By Balqis Jazimah Zahari
After more than 60 years… renowned Social Activist and former politician, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye made a courtesy call to the mayor of Ipoh, Datuk Rumaizi Baharin @ Md Daud yesterday morning.
It was a homecoming for Lee who was born in Ipoh. The two of them had a brief but fruitful discussion.
It was the first such visit by Lee to the Ipoh City Council after leaving Ipoh and moving to KL in the sixties where he was actively involved in politics upon his election as State Assemblyman and Member of Parliament. He was well known for serving his constituents with a typewriter to help the community with various issues.
During the meeting, Lee shared his 16 years of experience as a member of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall Advisory Board from 1992 to 2008. He was a seasoned politician having served as State Assemblyman for Bukit Nenas from 1969 to 1974, State Assemblyman for Serdang from 1978 to 1982, Member of Parliament for Kuala Lumpur Bandar which was then changed to Bukit Bintang from 1974 to 1990.
Lee is currently the Chairman of the Alliance for a Safe Community (IKATAN), an NGO involved in promoting safety and well-being of the community. He was formerly the Chairman of the National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Vice Chairman of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF).
Rumaizi thanked Lee for his courtesy visit and said he was honoured to meet the recipient of many awards including the Tokoh Maal Hijrah and Tokoh NGO.
He welcomed his suggestion about setting up an Advisory Board to advise the Mayor on all aspects of managing the city.
Before leaving the Mayor’s office, Lee presented his biography in both the Malay and English languages to Rumaizi, sharing his past experience servicing the nation and the community.
