Chew Hoong Ling (Chinese: 周虹伶; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiu Hông-lêng; born 25 December 1980 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is a Malaysian author,[1] professional master of ceremonies, inspirational speaker and social activist and politician.[2] She was a former TV presenter[3] for a Malay talk show Selamat Pagi Malaysia (translated as "Good Morning Malaysia") on Malaysia's national TV channel, Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). Currently she is a host for an online radio station.[4] In 2009, she came to prominence when she donated part of her liver to a stranger.[5]

Chew Hoong Ling
周虹伶
Personal details
Born
Chew Hoong Ling

(1980-12-25) 25 December 1980 (age 43)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
CitizenshipMalaysian
Political partyMalaysian Chinese Association (MCA)
Other political
affiliations
Barisan Nasional (BN)
ProfessionPolitician, author, professional master of ceremonies, inspirational speaker and social activist.

Early life

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Chew's parents divorced when she was 5 years old[6] and was brought up in a small town called Teluk Intan, Perak.[7] She was raised in a strict disciplinarian style and in school, semi-military trained under one of the school's uniform units, St. John Ambulance.[8]
Her early education was in Convent schools.[9] She graduated with an honours degree in Information Systems from the Thames Valley University, UK.[10]

Organ donation

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After reading an article in a book called Life's Great Gifts[11] about an eleven-year-old girl who pledged her organs,[12] she was inspired to sign an organ donation pledge at the age of 13. Since then, she promoted organ donation and later in 2009, donated 60% of her liver to a Malaysian teenage girl, Lee An Qi, at Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore.

She wrote a book about the experience, I Don't Know You but Let Me Save You[13] and its Chinese translation 我把肝脏给了一位陌生人 (literally translated as "I gave my liver to a stranger").[14]

In 2010, she was appointed the committee member of the Public Awareness Action Committee for Organ and Tissue Donation under the Ministry of Health Malaysia[15] and in 2013, appointed one of the Organ Donation Ambassadors to promote organ donation in Malaysia which registers only about 200,000 people.[16]

Social activism

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Chew started activism in school, idolising a local social activist, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye and always wanted to be like her idol. She was active in the St. John Ambulance of Malaysia since school days. After leaving school she was promoted to Divisional Officer and last held National Staff Officer before she resigned in 2009.

In her neighbourhood, she actively participated in and organised crime prevention programs[17] and was the founder of the Pandan Jaya Neighbourhood Watch.[18]

She is the founder of Voice of Women, a platform for other young women who want to contribute to society.[15] Through the organisation she "convinced Sunlight Radio Taxi to get 100 taxi drivers to fly green ribbons and give out flyers to passengers to promote organ donation. Through the association, other women have also come forward to do other meaningful activities for various sections of the community."[15]

Politics

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In 2013, she was selected as a candidate of Barisan Nasional (BN) for Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU) parliamentary seat during 2013 general election; against the incumbent Tony Pua from DAP.[19][20][21] DAP's Tony Pua wins PJU with a 44,672 majority. He received 57,407 votes, beating BN's Chew who got 12,735 votes.[22]

Election results

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Parliament of Malaysia[23][24][25][26]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 P106 Petaling Jaya Utara Chew Hoong Ling (MCA) 12,735 18.16% Tony Pua Kiam Wee (DAP) 57,407 81.84% 70,727 44,672 82.82%

Awards

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  • 2011 – 2013 National Youth Icon awarded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports[27]
  • 2011 National Premier Youth Award (Extraordinary Achievement Category) awarded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and presented by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak[28]
  • 2009 Lions District 308-B1, District Governor's Distinguished Service Award awarded by the Lions Clubs International District 308B1, presented by the then District Governor Dr. JP Kamalanathan[29]
  • 2008 Great Women of Our Time Award (Education and Public Services) awarded by The Women's Weekly, presented by the Ke Bawah Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Puan Pahang Tunku Hajjah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah Binti Al-Marhum Sultan Iskandar Al- Haj
  • 2006 Selangor Youth Award (Volunteerism) awarded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports
  • 2003 – Youth Ambassador on board the Ship of Southeast Asian Youths Program (SSEAYP)

References

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  1. ^ "A slice of life from Chew". The Sun Daily. 16 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  2. ^ Regina, Lee (18 January 2012). "Organ donor seeks to inspire others via book". The Star. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  3. ^ Yuk Peng, Lee (30 April 2009). "Ex-TV host donates liver to teenage girl". The Star. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Host: Hoong Ling". inspire.fm online radio. inspire.fm. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  5. ^ "No regrets for these donors". Selangor Times. 18 May 2012. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  6. ^ Lee, Liz (18 February 2012). "Up close and personal with Chew Hoong Ling". The Star. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  7. ^ Seok, Amy (June 2009). "Celebrities Wealth Talk". Money Compass (in Chinese). Universal Media Publishers (M) Sdn Bhd: 30–32. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  8. ^ "We salute you, Ms. Chew Hoong Ling". St John Ambulance of Malaysia, State of Penang. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  9. ^ Arieff, Melati (28 September 2010). "Hoong Ling – Kisah Seorang Dermawan Hati". Bernama. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  10. ^ Yen Nie, Yong (18 April 2013). "Young blood of Malaysian politics". The Straits Times Asia Report. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  11. ^ Michelle, Lee (June 2009). "Liver Donation Miracle Online (网络捐肝奇迹)". Feminine (in Chinese) (508). Media Chinese International Limited: 69. Archived from the original on 9 December 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  12. ^ Majid, Embun (25 April 2013). "GE13: BN's Chew meets her inspiration". The Star. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  13. ^ Hoong Ling (2011). I Don't Know You But Let Me Save You: A Liver Donor Recounts Her Journey (English). Malaysia: Zubedy Ideahouse Sdn Bhd. ISBN 9789834436230.
  14. ^ 周虹伶 (2011). 我把肝脏给了一位陌生人 (in Chinese). Malaysia: Zubedy Ideahouse Sdn Bhd. ISBN 9789834436247.
  15. ^ a b c Anandhi Gopinath (28 May 2012). "Young transformers". The Edge Malaysia. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  16. ^ Bernama (13 February 2013). "More than 200,000 have pledged as organ donors since '97". The Star. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Crime rate in Pandan and crime prevention". China Press (in Chinese). 2 September 2006. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  18. ^ Zakaria, Badruldin (25 November 2007). "KRT Persiaran Pandan 1 tekad perangi jenayah ragut". Sinar Harian (in Malay). Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  19. ^ Omar, Zainuddin (30 April 2013). "PJ Utara: Antara pertentangan dua ideologi dan kepentingan". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  20. ^ Yoke Teng, Yip (23 April 2013). "GE13: Barisan's Chew to focus on the urban poor in PJU". The Star. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  21. ^ "'Dermawan hati' gembira dapat bertanding". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). 17 April 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  22. ^ "GE13: Results (Live Updates)". Star Publications (M) Bhd. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  23. ^ "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 19 April 2013. Results only available from the 2004 election (GE11).
  24. ^ "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2017.Results only available for the 2013 election.
  25. ^ "my undi : Kawasan & Calon-Calon PRU13 : Keputusan PRU13 (Archived copy)". www.myundi.com.my. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  26. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  27. ^ "Youth Icon – Chew Hoong Ling". My Icon. Malaysia Youth Icon Secretariat. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  28. ^ "Penerima anugerah Belia Negara terharu dipilih". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). 30 May 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  29. ^ Lions Clubs International, District 308B1 Malaysia (June 2009). "District Governor's Message". The Lion. 1 (3): 2.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)