Hou Kok Chung

Yang Berbahagia Dato' Sri Dr.
Hou Kok Chung
SSAP DIMP
Yang Berbahagia Dato' Sri Dr. Hou Kok Chung SSAP DIMP
何国忠
Deputy Minister of Higher Education I
	In office; 19 March 2008 – 15 May 2013 Serving with Idris Haron (2008–2009); Saifuddin Abdullah (2009–2013)
Monarchs	Mizan Zainal Abidin; Abdul Halim
Prime Minister	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi; Najib Razak
Minister	Mohamed Khaled Nordin
Preceded by	Ong Tee Keat
Succeeded by	P. Kamalanathan
Constituency	Kluang
Vice-President of Malaysian Chinese Association
	In office; 21 December 2013 – 5 November 2018 Serving with Lee Chee Leong ; Chua Tee Yong ; Chew Mei Fun
President	Liow Tiong Lai
Deputy	Wee Ka Siong
Preceded by	Donald Lim Siang Chai
Succeeded by	Tan Teik Cheng
Constituency	Kluang
Member of the Malaysian Parliament; for Kluang
	In office; 8 March 2008 – 5 May 2013
Preceded by	Hoo Seong Chang (MCA–BN)
Succeeded by	Liew Chin Tong (DAP)
Majority	3,781 (2008)
Personal details
Born	Hou Kok Chung; 22 February 1963 (age 61); Kluang, Johor, Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia)
Citizenship	Malaysian
Nationality	Malaysia
Political party	Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)
Other political; affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN); Perikatan Nasional (PN)
Alma mater	University of Malaya; SOAS University of London
Occupation	Politician
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	何國忠
Simplified Chinese	何国忠
Hanyu Pinyin	Hé Guózhōng
Hokkien POJ	Hô Kok-tiong

Hou Kok Chung (Chinese: 何国忠; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hô Kok-tiong; born 22 February 1963) is a Malaysian politician from the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) of the opposition Barisan National (BN) coalition.

Personal life and education

Hailing from the state of Johor, his birthplace is Kluang, he received his early education at Kahang Chinese Primary School, Tengku Aris Bendahara Kluang National Secondary School, Sultan Abdul Jalil Kluang National Secondary School, Chong Hwa Chinese Secondary School and Kluang High School.^[1]

Kok Chung is married to Lim Mooi Lang, and together has a son and two daughters.^[2]

Kok Chung is an alumnus of University of Malaya (UM), and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the SOAS, University of London. He started as a lecturer in UM, moving up in his academic career as an associate professor, as Head of the East Asia Studies and most recently helm the Institute for China Studies in the same university as its director, when he opted for early retirement to contest in the 12th Malaysian general election.^[1]

He had written, as well as co-authored numerous books, mostly related to the political, economic, education dan cultural endeavours of the Chinese community in Malaysia, and its connections to East Asian countries namely China, Japan dan Taiwan.

Kok Chung’s academic passion saw him appointed into Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Council as the deputy chairman; council member of Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC); Guest Professor to Xiamen University; and an adjunct professor of UTAR.

Political career

Formerly one of the four vice-presidents of MCA (2013-2018),^[3] he secured the second highest number of votes during the party election held on 21 December 2013. Kok Chung is a 2nd term Senator in the Senate of Malaysia appointed in 2014 and ends in 2020.

In the 12th Malaysian general election, Kok Chung contested in the parliamentary constituency of Kluang (P.152) in the state of Johor as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate, which he won. Winning in the 12th GE, Kok Chung’s earned a place as the deputy minister for Higher Education in the then newly-formed Malaysian Cabinet.^[4]

In the 13th Malaysian general election in 2013, Kok Chung re-contested the constituency of Kluang, but was defeated by a Democratic Action Party (DAP) opponent, Liew Chin Tong.^[5] In the 14th Malaysian general election, Kok Chung contested the Tebrau constituency (P.158) in Johor, but ultimately lost to Pakatan Harapan's Choong Shiau Yoon.^[6]^[7]

Election results

**Parliament of Malaysia**^[8]^[9]^[6]^[7]
Year	Constituency		Votes	Pct		Votes	Pct	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
2008	P152 Kluang	Hou Kok Chung (MCA)	27,970	53.62%	Ng Lam Hua (DAP)	24,189	46.38%	52,159	3,781	76.60%
2013	P152 Kluang	Hou Kok Chung (MCA)	33,215	45.01%	Liew Chin Tong (DAP)	40,574	54.99%	75,308	7,359	86.80%
2018	P158 Tebrau	Hou Kok Chung (MCA)	27,310	26.27%	Choong Shiau Yoon (PKR)	64,535	62.09%	105,420	37,225	85.68%
2018	P158 Tebrau	Hou Kok Chung (MCA)	27,310	26.27%	Abdullah Husin (PAS)	12,098	11.64%	105,420	37,225	85.68%