Neo Yee Pan

Neo Yee Pan (1938 – 5 March 2020) was a Malaysian politician, former Member of Parliament representing Muar (1974–1983) former Secretary General (1975–1979) and acting President of the MCA in Malaysia (1983–1984).[2] He served as Housing and Local Government Minister, as well as a number of other Deputy roles in government. During his brief tenure as Acting MCA President, Pan and his associates used their power to expel several leading party members who had questioned the official party membership numbers, resulting in a leadership crises that ended when one of the expelled leaders, Tan Koon Swan, was formally elected as the new president of the party.[3][2]

Yang Berhormat[note 1] Dato' Dr.
Neo Yee Pan
SPMJ DPMJ
梁维泮
Ministerial roles
1974–1976Parliamentary Secretary of Energy, Technology and Research
1976–1977Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports
1977–1979Deputy Minister of Finance
1979–1985Minister of Housing and Local Government
Personal details
Born1938
Muar, Johor, Unfederated Malay States
Died5 March 2020(2020-03-05) (aged 81–82)

Political career

Neo was elected as a member of the MCA Central Working Committee and appointed Deputy Secretary-General on 11 August 1973. Next year, in 1974, he successfully elected for parliament in Muar, and was immediately appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary of Energy, Technology and Research.

Acting Presidency and Membership Crisis

On 25 March 1983, MCA President Lee San Choon announced his resignation and on May 1 formally left the office and Malay politics. Pan became the acting president. A crisis in the leadership stemmed from allegations of membership inflation within the party. Several party leaders moved for an investigation into the matter. On March 19, 1983, Pan and his deputy Mak Hon Kam dismissed several committee chairman and members, as well as party leaders at varying levels, including Vice President Tan Koon Swan.[4] The expelled members were reinstated at an extraordinary general party meeting in May 1983. The following year, May 1984, Tan Koon Swan was elected to the MCA presidency, ending Pan's tenure.[5]

Election results
Parliament of Malaysia
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
1974 P106 Muar, Johor Neo Yee Pan (MCA) 23,039 80.52% Khoo Sim Geok (DAP) 5,573 19.48% 17,466
1978 Neo Yee Pan (MCA) 23,538 63.40% Ho Chan Mee (DAP) 11,183 30.12% 12,355
Ahmad Abdul Rahman (PAS) 2,405 6.48%
1982 Neo Yee Pan (MCA) 27,572 66.58% Tan Yang Ngai (DAP) 11,991 28.95% 43,902 15,581 75.70%
Mohamad Anang (PAS) 1,851 4.47%

Honours

Notes
  1. The prefix "Yang Berhormat" is used for recipients of the First and Second Classes of the Johor's Orders of Chivalry.[1]

References
  1. Abdul Rahim Ramli (19 June 2010). "Syarat Ketat Anugerah Datuk Johor". mStar Online (in Malay). Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  2. "Datuk Dr. Neo Yee Pan (Acting President March 1983 – November 1985)" (PDF). MCA.org.my. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  3. "MCA pays tribute to the late Dr Neo Yee Pan". The Star. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  4. "The Malaysian Chinese Association has expelled 14 leading members including vice president, Tan Koon Swan". The Wall Street Journal Asia. 29 March 1984. pp. 1, 3.
  5. "Mr Tan Koon Swan was yesterday elected president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) by a landslide". The Wall Street Journal Asia. 25 November 1985. p. 16.
  6. "柔佛州苏丹殿下 昨庆八三岁华诞" [Johor Sultan Yesterday celebrate his 83th birthday]. 星洲日报. 29 October 1977. p. 7.
  7. "柔州苏丹庆八五华诞一二七一名臣民受封" [Johor Sultan celebrates 85th birthday, 1271 subject received title]. 南洋商报. 31 October 1979. p. 5.
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