Richard Ho Ung Hun
Encyclopedia
Richard Ho Ung Hun was a Malaysian civil servant. In the course of his career, he served as a barrister
, Cabinet minister, chairman of Maybank Finance, and as a director of several publicly listed companies in Malaysia.
, Ho began his career as a teacher. He later joined the public service under the colonial British government as a court interpreter. Resigning as an Assistant District Officer in Malacca in his late 30s, Ho left for the United Kingdom where he pursued his law degree, being called as a barrister of the Lincoln's Inn
in England at the age of 43. The next year, Ho was called to the High Court of Malaya as an advocate and solicitor.
Two years later, in 1969, in what was considered a feat, Ho stood as a "favourite son of Sitiawan" on the opposition Democratic Action Party
(DAP) ticket, wresting the ruling coalition's blue ribbon Sitiawan parliamentary seat from Kam Woon Wah, the secretary-general of the powerful Malaysian Chinese Association
(MCA), a senior partner of the governing National Front coalition.
Ho, who was to successfully retain the Sitiawan seat renamed Lumut where Malaysia's navy is located in 1974 and 1978 for the ruling coalition as he moved up the political ladder from the age of 50 as Deputy Minister of Road Transport (1974), Deputy Finance Minister (1976), Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Minister of Labor and Manpower, was dropped as the ruling coalition's candidate in an intra-MCA intrigue involving powerful forces who finally removed MCA president Lee San Choon, also a Cabinet Minister.
This was despite Ho, who had married at the age of 55, having steadily moved up the MCA ladder till becoming the deputy president to Lee by then. Lee, believing his ambitious aides that Ho's active traversing the country meant he was eyeing his top job, was used by them who actually eyed Lee's job.
An insider noted that it was Ho's resignation as MCA deputy president that signalled the fight between the academician and incumbent Cabinet Minister Datuk Neo Yee Pan and businessman Tan Koon Swan factions. Unable to resolve the claims of the contending ambitions, Lee resigned in 1984, sending the MCA into a two-year-long crisis that culminated in the eventual rise of Dr (now Tun Dato Seri) Ling Liong Sik over the ambitious Datuk Neo and architect and incumbent Cabinet Minister Datuk Mak Hon Kam both of whom fell out as the crisis widened.
In 1983, already out of the political arena, Ho was appointed concurrently as the vice-chairman of the Maybank board and chairman of its finance subsidiary. A close friend of many years standing, newspaper editor-turned-New Zealand-trained lawyer Tan Ban Cheng of Penang described Ho as "a man of many parts". Ho, said Penang-based Tan, showed his talents as a linguist, politician, public administrator and banker.
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, Cabinet minister, chairman of Maybank Finance, and as a director of several publicly listed companies in Malaysia.
Biography
Born in Sitiawan, PerakPerak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
, Ho began his career as a teacher. He later joined the public service under the colonial British government as a court interpreter. Resigning as an Assistant District Officer in Malacca in his late 30s, Ho left for the United Kingdom where he pursued his law degree, being called as a barrister of the Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
in England at the age of 43. The next year, Ho was called to the High Court of Malaya as an advocate and solicitor.
Two years later, in 1969, in what was considered a feat, Ho stood as a "favourite son of Sitiawan" on the opposition Democratic Action Party
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...
(DAP) ticket, wresting the ruling coalition's blue ribbon Sitiawan parliamentary seat from Kam Woon Wah, the secretary-general of the powerful 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), a senior partner of the governing National Front coalition.
Ho, who was to successfully retain the Sitiawan seat renamed Lumut where Malaysia's navy is located in 1974 and 1978 for the ruling coalition as he moved up the political ladder from the age of 50 as Deputy Minister of Road Transport (1974), Deputy Finance Minister (1976), Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and Minister of Labor and Manpower, was dropped as the ruling coalition's candidate in an intra-MCA intrigue involving powerful forces who finally removed MCA president Lee San Choon, also a Cabinet Minister.
This was despite Ho, who had married at the age of 55, having steadily moved up the MCA ladder till becoming the deputy president to Lee by then. Lee, believing his ambitious aides that Ho's active traversing the country meant he was eyeing his top job, was used by them who actually eyed Lee's job.
An insider noted that it was Ho's resignation as MCA deputy president that signalled the fight between the academician and incumbent Cabinet Minister Datuk Neo Yee Pan and businessman Tan Koon Swan factions. Unable to resolve the claims of the contending ambitions, Lee resigned in 1984, sending the MCA into a two-year-long crisis that culminated in the eventual rise of Dr (now Tun Dato Seri) Ling Liong Sik over the ambitious Datuk Neo and architect and incumbent Cabinet Minister Datuk Mak Hon Kam both of whom fell out as the crisis widened.
In 1983, already out of the political arena, Ho was appointed concurrently as the vice-chairman of the Maybank board and chairman of its finance subsidiary. A close friend of many years standing, newspaper editor-turned-New Zealand-trained lawyer Tan Ban Cheng of Penang described Ho as "a man of many parts". Ho, said Penang-based Tan, showed his talents as a linguist, politician, public administrator and banker.