Lee Poh Ping (; 1 April 1942 – 21 November 2016) was a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

and

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. He is known for his work in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

, contributions to the development of

Japanese studies Japanese studies ( Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japan ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, and fostering networks of scholars in the country.

Early life

Lee was born in Ipoh, Perak where he attended the Anglo-Chinese School. After obtaining his

Senior Cambridge The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations. History India The ...

in 1958, he underwent training for two years at the Malayan Teacher Training College in Brinsford Lodge,

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, subsequently becoming a teacher upon his return to Ipoh.

Education

In 1967, Lee received a first class

B.A Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in History from 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 1974, Lee received a PhD in Government from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

where he studied under

Benedict Anderson Benedict Richard O'Gorman Anderson (August 26, 1936 – December 13, 2015) was an Anglo-Irish political scientist and historian who lived and taught in the United States. Anderson is best known for his 1983 book '' Imagined Communities'', which e ...

."Professor Lee Poh Ping, a quiet and effective advisor for Asialink"
Professor Anthony Milner, 28 November 2016, Asialink

Career

Lee lectured at the University of Malaya in the Division of Public Administration, obtaining his full professorship in 1992. As an expert in international relations, he was considered an authority on the subject in Southeast Asia. He was instrumental in bringing prominent international academics from the United States, Japan, China and Australia to interact with their Malaysian counterparts at the institutions where he worked. In his later years, he devoted much of his time to the study of China-Malaysia relations at the Institute of China Studies in the University of Malaya. He was a rigorous, theoretically-informed analyst who consistently lifted the quality of policy deliberation in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Lee was president of the Malaysian Association of Japanese Studies (MAJAS) from 1998 to 2014, and was also the chairman for the Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange (MACEE) in the years 2001 and 2003.

Awards

In 2010, he was granted the Order of the Rising Sun by the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

in recognition of his important research on Japan's foreign relations. He was presented the award by the Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia at the time, Masahiko Horie.

Personal life

Lee died at the

University Malaya Medical Centre University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) ( ms, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya, abbr: ''PPUM''), formerly known as University Hospital, is a government-funded medical institution located in Pantai Dalam, southwest corner of Kuala Lumpur, M ...

on November 21, 2016 after a fall."Passing of a Gentle Scholar"
''

The Star (Malaysia) ''The Star'' () is an English-language newspaper in Malaysia. Based in Petaling Jaya, it was established in 1971 as a regional newspaper in Penang. It is the largest paid English newspaper in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the ...

'', Kuala Lumpur, 24 November 2016. Retrieved on 24 November 2016. He was still associated with the University of Malaya at the time of his passing, holding the position of Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of China Studies.

Key Publications

* * * * * * *

References

External links

Institute of China StudiesMalaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange (MACEE)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Poh Ping 2016 deaths 1942 births People from Ipoh People from Perak University of Malaya alumni University of Malaya faculty National University of Malaysia faculty National University of Malaysia alumni Cornell University alumni Malaysian political scientists Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Hakka descent 20th-century Malaysian historians Historians of Southeast Asia 21st-century Malaysian historians