Tribute to an icon of public service

Enduring legacy: Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah (left) launching Lam Thye’s (right) biography, ‘Call Lee Lam Thye: Recalling a Lifetime of Service’. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Star

AS Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye celebrated his 79th birthday on Dec 30, 2025, Malaysia did not just mark a milestone for an individual, it also celebrated the enduring legacy of a man who has become one of the nation’s foremost icons of public service.

For me, this milestone is deeply personal. I first met Lam Thye in the late 1960s. At that time, I was a cadet journalist with The Straits Times and he was a rising trade unionist and budding politician. Since then, I have followed his work, progress and his evolution as a former politician and now as a community/social activist.