KUCHING: Former Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr Wong Soon Kai’s demise is a great loss to Sarawak.
Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, who is now in China, said this when he heard of the sad news of Soon Kai’s passing.
“It (the demise of Wong) is a loss to Sarawak because Datuk Patinggi (Wong) had contributed a lot to the stability of Sarawak,” said Abang Johari in an audio recording sent from China, in which he also expressed his regrets.
Abang Johari further pointed out that Soon Kai’s development-oriented outlook had also contributed to the development of the state.
“He was also development-oriented. Because with stability, every community had been able to take part in the process of development,” said Abang Johari.
He explained that when Soon Kai joined politics, Sarawak was experiencing some political turmoil and Soon Kai was the one who roped the Chinese community into mainstream politics.
“When Soon Kai joined politics, we were not very stable at that time and he came in and he brought in new ideas and at the same time, he brought in the Chinese community to take part in our development exercise.”
Abang Johari, who is PBB acting president, also described Soon Kai as a fair and fair-sighted leader.
Soon Kai, who was a well-known and popular surgeon before becoming a politician, passed away peacefully at the age of 90 at his residence in Kuching at about 4am yesterday.
He was the third Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) president from 1991 to 1996 and was deputy chief minister before he retired from politics after losing to DAP’s Wong Ho Leng in Bukit Assek in 1996 state election.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing also regarded Soon Kai’s passing as a great loss to Sarawak.
“He was a gentleman politician and a very honest man whose life was dedicated to the service of the people, both as a medical practitioner and a lawmaker,” said Masing.