Datuk Chong Sin Woon (simplified Chinese: 张盛闻; traditional Chinese: 張盛聞; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tioⁿ Sēng-bûn; born 25 December 1973) is a Malaysian politician who served as the Deputy Minister of Education II from a Cabinet reshuffle in July 2015 to the collapse of the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration in May 2018. He served as a Senator from April 2014 to April 2017 for the first term and reappointed to serve from April 2017 to April 2020 for the second term until his resignation in April 2018 to contest in the 2018 General Election. He is a member of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a major component party of the BN coalition as well as its Secretary-General since September 2019 after the resignation of his predecessor Chew Mei Fun.[1]
Chong Sin Woon | |
|---|---|
| 张盛闻 | |
 | |
| Deputy Minister of Education II | |
| In office 29 July 2015 – 9 May 2018 | |
| Monarchs | Abdul Halim (2015–2016) Muhammad V (2016–2018) |
| Prime Minister | Najib Razak |
| Minister | Mahdzir Khalid |
| Preceded by | Mary Yap |
| Succeeded by | Teo Nie Ching (Deputy Minister of Education) |
| Constituency | Senator |
| Senator Elected by the Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 21 April 2014 – 28 April 2018 Serving with Salim Shariff | |
| Monarchs | Abdul Halim (2014–2016) Muhammad V (2016–2018) |
| Prime Minister | Najib Razak |
| Preceded by | Yeow Chai Thiam |
| Succeeded by | Kesavadas A. Achyuthan Nair |
| Secretary-General of the Malaysian Chinese Association | |
| Assumed office 26 September 2019 | |
| President | Wee Ka Siong |
| Deputy | Chai Kim Sen (2019–2021) Pamela Yong (since 2021) |
| Preceded by | Chew Mei Fun |
| Youth Chief of the Malaysian Chinese Association | |
| In office 20 December 2013 – 4 November 2018 | |
| President | Liow Tiong Lai |
| Deputy | Chris Lee Ching Yong |
| Preceded by | Wee Ka Siong |
| Succeeded by | Nicole Wong Siaw Ting |
| Chairman of the Port Klang Authority | |
| In office 28 April 2020 – 14 December 2022 | |
| Minister | Wee Ka Siong |
| General manager | Subramaniam Karuppiah |
| Preceded by | Ean Yong Hian Wah |
| Succeeded by | Ean Yong Hian Wah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Chong Sin Woon 25 December 1973 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia |
| Citizenship | Malaysian |
| Nationality |  Malaysia |
| Political party | Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) |
| Other political affiliations | Barisan Nasional (BN) |
| Spouse | Chai Yoke Shyuan |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | National University of Malaysia |
| Occupation | Politician |
Early life
editChong was born in Negeri Sembilan to Chong Fatt Yuen and Leaw Moi.[2] His parents were rubber tappers. Chong is the youngest among seven siblings. As a child, Chong delivered newspapers to supplement his family's income.[2] He attended SJKC Kuo Min and he went on to spend eight years in SM Dato Mohd Said in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. Chong graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from National University of Malaysia in 1999.
Political career
editUpon his graduation in 1999, Chong joined MCA in 2001.[3] He won the MCA Youth Chief's post in 2013[4] and appointed as a Senator in 2014.[5] In 2015 he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Education II by the then-prime minister, Najib Razak in a Cabinet reshuffle.[6] Chong was reappointed as Senator in 2017.[7]
In 2018 Malaysian general election, Chong contested for the Seremban federal seat against the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) National Organising Secretary Anthony Loke and was defeated. Chong and his MCA Youth concedes defeat and is ready to position itself as the opposition to "keep an eye" on the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration in 2018. In September 2019, Chew Mei Fun resigned as the Secretary-General of MCA and Chong was appointed to take over the position and has served since then. However, 21 months later in February 2020, PH collapsed due to party-hopping and was replaced with Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration led by Prime Minister and President of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) Muhyiddin Yassin in March 2020. MCA, which is in BN, is aligned with PN and hence he was appointed Chairman of the Port Klang Authority by the PN administration in April 2020.[8]
Controversy
editOn 5 November 2017, Chong has apologised for his insensitive 'tokong' or 'deity-like' remarks and jibe he had made over Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in his speech during the 64th MCA general assembly amid Penang's devastating floods situation.[9][10][11]
Election results
edit| Year | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Pct | Opponent(s) | Votes | Pct | Ballots cast | Majority | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | P128 Seremban | Chong Sin Woon (MCA) | 24,809 | 27.02% | Anthony Loke Siew Fook (DAP) | 55,503 | 60.45% | 93,254 | 30,694 | 84.65% | ||
| Shariffuddin Ahmad (PAS) | 11,506 | 12.53% | ||||||||||
| 2022 | P080 Raub | Chong Sin Woon (MCA) | 16,939 | 30.12% | Chow Yu Hui (DAP) | 21,613 | 38.43% | 56,235 | 4,357 | 74.92% | ||
| Fakrunizam Ibrahim (BERSATU) | 17,256 | 30.69% | ||||||||||
| Norkhairul Anuar Mohamed Nor (PEJUANG) | 427 | 0.76% | ||||||||||
Honours
editMalacca :
Companion Class II of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DPSM) – Datuk (2016)[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Chung, Clarissa (26 September 2019). "Chong Sin Woon is MCA's new sec-gen". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b Foong, Pek Yee (16 August 2015). "Malaysia's deputy education minister recalls tough childhood". Asia One. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ Foong, Pek Yee (16 August 2015). "Small-town boy makes good". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Chong Sin Woon is new MCA Youth chief". The Star (Malaysia). 20 December 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ "FOUR LEADERS TAKE OATH AS SENATORS". Parliament of Malaysia. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ "MCA gets more reps in cabinet, MIC loses one". Bernama. The Sun Daily. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Chong Sin Woon reappointed as senator". Bernama. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ Brown, Victoria (18 May 2018). "MCA Youth ready to take on Opposition role". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ Lu, Wei Hong (5 November 2017). "Amid Penang floods, Chong tells 'deity-like' Guan Eng not to fight the heavens". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Chong apologises for Guan Eng 'deity' jibe". Malaysiakini. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ Phung, Adrian (7 November 2017). "Chong Sin Woon apologises to Penangites over insensitive remarks". The Sun (Malaysia). Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Federal Government Gazette, Results of Contested Election Parliamentary Constituencies for the State of Negeri Sembilan" (PDF). Election Commission. Retrieved 13 June 2018.[permanent dead link] Percentage figures based on total turnout.
- ^ "'Star' honoured". The Star (Malaysia). 16 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2018.