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KOTA KINABALU: The late Datuk Liew Vui Keong, or “VK” to his friends, has been described as a dedicated lawyer and politician who strove to do his best in whatever position he was in.
Friends remembered the Batu Sapi MP as an “excellent” lawyer who used his legal training well to focus on implementing various reforms during his two years as de facto law minister under the Pakatan Harapan government.
The permanent chairman of the Parti Warisan Sabah was pushing for laws on the abolition of the death penalty, among other reform bills that included seeking amendments to the Constitution to put Sabah and Sarawak back as equal partners under the Accord. from Malaysia 63.
However, he was unable to achieve many of the goals after Pakatan’s loss of power.
Some laws were passed, some were not, but he never gave up, as he continued to be an effective opposition deputy after the Perikatan Nasional coalition took over the federal government earlier this year.
Warisan General Secretary Datuk Loretto Padua said he had lost a good friend.
“VK was like a brother to me; he was my mentor when I joined his student law firm and then he led me into politics, ”Padua said.
VK’s death, he said, came as a shock for a day or two before the Sept. 12 nomination day for the 16th Sabah election, he had gone to see Liew at Jesselton Medical Center. He was later transferred to Gleneagles Hospital here.
“I was there for about an hour, but I was almost asleep. He was talking to his wife (Datin Dr Lindai Lee) and then he woke up and asked me to stay for coffee.
“He told me he had back pain and difficulty walking. We chatted for a while, mostly politics, before I left, ” Padua said, adding that everyone in the party was later busy with the elections.
“I called VK two days before election day (September 26). He spoke as usual, but sounded a bit tired. He told me I could walk. I didn’t think things would change, ”he said.
Liew, 60, a father of four, died at 11:40 a.m. yesterday from complications from a lung infection. She had initially sought treatment for a herniated disc, but later contracted a lung infection.
Liew was appointed Director of Election Operations for Warisan Plus, but was unable to carry out his duties due to his illness.
Born in the Kota Belud district and able to converse in the Bajau ethnic group, Liew was elected by Warisan President Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal to contest the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat in GE14.
He prevailed with a majority of 4,619 votes against the two-term incumbent Datuk Linda Tsen of Parti Bersatu Sabah, who prevailed under Barisan Nasional.
Before joining Warisan, Liew served as chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2014. He was a deputy for Sandakan from 2008 to 2013 before losing the seat to the DAP in GE13. He served as a federal vice minister.
He was ousted as president of the PLD after an internal power struggle that saw Datuk Teo Chee Kang emerge as the recognized president of the PLD.
The party is now led by Datuk Chin Su Phin.
With Liew’s disappearance, Sabah has another by-election this year.
Earlier this year, Sabah held the Kimanis by-elections following a decision by the Electoral Court to overturn the 2018 result for the seat.
If carried out, this is the second time in a decade that Batu Sapi’s seat has experienced a by-election due to a vacancy caused by death.
On October 9, 2010, the then Batu Sapi MP Datuk Edmund Chong Ket Wah was killed in an accident while riding a motorcycle. Chong’s wife, Tsen, won the by-elections.
Political leaders from both sides of the division conveyed their condolences to Liew’s family.
Writing on his Facebook page, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin praised Liew as a person dedicated to his work and responsibility.
On behalf of the government, Muhyiddin also expressed his greatest appreciation and gratitude to Liew for his contributions during his tenure as a deputy and minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Shafie expressed her sadness at the loss of a “dear comrade”.
“Condolences to his family. We are deeply sorry for the loss, contributions and sacrifices that he had made since the start of Warisan, ”the former Sabah Prime Minister posted through his social media accounts.
Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who led the Pakatan government prior to his overthrow, paid tribute to Liew on Twitter: “He was a member of my cabinet and we established a good working relationship.”
MCA President and Transport Minister Datuk Seri, Dr. Wee Ka Siong, said that while he disagreed with Liew on several issues, including the abolition of the death penalty, their friendship did not end due to their differences.
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