Chua Jui Meng

Dato' Chua Jui Meng (simplified Chinese: 蔡锐明; traditional Chinese: 蔡銳明; pinyin: Cài Ruìmíng; born 22 October 1943) is a Malaysian politician. He was the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Bakri constituency in the State of Johor for five terms from 1986 to 2008. He was the country's longest serving Minister of Health, holding that position from 1995 to 2004.[1]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Chua (蔡).
Yang Berbahagia Dato'

Chua Jui Meng
蔡锐明
Malaysian Minister of Health
In office
8 May 1995 – 26 March 2004
MonarchJa’afar
Salahuddin
Sirajuddin
Prime MinisterMahathir Mohammed
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
DeputySiti Zaharah Sulaiman (1995–1996)
Mohd Ali Rustam (1996–1999)
Suleiman Mohamed (1999–2004)
Preceded byLee Kim Sai
Succeeded byChua Soi Lek
ConstituencyBakri
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Bakri
In office
3 August 1986 – 13 March 2008
Preceded byNew Constituency
Succeeded byEr Teck Hwa (DAP)
Majority1,105 (1986)
3,111 (1990)
12,318 (1995)
13,360 (1999)
19,059 (2004)
Personal details
Born (1943-10-22) 22 October 1943
Muar, Johor, British Malaya
Political partyPKR – Pakatan Harapan (2009 – present)
MCA – Barisan Nasional (1976–2009)
Spouse(s)Honey Hum Chim Pang
OccupationPolitician, lawyer
Websitechuajuimeng123.blogspot.com

Chua is a lawyer called to the British Bar as a Barrister-at-law at the Inner Temple before entering politics through his involvement with the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). After 35 years with the party, he quit to join People's Justice Party (PKR) in 2009.

Political career

Prior to entering full-time politics, Chua was a student activist in the 1970s. He was president of the Malaysian and Singaporean Law Society in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as Editor in Chief of the Federation of UK and Ireland Malaysian and Singaporean Student Associations.[2]

Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)

Chua began his political career in 1976 when he became a member of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a component of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. In the 1986 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Bakri, a seat he retained for five consecutive terms.

His speech in Parliament in 1988 on the "Malaysian Chinese dilemma" as a result of the "deviations and misimplementation" of the New Economic Policy (NEP) sparked the formation of the National Economic Consultative Council (NECC). In 1990 the NECC formulated the new National Development Policy (NDP) to succeed the NEP and it was adopted for a period of 10 years (1991–2000), which Chua credited as key to liberalising the economy, education and culture and turning Chinese voter in favour of Barisan Nasional from the 1990s to 2004.[2]

In 1989, Chua was appointed parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Health. He was elected as a vice-president of the MCA in 1990 and became the Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry following the 1990 general election. During this period, he worked on developing small and medium enterprises and promoting trade with China.[2]

After the 1995 general election, Chua was appointed Minister of Health. During his tenure, Chua led the government's fight against the Coxsackievirus outbreak in 1997, the Nipah virus outbreak in 1999, the Japanese encephalitis outbreak in 2000 and the global SARS epidemic in 2003.[2]

MCA fell into crisis in 2001, when factional infighting between "Teams A" and "B" became public. Chua aligned himself to the Lim Ah Lek-led Team B during the Nanyang Siang Pau takeover crisis.[3] The 2002 party elections were cancelled, and Chua retained his vice presidency under the MCA "peace plan" of 2003, which saw Ong Ka Ting assume the presidency. However, he was dropped from the Cabinet after the 2004 general election as he was not recommended to the prime minister by the new party leader.[4]

In the following year's party elections, Chua challenged Ong Ka Ting for the presidency. He performed above expectations, garnering more than a third of the delegates' votes, but was unable to topple the heavily favoured Ong.[4] He made another long-shot attempt at the presidency in 2008, but lost out to Ong Tee Keat.[5] He did not contest the 2008 general election and 2013 general election as his former seat of Bakri fell to the opposition.[6]

People's Justice Party (PKR)

In July 2009, Chua quit the MCA to join the opposition People's Justice Party (PKR), citing the need to preserve the two-party system that emerged after the 2008 elections.[7] In June 2010, the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Ismail revoked the state awards (carrying the titles Dato' and Dato' Seri) conferred to Chua by the previous Sultan. Chua accused Barisan Nasional of instigating the move as payback for joining the opposition.[8] He still retains the Dato' title since he was conferred other state titles by the Sultans of Selangor and Pahang.[9]

He was appointed PKR's chief in Johor, which is regarded as a Barisan Nasional stronghold.[10][11]

In February 2013, an open verbal conflict erupted between Johor DAP chairman Boo Cheng Hau and Chua as a result of accusations from either side of splitting Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Johor,[12] prompting mediation by both DAP and PKR party central leadership.[13] One of the reconciliation of both parties reached and demonstrated was Chua would contest and receive unconditional support from Johor DAP in the Segamat parliamentary seat instead for having to make way for DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang in the Gelang Patah seat, which he was supposedly be the PKR candidate in the 2013 election.[14] Both sides agreed to switch the two seats traditionally contested by them.[15][16] Chua was however defeated in the election by the incumbent member Dr. S. Subramaniam, a BN federal minister.[17]

Election results
Parliament of Malaysia [18][19]
Year Constituency Government Votes Pct Opposition Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1986 P.122 Bakri, Johor Chua Jui Meng (MCA) 14,818 48.22% Song Sing Kwee (DAP) 13,713 44.62% 30,729 1,105 71.32%
Hassan Hussein (PAS) 1,437 4.68%
1990 Chua Jui Meng (MCA) 18,730 52.68% Lee Ban Chen (DAP) 15,619 43.93% 35,556 3,111 74.94%
1995 P.132 Bakri, Johor Chua Jui Meng (MCA) 22,162 60.15% Tan Kok Kwang (DAP) 9,844 26.72% 36,842 12,318 73.71%
Mohd Huridin Samuri (PAS) 3,541 9.61%
1999 Chua Jui Meng (MCA) 25,676 65.02% Lim Sey Wee (DAP) 12,316 31.19% 39,486 13,360 74.15%
2004 P.145 Bakri, Johor Chua Jui Meng (MCA) 29,320 70.34% Azhari Ismail (DAP) 10,261 24.62% 41,684 19,059 73.85%
Parliament of Malaysia[19][20]
Year Constituency Opposition Votes Pct Government Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 P.140 Segamat, Johor Chua Jui Meng (PKR) 18,820 47.28% Subramaniam Sathasivam (MIC) 20,037 50.34% 39,807 1,217 84.68%

See also

References
  1. "It's A Ministerial Jinx For MCA". The Sun. Malaysia Today. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  2. Track Record of Dato' Chua Jui Meng, archived from the original on 5 May 2009, retrieved 5 July 2010
  3. Loh, Francis. "The Nanyang Takeover Crisis". Aliran. Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  4. Chin, James (29 October 2009). "Tussle between MCA top two – Redux". Centre for Policy Initiatives. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  5. "Tee Keat wins, Soi Lek is MCA No. 2". The Star. 18 October 2008.
  6. "2013 Malaysia General Election". Retrieved 11 March 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  7. "Chua Jui Meng quits MCA, joins PKR". The Star (Malaysia). 18 July 2009.
  8. "Jui Meng stripped of Datukship, blames Johor Umno". Free Malaysia Today. 10 June 2010. Archived from the original on 6 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  9. Akil Yunus (4 December 2014). "Datukships taken away from at least three other politicians". The Star Online. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  10. Yow, Hong Chieh (5 July 2010). "PKR to name Jui Meng Johor chief". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  11. Syed Jaymal Zahiid (8 July 2010). "Chua appointed PKR Johor chief". Free Malaysia Today. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  12. Gasper & Wong, Desiree Tresa & Pek Mei. "Johor DAP-PKR spat gets serious". The Star. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  13. Lee & Gasper, Regina & Desiree Tresa (20 February 2013). "Pakatan top brass weigh in on feud between Boo and Chua". The Star.
  14. Pragalath, K. "DAP, PKR join forces for Battle Segamat". Free Malaysia Today. Selliyal - செல்லியல். Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  15. "GE13: Johor PKR chief Chua Jui Meng to contest in Segamat". The Star. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  16. "Chua Jui Meng calon PKR di Segamat" (in Malay). Astro Awani. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  17. P PREM KUMAR (27 April 2018). "Key battles, winners and losers in GE13". The Malaysian Reserve. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  18. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum". Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 March 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  19. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 5 May 2014. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  20. "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
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