Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew

Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew (simplified Chinese: 陈超耀; traditional Chinese: 陳超耀; pinyin: Chén Chāoyào) is a Malaysian lawyer and politician from the Sarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP), a component party of the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition. He has served as State Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts of Sarawak in charge of Tourism in the GPS administration under Chief Minister Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg and Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah since January 2022 and Member of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Piasau since May 2016. He served as State Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Sarawak from August 2019 to December 2021. He has also served as Secretary-General of SUPP since September 2014.[1]

Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew
陳超耀
State Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts of Sarawak
Assumed office
4 January 2022
Serving with
Snowdan Lawan (Creative Industry and Performing Arts)
MinisterAbdul Karim Rahman Hamzah
GovernorAbdul Taib Mahmud Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar
Chief MinisterAbang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg
State Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Sarawak
In office
22 August 2019 – 18 December 2021
MinisterAbdul Karim Rahman Hamzah
GovernorAbdul Taib Mahmud
Chief MinisterAbang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg
Preceded byLee Kim Shin
ConstituencyPiasau
Member of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
for Piasau
Assumed office
7 May 2016
Preceded byAlan Ling Sie Kiong
(PH-DAP)
Majority2,112 (2016)
4,988 (2021)
Secretary-General of the
Sarawak United Peoples' Party
Assumed office
9 September 2014
PresidentSim Kui Hian
DeputySih Hua Tong
Ting Check Sii
Preceded bySim Kui Hian
Personal details
Born
Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew

Crown Colony of Sarawak (now Sarawak, Malaysia)
CitizenshipMalaysian
Nationality Malaysia
Political partySarawak United Peoples' Party (SUPP)
(since 2004)
Other political
affiliations
Barisan Nasional (BN)
(2004–2018)
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)
(since 2018)
Residence(s)Miri, Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia
Alma materNorth London Polytechnic (LL.B.)
Darwin College, Cambridge (LL.M.)
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer

Early life and education

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Ting attended the North London Polytechnic between 1979 and 1982 before graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) with second class honours, first division. Immediately after, he pursued his postgraduate studies at Darwin College, Cambridge and subsequently graduated with a Master of Laws (LL.M.) with second class honours, second division.[2][3] He returned to Malaysia upon completion of his studies and became a legal assistant at Wan Ullok Jugah Chin & Co Advocates in September 1984. From 1988 to April 2004, he served as the Managing Partner of the same law firm.[3]

Political career

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Ting was political secretary to former Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities of Malaysia, Miri MP and former SUPP president Peter Chin Fah Kui for a period of nine years between May 2004 and April 2009 and later when Chin was reassigned as Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water until May 2013.[2][3] After Chin's retirement from public office in 2014, then-SUPP secretary-general and Ting's direct predecessor, Sim Kui Hian, was elected as Chin's successor and Ting was subsequently made secretary-general.[1] Prior to this, he had already been serving the party in the capacity of Publicity and Information secretary.[4] He first tried his luck in an election for public office when he was nominated by SUPP as its candidate for the Miri parliamentary seat, but failed to win.[5]

In Ting's second election, he managed to win back the Piasau state seat from the Democratic Action Party's (DAP) Sarawak state liaison committee secretary, Alan Ling Sie Kiong, in a battle dubbed the "Battle of secretaries-general".[6][7] In late 2017, Ting retained his post as SUPP secretary-general for a third term between 2018 and 2020 after the party received no nomination forms for the office.[8][9] In the historic 14th Malaysian general election that took place in May 2018, Ting once again contested for the Miri parliamentary seat but yet again failed to wrestle the seat from the incumbent, Michael Teo Yu Keng of PKR.[10] The SUPP's disastrous showing in the election, where it only won one of the seven parliamentary seats it contested, led to some calling for Ting to resign as secretary-general, citing his supposed no-show post-election.[11]

On 22 August 2019, it was announced by the Chief Minister of Sarawak, Abang Abdul Rahman Johari Abang Openg, that in a minor cabinet reshuffle, Ting was appointed as assistant Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture. Ting's predecessor and long-time assistant minister in the Government of Sarawak, Lee Kim Shin, was promoted to full ministership.[12][13]

On 30 December 2021, Chief Minister Abang Johari unveiled his new Cabinet lineup. Ting was then appointed as Assistant Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts in charge of Tourism on 4 January 2022.[citation needed]

Election results

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Parliament of Malaysia
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 P219 Miri Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew (SUPP) 24,917 47.80% Michael Teo Yu Keng (PKR) 26,909 51.62% 52,813 1,992 74.21%
Chong Kon Fatt (STAR) 306 0.59%
2018 Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew (SUPP) 22,076 38.18% Michael Teo Yu Keng (PKR) 35,739 61.82% 58,439 13,663 72.70%
Sarawak State Legislative Assembly
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2016 N73 Piasau Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew (SUPP) 7,799 57.83% Alan Ling Sie Kiong (DAP) 5,687 42.17% 13,634 2,112 64.55%
2021 Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew (SUPP) 6,790 66.61% Peter Hee (DAP) 1,802 17.68% 10.194 4,988 48.59%
Teo Jia Jun (PSB) 816 8.00%
Chung Siew Yen (PBK) 665 6.52%
Hanim Jaraee (ASPIRASI) 121 1.19%

Honours

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Dr Sim Kui Hian to be new SUPP president". Borneo Post. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b "SEBASTIAN TING CHIEW YEW" (in Malay). Sinar Harian. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Sealink International Bhd (SLKI.KL)". Reuters. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  4. ^ "The 'new' SUPP team". 12 December 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. ^ Joseph, Anthony (21 April 2013). "Miri sees three-cornered fight". Borneo Post. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. ^ Lai, Cindy (26 April 2016). "Battle of secretary generals in Piasau". Borneo Post. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. ^ "A sweet victory for humble Sebastian Ting in Piasau". Sarawakvoice.com. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. ^ Lim, How Pim (21 December 2017). "Dr Sim: No contest for SUPP's top five posts tomorrow". Borneo Post. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Central Working Committee". Sarawak United Peoples' Party. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Will SUPP's Sebastian Ting unseat PKR's Michael Teo this time in Miri?". Free Malaysia Today. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  11. ^ "SUPP Dudong leaders call on Ting to step down as secretary-general". Borneo Post. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Full list of new Sarawak Cabinet (Video)". Borneo Post. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Sarawak CM announces cabinet reshuffle". Malaysiakini. Bernama. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  14. ^ a b "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department. Retrieved 22 August 2019.