Hee Leong: I'm just one of the boys

Chinese wisdom defines that nothing is absolute in this world. This is particularly true in the political arena which is so proned to partisanship and complexities of the human nature.

Not even if one’s father was the party president of the second largest component party in the country can guarantee an endorsement of a top party position or a speedy climb up the political ladder.

Former MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik’s eldest son, Hee Leong, 39, is not a candidate in a hurry who will say anything to become president. Not that he is aspiring to be president but he has been very consistent in projecting himself as a grassroots leader.

Ling Junior is currently the national youth deputy chairperson - a post he won in the party election in 2005.

“I think the one reason - and the biggest issue of my victory (in 2005) is that “I’m one of the boys, I’m one of them. Contrary to popular belief, I go down to the ground, I think, the most among the boys up here.”

I’m one of the guys, I do what they do, eat what they eat, we go out, stay where they stay. And it’s only natural, I guess, to support your own kind, like it or not (to follow) that kind of lifestyle and have a sense of belonging.”

“Grassroots work - to me, nothing can substitute that,” Hee Leong narrated in an interview with The Edge magazine in 2005 after his victory in the MCA youth election.

While he attributed his party victory to his “bonding with the grassroots” - a characteristic of Hee Leong others liken to that of a “chip from the old block.”

Party colleagues had remarked approvingly of Ling Junior’s continuous quest to blend with the grassroots despite having lost the Gopeng parliamentary seat in the March 8 election..

Expressing his views on the Barisan Nasional’s poor electoral performance, Hee Leong remarked that there were two schools of thoughts.

“One believed the voting message was too strong for the people’s liking while the other delivered a message in support of an evolution towards a two-party system. Both arguments have their own merits.”

“But we will never know the (real) answer until the next general election. Obviously there were disappointments and feelings of sadness but at the end of the day, the people have chosen. In a democratic system, whatever the people have chosen is correct. It has to be correct. It’s the people’s power and the people choose what they want. This is our system,” he declared.

“Even before and after the recent elections, the general comment was that they don’t see me much because I’m not the type to seek publicity in the press. I’m more on the ground with the people which I enjoy doing very much,” Hee Leong told Malaysiakini in an interview recently.

“I get the feeling that the grassroots enjoy my personal time (as a leader) discussing issues and also matters on the ground (concerning them),” he stressed, reaffirming his personal philosophy that nothing can substitute personal contact as a leader.

'Eat, drink and be merry' tag

“As MCA leaders, we need to modify and evolve. We need to understand the people’s problems and be one with the people. We’ve been chosen to lead but that does not mean we are better than the grassroots,” Hee Leong emphasised the role of a grassroots leader.

Unfortunately that “easy going” image of a grassroots leader has instead backfired. Hee Leong has earned the unwanted tag with negative connotation of a “Eat, drink and be merry” politician, But he had graciously dismissed it as part of a political pundit’s rhetoric.

A veteran MCA analyst and former editor once described Hee Leong’s resume as a “negligible political resume” and articulated his concern that Hee Leong’s generation would introduce an “Eat, drink, play and be merry” culture that would permeate the MCA.

But Hee Leong argued that his approach can be compared to as a “flavour.” He explained that “different approaches come with different leaders and that they should be judged on their ability to deliver.”

On the grooming of younger leaders, Hee leong believed that the younger generation of Malaysians must be groomed to be “rounded” leaders, not just academically brilliant or politically shrewd.

He likened the grooming process to moulding a rough stone, carefully cutting off the edges to make it shine like a diamond - in the same way that Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman students are being trained with brain games, mental training schemes, sporting events and nurtured to be “global citizens”.

Beneath the veneer of the economics-trained graduate (University of London), Hee Leong believed that the formula forwarded by the founding fathers of the nation must be protected and nurtured by future generations of Malaysians.

“What is most important here is to always bear in mind that all of us, whether Malay, Chinese or Indian, are first and foremost Malaysians. Happily, racial harmony is deep rooted in our country and we have a lot to be thankful for in that aspect.”

Low profile

Hee Leong’s approach may, to some critics, overtly simplistic or even naïve. Being not publicity driven, despite having gathered working experiences in a bank, an advertising agency and consulting firm, Hee Leong preferred adopting a low political profile even when he was a youth adviser to four MCA states before he was elected to the national level as youth deputy chairman.

Critics said that Hee Leong’s previous controversial background in dabbling in business dealings worth some RM1.2 billion had caused him to be publicity shy.

He is, however, aware that some people chose not to look at the “quiet achievements.” These people (critics) want to see you (leaders) in the press. They want to see publicity.”

“To me, my priority is to deliver (even without the publicity),” he said.

Asked whether he would be contesting for a top post in the party, Hee Leong said he has to gauge the support of the grassroots first on whether he should contest or not.

The similarities between Hee Leong and his father are indeed compelling, particularly in their political outlook and approaches. In an interview with The Edge, Hee Leong conceded that “my lifestyle and that of my father are similar - in fact, most of the time, we are together”.

Well, not many leaders have a father, a former minister and a former party president as a political mentor.

Watch 10-min interview with Hee Leong