Koh Tsu Koon

In this Chinese name, the family name is Koh (许).
Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri
Koh Tsu Koon
PSM
许子根
Koh in 2011
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
In office
10 April 2009 – 15 May 2013
(Unity & Performance Management)
Serving with Idris Jala
MonarchsMizan Zainal Abidin
(2009–2011)
Abdul Halim
(2009–2013)
Prime MinisterNajib Razak
DeputyDevamany Krishnasamy
Preceded byShafie Apdal as Minister of National Unity, Arts, Culture and Heritage
Succeeded byJoseph Kurup
ConstituencySenator
3rd Chief Minister of Penang
In office
25 October 1990 – 11 March 2008
GovernorHamdan Sheikh Tahir
(1990–2001)
Abdul Rahman Abbas
(2001–2008)
DeputyIbrahim Saad
(1990–1995)
Mohd Shariff Omar
(1995–1999)
Hilmi Yahaya
(1999–2004)
Abdul Rashid Abdullah
(2004–2008)
Preceded byLim Chong Eu
Succeeded byLim Guan Eng
ConstituencyTanjong Bunga
4th President of the
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
In office
4 October 2008 – 16 May 2013
DeputyChang Ko Youn
Preceded byLim Keng Yaik
Succeeded byChang Ko Youn (Acting)
Mah Siew Keong
Senator
Appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
In office
9 April 2009 – 8 April 2015
MonarchsMizan Zainal Abidin
(2009–2011)
Abdul Halim
(2011–2015)
Prime MinisterNajib Razak
Member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly
for Tanjong Bunga
In office
21 October 1990 – 8 March 2008
Preceded byKhoo Boo Yeang
(BN–GERAKAN)
Succeeded byTeh Yee Cheu (DAP)
Majority1,012 (1990)
7,703 (1995)
6,861 (1999)
6,224 (2004)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Tanjong
In office
26 April 1982 – 3 August 1986
Preceded byWong Hoong Keat
(BN–GERAKAN)
Succeeded byLim Kit Siang (DAP)
Majority834 (1982)
Personal details
Born
Koh Tsu Koon

(1949-08-26) 26 August 1949 (age 75)
Penang, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Citizenship Malaysia
Political party Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN) (since 1982)
Other political
affiliations		Barisan Nasional (BN)
(1982–2018)
Perikatan Nasional (PN) (since 2021)
Spouse(s)Chui Kah Peng (徐嘉平, deceased)
Children1 son, 1 daughter
Alma materPrinceton University
University of Chicago
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionEducator

Koh Tsu Koon (born 26 August 1949; simplified Chinese: 许子根; traditional Chinese: 許子根; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khó͘ Chú-kun; pinyin: Xǔ Zǐgēn) is a Malaysian politician. He was the Chief Minister of Penang from 1990 to 2008, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong from 1982 to 1986 and was appointed as a Senator from 2009 to 2015. A year after resigning as Chief Minister of Penang, Koh was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department by Prime Minister Najib Razak. He was famously known for contributing in the Sungai Pinang campaign where he took almost 10 years and failed to complete it.

He was the fourth President of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN), a former component Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition (currently a component of the Perikatan Nasional coalition) and also the first President of GERAKAN not named a candidate in the Malaysian General Election.[1]

Background

Koh Tsu Koon was born in Penang in 1949 and attended Phor Tay Primary School, Chung Ling High School and Methodist Boys' School. He graduated from Princeton University in 1970 with a degree in physics, and obtained his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1977 in Economics and Sociology of Education. He was a Fulbright scholar at Stanford University from 1980 to 1981.

Koh taught at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang from 1975 and rose to become Deputy Dean of Education in 1978.[2][3]

Political career

Koh joined GERAKAN in 1982. He won the Tanjong parliamentary seat during the 1982 general election but lost it to Lim Kit Siang in the following 1986 general election.[4] The following year, he was elected GERAKAN Youth Chairman. Koh was the protégé of then Penang Chief Minister Lim Chong Eu, serving as Lim's Political Secretary and Chief Aide from 1986 to 1990.[2]

GERAKAN leadership

Koh became a Vice President of GERAKAN in 1991 and later Deputy President in 2005. On 8 April 2007, following the retirement of long-serving President Lim Keng Yaik, he took over the presidency in an acting capacity. He was formally elected as President in 2008.[2]

Penang Chief Minister

In the 1990 general election, Chief Minister Lim Chong Eu lost his state seat. Koh, who was a first-term state Assemblyman from Tanjong Bunga, was selected to lead the Barisan Nasional government in Penang, and became the state's third Chief Minister.

Koh served four terms as Chief Minister for a total of 18 years from 1990 to 2008. In the 1995 general election, he was challenged in his state seat by Lim Kit Siang, who unseated the previous Chief Minister Lim Chong Eu in 1990. Koh beat Lim with over 70% of the votes.[4] He stepped down in 2008 to contest the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat during the general election. Koh was said to be pressured into leaving his position as Chief Minister to join federal politics.[5] He eventually lost the parliamentary contest, while the opposition pact led by the Democratic Action Party (DAP) won the state of Penang.

Koh remained visible in the political scene after the election, and even participated in a televised public debate with his successor as Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng.[6] He remained as GERAKAN President, winning the post permanently in October 2008.

Cabinet Minister

Koh joined federal politics when he was appointed as a Senator in the Dewan Negara. This paved the way for Prime Minister Najib Razak to name Koh in his inaugural Cabinet.[7] He was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, in charge of unity and performance management. Koh was put in charge of Najib's Government Transformation Programme (GTP), which includes monitoring the performance of ministries and six national key result areas (NKRAs) through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).[8][9]

Stepping down as Penang BN leader

In August 2011, The Malaysian Insider reported that the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership felt that Koh should step down as BN Chairman in Penang for the coalition to win back the state government in the 13th general election. It was further said that voters viewed Koh as indecisive and a symbol of the BN leadership which was rejected by voters in 2008.[10] GERAKAN leaders reportedly encouraged Koh to leave Penang to contest the Simpang Renggam parliamentary seat, a GERAKAN safe seat in Johor.[11]

Resignation

On 16 May 2013, The Star reported that Koh officially resigned as the President of GERAKAN. His deputy, Chang Ko Youn, would take over as acting president until the party elections on 26 October 2013.[12] Koh's resignation followed GERAKAN Secretary-General Teng Chang Yeow's earlier resignation as Penang Barisan Nasional Chairman and GERAKAN Secretary-General.[13]

Election results

Penang State Legislative Assembly[4][14]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1990 N19 Tanjong Bunga Koh Tsu Koon (Gerakan) 7,585 52.40% Gooi Hock Seng (DAP) 6,573 45.41% 14,474 1,012 74.75%
1995 Koh Tsu Koon (Gerakan) 13,087 69.46% Lim Kit Siang (DAP) 5,384 28.57% 18,842 7,703 77.79%
1999 Koh Tsu Koon (Gerakan) 12,111 67.52% Wong Hang Yoke (DAP) 5,250 29.27% 17,937 6,861 73,20%
2004 N22 Tanjong Bunga Koh Tsu Koon (Gerakan) 8,985 73.01% Lim Cheng Hoe (DAP) 2,761 22.44% 12,306 6.224 73.33%
Parliament of Malaysia[4][14]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1982 P042 Tanjong Koh Tsu Koon (Gerakan) 22,394 50.42% Chian Heng Kai (DAP) 21,560 48.54% 45,317 834 77.16%
Yeap Ghim Guan (SDP) 464 1.04%
1986 P045 Tanjong Koh Tsu Koon (Gerakan) 15,921 36.57% Lim Kit Siang (DAP) 27,611 63.43% 44,463 11,690 73.32%
2008 P046 Batu Kawan Koh Tsu Koon (Gerakan) 13,582 37.06% Ramasamy Palanisamy (DAP) 23,067 62.94% 37,292 9,485 78.71%

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

See also

References

  1. ^ "Tsu Koon will not contest next election".
  2. ^ a b c Personal Profile Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Y.B. Senator Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon. Accessed 15 June 2010
  3. ^ "Sdr Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (President from 2007 - 2013)". Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan). Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 29 June 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  5. ^ DAP: Dr Koh forced to move The Star. 12 February 2008
  6. ^ All set for Guan Eng-Tsu Koon debate The Star. 19 August 2008
  7. ^ Najib names 28-member Cabinet The Star. 9 April 2009
  8. ^ Subsidy rift: Tsu Koon defends Jala Archived 12 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine Free Malaysia Today. 9 June 2010
  9. ^ Gerakan's Koh defends appointment The Star. 11 April 2009
  10. ^ Jahabar Sadiq (14 August 2011). "With Penang in mind, move to unseat Tsu Koon gathers pace". The Malaysian Insider. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  11. ^ "Koh mum on Johor contest". The Star. 15 August 2011. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  12. ^ Bernama (16 May 2013). "Tsu Koon brings down curtain on illustrious 30-year political career". The Star. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  13. ^ S Arulldas (6 May 2013). "GE13: Teng Chang Yeow resigns his post". The Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  15. ^ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat". Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by President of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan)
4 October 2008 – 16 May 2013 		Succeeded by
Chang Ko Youn (Acting President 16 May 2013 – 26 October 2013)
Mah Siew Keong
Political offices
Preceded by Chief Minister of Penang
1990–2008 		Succeeded by