Ling Liong Sik


Ling Liong Sik is a retired Malaysian politician.
He was the sixth president of the Malaysian Chinese Association, a component party of Barisan Nasional coalition and also the former Malaysian Minister for Transport. He is the current chancellor and former chairman of the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. UTAR's Dewan Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik is named in honour after him.

Personal life

Ling was born on September 18, 1943 at Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Federated Malay States.
He is married to Toh Puan Ong Ee Nah and has two sons: Hee Leong and Hee Kiat.

Education

Ling studied in Royal Military College in 1956. He graduated as a medical doctor from University of Singapore in 1966. Subsequently, he set up his practice in Penang.

Political career

In 1974, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Mata Kuching, Penang. He successfully defended his position in 1978 and 1982. He was elected Member of Parliament for Labis, Johor in 1986. He also subsequently successfully defended his position in the 1990, 1995 and 1999 general elections.
He was elected in 1986 as the sixth President of the MCA; he held this position for almost 17 years until 2003.
In 1986, he was appointed Transport Minister. Prior to that, he had held the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Local Government and Federal, Territory, Deputy Information Minister, Deputy Finance Minister and Deputy Education Minister.
He was the Minister of Transport of Malaysia from 7 January 1986 till 25 May 2003.

Controversy

After years of staying out of the spotlight, Ling was charged in July 2010 for cheating in relation to the Port Klang Free Zone scandal. In 2013, after two years of trial, the High Court acquitted Ling over three charges of cheating the Government in relation to the PKFZ land deal.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia