Chong Kah Kiat

Minister in the Prime Minister's DepartmentIn office
4 May 1995 – 13 March 1999MonarchJa'afarPrime MinisterMahathir MohamadPreceded byBernard Giluk DompokConstituencySenator13th Chief Minister of SabahIn office
27 March 2001 – 27 March 2003GovernorSakaran Dandai
Ahmadshah AbdullahPreceded byOsu SukamSucceeded byMusa AmanPresident of the Liberal Democratic PartyIn office
1991–2006Preceded byHiew Min KongSucceeded byLiew Vui Keong Personal detailsBorn
(1948-06-02) 2 June 1948 (age 75)
Kudat, Crown Colony of North Borneo (now Sabah, Malaysia)Political partySabah People's United Front (BERJAYA)
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)

Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Chong Kah Kiat (Chinese: 章家傑; pinyin: Zhāng Jiājié; Jyutping: Zoeng1 Gaa1 Git6; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tsiong Ka-kia̍t; born 2 June 1948) is a Malaysian politician who served as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department from May 1995 to March 1999, 13th Chief Minister of Sabah from March 2001 to March 2003 and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 1991 to 2006.

History in politics

Born in Kudat, Chong was a graduate of New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington, earning a Master of Laws (LL.B.) (First Class) in 1975 and subsequently practising law at the legal firm of Shelley Yap Leong Tseu Chong Chia & Co. (now known as Shelley Yap) in Kota Kinabalu.

He contested and won the Kudat seat on a BERJAYA ticket in the March 1981 state election and was appointed Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister of Sabah the following year. He held the post until April 1985 when he lost the seat to Wong Phin Chung of United Sabah Party (PBS).

In March 1987, he became a member of the Berjaya Supreme Council but later left the party when it became clear that it was losing ground.

Chong and several Chinese leaders founded the LDP in 1989 and was made its pro-tem secretary general. Then in 1991, he became the party's president. He did not contest the 1994 state election but a year later was appointed Senator in the Dewan Negara, and subsequently included in the Cabinet of Malaysia as a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department. He quit the federal ministerial post in March 1999 to contest the state polls. This time, he won back his traditional stronghold of Kudat, and was appointed state minister of Tourism Development, Environment, Science and Technology.^[1]

Chong became the 13th Chief Minister of Sabah in 2001 representing the Chinese community in a rotation system mooted by former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in 1994.

When Musa Aman took over the helm of the state government in 2003, Chong was appointed Deputy Chief Minister as well as the person in charge of the tourism, culture, and environment portfolio. It was then the rotation system was scrapped and from then onwards, the Chief Minister post was held by the United Malays National Organisation.

In April 2007, Chong resigned from the Deputy Chief Minister post under Musa Aman's cabinet, citing matters of principle.^[2][3]

Election results

Sabah State Legislative Assembly^[4][5][6][7]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1986	N02 Kudat, P134 Merudu		Chong Kah Kiat (BERJAYA)	3,489	44.20%		Wong Phin Chung (PBS)	4,380	55.48%	7,973	891	76.94%
							Dingle Anthony (IND)	25	0.32%
1990			Chong Kah Kiat (LDP)	4,043	43.25%		Wong Phin Chung (PBS)	4,667	49.92%	9.459	624	75.01%
							Yong Sze Kiun (BERJAYA)	309	3.31%
							Lee Tain Soong (PRS)	127	1.36%
							Chong Jan Fah (DAP)	94	1.01%
							Gurahman Lolong (IND)	60	0.64%
							Wiilie Chong Kui Shen (AKAR)	48	0.51%
1999	N02 Kudat, P146 Merudu		Chong Kah Kiat (LDP)	6,935	53.48%		Kong Hong Ming (PBS)	5,447	42.00%	13,080	1,488	72.76%
							Jimmy Wong Sze Phin (AKAR)	481	3.71%
							Yong Sze Kiun (SETIA)	105	0.81%
2004	N02 Tanjong Kapor, P167 Kudat		Chong Kah Kiat (LDP)	6,234	49.74%		Omar Mohd Aji (IND)	3,241	25.86%	12,865	2,993	69.40%
							Kong Hong Ming' (IND)	1,877	14.98%
							Wong Phin Chung (IND)	1,035	8.26%
							Santong Angkap (BERSEKUTU)	52	0.41%
							Alexandra Anthony (keADILan)	50	0.40%
							Bensali Ebrahim (PASOK)	44	0.35%
2020	N18 Inanam, P171 Sepanggar		Chong Kah Kiat (LDP)	1,606	9.51%		Peto Galim (PKR)	8,586	50.92%	16,890	5,638	64.87%
							William Majinbon (PBS)	2,948	17.38%
							Kenny Chua Teck Ho (IND)	2,346	13.89%
							Francis Goh Fah Shun (GAGASAN)	362	2.14%
							How Regina Lim (PCS)	291	1.72%
							Achmad Noorasyrul Noortaip (IND)	286	1.69%
							Terence Tsen Kim Fatt (PKAN)	255	1.51%
							Mohd Hardy Abdullah (USNO Baru)	156	0.92%
							George Ngui (IND)	54	0.32%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

•  Malaysia :
  • Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (JSM) (1993)
  • Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) – Tan Sri (2004)^[8]
•  Sabah :
  • Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (PGDK) – Datuk (1994)
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (2021)

References and notes

Preceded by Osu Sukam

Chief Minister of Sabah 2001–2003

Succeeded by Musa Aman