C Y Choy - The People's Choice

C Y Choy - The People's Choice

Chooi Yew Choy, a.k.a C Y Choy was part of the Socialist Front & had the distinction of being the 3rd and last mayor of George Town, Penang. It became a city by a royal charter granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. He won a city election in 1964 as a candidate of the then Socialist Front but ceased as mayor when the Federal Government suspended local elections two years later as a result of the Indonesian Confrontation.Today, a road has been named after him but ironically by the Barisan Nasional state government under Dr Lim, who had faced Choy in many political battles.

According to a newspaper report, Choy, who worked as an office assistant, was such a populist figure that when he walked into the streets, the people came out to shake his hand.The Socialist Front later disbanded after its partners, the Labour Party and Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaya, went separate ways due to the political upheavals of that time.

Refusing to join any other party but still wanting to serve the city folk, he took part in the 1969 general election as a candidate contesting the Pengkalan Kota state seat and won easily. He remained an assemblyman until his death in 1980 at the age of 73 and Bridge Street, the main thoroughfare of the constituency, was re-named Jalan C.Y. Choy.

Choy’s symbol during his campaign was a set of keys. It was symbolic with independence as he won the seats under that banner.His humble and down-to-earth approach reportedly endeared him to the voters.

Local historian and publisher historian Khoo Salma Nasution described Jalan C.Y. Choy as a former working-class quarter of the Hokkien community which once supported a triad society.

“The shophouses along the whole length of Bridge Street are strikingly regular – most were rebuilt in the late 19th century, replacing houses of wood and attap which had been repeatedly set on fire by the rival society.”

Despite having no official position after the Socialist Front deregistered, he still commanded the support of his constituents.He often went around the constituency, stopping at five-foot-ways with a typewriter to write petitions and letters to the authorities.

His mostly-illiterate voters called him ‘the father of hawkers’ and by 1974, Choy retained his seat with a 5,000 vote majority. By then, he was nearly 70 years old.

Jalan C.Y. Choy still remains very much a working class area, with its hawkers, traders and blue-collar community. Every state assemblymen for Pengkalan Kota; from Teoh Teik Huat (DAP), Lim Kean Siew (MCA) and Lee Hack Teik (MCA) has all tried to emulate Choy’s populist image.

They have all come and gone but none will be able to match Choy’s legendary ways and legacy as the fighter of the downtrodden.