KUALA LUMPUR: Former MCA president and transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik has passed away at the age of 82.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong confirmed his passing today (Apr 4).
According to a report by New Straits Times, Ling was born on Sept 18, 1943, in Kuala Kangsar.
He received his primary education at King Edward VII School in Taiping and later continued his secondary studies at the Royal Military College in Port Dickson.
He went on to study medicine at the University of Singapore before beginning his career as a doctor at Penang General Hospital.
Ling entered politics in 1968 when he joined MCA. He was elected as Mata Kucing MP in Penang in 1974, serving two terms before moving to the Labis parliamentary seat in Johor in 1986, which he held until 2004.
In 1976, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government and Federal Territories Ministry.
He subsequently held several key positions, including deputy information minister, deputy finance minister and deputy education minister.
He served as transport minister from Jan 7, 1986, until his retirement on May 23, 2003.
The same year, he stepped down as MCA’s sixth president, a position he had held since 1986.
In academia, Ling was installed as Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman’s (UTAR) first chancellor during its 24th convocation ceremony on Jan 18 in 2017.
