Lee Khoon Choy ( zh, c=李炯才, p=Lǐ Jǐongcái 24 January 1924 – 27 February 2016) was a Singaporean politician. A member of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

, he was the

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 ...

for Braddell Heights SMC between 1977 and 1984, and Hong Lim SMC between 1965 and 1976.

Early life and education

Lee was born in 1924 in

Butterworth, Penang Butterworth is the largest urban town in the city of Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. It lies about east of George Town, the capital city of Penang, across the Penang Strait. , Butterworth has a total population of 107,591 residents. Butte ...

, and was educated at Yeok Keow Chinese School and

Chung Ling High School Chung Ling High School (; ms, Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan Chung Ling) is a secondary school in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. It was initially established in 1917 as a primary school, and later became a junior high school in 1923, becom ...

George Town, Penang ) , short_description = Capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang , image_map = , map_caption = Location of George Town in Penang , pushpin_map = Penang#Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_maps ...

.Chew, Valerie (2008
Lee Khoon Choy
, National Library Board, Singapore During the Japanese occupation of

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

, he took refuge in his uncle's farm located in a jungle. He left Singapore for London in 1949 to study journalism at

Regent Street Polytechnic The University of Westminster is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first polytechnic to open in London. The Polytechnic formally received a Royal charter in Aug ...

on a year long scholarship.

Career

In 1946 Lee commenced a career in journalism in Penang with ''

Sin Pin Jit Poh ''Guang Ming Daily'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published in Malaysia. Formerly known as ''Sin Pin Jit Poh'' or ''Sin Pin Daily'' (), it was founded by Aw Boon Haw who also started the ''Sin Chew Daily''. ''Sin Pin Daily'' was headquartered ...

'', then left for Singapore to work for a number of Chinese ('' Sin Chew Jit Poh'', ''

Nanyang Siang Pau ''Nanyang Siang Pau'' or ''Nanyang Business Daily'' () was founded by philanthropist-entrepreneur Tan Kah Kee on 6 September 1923 in Straits Settlements, currently published in Malaysia. ''Nanyang Siang Pau'' is one of the oldest Chinese-langua ...

'') and English (''

Singapore Tiger Standard The ''Singapore Standard'', more commonly known as ''Singapore Tiger Standard'' or ''Tiger Standard'', was a Singaporean newspaper published in English. The newspaper was founded by millionaire Aw Boon Haw, famous for his Tiger Balm and Star Ne ...

'') newspapers before culminating in his working for ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...

in 1957''.

Politics

Member of Parliament

Resigning in 1959, Lee commenced his political career and was elected to the legislative assembly. He served as Minister of State for Culture, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Senior Minister of State in PMO. He stepped down from his parliamentary positions in 1984.

Diplomat

In 1968 he commenced his diplomatic career, serving as Singapore's Ambassador to Egypt, Ethiopia, Yugoslavia, Lebanon and Indonesia, and High Commissioner in Pakistan. On stepping down from Parliament, he served as Singapore's Ambassador to Japan and South Korea.

Post politics

He retired from public service in 1988, founding his own firm, Eng Lee Investment Consultants, in 1990. He has been and is a director of a number of companies. He is currently Chairman of Eng Lee Investment Consultants, and an Independent non-executive director of Koh Brothers Group Ltd. Previous positions held include: *Chairman, Sino-American (UIC) Tours Corporation *Independent director, Metro Holdings *Non-Executive chairman, SSH Corporation (formerly known as Sin Soon Huat) *Independent director, L & M Group Investments

Bibliography

Lee has published ten books, including: *Lee, Khoon Choy (2013) *Lee, Khoon Choy (2005) *Lee, Khoon Choy (1999) ''A fragile nation: the Indonesian crisis''. World Scientific Publishing. *Lee, Khoon Choy (1995) ''Japan: Between Myth and Reality''. World Scientific Publishing. , 9789810218652. *Lee, Khoon Choy (1993) ''Diplomacy of a Tiny State''. World Scientific Publishing. . *Lee, Khoon Choy (1976) ''Indonesia: Between Myth and Reality''.

Personal life

Lee married Florence Khor Swee Hoon, and they had two sons. Khor died of cancer at age 30 in 1959. In 1962 he married Eng Ah Siam, with whom he has had five daughters. Lee died in his sleep at home aged 92, at 3am on 27 February 2016. He is survived by his second wife, seven children and 11 grandchildren.

Honours and awards

*1974: (Indonesian) Bintang Bakti Utama (Meritorious Service Star) for his work in enhancing relations between Indonesia and Singapore. *1986: The Scholarly Achievement Award by the Japan Institute of Oriental Philosophy for his achievements in the research and development of eastern philosophy, thought and culture. *1988: (South Korean) Order of Diplomatic Service Merit for his service in promoting relations between South Korea and Singapore. *1990: (Singaporean)

Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang The Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang ( en, Distinguished Service Order) is a Singaporean national honour instituted in 1968. It was created to replace the ''Pingat Bakti Chemerlang'' ( en, Distinguished Service Medal) and is awarded to any person w ...

(Distinguished Service Order) in recognition of his contributions. *1997: Made an honorary member of the Chinese National Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing for his contributions in the field of humanities and social sciences.

References

External links

Lee Khoon Choy's websiteThe Lee Khoon Choy Collection
at the National Library of Singapore comprises monographs, periodicals and documents pertaining to East Asian culture, art and history. These were acquired from his years of travel around the globe as a journalist, politician, artist and author. Collection Highlights

https://archive.today/20130418151455/http://donors.nl.sg/A45_2.as

https://archive.today/20130418123447/http://donors.nl.sg/A45_4.asp] {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Khoon Choy Recipients of the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang Singaporean journalists Malaysian journalists Singaporean diplomats Ambassadors of Singapore to Egypt Ambassadors of Singapore to Ethiopia Ambassadors of Singapore to Yugoslavia Ambassadors of Singapore to Lebanon Ambassadors of Singapore to Indonesia Ambassadors of Singapore to Japan Ambassadors of Singapore to South Korea High Commissioners of Singapore to Pakistan Members of the Parliament of Singapore 1924 births 2016 deaths Singaporean people of Hakka descent Malaysian emigrants to Singapore People who lost Malaysian citizenship Naturalised citizens of Singapore People from Meixian District Hakka writers People's Action Party politicians