Written by Politics Now!
KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - Chua Jui Meng, the country's well-respected and longest-serving Health Minister, has passed away at the age of 80.
A lawyer by profession, Chua was also a devout Christian and popular with almost everyone he met.
He was a fiery orator and could hit out some of the best campaign speeches, whether in English or in Malay language. Few people other than those who followed him while on the stump realized this due to his usual dignified, refined and poised demeanor.
Although he failed to win the Segamat seat in the 2013 general election, he never lost sight of the struggle for a better Malaysia.
"He didn't differentiate whether you were from the government media or the opposition press. Everyone was a comrade to him and as much as he could, he fought the good fight," said Wong Choon Mei, the editor of Malaysia Chronicle.
Chua was a five-term Bakri MP, a former MCA vice-president and also a senior politician at Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's PKR party.
“All his deeds and contributions will be remembered by the people and his friends who were together with him in fighting for our beloved country. I pray for his family’s well-being,” Anwar, who is also PKR president, said in a Facebook post.
Chua joined the MCA in the 1970s. He rose up the ranks to become the party vice-president in 1990.
In the 1986 general election, he won the Bakri parliamentary seat and went on to hold it for another four terms until 2008.
In 2009, he left the Umno-BN government out of disillusionment with the MCA as it kept bleeding Chinese support and joined Anwar's PKR.
METICULOUS CARE
According to MCA president Wee Ka Siong, Chua's "meticulous care for the people" helped save his daughter's life in 2002.
"My eldest daughter suffered from a duodenal ulcer... and was rushed to the Johor Baru Hospital," Wee recounted his daughter was then just 16 months old.
"At that time, I was not an MP yet and just a civilian. After hearing about it, Chua called to comfort me and my wife who were on the edge of breaking down."
"He also contacted a specialist team and kept us updated on the progress. We will never forget this life saver!" Wee wrote on Facebook.
The cause of his death on Sunday is unknown at press time.
However, he had suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized since last week.
Written by Politics Now!
Politics Now!
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