Wong Tien Fatt

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wong (黄).

Datuk Wong Tien Fatt (simplified Chinese: 黄天发; traditional Chinese: 黃天發; pinyin: Huáng Tiānfā; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Vòng Thiên-fat; 2 October 1954 – 28 March 2019), also known as Stephen Wong, was a Malaysian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sandakan from May 2013 to his death in March 2019,^[1] Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) and the State Minister of People's Health and Wellbeing of Sabah from May 2018 to his death in March 2019.^[2] He was a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalitions. He also served as the State Chairman of DAP of Sabah from 2015 to his death in March 2019.^[3] He was also the father of Sandakan MP Vivian Wong Shir Yee.

Yang Berbahagia Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt PGDK
黄天发
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Sandakan
In office 5 May 2013 – 28 March 2019
Preceded by	Liew Vui Keong (BN–LDP)
Succeeded by	Vivian Wong Shir Yee (PH–DAP)
Majority	1,088 (2013) 10,098 (2018)
State Chairman of the Democratic Action Party of Sabah
In office 2015 – 28 March 2019
National Chairman	Tan Kok Wai
Secretary-General	Lim Guan Eng
Preceded by	Jimmy Wong Sze Phin
Succeeded by	Frankie Poon Ming Fung
State Minister of People's Health and Wellbeing of Sabah
In office 16 May 2018 – 28 March 2019
Governor	Juhar Mahiruddin
Chief Minister	Shafie Apdal
Succeeded by	Frankie Poon Ming Fung
Personal details
Born	Wong Tien Fatt @ Wong Nyuk Foh (1954-10-02)2 October 1954 Sandakan, Crown Colony of North Borneo (now Sabah, Malaysia)
Died	28 March 2019(2019-03-28) (aged 64) Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Resting place	Sandakan Christian Burial Ground, along Mile 12 off Labuk Road, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia
Citizenship	Malaysian
Political party	Democratic Action Party (DAP) (2012–2019)
Other political affiliations	Pakatan Rakyat (PR) (2012–2015) Alliance of Hope (PH) (2015–2019)
Spouse	Florence Chong Mee Fook
Children	4 (including Vivian Wong Shir Yee)
Occupation	Politician

Political career

2013 general election

In the 2013 election, Wong faced Liew Vui Keong of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and subsequently won the parliamentary seat of Sandakan.^[4]

2018 general election

In the 2018 election, was fielded by the DAP again to contest in Sandakan, facing a new candidate Lim Ming Hoo from the LDP.^[5][6] He won the election with a large majority.^[7][8]

Controversies and issues

Criticism of ESSCOM

In 2015, Wong criticised the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) for its costly formation despite recurring kidnapping cases and expressed disappointment towards the "irresponsible and arrogant attitude by [sic] the government leaders as it seems as they are trying to avoid the blame from public".^[9] A year before, Wong had urged the government to implement the re-issuance of identity cards in Sabah in response to the many immigrants from the southern Philippines.^[10]

Acceptance of Sabah State Awards and Datukship

In 2018, Wong accepted the Sabah State Award of Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (PGDK) (which carries the title of "Datuk") in accordance with the Yang di-Pertua Sabah Tun Juhar Mahiruddin's 65th birthday; this was in opposition to the DAP's Central Executive Committee policy of disallowing the acceptance of awards and titles by elected representatives and local councillors during their period of active political service.^[11] Wong was neither apologetic to the party leadership nor willing to return the award.^[12]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout%
2013	P186 Sandakan, Sabah		Wong Tien Fatt (DAP)	14,226	51.99%		Liew Vui Keong (LDP)	13,138	48.01%	27,923	1,088	75.35%
2018			Wong Tien Fatt (DAP)	19,094	67.97%		Lim Ming Hoo (LDP)	8,996	32.03%	28,668	10,098	72.07%

Death

Wong died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia on 28 March 2019 due to a heart attack during a morning hike on the same day.^[18] His body was flown back to his hometown of Sandakan to be laid to rest.^[19]

His death triggered the 2019 Sandakan by-election on 11 May. His former seat was successfully defended by his daughter and DAP candidate Vivian Wong Shir Yee by a majority of 11,521 votes.^[20]

Honours

Malaysia

•   Sabah :
  •   Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (PGDK) – Datuk (2018)^[21]

References

1. "Maklumat Ahli Parlimen" (in Malay). Parliament of Malaysia. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
2. "Wong to brace for power devolution". The Borneo Post. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
3. "Jimmy claims DAP Sabah chief broke 'Shanghai' promise". The Borneo Post. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
4. Winnie Kasmir (6 May 2013). "LDP president Liew loses in Sandakan". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
5. "Sabah DAP chief Stephen Wong to defend his Sandakan seat". Free Malaysia Today. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
6. Winnie Kasmir (28 April 2018). "Incumbent Stephen Wong faces BN's debuntant Lim for Sandakan seat". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
7. Winnie Kasmir (10 May 2018). "DAP wins big in Sandakan". Daily Express. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
8. Nandini Balakrishnan (10 May 2018). "Historic Win: The Complete Result Of GE14's Parliamentary Seats Across Malaysia". Says.com. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
9. Tarrence Tan (20 May 2015). . Free Malaysia Today. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
10. Rohmatin Bonasir (3 April 2014). "Penculikan Sabah, KTP diusulkan diterbitkan ulang" (in Indonesian). BBC News Indonesia. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
11. Robin Augustin (28 October 2018). "Don't mess with me, Guan Eng tells DAP leaders who accepted titles". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
12. Adam Abu Bakar (16 October 2018). "Pengerusi DAP Sabah tak kan minta maaf kerana terima gelaran 'Datuk'" (in Malay). Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
13. "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri". Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout (including votes for candidates not listed).
14. . The Star. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
15. "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2018. Results only available from the 2004 election.
16. "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE – 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
17. "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
18. Julia Chan (28 March 2019). "Sabah minister dies from heart attack". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
19. Natasha Joibi (29 March 2019). "Stephen Wong to be laid to rest in Sandakan on April 1". The Star Online. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
20. Tracy Patrick (11 May 2019). "DAP wins bigger majority in Sandakan". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
21. "Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak head list of 1,158 Sabah award recipients". Bernama. Borneo Post. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.