By Simon Peter
KUCHING, June 22, 2014: He
was witty, quick-minded and has a sharp mind.
Above all, Wong Ho Leng
was a gentleman - both outside and inside the State Assembly.
Reporters covering the
State Assembly sittings know Ho Leng for his articulated speeches - always
crispy, precise, concise and to the point.
Picture: Ho Leng showing a thumb-up when he was treated in Singapore.
When arguing with the
Barisan Nasional backbenchers, Ho Leng was not the type who gave up without a
fight.
He was suspended for a
year from State Assembly in the May 2009 sitting due to his
"camouflage" remark against the Second Finance Minister Wong Soon Koh.
Speaker Mohamad Asfia
Awang Nassar, cited Section 14 (1) of the State Legislative Assembly
(Privileges & Powers) Ordinance 2007 for the suspension after 60 Barisan
Nasional State legislators voted in favour for the suspension.
In fact, Soon Koh and SUPP
were often his target in his speeches, prompting the two Wongs to engage in a
fierce war of words.
Picture: Wong Ho Leng - He was above all a gentleman
The May 2013 sitting of
the State Assembly was Ho Leng's last, during which he announced that he had brain
tumour.
Indeed, Ho Leng will be
dearly and sadly missed in the coming sittings of the State Assembly.
Ho Leng, who was also the
Bukit Assek assemblyman, died of brain tumour at 10.50pm on Saturday at the
Rejang Specialist Medical Centre.
State DAP vice-chairman
David Wong said that the wake ceremony has been slated to take place at 7am on
Tuesday at Wong’s home before the funeral service, which will be held at Hwai
Ang Tang Methodist Church.
Thereafter, Wong’s body
would be buried at a cemetery at Jalan Kemuyang, he said.
He added that DAP national
leader Lim Kit Siang would be among party leaders to visit the family at 6pm on
Sunday.
Picture: Ho Leng (4th from left) with his DAP colleagues.
Among those slated to pay
their last respects to Ho Leng are Chief Minister Adenan Satem, DAP supremo Lim
Kit Siang and other DAP and PKR leaders.
Ho Leng, born on Dec 21,
1959, made a stir in the Sarawak politics in 1996
state election when he defeated the Sarawak United Peoples' Party president and
deputy chief minister .Wong Soon Kai by a slim majority of 226 votes in the
Bukit Assek constituency.
He was subsequently
defeated by Daniel Ngieng in 2001 state election, but wrested the same
constituency back in 2006 state election.
He contested against the
Barisan Nasional's Tiong Thai King in 1999 in the Lanang Parliamentary
constituency but lost in that election.
On May 16, 2010, Ho Leng
was elected to federal Parliament in the Sibu by-election. His victory saw the
DAP wrest the seat from Barisan Nasional.
He was the DAP's candidate
for Sibu in the 1995, 2004 and 2008 elections, but was defeated by Barisan
Nasional's Robert Lau Hoi Chew on each occasion.
In 2011 state election, he
successfully defended his Bukit Assek constituency against Chieng Buong Toon of
Sarawak United People's Party and independent candidate Hii Tiong Huat, with a
huge majority of 8,827 votes, thus breaking the so-called the "Rhythm of
the Pendulum", which was a hot topic among the politicians from both sides
prior to the elections.
On 12 January 2013, he
announced that he had been diagnosed of brain tumour (glioma) on his brain
stem, which was responsible for the slurring of his speech and impaired
swallowing function.
He had undergone six-weeks
of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in Singapore. On Feb 2, Feb, he announced that he would not defend for
the Sibu parliamentary seat in the 2013 general elections on doctors' advice
He went into a coma on May 2, 2014 but never wake up from it.
On May 17, the Sarawak government approved RM1
million to pay for Ho Leng's medical expenses.
He passed away peacefully
at night on June 21, 2014 at Rejang Medical Centre, Sibu after a one-and-a-half
year struggle with brain tumour.
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