Gifted child: Dr Ling at the age of five.
The life story of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik as told to journalist Foong Pek Yee shortly after his retirement from active politics in 2003.
Dr Ling was the fourth generation of the Ling family, with a history dated back to Sitiawan, Perak in then Malaya in 1903.
A medical doctor by training, he went on to become the longest serving Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president and the longest serving Transport Minister (1986-2003) in Malaysian history.
By Foong Pek Yee
foongpekyee@gmail.com
Sept 18, 2026
I was about seven years old when my world suddenly went beyond Taiping.
It was not any ordinary morning, and I remember mother was on a reflective mood.
Uncle came and took me to Ipoh, about 70 km from Taiping.
It was quite a long journey by car, and I could still remember the breeze blowing in my face.
There were no air conditioning cars in that era.
We arrived at Chung Ah Ming Road in Ipoh where I discovered my family roots.
We were greeted by a kind looking and quite elderly lady whom I called Tuah Ng (in Hokkien) or Dai Ma (in Cantonese) in the predominantly Cantonese community in Ipoh.
Dai Ma’s name was U Leng Hing and she was my father’s first wife.
Dai Ma was much older than mother.
My father died when I was three months old.
Dai Ma and father had three children; Ling Siok Ting, Ling Liong Ching and Ling Liong Li.
My half siblings were already adults when we first met.
I called them brother and sister.
The Ling family doted on me, and we got along fine from the first meeting.
The Ling family wanted to spend more time with me.
Subsequently, each visit to Ipoh lasted between one and two weeks during the school holidays.
Dai Ma used to take me to see movies at a cinema nearby called Star Theatre.
We walked out from our house and crossed the road (Jalan Pasir Puteh, Ipoh) to take a bus.
It was just a straight road down, curved a bit and we were right in front of the cinema.
Ipoh was a booming tin mining town, a different place altogether, and as a small boy I enjoyed myself during the visits.
There were not many shops or entertainment in Taiping back then.
Dai Ma and my half siblings treated me very well and we were like a family.
I remember eating char siew pau (steamed roast pork dumplings in Cantonese) and looked forward to my stay in Ipoh – a holiday retreat that I enjoyed very much!
Dai Ma and Siok Ting were teachers.
They bought me books and they made sure I read them.
They also made sure my reading is good.
Liong Ching who joined the army was a good tennis and golf player.
Sports run in our blood.
Liong Ching gave me my first golf set when I was a doctor in Butterworth.
That was in 1968.
Sadly Liong Ching passed away when he was only 40 plus.
Liong Li who was 10 years my senior was a police officer with the Special Branch.
Meanwhile, I have another set of four half siblings from my mother’s second marriage to Loh Loong Kong, a war department clerk with the British army camp in Taiping.
My half siblings were Loh Lee Aik, an SIA (Singapore International Airlines) pilot, Loh Lee Lian, a pianist-turned- accountant and Loh Lee Soon, an accountant.
My step dad also had a daughter Loh Yook Sim from his previous marriage.
Loong Kong was quite young when he married my mother, and he and I used to play hockey, football and badminton together.
The year I turned six was a year of discovery.
I started primary one at King Edward VII School in Taiping.
Set up in 1883, it was the first English School in the Malay states.
We, the students or King Edwardians, were also known as Tigers!
My mother also taught in the school.
By then, I could sense the privilege of being a teacher’s son.
The other kids would not bully me, and everybody would somehow be nice to you when they knew you are the teacher’s son.
I was a well -mannered kid and always the top pupil.
“Even at this young age, I could sense the expectation from others for me to continue to excel.”
Photos: Credit to a publication titled A Tribute to… Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik from his colleagues and friends in the Alumni Association of the King Edward VII College of Medicine and the faculties of Medicine of the University of Malaya and the University of Singapore.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication titled The life story of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission from the journalist Foong Pek Yee.
