Tan Sri
The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines.
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...
Datuk Seri
The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines.
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...
Dr.
Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
Chua Soi Lek (); born 2 January 1947, also known as Chua Kin Seng, is a
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
Malaysian politician from the state of
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
. He is the 9th President of the
Malaysian Chinese Association
The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA; zh, 马来西亚华人公会; ; ta, மலேசிய சீனர் சங்கம், initially known as the Malayan Chinese Association) is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that seeks to ...
(MCA), a major component party in
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
(BN) coalition from 2010 until 2013. He held the post of Minister of Health from 2004 until 2008. He has also been a one-term
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Labis
Labis is town and a mukim (township) in Segamat District in northern Johor, Malaysia. A main trunk road that runs north-south Peninsular Malaysia passes through it, as well as the KTM railway line that connects it with the state's capital in th ...
(2004-2008) and a 4-term Member of the
Johor State Legislative Assembly
The Johor State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Negeri Johor) is the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is composed of 56 members who are elected from single-member constituencies throughout the state. Elections are he ...
(MLA) for
Penggaram from 1986 to 2004.
Early life
He was born in
Batu Pahat, Johor. Chua received his early education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Lim Poon, then
Batu Pahat High School
High School Batu Pahat (HSBP) ( ms, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Batu Pahat (SMKTBP); abbreviated as Sekolah Tinggi Batu Pahat (STBP) also known as Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tinggi Batu Pahat formally) is a secondary school for boys loca ...
and Muar High School. He was educated in medicine (SSB) at the
University of Malaya
The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...
in 1968–1973.
He was trained in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
and practised
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial psych ...
before entering politics. Chua set up his medical practice in 1977 after serving as a
medical officer
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
at the
Batu Pahat Hospital. He sold the clinic in 1990 to pursue a full-time career in politics with MCA.
Political career
He was first elected as a state assemblyman for
Penggaram, Johor on MCA's ticket in 1986. He continued to serve Penggaram for 18 years through four consecutive state elections. Later, he became a Johor state government executive councillor. In the
2004 general election, he contested for the
Labis
Labis is town and a mukim (township) in Segamat District in northern Johor, Malaysia. A main trunk road that runs north-south Peninsular Malaysia passes through it, as well as the KTM railway line that connects it with the state's capital in th ...
parliamentary seat under the Barisan Nasional coalition and claimed victory. The then Prime Minister
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appointed Chua into the
Malaysian cabinet
The Cabinet of Malaysia ( Malay: ''Jemaah Menteri Malaysia'') is the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia. Led by the Prime Minister, the cabinet is a council of ministers who are accountable collectively to the Parliament. According ...
as the Minister of Health following that victory.
He held several prominent posts throughout his later career. He was the MP for Labis, a MCA vice-president, Johor MCA state liaison committee chairman as well as Batu Pahat MCA division chairman until he resigned from all public and political offices on 2 January 2008 due to the eruption of a sensational sex scandal.
MCA deputy presidency
In the
2008 general elections, MCA won only 15 parliamentary seats out of 40 they contested. Some grassroots leaders and former top leaders including Dr Chua, demanded the President,
Ong Ka Ting
Ong Ka Ting (; born 15 November 1956) is a Malaysian politician. He was the former Housing and Local Government Minister from 1999 to 2008 and Acting Transport Minister from May to June 2003 in the Malaysian cabinet. Ong also served as the sev ...
, step down to take responsibility.
He returned to active politics in the second half of 2008 and won the Batu Pahat Division chairman post uncontested. Then he contested the MCA deputy presidency, defeating
Ong Ka Chuan
Ong Ka Chuan (; born 29 May 1954) is a Malaysian politician and was the Member of Parliament for Tanjung Malim, Perak from March 2008 to May 2018. Ong was the secretary-general for twice for the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a component ...
, Donald Lim and Lee Hak Teik in a four-cornered fight.
Despite that, Dr Chua was only appointed chairman of the Government Policy Monitoring bureau and left out of the MCA leadership in Johor by party president,
Ong Tee Keat
Ong Tee Keat (; born 22 November 1956) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Transport (Malaysia), Minister of Transport in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahma ...
. This was seen as a move to isolate Dr Chua politically. Eventually, Chua was expelled from the party in August 2009 by the MCA Disciplinary Committee for his past sex scandal.
2009 Extraordinary General Meeting
In 2009, Chua's supporters sparked an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to challenge Ong Tee Keat's presidency and to reinstate Dr Chua back as a MCA member and deputy president.
The EGM was held on 10 October, where a number of resolutions were made challenging Chua's removal from MCA and his sacking as deputy president of MCA. A vote of no confidence against Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat passed by 14 votes. In the other resolution, Dr Chua's expulsion was overturned. Ong and Chua both refused to resign, and united under a "greater unity plan," putting their differences aside temporarily. However, some central committee members, led by
Liow Tiong Lai
Tan Sri Dato' Sri Liow Tiong Lai (; born 13 October 1961) is a Malaysian politician who served as Minister of Transport, Minister of Health, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Pr ...
, previously aligned with Ong, demanded fresh elections.
MCA presidency
In early March 2010, Chua and his supporters in the central committee (CC), joined other CCs led by
Liow Tiong Lai
Tan Sri Dato' Sri Liow Tiong Lai (; born 13 October 1961) is a Malaysian politician who served as Minister of Transport, Minister of Health, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Pr ...
, in resigning. With the resignation of two-thirds of the central committee, fresh elections were to be held as per the party constitution. Chua contested the presidency against incumbent Ong Tee Keat and former president Ong Ka Ting. In the three-cornered fight, Chua emerged victorious while incumbent Tee Keat finished in third place. After becoming president, Chua focused on rebuilding the appearance of unity within MCA after a year of public infighting.
Political debates
In February 2012, Chua broke from Malaysian political norms by having a public debate with
Lim Guan Eng
Lim Guan Eng (; born 8 December 1960) is a Malaysian politician and accountant from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bagan, Member of t ...
, Chief Minister of Penang. The first debate continued with another public debate, labelled as Debate 2.0, that was held on 8 July 2012. Both debates generated tremendous public and media interest.
MCA poor performance in 13th general election
In the
2013 Malaysian general election
General elections were held in Malaysia on Sunday, 5 May 2013 to elect the members of the 13th Parliament. Voting took place in all 222 parliamentary constituencies, each electing one MP to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. ...
MCA only won 7 of the 37 federal seats and 11 of the 90 state seats it contested. In the general election in 2008, it won 15 parliamentary and 32 state seats. Chua said MCA remained adamant in not accepting any government post at both state and federal level, following its dismal performance in the just-concluded 13th General Election. The poor performance in the election led to calls for Chua's resignation. Chua did not enter the following party poll for president, and in December 2013,
Liow Tiong Lai
Tan Sri Dato' Sri Liow Tiong Lai (; born 13 October 1961) is a Malaysian politician who served as Minister of Transport, Minister of Health, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Pr ...
was elected the President of MCA.
Controversy
Sex scandal
On 1 January 2008, Chua Soi Lek admitted that he was the person featured in a sensational sex DVD that was widely being circulated in
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
. The
two DVDs were distributed anonymously in
Muar and other towns in Johor show Chua having scandal with a young woman, described by him as a "personal friend." The DVDs are believed to be wireless
hidden camera
A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...
recordings in a hotel suite.
He claimed no involvement in the filming or production of the DVD in question. On 2 January 2008, he formally announced his resignation from all posts including Member of Parliament for
Labis
Labis is town and a mukim (township) in Segamat District in northern Johor, Malaysia. A main trunk road that runs north-south Peninsular Malaysia passes through it, as well as the KTM railway line that connects it with the state's capital in th ...
, vice presidency of
MCA, and Minister of Health at a press conference.
Chua later remarked his downfall was due to his dedication to his work as Health Minister and MCA Vice-President, which caused his political rivals to grow suspicious of him.
Personal life
Chua is married to Puan Sri Wong Sek Hin and the couple have three children. One of their sons,
Chua Tee Yong
Datuk Chua Tee Yong (; born 19 October 1977) is a Malaysian politician and was the Member of parliament of Malaysia for the Labis constituency in the State of Johor for two terms (2008-2018). He was one of the four Vice-Presidents of the Mala ...
had replaced him as Labis MP.
Honours
Honours of Malaysia
* :
** Medalist of the
Order of the Defender of the Realm
The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...
(PPN) (1978)
** Commander of the
Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign.
The order was instituted on ...
(PSM) – Tan Sri (2014)
* :
**
Sultan Ibrahim Medal (PIS) (1979)
**
![Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar.png)
Companion of the
Order of the Crown of Johor
The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor ( Malay: ''Darjah Mahkota Johor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an Order of chivalry awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted on July 31, 1886.
It is awarded in three classes:
*Knight Grand Co ...
(SMJ) (1997)
**
![Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Most_Honourable_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Johor_-_ribbon_bar.png)
Knight Commander of the
Order of the Crown of Johor
The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor ( Malay: ''Darjah Mahkota Johor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an Order of chivalry awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted on July 31, 1886.
It is awarded in three classes:
*Knight Grand Co ...
(DPMJ) – Dato' (1999)
* :
**
![MY-MAL Exalted Order of Malacca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/MY-MAL_Exalted_Order_of_Malacca.svg)
Grand Commander of the
Order of Malacca (DGSM) – Datuk Seri (2006)
* :
**
![MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/MY-SAB_Order_of_Kinabalu_-_SPDK.svg)
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 (2006)
Election results
References
External links
*
*
Dr. Chua Soi Lek– Official blog
MCA– Official MCA Site
About Dato Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chua, Soi Lek
Living people
1947 births
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
Malaysian people of Teochew descent
Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent
Malaysian psychiatrists
Presidents of Malaysian Chinese Association
Health ministers of Malaysia
Government ministers of Malaysia
Members of the Dewan Rakyat
Members of the Johor State Legislative Assembly
Medallists of the Order of the Defender of the Realm
Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu
Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor
Companions of the Order of the Crown of Johor
University of Malaya alumni
20th-century Malaysian politicians
21st-century Malaysian politicians