Ahead of his time: Dr Ling as a teenager at the Royal Military College.
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
Dr Adam Liew Hock Sim
A beautiful baby – Ling Liong Sik or Sonny as he is affectionately known had his infancy and formative years growing up in Taiping.
He was born a beautiful baby, grew up as a handsome boy and became a lady -killer there after.
We were born three months apart, our mothers were colleagues in the same school , we stayed along the same road and we were in the same class from kindergarten, through primary school.
We were then to part when Sonny went to the Federation of Military College in 1958 ( which was later re-designated as the Royal Military College (RMC) in 1966) and I went to Penang Free School in 1960.
Years later, we were to meet again in the University of Malaya in Singapore (renamed to University of Singapore in Singapore in 1962).
Sonny was a model student, well behaved, smart and never prone to outbursts nor anger.
I believe that all of us have never heard Sonny say anything in anger.
I remember my mother would always refer to Sonny ‘s quiet nature whenever my voice rose a couple of decibels as a kid.
This desirable virtue together with a calm demeanor gained Sonny much admiration and affection in his relationships throughout his life.
Dr Abdul Hamid Abdul Kadir
A glorious and enchanting life – The striking physical features of Ling Liong Sik on first contact as a fellow undergraduate contributed to a compelling impression that he is bigger than life, an impression that over the years has become increasingly reinforced.
And not based entirely on physical attributes but additionally on behavioral characteristics.
He was, at age 18, one of the youngest students entering the medical course in 1961 but with a level of maturity beyond his age, he portrayed himself as carefree yet purposeful in his ventures on and off campus.
As a “freshie” he was a favourite of the many senior gentlemen as he tamely and gamely obeyed all their taunting and biddings during the orientation period.
A willingness to undergo “ragging” without too much protest would normally, as Liong Sik knew then , bring many good friends later on.
His interest in sporting activities in the university was an extension of his penchant for games developed through his years in the Boys Wing of the Federation Military College ( later re-designated as the Royal Military College or RMC in 1966).
He excelled in hockey, football, basketball and was at times swinging the tennis racket to good effect.
He could play any game with ease. His ability to move around with speed during games in spite of his big build, and shouting orders on the pitch was quite amazing.
Liong Sik lived a fairly comfortable life as an undergraduate. He drove a Morris Minor and a Volvo 121 during his clinical years.
He used it to cart friends around on minor outings around the island, on midnight supper prowls to Koek Lane or Shenton Way, and of course, on dates.
By his nature, Liong Sik presented himself as a private person with a few chosen good friends. Thus, little is known about Liong Sik’ s romantic escapades except to say such interludes were obviously very private, probably serving him to gauge his dream of claiming rights as a local pretender to that famous Venetian charmer.
It probably was not too strenuous an effort on his part, oozing as he normally is with charm and charisma.
On Liong Sik in Singapore, his intentions to launch into a political career some time in the future probably took root in his interest in the University of Singapore Students Union (USSU)in 1965.
He was USSU president in 1964.
Liong Sik had played many parts in our lives as fellow undergraduates in Singapore and KE VII Hall.
Blessed with a genial temperament, he has never been noticed to be upset by anything or anybody.
His bellowing laughter, his wry half smile, his measured and chosen words, carefully articulated, ringing with authority when talking whether with dignitaries, reporters or his classmates, accompanied with his open -finger gesticulations, are all characteristics that we can recognize anywhere.
Dr Joseph Ong 200700
At the military college – Liong Sik or Sonny became “Budak Boy” 200727 at the age of 14.
His was an exceptional admission and he must have greatly impressed the selection committee who in their wisdom and foresight saw the potential abilities and leadership qualities in him to have deserved being specially selected.
The Federation Military College (was later re-designated as the Royal Military College (RMC) in 1966) was established in 1952 by the late Field Marshal Tun Sir Gerald Templer with the objective of preparing then young Malayans and Malaysians after independence in 1957, to take their places as officers in the Armed Forces, in the higher divisions of the Public Service and as leaders in the professional, commercial and industrial life of the country.
The college was located at the 5th mile coastal road Port Dickson in Negri Sembilan and relocated to Sungei Besi, Kuala Lumpur in 1961.
The college was a brave experiment by the British in the development of Malaysian nationhood.
It was multi-ethnic with Malay, Chinese and Indian students in numbers generally reflecting the ethnic distribution of our country.
We lived together, studied, fought, shared and grew up together in this very Malaysian environment.
We learned to appreciate our similarities and to respect our differences.
Diversity added to our cultural richness not racial divide.
The college has produced many of our political leaders and amongst the most outstanding is Liong Sik.
Not only had he become the longest serving Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president in history, but also a true Malaysian, one who understands our diverse cultures and grew up in a truly Malaysian environment.
Academically, Liong Sik breezed through his studies in college.
He was highly intelligent and despite all the extracurricular involvement which took up a lot of his time, he still went on to be always amongst the top five in his form, achieving excellent results as to allow him entry into the second year of medicine (super freshie) at the University of Malaya in Singapore (renamed to University of Singapore in Singapore in 1962) .
Liong Sik was an outstanding sportsman and he enjoyed and actively participated in all sports.
He was a natural athlete taking to sports as a duck to water and not really needing much practice to achieve skills which allowed him to represent the college in athletics, hockey, football, tennis and basketball.
He was president of the debating society and led the college debating team against teams for other schools nationwide.
Liong Sik has a warm baritone voice and won many talentime contests in the college during his three years there and continued to use this gift to raise funds for charitable and educational purposes during his political life.
Personally, he was well- liked not only by his teachers but also by his fellow college mates. He has a friendly and pleasant disposition and I cannot remember him having any enemies while he was in college.
Even at that time, he has an even temperament and was not easily provoked.
Liong Sik’ s hallmark deliberate and restrained style of speech was already present then.
His leadership qualities were recognized early and he was made Senior Boy and later Junior Under-officer.
All these went well for him and he moved on three years to join the University of Malaya in Singapore where he became president of the students union.
Dr Milton Lum Siew Wah 200874
Serve to lead- Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik is no stranger to any circle.
He is at home with the common man and officialdom, comfortable with friends, colleagues, political opponents, balanced and rational, composed in the midst of adversity and most sympathetic to the poor and disadvantaged.
His deep understanding of the complex relationship between poverty, education and health of the people of this nation make it very relevant that he is present at the Alumni Reunion among colleagues who are directly involved with the delivery of healthcare which is is integral of human development.
Cognizant of the potential divisiveness of ethnicity, religion and poverty, Dr Ling galvanized MCA and directed its efforts towards nation building. Together with many partners, both political and in civil society, efforts were directed at defusing the differences among the various communities in political, economical, cultural and educational advancement so that none will feel deprived; creating a caring society so that the poor will be given assistance and creating a progressive technological society which is vibrant and competitive.
Dr Ling has always emphasized unity in diversity through integration by enhancing our multi-ethnic, multi – religious and multicultural lifestyle, for in his words we will not be regarded as being less of our ethnic origin but we will become more Malaysian.
Tan Sri Dr Sak Cheng Lum
The 60’s and 70s – Dr Ling was two years my senior in medical school in University of Singapore in Singapore in 1963 (it was University of Malaya before it was renamed University of Singapore in January 1962)
When I met up again with Dr Ling after graduation, after haven’t not seen each other for about three years, he was no more that slim Chappie that I remembered him to be.
He had literally double up in size, was smoking more and his drinking ability seemed to have followed his size gain.
Dr Ling is a person with a good memory, especially for names and he takes great effort in remembering people by their names.
He is a likeable person although he is a man of not too many words when he chooses to; his famous first response is very often a grunting “mmmph”.
I have not known him losing his temper and composure and whenever no solution if forthcoming he would be saying “Alright, let’s go home and sleep over it!”.
His good interpersonal relationships made him a popular GP (general practitioner) and later a very successful politician and national leader.
The Butterworth people refer to him as “Ah Ling”.
Dr Ling’s favourite haunts in Butterworth include Tokyo Restaurant, a coffee shop type restaurant just four doors away from his clinic, Princess Thai Restaurant in Jalan Raja Uda, and the Tin Club, linked to the Butterworth Straits Smelting Company in Jalan Pantai.
Tokyo Restaurant and Princess Thai Restaurant were where he met many of his Butterworth friends and supporters over lunch and dinner or just over after clinic drinks.
Dr Ling was also active in community service and was a charter member of the Lions Club of Butterworth.
Text and 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.
