In the 1999 general election, Fong won the Batu Gajah parliamentary seat in the Dewan Rakyat, and became the youngest female Member of Parliament (MP) in Malaysia.
Her suspension was unique in that the Speaker had waived the seven-day notice period required to raise the issue, and that the matter was never brought to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges.
The Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Mahadzir Mohd Khir, stated wearing the tudung was encouraged but not mandatory.
After DAP leaders asked her to reconsider, she finally agreed to run for re-election, retaining her Batu Gajah parliamentary seat for the third term with a majority of 24,627.
They organised a quiet wedding ceremony solemnised by Ipoh Chin Woo Association's assistant registrar Datuk Ooi Foh Sing.