Ng Yen Yen

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Ng (黄).

Yang Berhormat Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen 黄燕燕 (Chinese)
Malaysian Minister of Tourism
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 April 2009
Preceded by	Azalina Othman Said
Malaysian Minister of Women, Family and Community Developmment
In office 18 March 2008 – 9 April 2009
Preceded by	Shahrizat Abdul Jalil
Succeeded by	Shahrizat Abdul Jalil
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Raub
Incumbent
Assumed office 1999
MCA Vice-President
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 October 2008
Personal details
Born	8 April 1946 (1946-04-08) (age 65) Kota Bharu, Kelantan
Political party	Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) part of Barisan Nasional
Spouse(s)	Dr. Chin Chee Sue
Children	3
Occupation	Medical doctor
Religion	Christian[citation needed]
Website	drngyenyen.com

Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen (Chinese: 黄燕燕; pinyin: Huáng Yànyàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: N̂g Iàn-iàn) is a Malaysian politician and the current Minister of Tourism in the Malaysian Cabinet. She is the current Vice-President of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). She was the chief of the Women's wing of the Malaysian Chinese Association till 2008. Her appointment as minister marked a milestone as the first Malaysian Chinese woman to hold a cabinet position.

Early life

Dr. Ng is a Kelantan native who was born in Kampung Kubang Pasu, Kota Bharu. As a teenager, she had to give tuition to finance her Sixth Form education at the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur.

Her father, who was old-fashioned, wanted to marry her off when she was 17 years old. Fortunately her mother stepped in and made sure Dr. Ng completed her education to whatever level she aspired.

Dr. Ng then graduated from Universiti Malaya in 1972 with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). She was also awarded a Diploma of Reproductive Medicine from the Johns Hopkins University, USA.

Political involvement

Dr. Ng, currently is Kelantan Wanita MCA chairman and the national MCA vice-president, the first woman to be elected to the post. Ng is now serving her third term as Raub Member of Parliament since she was elected for the post in the 1999 general election. She was a former Deputy Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister, and Deputy Finance Minister (2003 and 2008).

She retained her parliamentary seat in the 2008 general elections with a 2,752 majority against the Democratic Action Party's Abu Bakar Lebai Sudin.^[1]

Member of Parliament

Bukit Koman, an area under the Raub parliamentary constituency of which Ng is the member of, is notorious for its gold mining activity. Villagers of Kampung Bukit Koman have been facing health and environment problems after a gold mine operator started using cyanide in the extraction method.

During the 2008 elections, Dr Ng, who is seeking her third term as MP for Raub, said she saw the gold mining project in Bukit Koman as a way of developing Raub into a tourist town and generating other economic activities much like the Australian city of Ballarat, where its legacy of wealth from the 19th century gold rush is still visible today.

“If the mine is not safe, I will be the first one to ask for its closure,” the Wanita MCA chief stressed.^[2]

Senatorship

Before being a member of parliament, she was a senator in the Dewan Negara. She was recommended to be a senator by the then MCA deputy president Lim Ah Lek. Her senatorship was from the Pahang state government under MCA's quota and her candidacy had to be endorsed by the Pahang State executive council and Legislative Assembly. Ng took her oath of office as a senator in August 1993.^[3]

Ng's senatorship was scrutinized and it was found that she was a permanent resident of Australia when she took the oath of loyalty to King and country to be appointed a senator. Before receiving her senatorship she had declared herself as a permanent resident of Australia in documents filed with the Australian authorities. She was still an Australian PR in between 1990 to 1995 during her tenure as a Malaysian Senator.^[4] Ng chose Tusmore, Adelaide, South Australia as her place of residence and had been living in Australia for approximately three years.

In Australia, Ng teamed up with Soh Chee Wen, General (Rtd) Mohamed Ngah Said and two Australians to run stock-broking business via New South Wales-based company, Indo Pacific Securities Limited, from April 1992 through May 1995. She was a director of the company from April 1992 until she resigned in May 1995. In an interview to Malaysiakini, Ng said she revoked her permanent residency in 1995, in her second year of senatorship, as she need not travel to Australia that frequently anymore. Thus, she said the question of her 'dual citizenship' does not hold anymore.

Ng has said that she obtained the PR status to facilitate her frequent travelling to Australia to look after her three sons who "were in their early formative years and studying there".

Lim Ah Lek, the person who had recommended Ng for the senatorship, has said that he was misled and regretted his decision, saying: "Recommending someone who holds a PR in a foreign country for a senatorship brings disrepute to the Senate, and in this case, also to the Pahang exco and to the Legislative Assembly. I am shocked to learn about what was reported... I need to clarify this as my reputation is at stake,"

Rais Yatim, the then de-facto Law Minister of Malaysia, commended that Dr Ng Yen Yen’s past status as an Australian permanent resident while serving as senator was "morally untenable" though it is not legally wrong.^[5]

Ministerial Positions

Dr. Ng is the first Malaysian Chinese woman to hold a cabinet position and only the second minister in charge of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. She said her new job was more than handling women issues as it invariably also included men, children and the community.

She said she intended to have more participation from Malaysian men because they “made up the equation” where it would lead to strong families being formed and subsequently a better nation.

Among her initial plans are to educate the community on gender equality, beginning at school level; create a gender-friendly environment for working women; improve community development by working closely with the relevant non-governmental organisations; and also addressing issues faced by elderly women.

Dr. Ng said she would meet with her predecessor Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil to seek her advice.

Minister of Tourism

She was subsequently appointed Minister of Tourism in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's new cabinet on 9 April 2009.

Ng sparked an uproar in South East Asia, particularly among Singaporeans, for staking claims on food such as Laksa, Bak kut teh, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Chilli crab as uniquely Malaysia on September 2009 even though historical evidences have traced the origins of the food to elsewhere or shared among the neighbouring country.^[6] It was widely believed that her true intention was to garner attention in the wider community and likely to face legal issues if she continues to stake claims of the food. When she was asked about the uproar, she said she was surprised and was adamant on attracting tourists with the food, saying: "We cannot continue to let other countries hijack our food. We have to lay claim to our food."^[7]

Also, other papers have noted it would be highly difficult for Malaysia to brand these foods to their own, as tourists feel some food items originate from other areas and there are many unique variations.^{[citation needed]} Several people also express concern and are highly critical over her remarks and warn lawsuits and prompt legal action against her could surface.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2010 her it was revealed that the Tourism Ministry travel expenses ballooned by 40 per cent since 2008. This included RM1.6 million in 2009 and RM1.7 million in 2010 to date. This drew heavy criticism with accusations of her being more of a tourist than the Minister of Tourism. Some examples include a RM793,000 three day trip to Moscow, RM90000 three day trip to Singapore and a seven day RM431000 trip to the Chelsea Flower Show. It is an allegedly known as squandering act of Malaysia people's money.^[8]

Year 2011, she won the CHT Pursuit of Excellence (Tourism) Award 2011, in recognition of her contributions to Malaysia's national tourism industry over the years.

Family

Dr. Ng is married to Dr. Chin Chee Sue and has three children, all of whom are successful professionals.

References

• New ministers and deputy ministers, The Star, March 19, 2008.
• Yen Yen becomes MCA’s first woman minister, The Star, March 19, 2008.

1. ^ http://undi.info/ax/state/ph/2008/parliament/P80.html
2. ^ http://thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/3/1/election2008/20474697&sec=Election2008
3. ^ http://jeffooi.blogspot.com/2003_03_09_jeffooi_archive.html
4. ^ http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/14757
5. ^ http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/14834
6. ^ http://www.straitstimes.com/ST%2BForum/Online%2BStory/STIStory_431666.html
7. ^ http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/38413-yen-yen-bent-on-tempting-tourists-with-food
8. ^ http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/tourism-ministrys-travel-bills-up-promotion-fund-down

External links

• Official website

Preceded by Azalina Othman Said

Tourism Minister of Malaysia 10 April 2009

Succeeded by Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Ng, Yen Yen
Alternative names
Short description	Government minister of Malaysia
Date of birth	8 April 1946
Place of birth	Kota Bharu, Kelantan
Date of death
Place of death