Ong Ka Chuan (; born 29 May 1954) is a Malaysian politician and 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

Tanjung Malim Tanjung Malim, or Tanjong Malim, is a town in Muallim District, Perak, Malaysia. It is approximately north of Kuala Lumpur and 120 km south of Ipoh via the North–South Expressway. It lies on the Perak-Selangor state border, with Sun ...

, Perak from March 2008 to May 2018. Ong was the secretary-general for twice for 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 component party of the

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 ...

coalition. The first time he was elected by the 7th MCA 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 ...

who is also his younger brother on 30 August 2005 and the second time by the 10th MCA President

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 Prime ...

on 2 January 2014. Ong was the Second Minister for International Trade and Industry from 2015 to 2018. Formerly he was the Minister of Housing and Local Government from 2008 to 2009.

Early and personal life

Ong was born on 29 May 1954 in

Lenggong Lenggong (Jawi: لڠڬوڠ) is a town, a mukim and a parliamentary constituency in Hulu Perak District, Perak, Malaysia. The Lenggong valley in Hulu Perak is one of Peninsular Malaysia's most important areas for archaeology, as excavations h ...

, Perak. He graduated 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 ...

(UM) and worked as a school teacher before entering politics. He is married to Chan Beng Choo and the couple has two children. MCA former President

, is his younger brother.

Political career

Ong was a member of the Perak State Assembly for

Chenderiang Chenderiang ( Jawi: چيندريڠ; zh, 积莪营) is a mukim and a Chinese village in Batang Padang District, Perak, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen st ...

for four terms from 1986 to 2004, before contesting the federal seat of

Batu Gajah Batu Gajah (population 133,422) is a municipality in Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia. It is the capital of Kinta District. Etymology The name ''Batu Gajah'' in Malay means "elephant rock", it is presumably derived from two large boulders (''b ...

in the 2004 general election. He lost to Fong Poh Kuan of the

Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left social democracy, social democratic political party in Malaysia. ...

(DAP), despite the

coalition making widespread gains nationwide. Despite this, he was appointed MCA secretary-general the following year and served concurrently with his brother

as president. In the 2008 general elections, Ong contested and won the

parliamentary seat. He was appointed Minister of Housing and Local Government. Later that year, Ong contested the MCA deputy presidency but lost to

Chua Soi Lek Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek (); born 2 January 1947, also known as Chua Kin Seng, is a Chinese Malaysian politician from the state of Johor. He is the 9th President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a major component party in ...

, and was immediately removed as secretary-general by new 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 ...

. In 2009, he was dropped from the Cabinet by incoming Prime Minister

Najib Razak Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malaysi ...

. In the 2013 general elections, Ong successfully defended his parliamentary seat despite MCA suffered its worst electoral result in its history. As a result of MCA poor performance and its previously passed resolution not to take up cabinet posts in the government if it failed in the 13th general election, MCA will not take up any government position. Later in 2013, MCA elected

as the new president and reversed its resolution. Liow appointed Ong as new MCA secretary-general for the second time then. In 2015, Najib Razak in a cabinet reshuffle eventually appointed Ong as the Second Minister for International Trade and Industry. He was dropped as a candidate for the Tanjong Malim constituency in the 2018 election.

Election results

Honours

* Malaysia: ** Order_of_Loyalty_to_the_Crown_of_Malaysia_-_PSM

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 (2022) * Perak: ** MY-PERA_Order_of_the_Perak_State_Crown_(before_2001)

Commander of the

Order of the Perak State Crown The Most Illustrious Order of the Perak State Crown (Malay language, Malay:''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Negeri Perak Yang Amat Mulia'') is knighthood order of the Sultanate of Perak. Background It was founded by Sultan Yusuf Izzuddin Shah on 12 D ...

(PMP) (1987) ** MY-PERA_Order_of_the_Perak_State_Crown_(before_2001)

Knight Commander of the

(DPMP) – Dato' (1990) ** MY-PERA Order of the Perak State Crown - Kn Grd Commander - SPMP

Knight Grand Commander of the

(SPMP) – Dato' Seri (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ong Ka Chuan Living people 1954 births People from Perak Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian Buddhists Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent Malaysian Chinese Association politicians Members of the Dewan Rakyat Government ministers of Malaysia Members of the Perak State Legislative Assembly University of Malaya alumni 21st-century Malaysian politicians