SEREMBAN: The two-lane Jalan Temiang, which among others leads to the famous Then Sze Koon Temple near here, will be renamed Jalan Dr Chen Man Hin, says Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.
The Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar said Jalan Sikamat, another stretch in the city, will also be renamed Jalan Datuk Sheikh Mohd Murtadza in honour of the former state mufti.
He said the state administration decided to rename the roads as the duo had contributed immensely to the state.
"The state exco had discussed and approved these changes and the proposal has been submitted to the Seremban City Council.
"These roads are being renamed in honour of the two individuals who were held in high esteem by many," he said.
Dr Chen, who was the co-founder and lifetime advisor of DAP, passed away in August last year at age 97 while Datuk Sheikh Mohd Murtadza Sheikh Ahmad, who was state mufti from 1987 to 2008, passed away in 2017 at age 80.
Dr Chen obtained his medical degree from Singapore's King Edward VII Medical College in 1952 and spent a few years in Singapore.
He returned to Seremban where he worked at the general hospital before opening his own clinic.
Dr Chen made his electoral debut in 1965 when he contested and won the Rahang state seat in a by-election.
He contested as an independent as DAP had yet to be registered then.
In the 1969 general election, he won both the Seremban parliamentary and Rahang state seats and retained both constituencies in the 1974 and 1978 polls.
In the 1982 general election, he only defended Seremban but lost narrowly to former MCA president Datuk Lee San Choon.
However, when Lee quit MCA the following year, Dr Chen managed to wrest the seat in the subsequent by-election and won it again in 1986.
In the 1990 general election, Dr Chen again lost the seat to MCA by 77 votes.
He tried to make a comeback by contesting the Rasah parliamentary seats in 1995 and 1999 but was unsuccessful on both occasions.
Islamic scholar Sheikh Mohd Murtadza, a graduate of the world-famous Al Azhar University was named Tokoh Maal Hijrah Negri Sembilan in 2000 and 11 years later, was given the Tokoh Ulama award in conjunction with the centenary celebration of Madrasah Al-Attas Al-Arabiah in Johor Baru.
On a separate matter, Aminuddin welcomed a decision by the national unity government that its partners would not contest against one another in polls to be held in six states this year.
"I will get more information on this from DAP secretary-general (Anthony Loke Siew Fook) who is in the top leadership when we meet at the state DAP convention this Sunday.
"To me, this is a very good decision," he said, adding that talks on seat distributions would be held later.
