Lee Khoon Choy

Lee Khoon Choy DUBC
李炯才
Lee in 1967
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Braddell Heights Constituency
In office 7 February 1977 – 4 December 1984
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Goh Choon Kang
Majority	1976: N/A (walkover) 1980: N/A (walkover)
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Hong Lim Constituency
In office 8 December 1965 – 6 December 1976
Preceded by	Ong Eng Guan
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Bukit Panjang Constituency
In office 1 July 1959 – 3 September 1963
Preceded by	Goh Tong Liang
Succeeded by	Ong Lian Teng
Party Whip of the People's Action Party
In office 23 June 1959 – 16 October 1963
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Chan Chee Seng
Personal details
Born	(1924-01-29)29 January 1924 Butterworth, Penang, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	27 February 2016(2016-02-27) (aged 92) Singapore
Party	People's Action Party
Spouses	Florence Khor Swee Hoon ​ ​ (died 1959)​ Eng Ah Siam ​ (m. 1962)​
Children	2 with Khor, 5 with Eng
Education	Regent Street Polytechnic

Lee Khoon Choy (29 January 1924 – 27 February 2016) was a Singaporean politician who served as the first Party Whip of the People's Action Party from 1959 to 1963. A member of the governing People's Action Party, he was the Member of Parliament for the Bukit Panjang Constituency from 1959 to 1963, Hong Lim Constituency from 1965 to 1976, and Braddell Heights Constituency from 1977 to 1984.

Early life and education

Lee Khoon Choy was born on 29 January 1924 in Butterworth, Penang, to a Hakka family. He was educated at Yeok Keow Chinese School and Chung Ling High School in George Town.

During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, he took refuge in his uncle's farm located in a jungle.

He left Singapore for London in 1949 to study journalism at Regent Street Polytechnic on a year long scholarship.

Career

In 1946 Lee commenced a career in journalism in Penang with Sin Pin Jit Poh, then left for Singapore to work for a number of Chinese (Sin Chew Jit Poh, Nanyang Siang Pau) and English (Singapore Tiger Standard) newspapers before culminating in his working for The Straits Times in 1957.

Bibliography

Lee has published ten books, including:

• Lee, Khoon Choy (2013) Lee, Khoon Choy (2013). Golden Dragon and Purple Phoenix: The Chinese and Their Multi-Ethnic Descendants in Southeast Asia. Hackensack, New Jersey: World Scientific. p. 604. doi:10.1142/8357. ISBN 978-981-4383-43-1.
• Lee, Khoon Choy (2005) Choy, Lee Khoon (2005). Pioneers of Modern China: Understanding the Inscrutable Chinese. Hackensack, New Jersey: World Scientific. p. 576. doi:10.1142/5921. ISBN 978-981-256-618-8.
• Lee, Khoon Choy (1999) A fragile nation: the Indonesian crisis. World Scientific Publishing.
• Lee, Khoon Choy (1995) Japan: Between Myth and Reality. World Scientific Publishing. ISBN 9810218656, 9789810218652.
• Lee, Khoon Choy (1993) Diplomacy of a Tiny State. World Scientific Publishing. ISBN 9810212194.
• Lee, Khoon Choy (1976) Indonesia: Between Myth and Reality.

Personal life

Lee married Florence Khor Swee Hoon, and they had two sons. Khor died at the age 30 on 26 October 1959. In 1962, Lee married Eng Ah Siam, with whom he has had five daughters.

Lee died in his sleep at home aged 92, at 3am on 27 February 2016. He is survived by his second wife, seven children and 11 grandchildren.

Honours and awards

• 1974: (Indonesian) Bintang Bakti Utama (Meritorious Service Star) for his work in enhancing relations between Indonesia and Singapore.
• 1986: The Scholarly Achievement Award by the Japan Institute of Oriental Philosophy for his achievements in the research and development of eastern philosophy, thought and culture.
• 1988: (South Korean) Order of Diplomatic Service Merit for his service in promoting relations between South Korea and Singapore.
• 1990: Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Distinguished Service Order) in recognition of his contributions.
• 1997: Made an honorary member of the Chinese National Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing for his contributions in the field of humanities and social sciences.

Notes

References

External links

• Lee Khoon Choy's website
• The Lee Khoon Choy Collection^{[link removed]} at the National Library of Singapore comprises monographs, periodicals and documents pertaining to East Asian culture, art and history. These were acquired from his years of travel around the globe as a journalist, politician, artist and author.