By Clara Chooi
December 07, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 – Former DAP parliamentarian Fan Yew Teng, who breathed his last in Bangkok this afternoon, has been described by family members and party comrades as “a man who would part with his last dollar to help the needy”.
Yew Teng’s younger brother Farn Siang Teng told The Malaysian Insider this evening that his brother had been an exemplary leader in his time and had dedicated his life to serving the poor and unfortunate.
Yew Teng (picture), he added, lived like a “pauper” and never once owned his own property.
“He was a very principled man, very dedicated to his ideals and his beliefs in achieving a just an equal society. He was a true socialist who cared about the people’s welfare and not so much his own.
“There were times when he had no money in his own pocket but he would part with his last dollar to help the needy,” he said.
Yew Teng passed away after a six-month battle with cancer at about 1.15pm this afternoon in the Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok.
The eldest in a family of nine siblings, Yew Teng leaves behind his wife Noeleen Heyzer and twin daughters Lilianne and Pauline, both in their early 30s. It is believed he was 69-years-old.
His funeral will be held in Bangkok on Wednesday.
Siang Teng, who himself had served as a one-term DAP MP for Sungai Besi in 1974, said his brother had been instrumental in holding the fort for DAP when veteran leader Lim Kit Siang was detained under the Internal Security Act at the Muar Detention Centre in 1969.
Yew Teng, he said, had to take over Lim’s role in the party and was appointed acting secretary-general during the latter’s incarceration.
“He had to hold the fort for DAP and ensure that none of the elected representatives defected. He kept DAP in tact,” he said.
Siang Teng added that his brother’s political career had been marred by many trials and tribulations, including his infamous conviction under the Sedition Act in 1975 and subsequent disqualification from the Menglembu parliamentary seat.
Yew Teng was disqualified after he was fined RM2,000 in default six months’ jail for publishing a seditious speech by the then Penang DAP chairman Dr Ooi Kee Siak in party organ The Rocket.
Recently, a similar conviction was slapped on PKR’s Batu MP Chua Tian Chang for biting a policeman but Yew Teng’s case was not used as a precedent and the lawmaker was never removed from his seat.
Siang Teng said that his brother, a graduate of the Brinsford Lodge teacher training college in the UK, had however never allowed the disqualification to hamper his struggles for the people.
“He started as a very young man. He was a teacher in his own right and in the late 1960s, he was appointed as the editor of the NUTP’s (National Union of the Teaching Profession) organ ‘NUT’ and because of his staunch and oftentimes sharp criticism against the government, particularly against the then Education Minister, he was sent off from Kuala Lumpur to schools in rural areas like in Kuala Lipis, Kelantan, everywhere.
“They wanted to muffle him, to shut him up. But later, he came back and contested on a DAP ticket in Menglembu in 1960,” he said.
Siang Teng added that his brother had felled several political giants in his time and in the 1974 general election, he daringly took on PPP founding president SP Seenivasagam in Menglembu parliamentary seat and unionist and former MTUC secretary-general, the late V. David in the Petaling state seat.
“He beat them both for the seat,” he said.
Yew Teng, he added, later left DAP for over 20 years due to several disagreements but returned as a member a short while back.
“But he never stopped his struggles. He lived such a simple life and was truly close to the rakyat,” said Siang Teng.
He pointed out that due to his disqualification in 1975, Yew Teng was never paid his parliamentarian pension.
“It was unfair. He was a two-term MP and a sterling leader of society but he was denied even this basic right,” he said.
To make ends meet, Siang Teng said his brother became a freelance writer and would occasionally conduct lectures for students.
When contacted, Lim agreed that Yew Teng had been an “outstanding parliamentarian”, adding that the nation had lost a true visionary and socialist.
“He was a great man and this is a great loss to the country,” he said.
Lim added that Yew Teng had done an exceptional job when he took over as the party’s acting secretary-general.
Perak DAP chief Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham told The Malaysian Insider that he had been a good friend of Yew Teng’s for years.
“I knew him, well and I would say that he was a humble man who never wanted much for himself,” he said.
He added that Yew Teng was committed to the party’s fight for social welfare and equality and always placed himself at the forefront on any public issue.
“He hardly owned much for himself. I do not even know if he has a house. He was renting a house in Ipoh all this time. He was truly a man for the public and very socially conscious,” he said.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/tributes-pour-in-for-fan-yew-teng/
December 07, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 – Former DAP parliamentarian Fan Yew Teng, who breathed his last in Bangkok this afternoon, has been described by family members and party comrades as “a man who would part with his last dollar to help the needy”.
Yew Teng’s younger brother Farn Siang Teng told The Malaysian Insider this evening that his brother had been an exemplary leader in his time and had dedicated his life to serving the poor and unfortunate.
Yew Teng (picture), he added, lived like a “pauper” and never once owned his own property.
“He was a very principled man, very dedicated to his ideals and his beliefs in achieving a just an equal society. He was a true socialist who cared about the people’s welfare and not so much his own.
“There were times when he had no money in his own pocket but he would part with his last dollar to help the needy,” he said.
Yew Teng passed away after a six-month battle with cancer at about 1.15pm this afternoon in the Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok.
The eldest in a family of nine siblings, Yew Teng leaves behind his wife Noeleen Heyzer and twin daughters Lilianne and Pauline, both in their early 30s. It is believed he was 69-years-old.
His funeral will be held in Bangkok on Wednesday.
Siang Teng, who himself had served as a one-term DAP MP for Sungai Besi in 1974, said his brother had been instrumental in holding the fort for DAP when veteran leader Lim Kit Siang was detained under the Internal Security Act at the Muar Detention Centre in 1969.
Yew Teng, he said, had to take over Lim’s role in the party and was appointed acting secretary-general during the latter’s incarceration.
“He had to hold the fort for DAP and ensure that none of the elected representatives defected. He kept DAP in tact,” he said.
Siang Teng added that his brother’s political career had been marred by many trials and tribulations, including his infamous conviction under the Sedition Act in 1975 and subsequent disqualification from the Menglembu parliamentary seat.
Yew Teng was disqualified after he was fined RM2,000 in default six months’ jail for publishing a seditious speech by the then Penang DAP chairman Dr Ooi Kee Siak in party organ The Rocket.
Recently, a similar conviction was slapped on PKR’s Batu MP Chua Tian Chang for biting a policeman but Yew Teng’s case was not used as a precedent and the lawmaker was never removed from his seat.
Siang Teng said that his brother, a graduate of the Brinsford Lodge teacher training college in the UK, had however never allowed the disqualification to hamper his struggles for the people.
“He started as a very young man. He was a teacher in his own right and in the late 1960s, he was appointed as the editor of the NUTP’s (National Union of the Teaching Profession) organ ‘NUT’ and because of his staunch and oftentimes sharp criticism against the government, particularly against the then Education Minister, he was sent off from Kuala Lumpur to schools in rural areas like in Kuala Lipis, Kelantan, everywhere.
“They wanted to muffle him, to shut him up. But later, he came back and contested on a DAP ticket in Menglembu in 1960,” he said.
Siang Teng added that his brother had felled several political giants in his time and in the 1974 general election, he daringly took on PPP founding president SP Seenivasagam in Menglembu parliamentary seat and unionist and former MTUC secretary-general, the late V. David in the Petaling state seat.
“He beat them both for the seat,” he said.
Yew Teng, he added, later left DAP for over 20 years due to several disagreements but returned as a member a short while back.
“But he never stopped his struggles. He lived such a simple life and was truly close to the rakyat,” said Siang Teng.
He pointed out that due to his disqualification in 1975, Yew Teng was never paid his parliamentarian pension.
“It was unfair. He was a two-term MP and a sterling leader of society but he was denied even this basic right,” he said.
To make ends meet, Siang Teng said his brother became a freelance writer and would occasionally conduct lectures for students.
When contacted, Lim agreed that Yew Teng had been an “outstanding parliamentarian”, adding that the nation had lost a true visionary and socialist.
“He was a great man and this is a great loss to the country,” he said.
Lim added that Yew Teng had done an exceptional job when he took over as the party’s acting secretary-general.
Perak DAP chief Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham told The Malaysian Insider that he had been a good friend of Yew Teng’s for years.
“I knew him, well and I would say that he was a humble man who never wanted much for himself,” he said.
He added that Yew Teng was committed to the party’s fight for social welfare and equality and always placed himself at the forefront on any public issue.
“He hardly owned much for himself. I do not even know if he has a house. He was renting a house in Ipoh all this time. He was truly a man for the public and very socially conscious,” he said.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/tributes-pour-in-for-fan-yew-teng/
