KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — The late Sabah DAP chairman Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt was one of the key Pakatan Harapan leaders who led the fight in taking down Barisan Nasional in Sabah in the 14th general election, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
Paying tribute to the Sandakan MP, who passed away today from a heart attack, Lim said his loss would be felt by DAP as well as Sabah and Malaysia.
“Stephen believed passionately in DAP’s agenda for a multi-racial and multi-cultural Malaysia that respects the rule of law, upholds Sabah rights and celebrates diversity. He joined the DAP to help Sabah to be respected and also help Sabah integrate more closely to the Malaysian nation,” he said in a statement.
He said that Wong had been a proponent of Sabah rights and it was sad that he would not be able to go on record as one of the MPs who supported an impending historical constitutional amendment that would restore Sabah’s status as one of three entities in the Federation of Malaysia.
“The Pakatan Harapan Federal government’s support for a historic constitutional amendment next week in Parliament to restore Sabah and Sarawak status is one of the clear benefits of a change in government. This would have been one of the proudest moments for Sabah and Sarawak MPs,” Lim said.
DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang said in a separate statement that Wong was a great leader of the party and the state from his days as an elected assemblyman in 2013 till he was appointed Sabah’s Health and Public Wellbeing Minister ten months ago.
“Wong is a dedicated political worker for the wellbeing and greatness of Malaysia and Sabah, the very embodiment of the example that it is no contradiction to be one at the same time a great Malaysian and a great Sabahan,” he said in a statement.
Wong, who was 64 years old, leaves behind his wife, three daughters and a son, as well as two grandchildren.
