Sim Tze Tzin (; born 6 February 1976) is 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, a ...
who served as the
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry in the
Pakatan Harapan
The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the r ...
(PH) administration under former Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...
and former Minister
Salahuddin Ayub
Malay titles#Datuk Seri, Datuk Seri Salahuddin bin Ayub (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: صلاح الدين بن أيوب; born 1 December 1961) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician who has served as the Minister of Domestic Trade and Living Cos ...
from July 2018 to the collapse of the
PH administration in February 2020. He has served as 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 ...
(MP) for
Bayan Baru
Bayan Baru is a town in the Malaysian state of Penang. It is located within the Southwest Penang Island District, adjacent to the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.
The township was created in the 1970s following the establishment of the zone. Si ...
since May 2013. He is a member of Parliamentary Special Select Committee for International Affairs. He also served as Member of the
Penang State Legislative Assembly
The Penang State Legislative Assembly is the legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 40 elected lawmakers representing single-member constituencies throughout Penang. The state legis ...
(MLA) for
Pantai Jerejak from March 2008 to May 2013. He is a member and Strategy Director of the
People's Justice Party
The People's Justice Party ( ms, Parti Keadilan Rakyat , often known simply as KEADILAN or PKR) is a reformist political party in Malaysia, formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party. The ...
(PKR), a component party of the
PH opposition coalition. He also served as the political secretary to
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim ( ms, انور بن ابراهيم, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, IPA: ; born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia since November 2022. He served as the 12 ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, Chairman of
PH and President of
PKR.
Early life
Sim was born in
George Town, Penang and attended Hu Yew Seah School for his primary education, later moving on to
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 ...
. In 1996, he joined the Reserve Army, and became a Junior Lieutenant in 1999. His interest in politics began after the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
and the
Oslo Accord
The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; , which he says contributed to his "political awakening". In 1998, he joined the
Reformasi movement initiated by Anwar, and founded the
Malaysia Youth and Students Democratic Movement (DEMA) "to promote democratic awareness among Malaysian citizens and to protest against the University and University College Act".
He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours from
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
, image_name = UTM-LOGO.png
, image_size =
, caption = Seal
, latin_name =
, motto = Kerana Tuhan Untuk Manusia
, mottoeng = In the Name of God for Mankind
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public research university
, affiliatio ...
in 1999. While he was there, he became the first non-Malay elected to the UTM Students' Representative Council, winning over 9,000 votes. He later obtained a Masters of Science (Civil) in Highway Engineering from
San José State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...
, while working full time in California as a highway design engineer from 2001 to 2006. While in the United States, Sim founded the Malaysia Forum Organization in
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, a group promoting civil society and discussion of Malaysian issues.
Political career
After five years working in the US, Sim returned to Malaysia and joined PKR. Working under Anwar, he played a significant role in the release of a video clip purporting to show the fixing of judicial appointments and court decisions.
He was later named as a witness for the
Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Video Clip
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the V.K. Lingam Video Clip was formed in late 2007 to investigate into an allegation of illegal intervention into the judicial appointment process of Malaysian judges purportedly occurred in 2002. The formati ...
, but as of March 2008 has not been called to testify.
In the
2008 general election, Sim contested in the Penang state constituency of Pantai Jerejak under the PKR ticket. He won by a majority of 1,258 votes. He was one of four major players in the Lingam video clip scandal who won election – the others were
Loh Gwo Burne
Loh Gwo Burne (; born 26 February 1974) is a Malaysian politician. He was the member of the Malaysian Parliament for Kelana Jaya, Selangor for one term from 2008 to 2013. He set in Parliament as a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR) in ...
(elected as MP for
Kelana Jaya
Kelana Jaya is a suburb of Petaling Jaya city, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia, comprising sections SS3, SS4, SS5, SS6, and SS7. The Damansara–Puchong Expressway cuts through this neighbourhood. The shopping mall Paradigm Mall is located here ...
),
Wee Choo Keong
Wee Choo Keong (; born 26 June 1953) is a Malaysian politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Bukit Bintang from 1990 to 1995 and for Wangsa Maju from 2008 to 2013. Wee had been a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) before bein ...
(elected as MP for
Wangsa Maju
Wangsa Maju is a township and a constituency in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This area is surrounded by Setapak, Taman Melati and Gombak district in Selangor. Wangsa Maju is one of the largest townships in Kuala Lumpur and consists of many sections ...
), and
Sivarasa Rasiah
Sivarasa a/l Rasiah ( ta, சிவராசா ராசையா, Civarācā rācaiyā; born 8 December 1956), or also known as R. Sivarasa is a Malaysian politician, lawyer and human rights activist of Ceylonese and Sri Lankan descent w ...
(elected as MP for
Subang
Subang may refer to:
Indonesia
* Subang, Kuningan, a town and district in Kuningan Regency, West Java
* Subang Regency, a regency of West Java
** Subang, Subang, a town and district in Subang Regency, West Java
Malaysia
*Subang (federal constitue ...
).
In the
2013 general election, Sim contested the parliamentary seat of Bayan Baru instead and won to be a Member of Parliament. He contested again the parliamentary seat in the
2018 general election and won to retain it. He was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry in July 2018 by the new PH formed federal government then.
Controversies and issues
Lingam's case witnesses were not called
He is one of the witnesses in the Lingam video clip case. But on January 28, 2008, the royal commission investigating Lingam's video clip had decided not to summon him to testify on the clip's investigation because according to Tan Sri Haidar Mohd Noor, the Commission's chairman, the evidence to be given them was irrelevant to the investigation which is run.
Urged Zahrain to vacate the Bayan Baru parliamentary seat
On March 14, 2010, he sent a total of 2,108 signatures collected within two days from voters around the Bayan Baru market and the Fairgrounds in Sungai Nibong, Penang to Bayan Baru's independent MP Datuk
Zahrain Mohamed Hashim
Malay titles#Dato' Seri, Dato' Seri Zahrain bin Mohamed Hashim (born 12 November 1955) is a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician previously from the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of then Pa ...
and urged him to vacate his seat before The House of Commons convened on 15 March 2010.
Personal life
Sim is married.
Election results
See also
*
Bayan Baru (federal constituency)
References
External links
*
Malaysia ForumADUN Pantai Jerejak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sim, Tze Tzin
1976 births
Living people
People from Penang
Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent
Malaysian engineers
People's Justice Party (Malaysia) politicians
Members of the Dewan Rakyat
Members of the Penang State Legislative Assembly
University of Technology Malaysia alumni
San Jose State University alumni
21st-century Malaysian politicians
Malaysian people of Teochew descent