Datuk Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldes ...

Robert Lau Hoi Chiew (; 15 September 1942 – 9 April 2010) 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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He represented

Sibu Sibu (; Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers an area of . It i ...

in the

Parliament of Malaysia The Parliament of Malaysia ( ms, Parlimen Malaysia) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, lit. "People's Assembly") and the D ...

from 1990 until his death in 2010, and served as Deputy Minister of Transport from April 2009 until his death. Lau was also a vice-president of the

Sarawak United Peoples' Party The Sarawak United Peoples' Party, or SUPP (; ms, Parti Rakyat Bersatu Sarawak; Iban: ''Gerempong Sa'ati Rayat Sarawak'') is a multiracial centre-right local political party of Malaysia based in Sarawak. The SUPP president is Dr. Sim Kui Hi ...

(SUPP).

Background

Lau was born to a poor family and his mother died when he was three years old. He was schooled at St Michael's College, Adelaide and studied accountancy at the South Australia Institute of Technology (now the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

). In Australia he met his wife, Kapitan Dato' Janet Lau Ung Hie. He had three children with his wife; Alvin Lau Lee Ren (eldest son), Tammy Lau Lee Teng (daughter) and Pierre Lau Lee Wui (son). His political career began in 1983 when he joined SUPP. He first contested a Parliamentary election in the

1990 Malaysian general election A general election was held between Saturday, 20 October and Sunday, 21 October 1990 for members of the 8th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 180 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to ...

, winning the seat of Sibu against a

Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Malaysia. As one of four component parties of the ...

candidate by a majority of 2,008 votes. He defended the seat in four further elections.

Death

Lau died of bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) in his home in

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

on 9 April 2010. His remains arrived in Sibu at night on the same day. His funeral was held on 11 April 2010. The funeral began with a procession around the Sibu town and a requiem mass. His body was later buried at Nirvana Memorial Park.Datuk Robert Lau's Remains Arrive In Sibu
Bernama

Election results

Honours

* : ** Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak (PGBK) - Datuk (2002)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lau Hoi Chew, Robert 1942 births 2010 deaths People from Sarawak 21st-century Malaysian politicians Deaths from cancer in Malaysia Deaths from liver cancer Malaysian Roman Catholics Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent Commanders of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak Sarawak United Peoples' Party politicians University of South Australia alumni Members of the Dewan Rakyat