Datuk Amar James Wong Kim Min (;

Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Pha̍k-fa-sṳ is an orthography similar to Pe̍h-ōe-jī and used to write Hakka, a variety of Chinese. Hakka is a whole branch of Chinese, and Hakka dialects are not necessarily mutually intelligible with each other, considering the large geogr ...

: ''Vòng Kîm-mìn'') (6 August 1922 – 18 July 2011) was a Malaysian politician active in the politics of

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a 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 Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

for decades. Wong holds the record as the longest serving assemblyman in the history of the state of Sarawak, holding the office for nearly fifty years. Wong served as the first Deputy

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of Sarawak and the president of the

Sarawak National Party The Sarawak National Party known by its acronym as "SNAP", is now a defunct political party in Malaysia. It was a member party of the Alliance Party from 1963 to 1966 and a member of Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition from 1976 until its expulsion ...

(SNAP). He held several other ministries of Sarawak politics until his retirement in 2001.

Personal life

Wong was born in

Limbang Limbang is a border town and the capital of Limbang District in the Limbang Division of northern Sarawak, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. This district area is 3,978.10 square kilometres, and population (year 2020 census) was 56,900. ...

Kingdom of Sarawak (While I breathe, I hope) , national_anthem = ''Gone Forth Beyond the Sea'' , capital = Kuching , common_languages = English, Iban, Melanau, Bidayuh, Sarawak Malay, Chinese etc. , government_type = Abso ...

, on 6 August 1922. Sarawak was a British protectorate at the time.

Early political career

He began his political career in 1951, when he was elected to the Limbang District Council. In 1956, Wong was elected to Sarawak's legislature, the Council Negri, which is now known as the

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly The Sarawak State Legislative Assembly is the legislative chamber of the unicameral legislature of the Malaysian state of Sarawak; the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak forms the other part of the legislature. The Assembly is modelled after the ...

. He continued to hold office in the Legislative Assembly until his retirement in 2001. Malaysia became an independent country in 1963. Wong had been a member of the

Malaysian Solidarity Convention The Malaysian Solidarity Convention was a confederation of political parties formed on 9 May 1965 and existing until 9 August to oppose Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia, Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia. This article specifi ...

's Sarawak delegation in 1962, which negotiated the formation of the new nation. Stephen Kalong Ningkan, the then president of the

(SNAP), became the first

Chief Minister of Sarawak The Premier of Sarawak is the head of government in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The premier is appointed by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, also known as the state's governor. The premier is also the leader of the political party or coalition ...

, while Wong became the state's first deputy Chief Minister.

Member of the opposition

SNAP pulled out of the national coalition government, led by the Alliance Party, and became an opposition party. Wong, a member of the SNAP, won a seat 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 ...

in the 1969 general election, representing the Miri-Subis constituency. Wong became the leader of the Malaysian Opposition in August 1974. Wong would later be arrested under the

Internal Security Act Internal Security Act may refer to: * Internal Security Act 1960, former Malaysian law *Internal Security Act (Singapore) * McCarran Internal Security Act, a United States federal law *Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, a South African law, rename ...

on 30 October 1974 and held at the

Kamunting Detention Centre The Kamunting Detention Centre (KEMTA; ms, Kem Tahanan Perlindungan Kamunting) is a prison camp in Kamunting, Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia.

for several years. In 1981, Wong became the third president of the Sarawak National Party.

Reconciliation with Barisan Nasional

Wong's Sarawak National Party reconciled and rejoined the successor of the Alliance, 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 ...

. Under the new coalition, Wong became a minister in Sarawak's state cabinet, holding several portfolios during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Wong became the Environment and Tourism Minister of Sarawak from 1987 to 1994. He then became the state Minister of Environment and Housing from 1995 to 1997 and finally the state Minister of Environment and Public Health from 1998 until his retirement in 2001. In 2001, Wong, who was still serving as Environment Minister, was awarded the

Langkawi Award Langkawi, officially known by its sobriquet Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah ( ms, Langkawi Permata Kedah ), is a duty-free island and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide in the Strait of Malacca) locate ...

for to work in launching a

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...

satellite tracking program and spearheading a new reefball project for

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

Retirement from politics

Wong retired from politics in 2001. He continued to author new books and poems during his retirement. Wong authored ''The Price of Loyalty'', a book about his imprisonment at the Kamunting detention center under the Internal Security Act. By 2003, Wong had published the third addition of ''The Birth of Malaysia'', a history of the country. He also released a third book, ''Memories of Speeches at the Council Negri''. In addition to his books, Wong also wrote poetry during his later life. His poetry collections included ''A Special Breed'' in 1981, ''Shimmering Moonbeams'' in 1983, ''Buy a Little Time'' in 1989 and ''Beautiful Butterfly'' in 2009. Wong also spearheaded the push to have

Malaysia Day Malaysia Day ( ms, Hari Malaysia) is a public holiday held on 16 September every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on that date in 1963. This event saw Malaya, North Borneo (which was renamed Sabah), Sarawak, ...

declared a national holiday. In 2010, Malaysia Day was finally declared an official holiday, to be celebrated nationwide on 16 September of every year. Wong spoke of Malaysia Day in 2010 saying, "It is my hope that Malaysia Day will be celebrated every 16 September. People should remember it because it's a historic occasion."

Death

James Wong suffered a heart attack on 18 July 2011. He died shortly after 10 a.m. at the Normah Medical Specialist Centre in Kuching, Sarawak,

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 ...

, at the age of 90. Wong was survived by his wife, Datin Amar Valerie Bong; five daughters; three sons; thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was buried in

at the family cemetery in Jalan Pandaruan. Dignitaries in attendance included members of each of Sarawak's major ethnic groups, including the Chinese, the

Kedayan The Kedayan (also known as Kadayan, Kadaian or Kadyan) are an ethnic group residing in Brunei, Federal Territory of Labuan, southwest of Sabah, and north of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. According to the Language and Literature Bureau of B ...

Brunei Malay The Brunei Malay language, or Kedayan (, Jawi: ) is the most widely spoken language in Brunei and a lingua franca in some parts of Sarawak and Sabah, such as Labuan, Limbang, Lawas, Sipitang and Papar.Clynes, A. (2014). Brunei Malay: An Ove ...

Bisaya Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, ...

, Tabun,

Lun Bawang The Lun Bawang (formerly known as Trusan Murut or Southern Murut) is an ethnic group found in Central Northern Borneo. They are indigenous to the southwest of Sabah (Interior Division), and the northern region of Sarawak (Limbang Division), high ...

and

Iban IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak people, Dayak people on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is believed that the ...

. Sarawak government announced that it will put together an exhibit of Wong's documents at the state museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, James 1922 births 2011 deaths Deputy Chief Ministers of Sarawak Members of the Dewan Rakyat Members of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Sarawak state ministers Leaders of the Opposition (Malaysia) Sarawak National Party politicians Malaysian poets Malaysian writers People from Sarawak Malaysian people of Hakka descent Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent 20th-century poets