. He was elected in 1986 as the sixth President of the MCA, replacing
Tan Koon Swan Tan Koon Swan (; born 24 September 1940) is a Malaysian political and corporate figure. He was the fifth president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a component party of Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition; from November 1985 to Septemb ...
; he held this position for almost 17 years until his retirement in 2003. Ling Liong Sik first appointed as Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Federal Territories. Later, Deputy Minister of Information, Deputy Minister of Finance and Deputy Minister of Education. On 7 January 1986, he was appointed Minister of Transport until his retirement on 23 May 2003.


Acting Prime Minister

In 1988, Ling was briefly the acting Prime Minister from 4 to 16 February 1988, due to an internal struggle between different factions in UMNO, leading to a legal challenge and the deregistration of UMNO.


Post political career


UTAR chancellor

On 18 January 2017, Ling Liong Sik was installed as University Tunku Abdul Rahman's (UTAR) first chancellor during the university's 24th convocation ceremony.


Najib Razak defamation case

On 27 October 2015, 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 ...
has filed a suit against Ling Liong Sik for allegedly defaming him. Ling Liong Sik had made remarks in an article entitled "MCA's Liong Sik joins call for Najib's ouster for allegedly putting people's money in his own pocket" which were published in the
Malay Mail The ''Malay Mail'' is an online news portal in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the continuation of a print paper which was first published on 1 December 1896 when Kuala Lumpur was the capital of the then new Federated Malay States, making it the ...
online portal. Ling Liong Sik was quoted saying in the article that he agreed with 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 ...
's demands for Najib to resign, claiming that Najib "has taken people's money and put it in his own personal accounts". On 13 January 2016, Najib said Ling Liong Sik did not act as a bona fide "elder statesman". In his reply to Ling's defence and counter-claim against his suit for defamation, Najib said Ling had acted recklessly and with mala fide (bad intention) to tarnish his image and reputation. In 18 February 2016, Ling Liong Sik spared no bullets in his latest attack on Prime Minister Najib Razak. According to Ling, there is nothing wrong with
UMNO The United Malays National Organisation ( abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a conservative, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its inception in 1946), UMNO has been known as ...
and BN. On 18 July 2016, The High Court in Kuala Lumpur dismissed 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 ...
's affidavit in support of Ling Liong Sik's application to strike out Najib's suit. In her decision made in chambers, Justice Nor Bee Ariffin considered the affidavit filed by Mahathir as hearsay. On 23 December 2016, The High Court fixed March 23, 2017, to decide on an application by Ling Liong Sik to strike out a suit filed against him by Najib. On 22 February 2017, the court deferred a decision on the application, on the grounds that Najib could sue in his capacity as a public official. On 8 January 2018, The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has postponed the hearing of the defamation suit brought by Najib against Ling Liong Sik. According to Najib's lawyer Nor Emelia Iszeham , the court has yet to dispose of Ling's application to strike out the suit, filed in February 2016, which will push the hearing to April 2018. On 16 March 2018, Ling Liong Sik has failed to strike out the suit filed by Najib. Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Justice Nor Bee Arifin said the matter should go on trial to see whether Najib has the legal standing in the suit. On 22 May 2018, Najib has withdrawn his defamation suit against Ling Liong Sik over the alleged misuse of public funds. Ling's lawyer Ranjit Singh told reporters after meeting High Court judicial commissioner Goon Siew Chye in chambers that Najib decided to withdraw the suit against his client and the court ordered him to pay a RM25,000 in costs.


Election results


Honours


Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Grand Commander of the
Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on 15 April 1966 and gazetted on 30 June 1966 ...
(SSM) – Tun (2004) * : ** Knight Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (DPMP) – Dato' (1982) ** Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Perak State Crown (SPMP) – Dato' Seri (1989) * : ** Knight Commander of the
Order of the Crown of Selangor The Most Illustrious Order of the Crown of Selangor (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Selangor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an order awarded by Sultan of Selangor as a reward for general services to the sultan and state of Selangor. It was foun ...
(DPMS) – Dato' (1992) * : ** Grand Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DGSM) – Datuk Seri (1993) * : ** 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 (2003)


See also

* Mata Kuching (federal constituency) * Labis (federal constituency)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ling Liong Sik Living people Government ministers of Malaysia Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent 1943 births People from Kuala Kangsar Presidents of Malaysian Chinese Association Malaysian Chinese Association politicians Malaysian medical doctors University of Singapore alumni Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Ministers of transport of Malaysia Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor Malaysian MPs 1974–1978 Malaysian MPs 1978–1982 Malaysian MPs 1982–1986 Malaysian MPs 1986–1990 Malaysian MPs 1990–1995 Malaysian MPs 1995–1999 Malaysian MPs 1999–2004