Veteran politician Datuk Hiew King Cheu passed away

15 October 2024

KOTA KINABALU: Veteran Sabah politician Datuk Hiew King Cheu passed away at Queen Elizabeth Hospital II early Tuesday morning (Oct 15) at the age of 72.

Family members reported that Hiew had been receiving treatment for lung cancer in the hospital's palliative care unit.

He is survived by his wife, Datuk Julia Thien, and their two daughters and son.

Funeral arrangements are being made, and the family will keep the public informed about the details.

Hiew served as the DAP Member of Parliament for Kota Kinabalu from 2008 to 2013 and was the Luyang assemblyman from 2013 to 2018.

He left DAP in 2014 to become an independent assemblyman following an internal dispute within the party in Sabah.

Later, he joined Sabah MCA, where he completed his term as Luyang assemblyman in the Barisan Nasional-led state government.

In 2018, Hiew became the deputy president of the newly formed Parti Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (PGRS), but he was unsuccessful in his bid for the Luyang seat in the 2020 state election under the PGRS banner.

After leaving the party, he remained politically active.

An engineer by training, Hiew began his political career with the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) in the mid-1990s, marking the start of a long and impactful journey in Sabah politics