View source for Ong Kee Hui

{{Short description|Malaysian politician}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[Malay titles#Honorary styles|Yang Berbahagia]] [[Malay titles#Tan Sri|Tan Sri]] [[Malay titles#Dato' Sri|Datuk Amar]]
| name= Ong Kee Hui
| image=
| honorific-suffix = [[Order of the Defender of the Realm#Commander|PMN]] [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia|PPM]] [[Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak#Datuk Amar Bintang Kenyalang (D.A.)|DA]] [[Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak#Panglima Negara Bintang Sarawak (P.N.B.S.)|PNBS]] [[Order of Kinabalu#Commander|PGDK]]
| nationality= Malaysian
| office2 = 1st President of [[Sarawak United People's Party]]
| term_start2 = 1959
| term_end2 = 1982
| predecessor2 = ''Office established''
| successor2 = Stephen Yong Kuet Tze
| office1 = [[Minister of Housing and Local Government (Malaysia)|Minister of Local Government and Housing]]
| term_start1 = 9 February 1971
| constituency1 = Bandar Kuching
| monarch1 = [[Abdul Halim of Kedah|Abdul Halim]]<br />Yahya Petra
| term_end1 = 4 March 1976
| predecessor1 = Khaw Kai Boh
| successor1 = [[Michael Chen Wing Sum]]
| office = [[Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (Malaysia)|Minister of Science, Technology and Environment]]
| constituency = [[Bandar Kuching (federal constituency)|Bandar Kuching]]
| term_start = 5 March 1976
| term_end = 16 July 1981
| deputy = [[Clarence Elong Mansul|Clarence E. Mansul]]
| monarch = [[Yahya Petra of Kelantan|Yahya Petra]]<br />[[Ahmad Shah of Pahang|Ahmad Shah]]
| predecessor = [[Mohamed Yaacob]] <br> {{small|(as Minister of Energy, Technology and Research)}}
| successor = [[Stephen Yong Kuet Tze]]
| constituency_MP3 = [[Bandar Kuching (federal constituency)|Bandar Kuching]]
| parliament3 = Malaysian
| term_start3 = 1971
| term_end3 = 1982
| majority3 = 12,126 ([[1969 Malaysian general election|1969]])<br />2,683 ([[1974 Malaysian general election|1974]])<br />14,813 ([[1978 Malaysian general election|1978]])
| successor3 = Sim Keng Soon @ Sim Kuang Yang
| predecessor3 = ''Constituency established''
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|08|19|df=y}}
| birth_place= [[Kuching]], [[Kingdom of Sarawak]], [[British Empire]] (now [[Sarawak]], [[Malaysia]])
| death_date= {{Death date and age|2000|04|19|1914|08|19|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Kuching]], [[Sarawak]], [[Malaysia]]
| party= [[Sarawak United People's Party]] (SUPP)
| otherparty = [[Alliance Party (Malaysia)|Alliance Party]]<br />[[Barisan Nasional]] (BN)
| residence =
| spouse = Wee Bee Siok (黃美惜)
| parents  = [[Ong Kwan Hin]] (father, deceased) <br /> Wee Geok Sim (mother, deceased)
| children = 
| occupation = Businessman <br /> [[Politician]]
}}

[[Malay titles#Tan Sri|Tan Sri]] [[Malay titles#Dato' Sri|Datuk Amar]] '''Ong Kee Hui''' ({{lang-zh|c=王其輝|poj=Ông Kî-hui|p=Wáng Qíhuī|first=poj}}; 19 August 1914 – 19 April 2000) was a [[Malaysian Chinese]] [[politician]] and founder cum first president of the [[Sarawak United People's Party]] which was founded on 12 June 1959. His family trace their origins to [[Longhai City|Longhai]], [[Zhangzhou]], [[Fujian Province]], [[China]].

== Family History ==

Ong Kee Hui is the great-grandson of [[Ong Ewe Hai]] (1830-1888), a leading Sarawakian merchant and [[Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak|Rajah Charles Brooke]]'s advisor on Chinese Affairs, and also confidant; grandson of [[Ong Tiang Swee]] (1864-1950), the first Chinese nominated to the [[Sarawak State Legislative Assembly|Sarawak Council Negri]] (Legislative Council) in 1937; and son of [[Ong Kwan Hin]] (1896-1982), a recognised authority on Chinese temples, who was nominated to the [[Sarawak State Legislative Assembly|Sarawak Council Negri]] (Legislative Council) as well.

Generations of the Ong family played a prominent role for the Hokkien community in Sarawak. His great-grandfather Ong Ewe Hai was a prominent Kapitan China to the Hokkien community of Sarawak, and a successful businessman in multiple fields. His grandfather, Ong Tiang Swee was Kapitan China, and also President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. His father, Ong Kwan Hin was also Kapitan China. Both Ong Tiang Swee and Ong Kwan Hin were the first two Chinese people nominated to the [[Sarawak State Legislative Assembly|Sarawak Council Negri]] (Legislative Council) in 1937.

Today, there are [[List of roads in Kuching|seven roads]] in [[Kuching]], [[Sarawak]] named after generations of the Ong family, some by the [[Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak|Rajah]] in recognition of their contribution to the community. These include Jalan Ewe Hai (also Ewe Hai street), Jalan Ong Tiang Swee, Jalan Ong Kwan Hin, Jalan Ong Kee Hui, Jalan Hui Sing, Jalan Datin Wee (Ong) Siew Eng and Jalan Ong Hup Leong, a branch road of Jalan Ong Tiang Swee.<ref name="Our Sarawak 1983, p. 50">Our Sarawak, by Persatuan Kesusasteraan Sarawak, 1983, p. 50</ref>

Ong Kee Hui is also related to [[Ong Poh Lim]]. His great grandfather Ong Koon Tian ( d:1837) was born in Bai Jiao, Fujian, China and left for south-east Asia to make his fortune, at which he was not successful - on his death he left three sons and three daughters impoverished.

== Early life ==
Born in 1914 in [[Kuching]], he was educated at St. Thomas's School in Kuching and later St. Andrew's School in [[Singapore]].{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} He received his diploma in Agricultural Science<ref name="Vernon 2007">{{cite journal |last=Porritt|first=Vernon L|title=The "Unwritten" Last Chapter of the late Ong Kee Hui's Footsteps In Malaysia: Political Development of Sarawak since 1963. |journal=Borneo Research Bulletin |date=2007 |volume=38 |pages=215–219 |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA179660419&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00067806&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Eb5804081 |access-date=20 April 2023}}</ref> from Serdang College (present-day [[Universiti Putra Malaysia]]).

== Career ==
In 1935, he entered the [[Sarawak]] Government civil service when he returned home to serve the Department of Agriculture.<ref name="Vernon 2007"/> He believed in Sarawak's cession to Great Britain in 1946, which ended Brooke Sarawak and brought citizenship to Sarawak based on ''jus soli'' to the Chinese, who were regarded as immigrants.

Leaving government service in 1948, Ong entered business under the tutelage of [[Wee Kheng Chiang|Datuk Amar Wee Kheng Chiang]], his father-in-law, who appointed him manager of the family's Bian Chiang Bank, today known as [[CIMB]] Group,<ref name="cimb.com">{{cite news
  | url      = https://www.cimb.com/en/who-we-are/history/1920s.html
  | title    = CIMB Group History 1920 - 1929
  | date     = 2020
| author   = CIMB
  | work     = CIMB
  | location = Kuala Lumpur
  }}</ref><ref name="thestar.com.my">{{cite news
  | url      = https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2003/01/31/cahb-goes-from-strength-to-strength
  | title    = CAHB goes from strength to strength
  | date     = 31 Jan 2003
| author   = P.W. Thong
  | work     = The Star
  | location = Kuala Lumpur
  }}</ref> devoting himself to business and banking.

===Rise to politics===
In the mid-1950s, Ong Kee Hui started his political career as a nominated member of the Council Negri (State Legislative Council), and he was elected to the Kuching Municipal Council as the Mayor of Kuching and an unofficial member of the Supreme Council (State Cabinet) as Minister of Technology, Research and Local Government.

The “divide and rule” method of the British encouraged the communal polarisation of Sarawak politics, something that he and his contemporaries viewed with alarm as boding ill for future Sarawak democracy. To counter this trend, Ong, together with Datuk Amar [[Stephen Yong Kuet Tze]] and colleagues, established the [[Sarawak United People's Party|Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP)]] as Sarawak's first political party in 1959.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Steinmayer|first=Otto|date=2000|title=Review of Ong Kee Hui's memoirs|url=http://www.ikanlundu.com/Swak_memoirs.html|journal=Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume= lxxiii part 1|pages=126–129}}</ref>

When [[Malaysia]] was proposed, Ong argued for Sarawak's independence, before joining the greater federation. The [[Sarawak United People's Party]] supported his stance for independence. Ong was also a member of the [[Malaysian Solidarity Convention]]'s Sarawak delegation in 1962.

Malaysia became an independent country in 1963. In 1965, he seized the expulsion of [[Singapore]] to call for a [[referendum]] but was rejected.

After much encouragement and pragmatism from then Deputy Prime Minister, [[Tun Abdul Razak]], he was convinced to forge political partnerships and consequently, [[Sarawak United People's Party]] joined the State Government in 1971. He served as the Minister of Local Government and Housing and Minister of Science Technology & Environment under Tun Abdul Razak's Cabinet. However, being a federal minister in Kuala Lumpur divorced him from Sarawakian grassroots politics.

In 1980, he stood down as party chairman of SUPP and retired to pen his memoirs, Footprints in Sarawak.

== Honours ==
He was bestowed the titles "Datuk" later upgraded to "Dato' Sri" (PNBS) and "Datuk Amar" (DA) by the Sarawak State Government, "Datuk" (PGDK) by the Sabah State Government and "Tan Sri" (PMN) by the Government of Malaysia.

The Malaysian Institute of Chemistry also awards the Tan Sri Datuk Ong Kee Hui Postgraduate Chemistry Award to candidates who produce an outstanding thesis.

In [[Kuching]], there is a road named after him, called Jalan Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui. The headquarters of the [[Sarawak United People's Party]] sits here.

A road called Jalan Hui Sing, or better known as Hui Sing Garden in [[Kuching]] is also named after Ong Kee Hui and Ong Moh Sing in a joint venture development for a residential area.

There are a total of [[List of roads in Kuching|six roads]] in [[Kuching]], [[Sarawak]] named after generations of the Ong family, mostly by the [[Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak|Rajah]] in recognition of their contribution to the community. These include Jalan Ewe Hai (also Ewe Hai street), Jalan Ong Kwan Hin, Jalan Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui, Jalan Hui Sing and Jalan Ong Hup Leong, a branch road of Jalan Ong Tiang Swee.<ref name="Our Sarawak 1983, p. 50"/>

===Honours of Malaysia===
* {{Flag|Malaysia}} :
** [[File:Malaysian Commemorative Medal ribbon.gif|50px]] Recipient of the [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia#Honorary orders and medals|Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Silver)]] (PPM) (1965)
** [[File:MY Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara (Defender of the Realm)- PMN.svg|50px]] Commander of the [[Order of the Defender of the Realm#Commander|Order of the Defender of the Realm]] (PMN) – '''Tan Sri''' (1975)<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.istiadat.gov.my/index.php/component/semakanlantikanskp/|title=Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat}}</ref>

* {{Flag|Sabah}} :
** [[File:MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - PGDK.svg|50px]] Commander of the [[Order of Kinabalu#Commander|Order of Kinabalu]] (PGDK) – '''Datuk'''
* {{Flag|Sarawak}} :
** [[File:MY-SAR Order of the Star of the Hornbill (Bintang Kenyalang) - 3. Commander (PGBK).svg|50px]] Commander of the [[Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak]] (PGBK) – '''Datuk'''
** [[File:MY-SAR Order of the Star of Sarawak - 2 ribbon PNBS -JBS-PBS-ABS-BBS.svg|50px]] Knight Commander of the [[Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak|Order of the Star of Sarawak]] (PNBS) – '''Dato Sri'''
** [[File:MY-SAR Order of the Star of the Hornbill (Bintang Kenyalang) - 2. Knight Commander (DA).svg|50px]] Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak]] (DA) – '''Datuk Amar'''

== Personal life ==
On 14 September 1937, he married Wee Bee Siok ({{lang-zh|c=黃美惜|poj=Ûiⁿ Bí-sioh|p=Huáng Měixī|first=poj}}), the daughter of a successful banker and businessman, [[Wee Kheng Chiang|Datuk Wee Kheng Chiang]], in a traditional Chinese ceremony. They have eight children - two sons and six daughters.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Albert Lau. ''Southeast Asia and the Cold War.'' Routledge, 26 July 2012 pg. 129
* Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui. ''Footprints in Sarawak: Memoirs of Tan Sri Datuk (Dr) Ong Kee Hui.'' Research & Resource Centre, 1998
* Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui. ''Footsteps in Malaysia: Political Development of Sarawak since 1963.'' Research & Resource Centre, 2002

==Further reading==
* Ong Kee Hui ''Footprints in Sarawak: 1914 to 1963.'' Research & Resource Centre, SUPP Headquarters, 1 January 1998

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ong, Kee Hui}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu]]
[[Category:People from Kuching]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak]]
[[Category:Malaysian people of Hokkien descent]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of Hornbill Sarawak]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1964–1969]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1971–1974]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1974–1978]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1978–1982]]