Omar Ong Yoke Lin ( zh, 翁毓麟; 23 July 1917 – 1 July 2010) was 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, diplomat and businessman. He was a founding member 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 ...

, and was a key figure in the country's road to independence. Ong served various positions in the government of

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

and Malaysia, as a Cabinet minister and ambassador. He was a Chinese

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

convert.

Early life and education

Ong Yoke Lin was born on 23 July 1917 in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, he attended Pudu Girls' English School and later

Victoria Institution The Victoria Institution is the oldest secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a memorial school, so-called because it was partly funded by public subscription intended for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden ...

, where he was contemporaries of, among others, Yahya Abdul Razak,

Lee Siew Choh Lee Siew Choh (; 1 November 1917 – 18 July 2002) was a Singaporean politician and physician. A former member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), he was the Member of Parliament for Queenstown from 1959 to 1963 and served as the NCMP fr ...

, Yaacob Latiff and Mahmood Ambak, the father-in-law of

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi (, ; 26 November 1939 – 14 April 2025), also known as Pak Lah, was a Malaysian politician and civil servant who served as the fifth prime minister of Malaysia from 2003 to 2009. A member of UMNO, he was the party's ...

, the fifth

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a membe ...

. He passed the London Matriculation in 1935 and trained as a chartered accountant. He intended to read law, but his studies were put on hold by the

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 ...

Politics

Omar helped found and joined the

Malayan Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association ( abbrev: MCA; Malay: ''Persatuan Cina Malaysia''), formerly known as the Malayan Chinese Association, is an ethnic political party in Malaysia that seeks to represent the Malaysian Chinese ethnicity; it was ...

(MCA) in 1949. As a prominent Chinese leader, Ong was selected by the

British High Commissioner In the Commonwealth of Nations, a high commissioner is the senior diplomat, generally ranking as an ambassador, in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another. Instead of an embassy, the diplomatic mission is genera ...

as a member of the then fully appointed Selangor State Council and

Federal Legislative Council The Federal Legislative Council (also known simply as the Legislative Council) was the legislative body of the Federation of Malaya and the predecessor of the Malaysian Parliament. It was formed in 1948 after the abolition of the Malayan Union an ...

. In 1952, he and Yahya Abdul Razak mooted the idea of an alliance between MCA and the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...

(UMNO) for the Kuala Lumpur Municipal Council elections. This was the precursor to the formal Alliance Party. He contested and won a seat in that election, and was chosen as leader of the Alliance Party in the Municipal Council. Omar went on to become MCA vice-president and the member of parliament for

Hulu Selangor Hulu Selangor is a Districts in Malaysia, district in Selangor, Malaysia. It contains the towns of Serendah, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Bharu. Its principal town is Kuala Kubu Bharu. The district is located in the northeastern part of Selango ...

. In 1955, the Alliance Party won the first ever elections to the Federal Legislative Council under the leadership of

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...

. Omar was appointed Minister for Post and Telecoms in the Tunku's first Cabinet. Following the overwhelming support shown for the Alliance Party during the elections and the forming of the government, the Tunku led the Merdeka Delegation to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

which successfully negotiated independence from the British. Omar joined the Tunku on his second trip to London in April 1957 to finalise the newly drafted Constitution of Malaya.

Independence and the formation of Malaysia

On 31 August 1957, Omar was appointed to the

first Rahman cabinet Tunku Abdul Rahman formed the first Rahman cabinet after being invited to begin a new government following the 27 July 1955 general election in Malaysia. Upon receiving the assent of the Rulers of the Malay States, the composition of the cabin ...

of the newly independent

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

, holding the Labour and Social Welfare portfolio. In 1959, he became health minister. During negotiations to unite Malaya,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

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 ...

and

British North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo was originally establish ...

(later known as

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

), Ong was ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

as Malaya focused on diplomacy amid regional tensions with

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

('' Konfrontasi''). Following the proclamation of the Federation of

, Ong continued to serve in the Cabinet as minister without portfolio until 1973. He served concurrently as High Commissioner to Canada in 1966 and as ambassador to Brazil from 1967 to 1972. In 1973, he was elected

President of the Dewan Negara The president of the Senate (; Jawi: ) is the presiding officer or speaker of the Dewan Negara, the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia. The president of the Senate is created under Article 56 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The office ...

and served until 1980.

Personal life

Tun Omar was married to Toh Puan Dr. Aishah Chan binti Abdullah, also a Chinese Muslim convert and had three children. He converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in 1961.

Death

Ong died on 1 July 2010 due to old age. He was 92. His body was laid to rest at

Makam Pahlawan The Makam Pahlawan (Malay language, Malay for Heroes' Mausoleum) is the burial ground of several Malaysian leaders and politicians. It is located near the Malaysian national mosque, Masjid Negara, in the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Construc ...

near

Masjid Negara The National Mosque of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has a capacity for 15,000 people and is situated among of gardens. Its key features are a minaret and a 16-pointed star concrete main roof. ...

Election results

Honours

* : ** Commander of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace of God-Defender of the Realm). The o ...

(PMN) – Tan Sri (1959) * : **

Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold) (PPM) (1965) **

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 (1979) * : ** MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Grand Commander - SPMS

Knight Grand 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 ...

(SPMS) – Dato' Seri (1973) ** MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Commander - DPMS

Knight Commander of the

(DPMS) – Dato' (1971) * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

Grand Commander of the

Order of Kinabalu The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu (Malay: ''Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Kinabalu'') is the only order conferred by the Governor of Sabah, Malaysia. Background The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu is established by virtue of Section 3(a) of State Honou ...

(SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (1973)

Notes

References

Tun Omar Yoke-Lin Ong The Last Independence Fighter
(1999 interview), and "First step to independence", ''The Star'', 2 April 2001. Online at The Victoria Institution

17 December 2006, The Victoria Institution {{DEFAULTSORT:Ong, Yoke Lin 1917 births Malaysian people of Chinese descent 2010 deaths Converts to Islam from Buddhism Malaysian Muslims Government ministers of Malaysia Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent Malaysian Chinese Association politicians Permanent representatives of Malaysia to the United Nations Ambassadors of Malaysia to the United States Malaysian expatriates in the United States Ambassadors of Malaysia to Brazil Malaysian accountants Members of the Dewan Negara Members of the Dewan Rakyat High commissioners of Malaysia to Canada Kuala Lumpur politicians Malaysian people of Hakka descent Presidents of the Dewan Negara Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Ministers of health of Malaysia Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu