Ng Yen Yen

Ng is a Kelantan native who was born in Kampung Kubang Pasu, Kota Bharu. As a teenager, she had to give tuition to finance her Form Six education at the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur.

Her father, who was old-fashioned, wanted to marry her off when she was 17 years old. However, her mother stepped in and made sure Ng completed her education to highest level she aspired.

Ng obtained a scholarship from the State Government of Kelantan[1] and then graduated from Universiti Malaya in 1972 with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). She was also awarded a Diploma of Reproductive medicine from the Johns Hopkins University in the United States.

She was awarded an honorary doctorate by Josai International University (ranked 252nd in Japan[2]) on 4 September 2012 for her "significant contributions in tourism industry development, nation building and forging of closer relations and cooperation between the university and Malaysia".[3]

Dr. Ng is married to Dr. Cheang Chee Sue and has three children, all of whom are successful professionals.

Dr. Ng, was Kelantan Wanita MCA chairman and the national MCA vice-president, the first woman to be elected to the post. She was a former Deputy Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister, and Deputy Finance Minister (2003 and 2008).

She was first elected as Member of Parliament of the constituency of Raub in 1999. She retained her parliamentary seat in the 2004 and 2008 elections.[4] She was not renominated as the candidate for the parliamentary seat in the 2013 elections.[5]

Bukit Koman, an area under the Raub parliamentary constituency of which Ng is the member of, is notorious for its gold mining activity. Villagers of Kampung Bukit Koman have been facing health and environment problems after a gold mine operator started using cyanide in the extraction method.

During the 2008 elections, Ng who was seeking her third term as MP for Raub, said she saw the gold mining project in Bukit Koman as a way of developing Raub into a tourist town and generating other economic activities much like the Australian city of Ballarat, where its legacy of wealth from the 19th century gold rush is still visible today.

"If the mine is not safe, I will be the first one to ask for its closure," the Wanita MCA chief stressed.[6]

However, when villages approached Ng three months after the election, she has been reported to say that there is no cause for concern for the villagers of Bukit Koman, saying that she had already looked into the matter three years ago.[7] At least 300 villagers, including the elderly and children, have complained of suffering from different medical symptoms due to cyanide. Ng has been criticised for her care-less attitude towards the villagers.[8]

Before being elected as a member of parliament in Dewan Rakyat, she was a senator in the Dewan Negara. She was recommended to be a senator by the then MCA deputy president Lim Ah Lek. Her senatorship was from the Pahang state government under MCA's quota and her candidacy had to be endorsed by the Pahang State Executive Council and Legislative Assembly. Ng took her oath of office as a senator in August 1993.[9]

Ng's senatorship was scrutinised and it was found that she was a permanent resident of Australia when she took the oath of loyalty to the Yang DiPertuan Agong and country to be appointed a senator. Before receiving her senatorship she had declared herself as a permanent resident of Australia in documents filed with the Australian authorities. She was still an Australian PR in between 1990 and 1995 during her tenure as a Malaysian Senator.[10] Ng chose Tusmore, Adelaide, South Australia as her place of residence and had been living in Australia for approximately three years.[9]

In Australia, Ng teamed up with Soh Chee Wen, General (Rtd) Mohamed Ngah Said and two Australians to run stock-broking business via New South Wales-based company, Indo Pacific Securities Limited, from April 1992 through May 1995.[9] She was a director of the company from April 1992 until she resigned in May 1995.[9] In an interview to Malaysiakini, Ng said she revoked her permanent residency in 1995, in her second year of senatorship, as she need not travel to Australia that frequently any more. Thus, she said the question of her 'dual citizenship' does not hold any more.[10]

Ng has said that she obtained the PR status to facilitate her frequent travelling to Australia to look after her three sons who "were in their early formative years and studying there".[10]

Lim Ah Lek, the person who had recommended Ng for the senatorship, has said that he was misled and regretted his decision, saying:

"Recommending someone who holds a PR in a foreign country for a senatorship brings disrepute to the Senate, and in this case, also to the Pahang exco and to the Legislative Assembly. I am shocked to learn about what was reported... I need to clarify this as my reputation is at stake,"[9]

Rais Yatim, the then de facto Law Minister of Malaysia, commended that Dr Ng Yen Yen's past status as an Australian permanent resident while serving as senator was "morally untenable" though it is not legally wrong.[11]

•  Malaysia :
  • Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2014)[22]
•  Perlis :
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Perlis (DPMP) – Dato' (2003)[23]
•  Kelantan :
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Kelantan (DPMK) – Dato' (2004)
•  Malacca :
  • Grand Commander of the Exalted Order of Malacca (DGSM) – Datuk Seri (2010)[24]
•  Pahang :
  • Knight Companion of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (DIMP) – Dato’ (1997)
  • Knight Companion of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (DSAP) – Dato’ (2003)[25]
  • Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato’ Sri (2008)

• Official website