James Wong Kim Min

Wong was born in Limbang, Kingdom of Sarawak, on 6 August 1922.[2] Sarawak was a British protectorate at the time.[2]

He began his political career in 1951, when he was elected to the Limbang District Council.[2]

In 1956, Wong was elected to Sarawak's legislature, the Council Negri, which is now known as the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly.[2] He continued to hold office in the Legislative Assembly until his retirement in 2001.

Malaysia became an independent country in 1963. Wong had been a member of the Malaysian Solidarity Convention's Sarawak delegation in 1962, which negotiated the formation of the new nation.[2] Stephen Kalong Ningkan, the then president of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP), became the first Chief Minister of Sarawak, while Wong became the state's first deputy Chief Minister.[2]

SNAP pulled out of the national coalition government, led by the Alliance Party, and became an opposition party. Wong, a member of the SNAP, won a seat in the Parliament of Malaysia in the 1969 general election, representing the Miri-Subis constituency.[2] Wong became the leader of the Malaysian Opposition in August 1974.[2] Wong would later be arrested under the Internal Security Act on 30 October 1974 and held at the Kamunting Detention Centre for several years.[4][2] In 1981, Wong became the third president of the Sarawak National Party.[2]

Wong's Sarawak National Party reconciled and rejoined the successor of the Alliance, the Barisan Nasional. Under the new coalition, Wong became a minister in Sarawak's state cabinet, holding several portfolios during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Wong became the Environment and Tourism Minister of Sarawak from 1987 to 1994.[2] He then became the state Minister of Environment and Housing from 1995 to 1997 and finally the state Minister of Environment and Public Health from 1998 until his retirement in 2001.[2] In 2001, Wong, who was still serving as Environment Minister, was awarded the Langkawi Award for to work in launching a sea turtle satellite tracking program and spearheading a new reefball project for coral reefs.[2]

Wong retired from politics in 2001. He continued to author new books and poems during his retirement. Wong authored The Price of Loyalty, a book about his imprisonment at the Kamunting detention center under the Internal Security Act.[2] By 2003, Wong had published the third addition of The Birth of Malaysia, a history of the country.[2] He also released a third book, Memories of Speeches at the Council Negri.[2] In addition to his books, Wong also wrote poetry during his later life. His poetry collections included A Special Breed in 1981, Shimmering Moonbeams in 1983, Buy a Little Time in 1989 and Beautiful Butterfly in 2009.[2]

Wong also spearheaded the push to have Malaysia Day declared a national holiday.[2] In 2010, Malaysia Day was finally declared an official holiday, to be celebrated nationwide on 16 September of every year.[2] Wong spoke of Malaysia Day in 2010 saying, "It is my hope that Malaysia Day will be celebrated every 16 September. People should remember it because it's a historic occasion."[2]

James Wong suffered a heart attack on 18 July 2011. He died shortly after 10 a.m. at the Normah Medical Specialist Centre in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, at the age of 90.[3] Wong was survived by his wife, Datin Amar Valerie Bong; five daughters; three sons; thirteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.[2]

He was buried in Limbang at the family cemetery in Jalan Pandaruan.[5] Dignitaries in attendance included members of each of Sarawak's major ethnic groups, including the Chinese, the Kedayan, Brunei Malays, Bisaya, Tabun, Lun Bawang and Iban.[5]

Sarawak's government announced that it will put together an exhibit of Wong's documents at the state museum.[6]