PETALING JAYA: Former Cabinet Minister and deputy MCA president Tan Sri Lee Kim Sai, has passed away at the age of 82.
MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said his passing is a loss to the community and the country.
“Tan Sri Lee was a well-respected figure and contributed much to the community and the nation,“ he said in a Facebook post.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Lee held a number of portfolios, including as Health Minister, Labour Minister, and Housing and Local Government Minister.
He was a two-term MP for Hulu Langat.
A vocal politician well-known for his unwavering views, Lee, together with others like Tan Sri Tan Koon Swan and Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik were expelled from MCA for questioning alleged fictitious members supporting the then acting president Datuk Dr Neo Yee Pan.
They would later on be reinstated as Tan made a comeback to become president, and Lee was made vice-president and party secretary-general in 1984.
Later on, Lee would become deputy MCA president when Tan resigned from MCA following the Pan-El financial scandal.
Lee leaves behind wife Puan Sri Wan Yuet Fong, and four children.
