每日归档： 2026年9月21日

The life story of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik : Part 9

 

We made it:  On July 8, 2001, Dr Ling (centre) announced the government’s approval for MCA to set up a university.  The approval dated July 5, 2001 and the university was named Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) . Flanking Dr Ling were then MCA secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh (right) and then deputy education Minister Datuk Hon Choon Kim (left).

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

The  Chinese community’ s demand for university education surged drastically since the 1960s.

Their dream then was to set up their own university called Merdeka University to meet the demand.

In 1969, MCA under then president Tun Tan Siew Sin, stepped in and set up Tunku Abdul Rahman College also known as TAR College to provide the much needed quality and affordable education opportunities.

The Chinese community under the MCA leadership rallied behind TAR College.

TAR College’s first intake was 764 students in 1969, and it operated from rented premises for about seven years before having its main campus in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur in 1976.

While TAR College went on producing graduates by the thousands and   became a household name, the Merdeka University dream  took a backseat.

The MCA  got an approval from the government on July 5, 2001  to set up a university, named Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

It is against this historical backdrop for  MCA to hail UTAR  as a  dream come true for the party after more than three decades.

People from all walks of life rallied behind UTAR.

The university quickly became a household name, producing graduates by the thousands.

“I must put on record that UTAR and TAR College are by the people for the people.”

New pathway: UTAR opened doors to its pioneer batch of 411 students in their temporary campus in Petaling Jaya , Selangor on June 10, 2002.

Endorsement: Accompanied by Dr Ling, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad signed a plaque at the official ground breaking ceremony for UTAR main campus in Kampar, Perak on Jan 12, 2003.

Generous Malaysians from all walks of life; from big corporate figures to petty traders, hawkers and taxi drivers had come out in full force to support the two institutions.

“God has given you sufficient education and training.  Whatever situation, you will have to draw on the gift. Success or failure is God’s decision.”

You have to face the problems and find solutions.

There is no need to worry too much  about the outcome.

“I think half the fun of life is gone if you do not face any problem as life can be dull in the absence of challenges.

“In fact, many good things appeared first in the form of problems.”

The setting up of the first TAR College branch campus in Penang is a good example.

“We decided to expand the college after having to reject 8,000 out of the 12,000 applications to enter the  college.”

TAR College main campus in  Setapak , Kuala Lumpur underwent expansion via the setting up of  branch campus in Penang, Perak, Johor,  Pahang and Sabah.

In the 1990s, MCA detected  many zero passes among  Chinese primary schools in the UPSR (Ujian Peperiksaan Sekolah Rendah) because the children failed Bahasa Malaysia.

In 1993, MCA launched Langkawi Project, a move to encourage parents in the rural areas to help their children in their studies.

With the theme “An hour a day you sure make it” we aimed to encourage parents to set aside at least an hour a day to help their children.

“I knew we must do something at this point so that the children could continue with their studies in secondary school and  beyond”.

There must be smooth progression to keep their interest in studies.

I think we  had raise enough awareness among rural children and parents on the importance of education.

“Our encouragement came in many forms;  like setting up resource centres/mini libraries and presenting the children with gifts like school bags, dictionaries and stationery”.

We also collected used computers, repaired them and gave them to the schools to let the children learn how to use computer.

In the 1995 general election, MCA had the best performance ever,  winning 30 parliamentary seats and 70 state seats – an endorsement for the party.

In 1996, MCA managed to get the government to repeal the Education Act 1961, 21 (2) that empowers the Education Minister to close down Chinese schools (vernacular schools)  or convert them to national schools.

My belief is : “Every problem has a solution in disguise”.

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.

The life story of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik: Part 8

Navigating politics:  Then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (center), at the opening of  an MCA  annual general assembly  in Kuala Lumpur. Flanking him were ex MCA president Tan Sri Lee San Choon(left)  and  then MCA president Dr Ling.

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

It was  autumn at Central London’s Hyde Park.

I had taken six weeks of no pay leave to do some reflections on what to do next.

That was in 1987 – a year filled with unparalleled challenges.

“Some 100 people including several MCA leaders got detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

“The swoop on Oct 27, 1987 was dubbed Operations Lallang 1987.”

There was widespread anger among the Chinese community in response to a government directive to send non Chinese educated teachers to hold senior positions in Chinese schools.

“The move was set to change the character of the Chinese schools.

“The tension escalated to protests in Chinese schools .

“As the MCA president and a Cabinet Minister, my six weeks of no pay leave was also to register my protest and stand by the Chinese community while working  for a solution to the contentious issue.”

On my way home from London, I transit in Hong Kong to meet up with Robert Kuok- a very wise man and fatherly figure.

He had very good advice for me, saying, “Life is about going upstream, against the current, and you cannot stop or else you will go backwards. You are really going upstream.”

I learned the importance of patience and endurance in politics the hard way.

“The Chinese School issue was resolved and the MCA leaders detained under the Operations Lallang were released shortly before Christmas that year.”

I was put to test again and again in politics.

Earlier I was among the 14 MCA central committee members who got sacked in 1984 at the height of a party crisis.

I resigned as deputy finance minister after the sacking.

The then MCA acting president Neo Yee Pan rescinded the sacking in January 1985 and I was appointed the deputy education Minister two months later.

“I won the MCA deputy president’s post in the party elections in 1985 and got  appointed as  the  Transport Minister the next year.”

The then MCA president Tan Koon Swan who was involved with Singapore’s  Pan Electric Industries (Pan – El) scandal stepped down as party president in Sept 1986.

” As the  MCA deputy  president, I was automatically elevated to the MCA president’s post on Sept 3, 1986 as provided for under the party’s constitution.”

But there was no time to rejoice.

The country was in an economic recession then,  and MCA in 1989 was at brink of losing Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur to a bank.

“We had a life membership recruitment drive to help save our building which also  houses our party headquarters.”

Together with other measures we managed to save Wisma MCA.

In 1987, we also secured a ringgit-to-ringgit refund to some 500,000 depositors of the 24 cooperative societies under Koperasi Serbaguna Malaysia or KSM run by MCA leaders.

“We are grateful to every body  who stood by MCA during such trying times and helped us to recover.”

I love to tell people the stories of MCA’s 3Rs – Rescue, Repair and Rebuilt – between 1986 and 1990.

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 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.

The life story of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik : Part 7.

Turning point:  Hee Leong (right) and Hee Keat looking at their father’s general election poster in 1974.

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.

My eldest son Hee Leong was born on May 12, 1969 – the eve of the May 13 racial riots, often referred to as 513.

“There was a curfew and I had to get a special permit to bring my wife and baby home.”

On the political front, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) which is a component party of the ruling coalition called the Alliance ( officially renamed to Barisan National in 1974)  lost all the seats it contested in Penang in the just concluded 1969 general elections.

MCA  splinter party called Gerakan , then an opposition party, made a clean sweep in the state.

Thus the MCA top leaders saw an urgent need to recruit members to strengthen the party.

The then Butterworth MCA division chairman Lim Ean Cheng persuaded me to join the party.

I joined MCA in 1971.

The division chairman appointed me as state secretary and introduced me to Lee San Choon when he visited  Penang.

“Lim Ean Cheng also recommended me to San Choon to make me a central committee member (the MCA central committee is the party’s highest decision making body).”

I remember taking a flight to Kuala Lumpur to meet then MCA president Tun Tan Siew Sin.

“Three years later I contested and won the Mata Kuching parliamentary seat in the 1974 general election, and retained the seat in the next two  general elections.”

In 1976,  I was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government and Federal Territory Ministry.

By then,  I was a father of two and having my own clinic.

My wife had quit her nursing job to help me in the clinic and take care of our children, Hee Leong and Hee Keat.

Comfortable life: Dr Ling’s clinic in Butterworth.

The clinic was on the ground floor and we stayed upstairs.

While the status quo was comfortable for our family, I decided to go full time politics in 1976.

It was not an easy decision.

“The clinic meant a lot to me.

“I bought it for RM50,000 including the building.

“Mother sold her bungalow and loaned me Rm15,000 and I took a bank loan to pay the balance.”

The clinic belonged to a Canadian doctor who studied in Sheffield, England.

He married a Malaysian Chinese girl and the couple decided to sell the clinic and leave Malaysia.

The clinic was the panel doctor for Penang Port Commission workers and Penang Labour Board workers and business was very good.

“The two contracts alone would give me a minimum of RM1,000 income a month, and this was really big money then.

“And the thousands of workers and their family members were also my voters.”

Dr Sak Cheng Lum, who is a close friend of mine and two years my Junior in University of Singapore took over the clinic.

The year 1978 was a difficult year for our family.

We lost our mother to cancer.

“While I retained the Mata Kuching parliamentary seat in the 1978 general election,  my mother’s funeral was three days before polling day.”

Despite battling the disease for more than a year,  she managed to make  preparations for her funeral.

“Strong, honest and meticulous, mother was a very good Christian and had lived a simple and good life.”

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 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.

 

The life story of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik : Part 6.

 

A day to remember: The wedding of Dr Ling and Ena Ling in 1968.

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.

The Penang General Hospital’s ward 10 holds a special meaning for me.

That was in 1967.

” I went to take a look at the place about 9.00pm because the next day would be my first day of work as a houseman there.

“Suddenly I heard a voice telling me that visiting hours was over.

“While I could not remember my reaction, the young nurse who reprimanded me somehow came across as somebody special.

“This is the chemistry of love.

“The nurse Ong Ee Nah is now my wife Toh Puan Ena Ling.

“We registered our marriage on Jan 22, 1968.”

We got to meet very often working in the same hospital and we liked to go dating at the Tip Top Coffeehouse near the hospital in Pulau Tikus, Penang.

“Love blossomed quickly.”

And 1967 was also the year of political enlightening for me.

It was in  November and just another evening for us where a few doctors and I were playing tennis.

We got an emergency call.

“We had to rush back to the hospital in tennis shoes and shorts to attend to hundreds of injured people.

“I saw mutated bodies, revealing internal organs.

” A  racial riot just took place- the  November 1967 Penang Hartal Riot– that left about 20 dead and some 130 injured.

“The riot started with a strike over the devaluation of the Malayan dollar against the British pound and the new Malaysian dollar before it culminated into a racial riot.

“I saw how racial confrontation can end up so tragically.”

The following year, I volunteered to be transferred to the Butterworth District Hospital.

Serving in a rural posting was the logical thing to do because I wanted to specialize and be a physician.

There were only two doctors in the hospital.

“I was a hard-working doctor and on call every other day,

“Our quarters were just next to the hospital and I would wake up to go to hospital any time.

“At times I worked up to 3.00 am.

“I must see my patients before prescribing them medicine.”

Photos: Credit to a publication titled A Tribute to…Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik from his colleagues and friends in the Alumni Association of 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.

 

 

The life story of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik : Part 5

 

A major milestone: Dr Ling with his mother during his graduation as a medical doctor in University of Singapore in Singapore early 1967.

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

It was mother’s wish for me to become a medical doctor.

But I was interested in forestry.

As a very outdoor person, I certainly love nature and this could be the reason for wanting to do forestry.

Infact the Royal Military College (RMC) had offered me a scholarship to do a course in naval and aircraft.

While I had a good time at RMC, I decided that three years of military experience was enough.

I decided to follow mother’s wish.

After all it was also a good thing as I would be doing a service in every sense.

That was in 1961 when I packed my bags and off to Singapore to do medicine in then University of Malaya in Singapore.  (The university changed its name to University of Singapore in Singapore in January 1962).

I entered straight into second year  medicine.

Looking back, I am glad that mother had guided me at this crucial point in life – choosing my career.

Having to mix with a big bunch of first and second year students who were mostly bright students from Malaysia and Singapore’s Raffles College did cause me a little anxiety at the beginning.

I was the second youngest among the 120 students in the class – a good mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian.

I was born on Sept 18, 1943 while the youngest student was born in January 1944,

The first term saw me studying very hard.

I stayed in Dunearn Road Hostel in Bukit Timah while the General Hospital was in Tiong Baru.

A few of us got together to hire a car to ferry us to and fro.

It was a Morris Minor used as a private taxi for medical students.

My first term results were quite good, and this had given me the confidence to continue working hard.

But it was certainly not all work and no play for me.

I was back to my active lifestyle, playing rugby, football and tennis.

When I returned for my second term by train, I took my Vespa scooter along.

I bought it for $900 using the salary from my part – time teaching at Clifford Secondary School in Taiping.

I taught for three months while waiting for my Higher School Certificate (HSC) results.

I taught Mathematics and got paid $370 a month.

Everything went on fine until my third term when I was injured and hospitalized for 21 days.

I was badly injured while playing rugby in an inter hostel match.

A player, A. Sundaraj,  lifted his knee against my neck, resulting in cerebral concussion.

I was rushed to the Singapore General Hospital in an ambulance.

I remember getting a lot of visitors.

I told them not to inform my mother.

But she somehow found out and came to see me in Singapore.

Guess when you are young, you do not fear much.

The pressure on my brain took time to recede after I recovered from the concussion.

My memory was also affected temporary, recalling formulas was slow.

I went to see the Medical Faculty Dean, Dr Thambi Pillay, and told him that I don’t think I can sit for the exam.

He said : “Don’t worry, just go and sit for the exam.”

I passed the exam.

And I was back to rugby not long after.

I passed my third year,  a crucial year for medical students.

It was our “first graduation” and they will not kick you out from university after you passed your third year.

After my third year, mother bought me a car, a Morris Minor, for $2,400.

With $200 monthly pocket money, I could go for supper, drinking, dating and pump petrol.

I also bought a fridge to put my beer.

As University of Singapore Students Union (USSU) with then Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew

It was in 1964 when I got elected as  USSU president.

Described as Singapore’s crucial years then, the Singapore government under Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew then was going all out to impose restrictions on student activities.

We saw this as infringement on academic freedom despite the government describing it as a form of “consultation”.

To us, the university is a pillar of idealism and our autonomy must be safeguarded.

The crisis had resulted in the vice chancellor having to leave after he stood firm that the state should not interfere.

The student union went to demonstrate outside Lee Kuan Yew’s office in City Hall.

About 10  of us were invited into Lee Kuan Yew’s office.

Lee Kuan Yew asked me : ” Ling Liong Sik, why are you creating so many problems in Singapore?”

I must admit that we as students were no match  to this very shrewd politician.

Together with Lee Kuan Yew, we issued a joint statement during the meeting, only to find out later that the statement was tantamount to going against our union’s mission.

We took responsibility for that – all resigned to pave the way for fresh elections.

They somehow voted me back to helm the union.

Different ideology was a divide between students.

There were more leftists or barisan socialists than democratic socialists who leaned towards the right wing.

“Many leftists went to jail in the run up to Singapore’s independence in August 1965,

” I was attending an international student conference in Christchurch, New Zealand when I received a telex on operations to arrest students in Nanyang University.

“I cut short my trip and returned to Singapore to handle the situation.”

In the morning of Aug 9, 1965, Lee Kuan Yew went on air to announce the official separation of Singapore from Malaysia, and he was in tears.

We watched the historical event in campus.

It was a night to remember after taking part in a play titled “The moon is less bright”.

Acting together with Dr Goh Poh Seng, a medical practitioner in Singapore who was famous in performing arts was indeed a privilege.

That was in 1965.

But I lost my judgement as I was driving back to my hostel and crashed my car on to a lamp post.

Shaken by the impact and with  a cut on my head, I somehow managed to crawl out of the car.

The Maxwell Police Station was just across the road!

After the accident, I bought a Volvo 121 for $4,200 with the money I earned from part time teaching during my term breaks in Taiping.

The car registration number was SP1324.

I took it back to Malaysia upon my graduation  and changed the registration to PF 6017.

I graduated early 1967.

I was held back for six months because I failed O&G (obstetrics and gynaecology) .

I must admit that my attendance for lectures was quite haphazard at times.

Later I found out that the professor in charge found out that I was absent most of the time.

“Overseas again Sonny Ling? How did you find O&G in New Zealand?” he asked as I confidently walked into the exam hall.

I was a very active person and always keen to learn and experience new things and make friends with people.

I met  Mr Lim, a Hainanese who worked in a hotel before he became the hostel warden.

He introduced me to horse racing and taught me how to make a cocktail in a bar.

As a small town boy, I had never seen horse racing before.

I lost $50 in the horse racing.

“It was very painful and that was my first and last gamble.”

Photo: 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.