KUALA LUMPUR: FORMER health minister Tan Sri Lee Kim Sai died early yesterday morning.
He was 82.
His son, Lee Boon Kuan, said his father died at 12.30am at their home in Jalan Setia Bakti Bukit Damansara here.
“My father died peacefully. He suffered a stroke in October last year. We will miss him,” he told Bernama.
MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong in a Facebook posting said he was saddened by Lee’s death, adding that it was a great loss to society and the nation.
“He was a well-respected figure and contributed much to the community and the nation.”
Former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak in a Twitter posting said Lee was a well-known figure and his passing was a great loss to the country.
“Condolences to the family of Tan Sri Lee Kim Sai, former MCA deputy president and cabinet minister,” he said.
MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon said Lee had always been the role model of every Youth chief in the Barisan Nasional component party.
“Tan Sri was a very outspoken leader, he always fought for and defended the people and his constituents.
“Youth chiefs should look up at him for his spirit and fearlessness in standing up for the people,” he told the New Straits Times.
Chong, a former MCA Youth chief, said he met Lee during the party’s 50th anniversary celebration.
“I have high regard and respect for him. His death is a huge loss to the country and the party.
“He always encouraged us and told us that in politics, you need to stand firm, no matter what the changes in the trends are, you should not rush and change your principles,” he said.
MCA veteran leader Datuk Yap Pian Hon said Lee was a vocal leader.
“When he was the party Youth chief, he always voiced out issues related to the Chinese community to the government and the then prime ministers.
“His proposals may not be met with a response sometimes, but that never stopped him from conveying the grassroots’ problems and voices to the government.”
The former MCA vice-president and former Serdang assemblyman said he worked closely with Lee since 1974 until the latter retired from politics.
“When he was the Youth chief, I was also with the Youth wing. We went around the country to promote the youth movement.
“When he was the Hulu Langat member of parliament, I was the Selangor state executive council member.
“One of our achievements together was legalising all village security and development committees in all new villages in Selangor in 1985.
“It was a first in the country’s history, and other new villages followed suit after that.”
Born on March 1, 1937, in Rawang, Lee was the fourth of seven siblings. He grew up in poverty, having to collect scrap rubber to help support his family after his father died when he was 12.
Despite the hardship, he completed his Senior Middle III at Chong Hwa High School here, and went on to be trained as a teacher at the Teacher Training College.
After becoming a teacher in 1957, he went on to become the principal of Kepong Chinese School.
The one-time Chinese educationist entered politics by joining MCA in 1965. The next three decades saw him rise through the ranks.
In 1975, he was appointed as MCA Youth secretary-general, Selangor MCA chairman in 1977, and in 1979, went on to become the MCA Youth head. In the same year, he was elected as the party vice-president.
However, his meteoric rise through the MCA hierarchy came to an abrupt halt in 1984. Following an internal factional conflict, Lee, together with Tan Sri Dr Tan Koon Swan and Tun Ling Liong Sik, were expelled from the party.
This was after the trio were involved in a power struggle with acting president Dr Neo Yee Pan, who took over the party reins following the sudden resignation of the then president Tan Sri Lee San Choon.
The trio tangled with Neo over the “Phantom Members” issue, accusing the new party president of adding non-members’ and fictitious party members’ names to party rolls to allow more delegates to attend MCA annual general meetings and elections.
The MCA crisis lasted several months and was resolved with intervention of the then Umno deputy president Tun Ghafar Baba. The subsequent fresh party elections saw Tan’s faction winning, with Lee elected as vice-president.
Tan, however, resigned in 1985 over the Pan-Electric Industries scandal in Singapore, and Ling took over as president, while Lee became the deputy president.
Lee’s first electoral foray saw him stand in the 1969 general election, where he lost to the then “Mr Opposition” Tan Chee Khoon from Gerakan.
The loss did not diminish his electoral ambition. In 1974, he contested and won the Rawang state seat, which he defended in the 1979 general election.
In the 1982 general election, Lee won the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat and was appointed as deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
He went on to contest the Hulu Langat parliamentary seat in 1986 and retained it until 1990.
Lee was appointed labour minister in 1986, and in 1989, became the housing and local government minister. He became the health minister between 1990 and 1995.
In 1993, Lee sought to challenge Ling for the leadership of MCA, but backed down after failing to gain support. He retired from politics in 1996.
He leaves his wife, Puan Sri Wan Yuet Fong, and four children, Boon Kuan, Boon Tim, Boon Siew and Boon Cheng.
Lee’s wake will take place today at the Xiao En Centre in Cheras, while his funeral will be held at the Xiao En Nilai Memorial Park tomorrow.