Ampang Jaya By-Election

Submitted by webmaster on Sun, 2010-10-31 08:57
Jan' 89 (Malay Mail)
From ‘Kopi O’ talk to politics
By Au Foong Yee

Though nomination day is still not till Saturday, Mr Ong is already pushing himself in a way that is not entirely alien to him.

After all, he came from a modest home with a fishmonger father struggling to feed a wife and two young sons – Mr Ong has an older brother, an electrician.

Born and bred in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Ong had his early education in Confucian High School.

By the time he reached Form Two and expenditure was an increasingly burden on his father, Mr Ong started scouting around for scholarships.

His grit and determination had him hanging on. It was scholarships and study loans that finally saw him through secondary school and then tertiary education in Universiti Malaya.

Although he was far from being an active unionist, Mr Ong joined MCA as soon as he graduated in 1981.

“I wanted to improve things for the people as a whole, to alleviate the hardship faced by them,” said Mr Ong.

“People have always related politics to power. But  feel that politics have noble ideals.”

Mr Ong, the political secretary to MCA deputy president Lee Kim Sai, has since decided that he does not want to be just a politician.

“A statesman. Yes, I want to be a statesman, a negarawan who is motivated by lofty ideals and who can see things not just in the right perspective but more importantly, on a macro level,” said Mr Ong who is fluent in Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and English. He also speaks and write Jawi.

For someone who started off writing scripts and submitting short stories and essays to local newspapers, Mr Ong has certainly come a long way.

Mr Ong is now a regular political columnist in three vernacular newspapers. He used to write the script for the once- popular television series Empat Sekawan.

Besides attending to the needs of constituents in Mr Lee Kim Sai’s area and other party work he tries to spend as much time as he can with his teacher-wife Madam Chooi Yoke Chun, 32, and their two young daughters Swan Wui, four, and Swan Yen, 18 months.

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Cool head in hot seat

Submitted by webmaster on Sun, 2010-10-31 09:40
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.

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Touch of Black Humour

Submitted by webmaster on Sun, 2010-10-31 09:16

The Malay Mail, Wednesday, June 13, 1990

By Indira Nayar

IN the short time he has been in the public eye, the Member of Parliament for Ampang Jaya Ong Tee Keat has come across as a straight-laced and cautious technocrat.

So it was a relief to find a sense of humour beneath the sober exterior of the newly-elected Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker.

“I collect video tapes too,” he confessed alluding to the controversy which rocked Parliament and brought about the downfall of his predecessor, Mr D.P.Vijandran.

Mr Ong smiled cheekily and quickly added: “My favourites are The Sound Of Music and My Fair Lady.”

He is as straight as they come, but it is heartening to know our new Deputy Speaker has a sense of humour – something he will surely need in commanding order in a forum where members are sometimes known for their tantrums and clownishness.

“It was a surprise,” he said about his nomination for the post which he read about in newspapers on his way home from the United States last month.

He immediately confirmed it with MCA leaders, and despite being elected to the post on Monday, he still says: “It’s all been too sudden for me …”

That was about the only hesitant note throughout the hour-long interview with The Malay Mail at his new office on the second floor of Parliament House yesterday.

While the Dewan Rakyat is in sitting, the Deputy Speaker said he will be in at 10 each morning to “do preparations … go through whatever is necessary”.

Mr Ong, 33, is his usual earnest self when he speaks of his work.

The son of a fishmonger, he was an active grassroots MCA member while at varsity. Six years after graduating as a mechanical engineer, and while enjoying a lucrative post at an engineering firm, he quit to become political secretary to Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Lee Kim Sai. This was in 1986.

Mr Ong was the Barisan Nasional candidate in the Ampang Jaya by-election last January in which he beat veteran politician Datuk Harun Idris by over 4,000 votes.

He made it clear he need not have resigned his post as political secretary to be Deputy Speaker but did so on principle.

“Being political secretary makes me part of the executive, but as Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker I am now part of the legislative.

“I resigned because I felt there might be a conflict of interest if I held on to both posts,” he said in his simple, forthright manner.

As Deputy Speaker, Mr Ong draws only an allowance and not the salary which he commanded as political secretary. This has fired speculation in the vernacular Press that he will lose out on a lot of money.

Mr Ong is angered by this sort of speculation as it does not parallel his own way of thinking.

“If people keep counting the ringgit and the sen, their vision will be blurred by the $ sign,” he said.

It may also afford him more time to dabble in his hobby – writing.

Mr Ong is married to primary schoolteacher Chooi Yoke Chun, and the couple has three daughters, aged five, three and one. 

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The One-Minute Life

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Speech Of Acceptance Of The Honourary Doctorate From University Of Sunderland, UK

Submitted by webmaster on Thu, 2010-10-28 13:23
By O.T.K. Info Unit

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28, 2010): The University of Sunderland (UOS) has conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Education on Pandan MP Dato’ Sri (Dr) Ong Tee Keat.

The mechanical engineer turned full-time politician was recognised by the UOS for his contributions in the field of education.

Ong founded Yayasan Bakti Nusa Malaysia (YBNM) after becoming the people’s elected representative in Ampang Jaya/Pandan.

YBNM was set up to help poor students in his constituency but it has evolved into a socio-education development foundation.

Ong also founded the Technical Resources and Internship Network programme (TRAIN) aimed at opening opportunities in vocational and skills training to those not academically inclined.

The following is Ong’s acceptance speech at SEGi University College’s convocation on Saturday (Oct 23, 2010):

“Honourable Chancellor,
Honourable Vice Chancellor,
Academics & Graduands
Distinguished guests,
Ladies & gentlemen.

I am immensely honoured and grateful to the University of Sunderland for conferring this award to me. It is a moment of great happiness in everyone’s life here in this hall, when a university degree is received, no matter at what level, from one of UK’s best institutions.

I am privileged and at the same time humbled to receive the Honorary Doctorate in Education today. It is more significant for me when I look back and ponder over the challenges that I had been grappling with during my early years of acquiring formal education.

Growing up in Kuala Lumpur in a family struggling to make ends meet, the spectre of dropping out of school was very real indeed. But we knew the value of solid education as foundation on which to build one’s life and I persevered. I managed to obtain a scholarship and completed my degree course in Mechanical Engineering from University Malaya.

Thanks to that particular opportunity, I am where I am today. The education in university was not just about graduating with a degree. It expanded my horizons, helped me mature and raised my consciousness to a level I could not have otherwise achieved on my own. And as the famous American Chief Justice, Oliver Wendel Holmes Jr. once said, “Imagination, once stretched can never return to its original dimensions”.

I realized and appreciated in great depth the importance of higher education as a liberator of one’s life, and indeed for society as a whole. It underpins our democracy by equalizing the conditions of its people. It became clear that no one race, or religion, or sect can lay claim to the vast knowledge that lay before us.

At the same time, I witnessed and experienced its powerful effect it had on me, people around me, and society in general – that there is a direct correlation between educational attainment with occupational opportunities and finally the right to lead the life one chooses to value.

This sparked my life-long passion in promoting the idea of equal educational opportunity for all Malaysians.

The Higher Opportunities for Private Education Programme or HOPE, of which I am patron, opens the doors to Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, to pursue higher education at private institutions of higher learning, when they were denied a place in the public universities. Under HOPE, we made private education at top-notch private universities and colleges accessible to needy students through innovative subsidized scheme. To date, more than 1,200 students have benefitted from our efforts at HOPE.

Yet our efforts show that democratising education, which in turns fuels our freedom, demands more than just opening doors to our young. It underpins a more sophisticated notion of the right to equal access to education and training. As we attempt to find a grip on equality of opportunity in a diverse society, we need to think of both the process of opportunity as well as the capability aspect of opportunities. We need to take cognizance of the context and capacity, their talents, backgrounds, advantages and disadvantages and enable them to take action.

This is why we started the Technical Resources and Internship Network programme or  TRAIN. TRAIN continues to open opportunities in vocational and skill training to those who are not academically inclined. Elsewhere, like in my constituency in Pandan, I take satisfaction in seeing our free tuition programme for schoolchildren continues to grow from strength to strength.

Creating substantively equal life chances for all the people is one of the pinnacles of the1Malaysia notion, and is certainly more powerful than loud but empty slogans. This,however, does not equate to and neither do I propose a damning ‘levelling-down’ where all are subject to the same one educational system and have the same results.

Rather, the more sophisticated form of equality may necessarily lead to some outperforming others. But if such a case arises, it is not through artificial social engineering hinged on arbitrary concerns such as colour and creed but through merit and talent.

It is this same spirit that I find burning within the hallowed halls of the University of Sunderland. I share your pride in witnessing the wonder that more than 300 people are able to graduate here today in Malaysia, half way across the world in Sunderland. It rings a true meaning to opening and equalizing educational opportunities for the people.

Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Graduands and Guests, I hereby accept this Honorary Doctorate with humility, appreciation and pride.”

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