# Liew Chin Tong

Liew Chin Tong (simplified Chinese: 刘镇东; traditional Chinese: 劉鎮東; pinyin: Liú Zhèndōng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lâu Tìn-tong; born 27 November 1977) is a Malaysian politician and author who has served as the deputy minister of investment, trade and industry in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz since April 2023, member of parliament (MP) for Iskandar Puteri since November 2022 and Member of the Johor State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Perling since March 2022. He served as deputy minister of international trade and industry in the PH administration under Prime Minister Anwar and Minister Tengku Zafrul from December 2022 to April 2023, State Leader of the Opposition of Johor from April 2022 to his reappointment as a deputy minister in December 2022, the deputy minister of defence in the PH administration under former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and former minister Mohamad Sabu from July 2018 to the collapse of the PH administration in February 2020, senator from July 2018 to July 2021 and the MP for Kluang from May 2013 to May 2018 and Bukit Bendera from March 2008 to May 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the PH coalition. He has served as deputy secretary-general of DAP since March 2022 and state chairman of DAP of Johor. He was the political education director of DAP.

## Background

Liew was born on 27 November 1977 at Subang Jaya, Selangor. He had his early education at Kwang Hua Private High School up to 1995 before he pursued his tertiary education at Australian National University (ANU) and graduated with Bachelor of Asian Studies (Honours) and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2004. He later obtained International Masters in Regional Integration at Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya (UM) in 2006.
Liew previously was the executive director of Penang Institute (previously Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute, SERI), 2009-2012 and executive director of Research for Social Advancement (REFSA), 2007–2011. He was also former visiting research fellow, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore.
In 1999, Liew joined the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

## Political career

Liew was first elected to the Malaysian Parliament in the 2008 general election winning the constituency of Bukit Bendera, Penang. A political strategist prior to his election, Liew has been credited for masterminding Pakatan Rakyat's takeover of the Penang State Legislative Assembly. In the 2013 general election, Liew wrestled the Kluang parliamentary seat in Johor from the predecessor, Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)'s Hou Kok Chung. In May 2018, he contested for the Ayer Hitam federal seat against the incumbent, Wee Ka Siong, who is also then-Deputy President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Liew was narrowly defeated by 303 votes in the 2018 general election which then-Opposition coalition PH coalition claimed victory and ousted the then-ruling BN coalition from the administration for the first time.
In 2017, Liew pointed out that the overall prices of goods had increased since 2013 general election due to the combined effects of GST implementation, a 30 percent depreciation of the ringgit since October 2014, and successive subsidy cuts. He said Prime Minister Najib Razak and the government should cease blaming the victims of their failed economic policies.

### Deputy defence minister

Liew was appointed deputy defence minister on 17 July 2018 until 24 February 2020, being the first Malaysian not of Malay descent to hold this office. During his tenure, together with then-defence minister Mohamad Sabu, the Ministry of Defence unveiled the inaugural Defence White Paper (DWP), a blueprint on building a national policy on defence and security. The DWP is an open document containing the direction and priorities of defence for a period of 10 years, from 2021 to 2030, spanning the 12th and 13th Malaysia Plans.

### Deputy secretary-general of DAP

On 20 March 2022, on the 17th DAP National Congress, Liew was re-elected into the Central Executive Committee with 1008 votes, the 22nd highest vote. He was then appointed deputy secretary-general in the 17th DAP CEC under current secretary-general, Anthony Loke.