Yang Berhormat Tuan
Wong Chen
MP
黄基全
Non-executive Chairman of the
Malaysia Debt Ventures Berhad
Assumed office
23 May 2023
MinisterAnwar Ibrahim
Chief Executive OfficerNizam Mohamed Nadzri
Chairman of the
International Relations and Trade Select Committee
Assumed office
23 May 2023
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterAnwar Ibrahim
ConstituencySubang
In office
5 December 2019 – 18 May 2020
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad
(2019–2020)
Muhyiddin Yassin
(2020)
ConstituencySubang
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Subang
Assumed office
9 May 2018
Preceded bySivarasa Rasiah
(PR–PKR)
Majority92,353 (2018)
115,074 (2022)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Kelana Jaya
In office
5 May 2013 – 9 May 2018
Preceded byLoh Gwo Burne
(PR–PKR)
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Majority28,827 (2013)
Personal details
Born (1968-12-18) 18 December 1968 (age 55)
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Political partyPeople's Justice Party (PKR)
(since 2009)
Other political
affiliations		Pakatan Rakyat (PR)
(2009–2015)
Pakatan Harapan (PH)
(since 2015)
Alma materUnited World College of South East Asia
University of Warwick
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer
CommitteesSelect Committee for Finance and Economy
Websitewongchen.com

Wong Chen (simplified Chinese: 黄基全; traditional Chinese: 黃基全; pinyin: Huáng Jīqúan; born 18 December 1968) is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as Non-executive Chairman of the Malaysia Debt Ventures Berhad (MDV) since May 2023, Chairman of the International Relations and Trade Select Committee from December 2019 to May 2020 and again since May 2023 as well as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Subang since May 2018. He served as the MP for Kelana Jaya from May 2013 to May 2018. He was also a member of the Finance and Economy Select Committee. He is a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalitions.[1]

Background

Wong Chen was born in Assunta Hospital, Petaling Jaya in 1968 and spent his early childhood in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Wong Chen's father was a self-made businessman, whereas his mother was a homemaker. He has three siblings, two brothers and a sister. Although Wong Chen was born in Petaling Jaya, he spent much of his early years in Kota Bharu where his father's business was based and this was also where he received his primary education. Wong Chen continued his studies by attending United World College of South East Asia in Singapore. Subsequently, after completing secondary school, he furthered his academic education by reading Law and receiving his law degree from the University of Warwick.[2]

After graduating university, Wong Chen returned to his hometown of Kota Bharu and started practicing law. During his tenure in Kota Bharu, he also did community work by helping the rural poor and powerless through the local legal aid bureau. After spending five years back in his hometown, he then moved to Kuala Lumpur where he became a lawyer specialising in corporate law and information technology. It was during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis that he began to develop strong feelings within Malaysian politics especially in the wake of the Reformasi Movement.[2]

Political career

Wong Chen joined PKR in 2009. He was asked by a client to help the formation of Pakatan Rakyat and ended up joining the party as an ad-hoc advisor.[3] He acted as a lawyer and drafted the Pakatan Rakyat constitution and submitted documents to the ROS (Registrar of Societies). He started as an ad hoc advisor to the party and worked with Rafizi Ramli on GST. Later in 2011 he was appointed to become the chairman of the Investment and Trade Bureau of PKR.[2] He was put in charge of creating economic and trade policies for the party. In that capacity he gave press conference on a variety of subjects including FGV, 1MDB and palm oil exports.[4] He was one of the first politicians to speak out against 1MDB and in particular in the issue of 1MDB bonds in 2013.[5] The Financial Times interviewed him on the subject matter and described him as a "rising star of PKR".[6] Subsequently, he was interviewed by Reuters, Asian Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

Election to Parliament

Wong Chen was first elected to parliament in the 13th Malaysian general election, winning the seat of Kelana Jaya by defeating National Front (BN) candidate Loh Seng Kok. After the general election, he became an MP and continued to speak on the wider variety of issues including GST, 1MDB and also the general economic landscape of Malaysia. As an MP he also gave views on social and human rights issues including Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Sedition Act.[7]

International Involvements

Internationally, Wong Chen represents the Parliament of Malaysia for the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), represents Asia-Pacific Group for Working Group on Science, Technology, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and is a member of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

KEADILAN Central Leadership Council Member

In 2022, Wong Chen contested in the Keadilan Party Elections or known as Pemilihan Keadilan 2022. He contested for the Central Leadership Council alongside 73 other candidates for that position consisting of other party members including Members of Parliaments and State Assemblymen. Wong Chen was elected after securing 697 votes and making it to the Top 20 for the position.[8][9]

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
Year Constituency Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 P104 Kelana Jaya, Selangor. Wong Chen (PKR) 56,790 66.72% Loh Seng Kok (MCA) 27,963 32.85% 86,571 28,827 85.44%
Toh Sin Wah (IND) 363 0.43%
2018 P104 Subang, Selangor. Wong Chen (PKR) 104,430 83.08% Tan Seong Lim (MCA) 12,077 9.61% 126,883 92,353 86.66%
Mohd Shahir Mohd Adnan (IKATAN) 9,025 7.18%
Toh Sin Wah (IND) 173 0.14%
2022 Wong Chen (PKR) 138,259 77.68% Ang Hiang Ni (GERAKAN) 23,185 13.03% 179,578 115,074 77.07%
Kow Cheong Wei (MCA) 16,539 9.29%

References

  1. ^ "Wong Chen appointed new International Relations and Trade Select Committee chief, MDV non-executive chair". The Star. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "About Wong Chen". Wong Chen | Official Website.
  3. ^ "'Harry Potter Wong' casts his spell - Nation - The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my.
  4. ^ "FGVH shares: EPF, KWAP incur losses". 11 January 2013.
  5. ^ "PKR: Explain 1MDB bond issuance". 22 April 2013.
  6. ^ Grant, Jeremy; Davies, Paul J. (1 May 2013). "Goldman Sachs criticised over $3bn Malaysia bond deal". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  7. ^ "POTA puts too much power in Home Minister's hands". 31 March 2015.
  8. ^ Noorshahrizam, Shahrin Aizat (17 July 2022). "Rafizi's team prevails in PKR central leadership polls". Malay Mail. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Welcome | PKR - ADIL Election Results Web". keputusan.keadilanrakyat.org. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Archived from the original on 4 April 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Wong Chen sweeps Subang parliamentary seat with 92,353 majority | New Straits Times". 10 May 2018.
  12. ^ "14th General Election Malaysia (GE14 / PRU14) - Selangor".
  13. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 27 April 2010. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  14. ^ "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  15. ^ "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  16. ^ "PRU-13". Utusan. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  17. ^ "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
Political offices New creation Chairperson of International Relations and Trade Select Committee 4 December 2019–present Incumbent Parliament of Malaysia Preceded bySivarasa Rasiah Member of Parliament for Subang 10 May 2018–present Incumbent Preceded byLoh Gwo Burne Member of Parliament for Kelana Jaya 5 May 2013–9 May 2018 Constituency abolished
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