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The Sunday Times, July 5, 1992 (PROFILE)
Malaysian deputy speaker ONG TEE KEAT sees his writing, politics and engineering as tools for social change Cool head in hot seat
He is the person whose patience opposition members in the Malaysian Parliament like to test. ISMAIL KASSIM of the Foreign Desk talks to the man at the centre of opposition leader Lim Kit Siang’s suspension (until year-end) from Parliament.
MR ONG TEE KEAT, Malaysian MP for Ampang Jaya, has on-the-job training on how to remain cool and collected under provocation. After two years as deputy speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, he feels that he has become a little more patient and tolerant.
No one in that hot seat has been more severely tested than Mr Ong, who is from the Malaysian Chinese Association, Umno’s key partner in the ruling National Front coalition.
MPs from the opposition Democratic Action Party in particular have gone out of their way to antagonise and provoke him. To them, he is Public Enemy No.1, mainly because of his party affiliation. The MCA is the DAP’s rival for the support of the Chinese in Malaysia.
QUOTE: “I keep telling myself: Don’t fall into their trap. Disappoint them …”
His acceptance of their challenge to a public debate last year over which party – the MCA or the DAP – was a political parasite further incensed DAP representatives. Mr Ong was pitted against Lim Guan Eng, the DAP youth leader, in a contest in which no winner emerged.
His active political involvement gives them sufficient ammunition to accuse him of being biased against them when they raise issues involving the MCA in Parliament.
Mr Ong, with a hint of temper, dismisses allegations of bias against him as scurrilous.
“I am not perturbed. Can they say which ruling or which action was biased? I don’t think they can, because I always make a clear distinction between my post as deputy speaker and my position as the MP for Ampang Jaya,” he said.
In Parliament, no one has ever seen him lose his cool. When he calls for
“tenang” (calm) or rules “saya sudah buat keputusan” (I have made my decision), his “one never varies.
His secret weapon is to keep reminding himself to remain cool. “I keep telling myself: Don’t fall into their trap.
Disappoint them …,” he said, during an interview in his second-floor office in Parliament Building.
Mr Ong does try to get even sometimes by resorting to a little sarcasm on the side – like reminding the offending MP that “ his behaviour is not in keeping with his august position”.
His mastery of Bahasa, the official language in Parliament, and English helps him to control the situation.
To some observers, his speeches are little too formal because he is not a native speaker. That may also be why his humorous side is hardly seen in the House.
He displays his humour occasionally during press conferences. For example, after his appointment as deputy speaker, he “disclosed” that he too collected videotapes, adding quickly that his favourites were My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music.
He was making light of the controversy that brought down his predecessor, Mr D.P.Vijandran, who accused of acting in pornographic videos.
After the tensions of presiding in Parliament, he likes to relax at home listening to classical music.
A little wine will make him feel even better. In his office, he goes for water from a mineral pot, taking coffee or tea only when visitors drop by.
Music heals him. It also inspires him. When he studies or when he writes his regular newspaper columns for several Chinese dailies, he needs to listen to music first to get into the mood. And before he goes up the political rostrum to deliver a speech, he tunes in to martial music to stir up his fighting spirit.
It was his willingness to battle against great odds that enabled Mr Ong to knock out veteran politician Datuk Harun Idris.
THAT David-and-Goliath by-election duel in January 1989 for the Ampang Jaya seat was the baptism of fire for the earnest young man. He was only 32 and political secretary to MCA deputy president Datuk Lee Kim Sai, a post he had held since 1986 after giving up his lucrative career as a mechanical engineer.
To him, life becomes meaningful only when one gets involved in a struggle.
“You can choose wealth, position or public service,” he said. A well-built six-footer, the bespectacled Mr Ong had always wanted to serve the people since his teens.
His chance came earlier than expected when the Ampang Jaya seat fell vacant.
Mr Ong resigned as political secretary on becoming deputy speaker, for which he was paid only an allowance.
“I was not obliged to resign but I decided to step down to avoid a possible conflict of interest,” he said.
He grew up in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, where his father was a fishmonger. He returns to his roots regularly. “Nostalgia lures me back, rather than the appetising attractions of the hawker fare,” he said.
Like his parents, he does not subscribe to any religion. That does not make him “an atheist but a free thinker. I take religion like philosophy,” he insisted.
He concedes readily that he was a radical during his student days in the University of Malaya. “I was critical of the MCA,” he said.
After leaving the university, he reviewed his position. He felt that the Chinese needed a vehicle which could get things done in a multiracial context, and not in a confrontational way.
Being a pragmatist and man of action, he walked into an MCA branch and enrolled “without any fanfare” soon after making his decision to get into politics.
For five years he served as grassroots worker, helping out in a variety of jobs, including using his calligraphic skills to prepare political banners.
Those who knew him then described him as humble notwithstanding his professional qualifications, and helpful to a fault.
He has also been making a name for himself preparing drama scripts for radio and television, contributing short stories to Chinese dailies, and writing several books. He even won several awards for his writing.
Mr Ong, who married his childhood sweetheart 10 years ago and who has three daughters, sees a unity in his varied interests-creative writing, politics and engineering. Creative writing, he says, acts as a catalyst for social change, politics allows one to initiate the change, while engineering provides the means for carrying out the plans.
His busy schedule has not prevented the appearance of middle-age spread.
He thinks that he has put on about 10 kg in the last one year, the result of too many 10-course dinners and too little exercise. He goes for brisk walks and has just picked up golf to keep fit.
Observers consider him a man with a great future.
“He is bright, energetic and hardworking, and he has lots of potential. But he has to watch out,” said one of them.
MR ONG TEE KEAT was born in 1956 in Kuala Lumpur. He is married with three daughters.
1981: Joined MCA
1986 Appointed political secretary to Datuk Lee Kim Sai, MCA deputy presient
1989: Elected as MP for Ampang jaya in a by-election
1990: Appointed deputy speaker of Parliament. Elected MCA youth secretary-general and a central committee member.
It is no secret that some MCA members want to cut him down to size because he was in the wrong camp in the party infighting two years ago. He supported Datuk Lee Kim Sai in his abortive bid to overthrow the incumbent president Datuk Dr Ling Liong Sik.
Though many in his faction became casualties in the election, he bucked the trend by getting elected as the MCA youth secretary-general and to a place in the MA central committee.
Since then, he has tried to mend fences with the victorious faction. He says that it is part of the democratic process to close ranks behind the winners.
The Sunday Times, July 5, 1992 (PROFILE)
Malaysian deputy speaker ONG TEE KEAT sees his writing, politics and engineering as tools for social change Cool head in hot seat
He is the person whose patience opposition members in the Malaysian Parliament like to test. ISMAIL KASSIM of the Foreign Desk talks to the man at the centre of opposition leader Lim Kit Siang’s suspension (until year-end) from Parliament.
MR ONG TEE KEAT, Malaysian MP for Ampang Jaya, has on-the-job training on how to remain cool and collected under provocation. After two years as deputy speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, he feels that he has become a little more patient and tolerant.
No one in that hot seat has been more severely tested than Mr Ong, who is from the Malaysian Chinese Association, Umno’s key partner in the ruling National Front coalition.
MPs from the opposition Democratic Action Party in particular have gone out of their way to antagonise and provoke him. To them, he is Public Enemy No.1, mainly because of his party affiliation. The MCA is the DAP’s rival for the support of the Chinese in Malaysia.
QUOTE: “I keep telling myself: Don’t fall into their trap. Disappoint them …”
His acceptance of their challenge to a public debate last year over which party – the MCA or the DAP – was a political parasite further incensed DAP representatives. Mr Ong was pitted against Lim Guan Eng, the DAP youth leader, in a contest in which no winner emerged.
His active political involvement gives them sufficient ammunition to accuse him of being biased against them when they raise issues involving the MCA in Parliament.
Mr Ong, with a hint of temper, dismisses allegations of bias against him as scurrilous.
“I am not perturbed. Can they say which ruling or which action was biased? I don’t think they can, because I always make a clear distinction between my post as deputy speaker and my position as the MP for Ampang Jaya,” he said.
In Parliament, no one has ever seen him lose his cool. When he calls for
“tenang” (calm) or rules “saya sudah buat keputusan” (I have made my decision), his “one never varies.
His secret weapon is to keep reminding himself to remain cool. “I keep telling myself: Don’t fall into their trap.
Disappoint them …,” he said, during an interview in his second-floor office in Parliament Building.
Mr Ong does try to get even sometimes by resorting to a little sarcasm on the side – like reminding the offending MP that “ his behaviour is not in keeping with his august position”.
His mastery of Bahasa, the official language in Parliament, and English helps him to control the situation.
To some observers, his speeches are little too formal because he is not a native speaker. That may also be why his humorous side is hardly seen in the House.
He displays his humour occasionally during press conferences. For example, after his appointment as deputy speaker, he “disclosed” that he too collected videotapes, adding quickly that his favourites were My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music.
He was making light of the controversy that brought down his predecessor, Mr D.P.Vijandran, who accused of acting in pornographic videos.
After the tensions of presiding in Parliament, he likes to relax at home listening to classical music.
A little wine will make him feel even better. In his office, he goes for water from a mineral pot, taking coffee or tea only when visitors drop by.
Music heals him. It also inspires him. When he studies or when he writes his regular newspaper columns for several Chinese dailies, he needs to listen to music first to get into the mood. And before he goes up the political rostrum to deliver a speech, he tunes in to martial music to stir up his fighting spirit.
It was his willingness to battle against great odds that enabled Mr Ong to knock out veteran politician Datuk Harun Idris.
THAT David-and-Goliath by-election duel in January 1989 for the Ampang Jaya seat was the baptism of fire for the earnest young man. He was only 32 and political secretary to MCA deputy president Datuk Lee Kim Sai, a post he had held since 1986 after giving up his lucrative career as a mechanical engineer.
To him, life becomes meaningful only when one gets involved in a struggle.
“You can choose wealth, position or public service,” he said. A well-built six-footer, the bespectacled Mr Ong had always wanted to serve the people since his teens.
His chance came earlier than expected when the Ampang Jaya seat fell vacant.
Mr Ong resigned as political secretary on becoming deputy speaker, for which he was paid only an allowance.
“I was not obliged to resign but I decided to step down to avoid a possible conflict of interest,” he said.
He grew up in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown, where his father was a fishmonger. He returns to his roots regularly. “Nostalgia lures me back, rather than the appetising attractions of the hawker fare,” he said.
Like his parents, he does not subscribe to any religion. That does not make him “an atheist but a free thinker. I take religion like philosophy,” he insisted.
He concedes readily that he was a radical during his student days in the University of Malaya. “I was critical of the MCA,” he said.
After leaving the university, he reviewed his position. He felt that the Chinese needed a vehicle which could get things done in a multiracial context, and not in a confrontational way.
Being a pragmatist and man of action, he walked into an MCA branch and enrolled “without any fanfare” soon after making his decision to get into politics.
For five years he served as grassroots worker, helping out in a variety of jobs, including using his calligraphic skills to prepare political banners.
Those who knew him then described him as humble notwithstanding his professional qualifications, and helpful to a fault.
He has also been making a name for himself preparing drama scripts for radio and television, contributing short stories to Chinese dailies, and writing several books. He even won several awards for his writing.
Mr Ong, who married his childhood sweetheart 10 years ago and who has three daughters, sees a unity in his varied interests-creative writing, politics and engineering. Creative writing, he says, acts as a catalyst for social change, politics allows one to initiate the change, while engineering provides the means for carrying out the plans.
His busy schedule has not prevented the appearance of middle-age spread.
He thinks that he has put on about 10 kg in the last one year, the result of too many 10-course dinners and too little exercise. He goes for brisk walks and has just picked up golf to keep fit.
Observers consider him a man with a great future.
“He is bright, energetic and hardworking, and he has lots of potential. But he has to watch out,” said one of them.
MR ONG TEE KEAT was born in 1956 in Kuala Lumpur. He is married with three daughters.
1981: Joined MCA
1986 Appointed political secretary to Datuk Lee Kim Sai, MCA deputy presient
1989: Elected as MP for Ampang jaya in a by-election
1990: Appointed deputy speaker of Parliament. Elected MCA youth secretary-general and a central committee member.
It is no secret that some MCA members want to cut him down to size because he was in the wrong camp in the party infighting two years ago. He supported Datuk Lee Kim Sai in his abortive bid to overthrow the incumbent president Datuk Dr Ling Liong Sik.
Though many in his faction became casualties in the election, he bucked the trend by getting elected as the MCA youth secretary-general and to a place in the MA central committee.
Since then, he has tried to mend fences with the victorious faction. He says that it is part of the democratic process to close ranks behind the winners.
ORIGINAL POSTING http://ongteekeat.net
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