Dr Richard Ng: Academecian’s Life-Long Commitment to Community Service For Ipoh
When Dr Richard Ng was appointed Ipoh City Councillor on 1st May 2020 under Mayor YBhg. Dato’ Rumaizi Baharin, little did he realise that he would be giving up all his personal time, busy as he already was as an academician. Ng currently lectures at UTMSPACE and Open University Malaysia on Business Administration subjects such as Strategic Management, Marketing, E-Commerce, Entrepreneurship, Management, etc.
During his 33.5 months tenure as councillor, which was unfortunately during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing movement control order, he and his fellow councillors were required to give assistance to those who were hard hit by the situation, such as providing groceries and other essential items to ease their financial burden. Identifying these victims of circumstances on a monthly basis became easier with the White Flag Movement. Luckily, these duties as a city councillor ran parallel to his community work all the while through Lions Club of Perak Silver State and Ipoh City Watch, where he serves as President for both non-governmental organisations (NGOs). “I was able to work efficiently to bring much-needed aid to those in need with the assistance of my teams from these NGOs. As you know, it wasn’t easy with the Movement Control Order in place,” he shared.
Working as a Councillor in Ipoh City
Ng was assigned to Zone 14 under the Ipoh City Council, covering the areas of Pasir Pinji, Chateau Garden, Mansion Park, Victoria Park, Kampar Garden, Housing Trust and Boon Bak Garden. Among his significant contributions during his tenure as an Ipoh City Councillor included helping the City Council to enact a by-law on Community Garden and Urban Farming, obtaining consent from the Mayor to develop a Cantonese Garden under Private Funding Initiatives managed by the Perak Nam Hoi Association, promoting Ipoh Car-Free Day by urging the Ipoh City Council to provide sufficient funding and improving on its programme, also highlighting the plight of Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) traders who often faced problems with water supply, toilet breakdowns, stolen cables, and other issues.
One would think that Ng has enough on his plate but no, shortly after his term as Ipoh City Councillor ended on 15th Feb, 2023, he launched the book PALOH: Founded by Hakka, Made Vibrant by the Cantonese, co-authored with Mr Wong Kian Hing, coincidentally his MBA student. The book is the result of two years of painstaking research through ground assessment, numerous face-to-face interviews, multiple meetings with Chinese Associations, the Perak Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCCI) as well as the Perak Chinese Assembly Hall (PCAH), plus reading through voluminous texts in the form of literature and newspaper articles. All of these were done while he was serving as Ipoh City Councillor.
The PALOH book project was actually to answer the call by the Mayor to look into the plight of Ipohites, who were faced with economic hardship when businesses were impacted. It was then decided that despite tourism being the hardest hit during the lockdown, tourism was still an industry that could be the best bet to revive the economy, once borders reopen, hence the plan to draw up four heritage trails. PALOH: Founded by Hakka, Made Vibrant by the Cantonese is an extension of the research for the Ipoh Cantonese Heritage Trail (ICHT).
Following the successful launch of the book on 28th Feb 2023, Ng isn’t resting on his laurels. Well, at least, not yet. “There’s still much to be done,” he said, adding, “We are in the midst of translating the book into Mandarin. I also am organising a series of talks to introduce the contents of the book to specific groups. Then, let’s not forget the launching of the trail, but this can only happen with the consent of the Ipoh City Council. Once it’s launched, in the pipeline is a Treasure Hunt based on the trail, aimed at promoting awareness of the trail itself alongside tourism, in line with Visit Ipoh Year 2023 and Visit Perak Year 2024.”
Involvement in Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
Besides Lions Club of Perak Silver State and Ipoh City Watch, Ng is also President of the Coalition of Caring NGOs from Kinta with 20 NGOs under its umbrella. “Our focus is to help make Ipoh one of the most livable cities in Malaysia by focusing on five core areas: safety, wellness, infrastructure especially public transportation, employment and cleanliness.
“Together with my NGOs, as part of our cleanliness campaign, we educate the public about recycling so that they do not throw rubbish indiscriminately which can cause drains to clog resulting in flash floods. We also plant trees to keep Mother Earth green for future generations, as well as hoist Malaysia flags during Merdeka to instil the spirit of patriotism among the community,” Ng explained.
As a creative and well-travelled person who always thinks out of the box, Ng still has many ideas to improve Ipoh and her residents. “During my parting speech as councillor, I pleaded with the Mayor to champion the expansion of our airport runway. This is a golden opportunity that our Mayor should seize to make Ipoh great again. If the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport is unable to support larger aircraft, it is difficult to attract investors, especially those from China. Although we currently have three daily flights from Singapore to Ipoh, we need direct flights from Guangzhou, Bangkok, New Delhi and Hanoi into Ipoh,” he divulged.
Untiringly working towards a better Ipoh, Ng acknowledges that his dedication to community service is only possible because of the strong support system that he enjoys in the form of his loving wife, Tina Leong Yeun Siew and their three children, Sheena, Sharon and Jansen. The couple is blessed with two grandchildren from their eldest, Sheena. Celebrating their fortieth ruby wedding anniversary this year, Ng still remembers the serendipitous moment of renting a house opposite Tina’s family in Ampang Bahru New Village. “I was pursuing Upper 6 then. As I needed extra pocket money, I decided to offer tuition classes, thus becoming Tina’s SPM Mathematics tuition teacher,” he recollected with a laugh.
Being a tutor unsuspectingly carved a long path in academics for Ng. He conveyed, “Over the years, I realised that I was actually born with a talent to teach. It gives me satisfaction to impart knowledge. Teaching also forces me to acquire new knowledge and skills. Teaching in the 21st century requires a new method and advanced technology in teaching. When I teach, I am inspired by my former Additional Mathematics teacher at SMK Raja Chulan, Mr Hin Tian Chin. I loved the way he taught; short, simple and easy to understand, which was why I aced the subject.”
Life’s hardest lesson
At 65, Ng who dabbled in politics and stood as a candidate for N29 Kepayang in the most recent General Elections (GE15), considers himself semi-retired, even though his time is occupied with numerous community projects that he is involved in, if not busy with lectures. The little free time that he has is spent updating his social platforms like Facebook and TikTok, apart from his Ipoh City Watch blog at https://ipoh-city-watch.blogspot.com/.
Asked if he could share the hardest lesson that he had learnt thus far, he gave this question a long thought, and finally said, “Trust your own instincts, not even your closest friends. People are around us only when they need us. I learnt this truth during GE15. Many friends offered various help but later disappeared for fear of losing their benefits associated with a new party. I have moved on from that episode. I now know who my true friends are. No more politics for me. Through my involvement in NGOs, I can stay apolitical and still play an important role in society in a different capacity.”
Such a purposeful life Ng leads, even though he may not have achieved his childhood ambition of being a medical doctor, he is still able to serve the community, just through some other means.
