A formal state funeral for Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee
My father passed away peacefully at aged 91, at his MacAlister Road home at about 6.20am on Saturday 31st August 2002. The last time I saw him alive was the night before. I spent time in his bedroom lying on the floor next to his bed and accompanied him till about 11.00pm. Before I left, my mother called him to acknowledge me as I wanted to go home. At the time he was just being silent; he then turned his head towards my direction with raised eyebrows as if he tried to say something, but he uttered no words. That was the last I saw him alive.
Ironically, his demise coincided with National Day, a day that marked a turning point for the former teacher. Exactly 45 years ago, Pow Nee had read out the proclamation of Independence here, marking his first official duty as Penang’s first chief minister.
My eldest sister, Cecilia said our father was having breathing difficulties at about 6.20am. “My father shed a tear before he died in my arms,” she said. She said the family had wanted to hold a reunion to celebrate Pow Nee’s lunar birthday next Saturday.
Scores of people called at our family home in Macalister Road yesterday to pay their last respects. GARDEN FLOWERS… flowers and wreaths filled up our garden. The flowers weresent by people from all over the country.
My father was accorded state funeral of the highest honour – the first to be held in the state – on Wednesday 4th September 2002. Dubbed the reluctant politician, the MCA veteran and former teacher became the state’s first Chief Minister in 1957 at the age of 46. He held the post until 1969.
The then Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said there was no precedent in funeral arrangements for Chief Ministers (CM) in the state. He led other state executive councillors and government officials to pay their last respects, draped the state flag across Wong’s coffin before presenting a wreath from the state government.
A state flag was draped across his coffin. The funeral proceedings was carried out according to the family’s wishes but added with a few more procedures.
The cortege left our family residence at 195, MacAlister Road on Wednesday at 10am for the funeral service at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, MacAlister Road.
He was thereafter buried at the family plot at the Catholic Cemetery at Jalan Kubor, Bukit Mertajam.
Old Xaverians Association president Dr Goh Cheng Teik said that old Xaverians everywhere mourned the loss of Wong, who was a student of St Xavier’s Institution. “Wong had served the country with great dedication and distinction before and after independence,” he said.
Among those present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Hilmi Yahaya, Bayan Baru MP Wong Kam Hoong and state executive councillors Datuk Koay Kar Huah, Datuk Dr Loh Hock Hun, Datuk Dr K. Rajapathy, Datuk Kee Phaik Cheen, Datuk Dr Toh Kin Woon and Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan.
Also there were assemblymen Lee Hack Teik, Lim Gim Soon, Lye Siew Weng, Tan Cheng Liang, Lau Chiek Tuan, Lim Chien Aun, Lim Boo Chang, Abdul Rahman Abdul Kadir, State Secretary Datuk Khalid Ramli and state Chief Police Officer Deputy Comm Datuk Arthur Edmonds.
Representatives of various associations and organisations also took turns to pay tribute to the late former chief minister at his Macalister Road home.
The cortege left my father’s residence under police outrider escorts for a funeral service at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Macalister Road.
About 1,000 people, including former Chief Minister Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, who succeeded Wong in 1969, attended the funeral mass conducted by the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Most Rev. Soter Fernandez.
Dr Koh, who gave a speech during the mass, said my father might be gone but his integrity, honesty and sincerity would remain a legacy in the history of Penang and the nation. “Tan Sri led Penang in his unique, honourable, sincere and humble ways during the most challenging pre- and post-Merdeka period. He had laid the basic foundation for the subsequent social-economic development in Penang and most important of all, he was the man who believed in democracy, unity of the people and integrity of the nation.”
Sharing the eulogy, my youngest sister, Teresa, said our father had taught the family members never to be afraid of hard work and to persevere when the going was tough. “He always reminded us to remember our humble roots from Bukit Mertajam and to accept people from all walks of life,” she said.
After the mass, the cortege left for the family plot at the Catholic Cemetery in Jalan Kubor, Bukit Mertajam, for burial.
In Bukit Mertajam, the downcast sky added to the sombre mood as some 1,000 family members and friends of Wong attended the funeral service at the new St Anne’s Church at 12.30pm.
My eldest brother, Joachim, 58, said: “Holding the service here is a way of fulfilling my father’s wish to see the beautiful new church. “Although he had contributed to its construction and dreamt of seeing its completed structure, his poor health had prevented him from visiting the church.”
The old St Anne’s Church was where Wong had visited right after being appointed chief minister by Tunku Abdul Rahman back in 1957.
The service was led by the church’s parish priest Michael Cheah and songs, including Amazing Grace and What A Friend We Have in Jesus, were sang by the church choir.
Bukit Mertajam MCA division chief Dr Tan Chong Keng said: “His death is a great loss to MCA and the people of Penang. He was such a wonderful leader who was both humble and easy going.
“Before joining politics, he was also teaching English and leading the scout movement at Kim Sen Chinese Primary School in Bukit Mertajam.”
Eleven scouts from Bukit Mertajam High School and 10 cubs from Kim Sen Chinese Primary School also came to pay respect to the pioneer scout leader.
Bagan MP Lim Hock Seng described Wong as an exceptional politician who was clean and honest, adding that he had set a good example for present and future politicians.
Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Haji Abdul Rahman Abbas and his consort Toh Puan Majimor Sharif were among those who paid their last respects.
The then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi conveyed his condolences over the phone.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Hilmi Yahaya said: “We appreciate what Tan Sri had done for us, including laying the foundation for the state.”
Penang MCA chief Wong Kam Hoong led a 20-member MCA delegation to pay their last respects.
Kam Hoong described Pow Nee as a kind-hearted, soft-spoken and democratic leader who had set a good example for everyone.
“It was because of his far sightedness that Penang has became an industrialised and developed state,” he said.
He said the industrial parks, Penang Bridge and other infrastructure projects, had been planned during Pow Nee’s time.
Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu said Pow Nee’s death was a great loss to the state and nation. “He was a great man. We were part of the political movement to achieve Merdeka,” said Dr Lim, who succeeded him in 1969.
Former MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Ling Liong Sik – quoted in The Star Online on 2nd September 2002 – in paying his last respects, Datuk Seri Dr Ling</strong> said that :
“Malaysians, especially Penangites, have Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee to thank for as he had laid crucial foundations of stability, harmony and co-operation among the different races. Malaysia and Penang, in particular, was built upon those integral foundations, which were strongly advocated by Wong under the leadership of Tunku Abdul Rahman. Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee was one of the pioneers who helped Tunku Abdul Rahman do all these very, very important work. He was one of those who helped create a good history for Malaysia.
I believe all Malaysians would feel the sense of sadness as these pioneers who blaze the trail pass away. Wong was best remembered for sowing the seeds of unity and racial integration, especially during his tenure as Penang Chief Minister between 1957 and 1969. Malaysia’s phase of development during this period was very important because a lot of people thought the country would not survive after attaining independence.
A lot of people gave us six months after independence and thought we would not last longer than that. But it was the whole team, including Wong, under Tunku Abdul Rahman who really worked very hard to get the Malays, Chinese and Indians to unite and work together. Those first 10 to 12 years were very difficult years to lay the foundation for national co-operation among Malaysians to work together for progress in the country. “
Datuk Seri Dr Ling noted that my father’s contributions toward the formative years of establishing the MCA as a political party were invaluable, adding that he had also helped the party succeed in several general elections.
My father was a friend to all.
NATIONAL Days will always hold a special significance for my 91-year-old father who died peacefully on Saturday 31st August2002 as the nation observed its 45th year of Independence.
Forty-five years ago, also on a Saturday, the humble farmer’s son from Bukit Mertajam climbed up the dais at the Esplanade as Penang’s first chief minister to read the historic 1957 Proclamation of Independence.
Penang and Malacca, being former British colonies, were the other places outside Kuala Lumpur where the proclamation was read.
Merdeka had not only brought a radical change in the country’s political system and governance, it also marked a transition for the former schoolteacher who was suddenly thrust into the political limelight after Alliance whip Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu turned down the chief minister post.
Just shortly before Independence, my father, who was an elected member of the Bukit Mertajam Town Council, the Settlement Council and appointed member of the Penang Nominated Council, learnt he was chosen by Tunku Abdul Rahman to replace Dr Lim.
“I was excited but at the same time confused. I had been dealing with innocent schoolchildren previously; now I had to deal with adults who were more complex,” the MCA veteran had reminisced in an interview with The Star four years ago.
“I had no experience in politics but then had to run a government.”
My father, who was then 46, was to shoulder the heavy responsibility of running a government, working hard in the next 12 years to lay the basic foundation for Penang’s growth.
Among the projects carried out were the Mak Mandin industrial project which was a success and gained investors’ confidence, the building of the Deep Water Wharves in Butterworth, the railway line from Prai to Butterworth across the Sungai Prai and improving the Penang International Airport.
Other projects already proposed during his time included the Penang Bridge, a subterranean link of “chunnel” between the island and mainland, an East-West highway to link Kelantan to Penang island via the bridge and a university (later named Universiti Sains Malaysia).
In 1962, Wong joined the Cobbold Commission to prepare the Cobbold Report on the formation of Malaysia comprising the peninsula, North Borneo and Sarawak. He later read another proclamation on the formation in 1963 at the Esplanade.
My father strongly believed that for a multi-racial country to succeed, unity among the people was vital.
“Unity must never be broken. If you want to have peace, you have to unite everyone. For racial unity, there must be integration and understanding. It requires a lot of effort and not just lip service,” he said in another interview during a recent Merdeka celebration.
Heg also believed that it paid to be prudent and not spend lavishly. His policy when in government was “to cut your coat according to your cloth”, a quote he often repeated to journalists.
Politics in the early days, according to my father, was definitely a “lot more dangerous”, especially with the Communist threat during the Emergency and post-Emergency eras.
He once received a mail containing a bullet believed to be sent by the communists, but the God-fearing chief minister dismissed them as bandits saying: “If God said that I would be shot, then I would be shot.”
My father was in many ways a reluctant politician, offering to leave office in 1959, 1964 and again before the 1969 elections. But each time, Tunku would reject the offer.
When he lost in the 1969 general election, he did not have much problem making the transition from politician to ordinary citizen. As chief minister, he had washed his own car and did his own gardening.
For him, political life was not a professional career. “We go in because the people want us and trust us and it is our duty to serve,” he had once said.
My father always advised younger politicians to be humble, to have the people’s welfare at heart and not to arrogantly dismiss criticism.”
The MCA veteran relinquished all posts except as life member of the party and in 1972, he was appointed by Tunku as Ambassador to Italy where he ventured into a spiritual phase of life at the holy city.
He later spent his retirement at his modest detached house in Macalister Road, tending to his fruit trees and garden.
In an interview shortly after his 85th birthday, my father said he was happy to have been blessed with a “pleasant life”.
“I was friends with everyone, even the Opposition. Why should we make enemies? As politicians, we have to forgive and forget.”
He was a devout Catholic who believed in praying and being honest, had won the admiration and respect of many who had not even seen him.
Among the over 200 messages in the guestbook of my father’s website set up by The Star Online in 2000, one well-wisher Constance Westwood wrote:
“What better way to describe Tan Sri than to compare him to a gentle giant, one who had achieved so much and yet claims so little for himself.”