(August 6, 1922 - July 18, 2011)
Wong was born in Limbang, Kingdom of Sarawak, on August 6, 1922.[1] Sarawak was a British protectorate at the time.[1] He began his political career in 1951, when he was elected to the Limbang District Council.[1]
In 1956, Wong was elected to Sarawak's legislature, the Council Negri, which is now known as the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly.[1] He continued to hold office in the Legislative Assembly until his retirement in 2001.
Malaysia became an independent country in 1963. Wong had been a member of the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee's Sarawak delegation in 1962, which negotiated the formation of the new nation.[1] Stephen Kalong Ningkan, the then president of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP), became the first Chief Minister of Sarawak, while Wong became the state's first deputy Chief Minister.[1] SNAP pulled out of the national coalition government, led by the Alliance Party, and became an opposition party. Wong, a member of the SNAP, won a seat in the Parliament of Malaysia in the 1969 general election, representing the Miri-Lubis constituency.[1] Wong became the leader of the Malaysian Opposition in 1974.[1] Wong would later be arrested under the Internal Security Act and held at the Kamunting detention center for several years.[1] In 1981, Wong became the third president of the Sarawak National Party.[1]
Wong's Sarawak National Party reconciled and rejoined the successor of the Alliance, the Barisan Nasional. Under the new coalition, Wong became a minister in Sarawak's state cabinet, holding several portfolios during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Wong became the Environment and Tourism Minister of Sarawak from 1987 to 1994.[1] He then became the state Minister of Environment and Housing from 1995 to 1997 and finally the state Minister of Environment and Public Health from 1998 until his retirement in 2001.[1] In 2001, Wong, who was still serving as Environment Minister, was awarded the Langkawi Award for to work in launching a sea turtle satellite tracking program and spearheading a new reefball project for coral reefs.[1]
Wong retired from politics in 2001. He continued to author new books and poems during his retirement. Wong authored The Price of Loyalty, a book about his imprisonment at the Kamunting detention center under the Internal Security Act.[1] By 2003, Wong had published the third addition of The Birth of Malaysia, a history of the country.[1] He also released a third book, Memories of Speeches at the Council Negri.[1] In addition to his books, Wong also wrote poetry during his later life. His poetry collections included A Special Breed in 1981, Shimmering Moonbeams in 1983, Buy a Little Time in 1989 and Beautiful Butterfly in 2009.[1]
Wong also spearheaded the push to have Malaysia Day declared a national holiday.[1] In 2010, Malaysia Day was finally declared an official holiday, to be celebrated nationwide on September 16th of every year.[1] Wong spoke of Malaysia Day in 2010 saying, "It is my hope that Malaysia Day will be celebrated every Sept 16. People should remember it because it’s a historic occasion."[1]
James Wong suffered a heart attack on July 18, 2011. He died shortly after 10 a.m. at the Normah Medical Specialist Centre in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, at the age of 89.[2] Wong was survived by his wife, Datin Valerie Bong; five daugters; three sons; thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.[1]
He was buried in Limbang at the family cemetery in Jalan Pandaruan.[3] Dignitaries in attendance included members of each of Sarawak's major ethnic groups, including the Chinese, the Kedayan, Brunei Malays, Bisaya, Iban and the Tabun.[3]
Sarawak's government announced that it will put together an exhibit of Wong's documents at the state museum.[4]
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