Mother’s love: Dr Ling with his mother Tan Jin Choo.
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 grew up surrounded by many teachers.
I went to Sunday School and joined the choir there.
It was in Sunday School where I first learned singing and drama – a skill that puts me in good stead later in life.
I must be a very talented and good boy because I always got chosen to perform in mini concerts.
And I looked forward to Sundays.
We gathered at my uncle’s house in town to have lunch after Sunday School.
There were many people there.
After lunch, my elder cousins would take me to the cinema to watch cowboy shows and Batman.
Two of us shared one ticket which cost 40 cents .
I contributed 20 cents to sit on his lap to watch the show together.
I started going to kindergarten at the age of five.
It was at Lady Treacher Girls School, a Methodist School , and there were boys and girls there.
My mother taught me how to read and write before I started kindergarten.
I loved listening to stories especially Bible stories, singing and performing in concerts in Sunday School.
I must say I was a confident and lovable child.
Signature smile: Dr Ling, who was a man of few words since young, left a lasting impression on people.
Always happy together : A 13-year-old Dr Ling with his mother.
While mother was always there for me, I started to have a mind of my own as a teenager.
I started smoking at 12, and bought four cigarettes for 15 cents initially.
Later I found a brand selling at 20 sticks for 10 cents.
I went to smoke at the Lake Gardens, less than a kilometer from our house located off Swettenham Road.
It was simply cool and fun climbing up the tree, smoke and watch the world go by and went swimming in the lake.
I was fond of and good at sports; football, badminton, basketball and swimming.
My prized possession – my football, hockey stick, badminton racket and bicycle.
While mother encouraged her children to take up sports, I must admit that I was too engrossed in playing games.
I dropped to 13th placing in my class when I was in Form Three.
My usually calm mother was definitely furious.
In the fit of an anger, she hit the report card with a ruler and tore it.
And I was too embarrass to bring it back to school the next day.
I learned my lesson, the hard way.
Mother was a disciplinarian and a truthful and meticulous person.
Having grown up in an orphanage, she always strived to give the best to her children.
She and her younger brother were sent to an orphanage after their parents passed away.
At 14, mother passed her Senior Cambridge.
She went to normal class and attended teacher training during weekends.
Mother was a very strict teacher.
She went on to become an inspector of school, headmistress and lecturer at a day training for teachers.
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.
