Datuk Wira Poh Ah Tiam was a Malaysian politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, businessman and community leader of Chinese descent

Malaysian Chinese

Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to...

. Poh was born in Kampung Belimbing, near Durian Tunggal

Durian Tunggal

Durian Tunggal is a small town in Malacca, Malaysia. It is situated within the parliamentary constituency of Hang Tuah Jaya and the district of southern Alor Gajah....

, Malacca. He and his family moved to nearby Machap Baru

Machap Baru

Machap Baru is a small town in Alor Gajah District, Malacca. This town is famous among Malaysian and Singaporean tourists for its restaurants, which serve exotic game, such as wild boar, deer, monitor lizards and snakes...

, where Poh in later years will contribute significantly in the small town's development.

After working as a teacher and later venturing into business

Business

A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

, in the 1986 General Elections

Malaysian general election, 1986

General elections were held in Malaysia on 3 August 1986. The result was a victory for Barisan Nasional, which won 148 of the 177 seats. Voter turnout was 68.1%.-Results:...

 Poh stood as a state assembly candidate for Pulau Sebang and won. During his tenure, Machap Baru saw extensive development, with new housing

House

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

 and public facilities constructed in the town. Up to his death, he was the Malacca

Malacca

Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...

 state Malaysian Chinese Association

Malaysian Chinese Association

Malaysian Chinese Association is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that represents the Malaysian Chinese ethnicity; it is one of the three major component parties of the ruling coalition in Malaysia called the Barisan Nasional in Malay, or National Front in English.Along with the largest...

 (MCA) Chairman, state assemblyman

Politics of Malaysia

The politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. ...

 for Machap, as well as chairman of the Malacca State Housing and Local Government Committee. He died on March 15, 2007 due to renal failure

Renal failure

Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...

 arising from lymphatic cancer.