Chua Jui Meng (simplified Chinese: 蔡锐明; traditional Chinese: 蔡銳明; pinyin: Cài Ruìmíng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chhòa Jōe-bêng; 22 October 1943 – 3 December 2023) was a Malaysian politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Health from May 1995 to March 2004 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bakri from August 1986 to March 2008.
[3] Chua was a lawyer called to the British Bar as a Barrister-at-law at the Inner Temple before entering politics through his participation in the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA).
Chua began his political career in 1976 when he became a member of the MCA, a component of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
In 1990 the NECC formulated the new National Development Policy (NDP) to succeed the NEP and it was adopted for a period of 10 years (1991–2000), which Chua credited as key to liberalising the economy, education and culture and turning Chinese voter in favour of Barisan Nasional from the 1990s to 2004.
Chua aligned himself to the Lim Ah Lek-led Team B during the Nanyang Siang Pau takeover crisis.
[10] In July 2009, Chua quit the MCA to join the opposition People's Justice Party (PKR), citing the need to preserve the two-party system that emerged after the 2008 elections.
[15][16] In February 2013, an open verbal conflict erupted between Johor DAP chairman Boo Cheng Hau and Chua as a result of accusations from either side of splitting Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Johor,[17] prompting mediation by both DAP and PKR party central leadership.