Tun TUN or tun may refer to: Biology * Tun shells, large sea snails of the family ''Tonnidae'' * Tun, a tardigrade in its cryptobiotic state * Tun or Toon, common name for trees of the genus '' Toona'' Places * Tun, Sweden, a locality in Västra G ...

Omar Ong Yoke Lin ( zh, 翁毓麟; 23 July 1917 – 1 July 2010) was a

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 ...

n politician, diplomat and businessman. He was a founding member 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 ...

, and was a key figure in the country's road to independence. Ong served various positions in the government of

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

and Malaysia, as a Cabinet minister and ambassador. He was a Chinese

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

convert.

Early life and education

Ong Yoke Lin was born on 23 July 1917 in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, he attended Pudu Girls' English School and later

Victoria Institution The Victoria Institution is the oldest secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a memorial school, so-called because it was partly funded by public subscription intended for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden ...

, where he was contemporaries of, among others,

Yahya Abdul Razak Yahya may refer to: * Yahya (name), a common Arabic male given name * Yahya (Zaragoza), 11th-century ruler of Zaragoza * John the Baptist in Islam, also known as Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā See also * Tepe Yahya Tapeh Yahya () is an archaeological ...

Lee Siew Choh Lee Siew Choh (; 1 November 1917 – 18 July 2002) was a Singaporean politician and physician. He was the Member of Parliament for Queenstown from 1959 to 1963 and served as the NCMP from September 1988 to August 1991. Initially a member of ...

Yaacob Latiff Yaacob bin Abdul Latiff (1 February 1918 – 9 September 1985) was the second Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia since it was officially conferred the status of the city on 16 May 1972. He served for a period of 8 years. On 1 November 1980, he was ...

and

Mahmood Ambak Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 199 ...

, the father-in-law of

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president of ...

, the fifth

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the fede ...

. He passed the London Matriculation in 1935 and trained as a chartered accountant. He intended to read law, but his studies were put on hold by the

Japanese occupation of Malaya The then British colony of Malaya was gradually occupied by the Japanese between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 16 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allies in 1945. The ...

Politics

Omar helped found and joined the

Malayan 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) in 1949. As a prominent Chinese leader, Ong was selected by the British High Commissioner as a member of the then fully appointed Selangor State Council and

Federal Legislative Council The Federal Legislative Council (also known simply as the Legislative Council) was the legislative body of the Federation of Malaya and the predecessor of the Malaysian Parliament. It was formed in 1948 after the abolition of the Malayan Union and ...

. In 1952, he and

mooted the idea of an alliance between MCA and the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...

(UMNO) for the Kuala Lumpur Municipal Council elections. This was the precursor to the formal Alliance Party. He contested and won a seat in that election, and was chosen as leader of the Alliance Party in the Municipal Council. Omar went on to become MCA vice-president and 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

Hulu Selangor Hulu Selangor is a district in Selangor, Malaysia. It contains the towns of Serendah, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Bharu. Its principal town is Kuala Kubu Bharu. The district is located in the northeastern part of Selangor and borders the state ...

. In 1955, the Alliance Party won the first ever elections to the Federal Legislative Council under the leadership of

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

. Omar was appointed Minister for Post and Telecoms in the Tunku's first Cabinet. Following the overwhelming support shown for the Alliance Party during the elections and the forming of the government, the Tunku led the Merdeka Delegation to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

which successfully negotiated independence from the British. Omar joined the Tunku on his second trip to London in April 1957 to finalise the newly drafted Constitution of Malaya.

Independence and the formation of Malaysia

On 31 August 1957, Omar was appointed to the

first Rahman cabinet Tunku Abdul Rahman formed the first Rahman cabinet after being invited to begin a new government following the 27 July 1955 general election in Malaysia. Upon receiving the assent of the Rulers of the Malay States, the composition of the cabin ...

of the newly independent

Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...

, holding the Labour and Social Welfare portfolio. In 1959, he became Health Minister. During negotiations to unite Malaya,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

and

British North Borneo (I persevere and I achieve) , national_anthem = , capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945); Jesselton (1946) , common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc. , gove ...

(later known as

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

), Ong was Ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

as Malaya focused on diplomacy amid regional tensions with

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

('' Konfrontasi''). Following the proclamation of the Federation of

, Ong continued to serve in the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio until 1973. He served concurrently as High Commissioner to Canada in 1966 and as Ambassador to Brazil from 1967 to 1972. In 1973, he was elected

President of the Dewan Negara The President of the Senate ( ms, Yang di-Pertua Dewan Negara) is the presiding officer or speaker of the Dewan Negara, the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia. The President of the Senate is created under Article 56 of the Constitution o ...

and served until 1980.

Personal life

Tun Omar was married to Toh Puan Dr. Aishah and had three children. He converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in 1961.

Death

Ong died on 1 July 2010 due to old age. He was 92. His body was laid to rest at

Makam Pahlawan The Makam Pahlawan (Malay for Heroes' Mausoleum) is the burial ground of several Malaysian leaders and politicians. It is located near the Malaysian national mosque, Masjid Negara in the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Construction of the mauso ...

near

Masjid Negara The National Mosque of Malaysia ( ms, Masjid Negara Malaysia) is a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has a capacity for 15,000 people and is situated among of gardens. Its key features are a minaret and a 16-pointed star concrete main ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Honours

* : ** Commander 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 ...

(PMN) – Tan Sri (1959) * : **

Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold) (PPM) (1965) **

Grand 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 ...

(SSM) – Tun (1979) * : ** MY-SEL_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Selangor_-_Knight_Commander_-_DPMS

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Selangor The Most Illustrious Order of the Crown of Selangor (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Selangor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an order awarded by Sultan of Selangor as a reward for general services to the sultan and state of Selangor. It was fou ...

(DPMS) – Dato’ (1971) ** MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Grand Commander - SPMS

Knight Grand Commander of the

(SPMS) – Dato’ Seri (1973) * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

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 (1973)

Notes

References

Tun Omar Yoke-Lin Ong The Last Independence Fighter
(1999 interview), and "First step to independence", ''The Star'', 2 April 2001. Online at The Victoria Institution

17 December 2006, The Victoria Institution {{DEFAULTSORT:Ong, Omar Yoke Lin 1917 births 2010 deaths Converts to Islam Malaysian Muslims Government ministers of Malaysia Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent Malaysian Chinese Association politicians Permanent Representatives of Malaysia to the United Nations Ambassadors of Malaysia to the United States Malaysian expatriates in the United States Ambassadors of Malaysia to Brazil Malaysian accountants Members of the Dewan Negara Members of the Dewan Rakyat High Commissioners of Malaysia to Canada Kuala Lumpur politicians Malaysian people of Hakka descent Presidents of the Dewan Negara Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Health ministers of Malaysia Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu