Remembering Penang’s first chief minister
Susan LoonePublished: Jan 2, 2015 7:00 AM | Updated: Jan 2, 2015 10:44 AM
The late Wong Pow Nee was the first chief minister of Penang from 1957 to 1969, but not many remember him.
He has witnessed two independence proclamations – Independence from British colony in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
The late Wong Pow Nee was the first chief minister of Penang from 1957 to 1969, but not many remember him.
He has witnessed two independence proclamations – Independence from British colony in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
He is well-known for his involvement in the Cobbold Commission of 1962, and was tasked with the responsibility of gathering opinions from North Borneo (later known as Sabah) and Sarawak on the formation of Malaysia.
He later became the ambassador to Rome and faded from public life; he passed away in 2002.
But Wong's seventh son, Peter Wong Tet Phin, has resolved to overcome this lack of historical information about the early days of Penang's administration involving his father by publishing his biography.
"For some reason he is forgotten, so we take our own initiative to remember him," said Peter, when asked if the state should do more to keep his memory alive and appreciate his late father’s role in Penang’s early development process.
"We can do a post-mortem on why this is not done but it is not important anymore. We have done it," he added at a press conference at the Kar Yin Fee Kon (Hakka) Association today to announce the launch of the book.
Challenges faced by Penang’s first CM
Titled 'Unsung Patriot: Memoirs of Wong Pow Nee', the book will be launched by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on Jan 8.
Peter said the book is a very personal and detailed seven-year collaboration, and is written by him and Penang Institute researcher Koay Su Lyn.
"The book is timely and we hope it can bring justice to his administration, his many struggles, challenges, and it is time that we put the record straight about the challenges he faced," Peter said.
Koay said many young Penangites are ignorant about Wong's contribution to Penang.
Most remember the second chief minister Dr Lim Chong Eu, dubbed Penang’s 'Father of Industrialisation', for his role in spurring economic activities in the Free Trade Zone in the 1970s.
"Not many know but it was Pow Nee who planted the seeds for the birth of Penang's industrialisation, typically on the mainland like that of Mak Mandin," Koay said.
"These developments later turned out to be a huge success under (Lim) Chong Eu and these significant events in Penang's modern history that mark the state's impressive transformation from swamps to semi-conductors," she added.
It is learnt that Wong, who was then an MCA leader, had lost Penang to Gerakan in the 1969 elections, when the party was an opposition party at the time, partly due to the federal government's plan to end the free status of the Penang port.
He has witnessed two independence proclamations – Independence from British colony in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
He is well-known for his involvement in the Cobbold Commission of 1962, and was tasked with the responsibility of gathering opinions from North Borneo (later known as Sabah) and Sarawak on the formation of Malaysia.
He later became the ambassador to Rome and faded from public life; he passed away in 2002.
But Wong's seventh son, Peter Wong Tet Phin, has resolved to overcome this lack of historical information about the early days of Penang's administration involving his father by publishing his biography.
"For some reason he is forgotten, so we take our own initiative to remember him," said Peter, when asked if the state should do more to keep his memory alive and appreciate his late father’s role in Penang’s early development process.
"We can do a post-mortem on why this is not done but it is not important anymore. We have done it," he added at a press conference at the Kar Yin Fee Kon (Hakka) Association today to announce the launch of the book.
Challenges faced by Penang’s first CM
Titled 'Unsung Patriot: Memoirs of Wong Pow Nee', the book will be launched by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on Jan 8.
Peter said the book is a very personal and detailed seven-year collaboration, and is written by him and Penang Institute researcher Koay Su Lyn."The book is timely and we hope it can bring justice to his administration, his many struggles, challenges, and it is time that we put the record straight about the challenges he faced," Peter said.
Koay said many young Penangites are ignorant about Wong's contribution to Penang.
Most remember the second chief minister Dr Lim Chong Eu, dubbed Penang’s 'Father of Industrialisation', for his role in spurring economic activities in the Free Trade Zone in the 1970s.
"Not many know but it was Pow Nee who planted the seeds for the birth of Penang's industrialisation, typically on the mainland like that of Mak Mandin," Koay said.
"These developments later turned out to be a huge success under (Lim) Chong Eu and these significant events in Penang's modern history that mark the state's impressive transformation from swamps to semi-conductors," she added.
It is learnt that Wong, who was then an MCA leader, had lost Penang to Gerakan in the 1969 elections, when the party was an opposition party at the time, partly due to the federal government's plan to end the free status of the Penang port.
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