By Amresh Gunasingham

TO HIS friends, Dr Chee Phui Hung was affectionately known as the 'Agong', or king in Malay, for his larger-than-life personality and his fierce devotion to his principles.

On Sunday, Dr Chee, the former president of the Medical Alumni Association and a one-time politician, died at his Cluny Road home after a six-month battle with pneumonia. He was 87.

Dr Chee is survived by his wife of 59 years, Mrs Diana Chee, who is also a doctor. The couple met in medical school and have three adult children.

Over the past two days, family and friends, including Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, paid tribute to the man who is credited with championing closer ties within Singapore's medical community.

His peers have described him as a driving force behind the establishment of the Medical Alumni Centre's present premises at the Singapore General Hospital.

Speaking to The Straits Times yesterday, Dr Winston Chee, 51, the only son of the 'Agong', said his father was a passionate advocate of citizens being more involved in the political landscape.

Dr Chee, who teaches dentistry at the University of Southern California in the United States, said: 'He had no hidden agenda... He just gave clear and frank opinions.'

Mr Khaw described the late Dr Chee as 'a straight talker, (who) held strong opinions and never held back punches'.

In his blog yesterday, the Health Minister wrote: 'I have lost a friend, a critic and a supporter.'

The late Dr Chee was awarded a Special Agong Gold Medal in 1995 by former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was his contemporary during their student days at the University of Malaya.

Born in Penang, Dr Chee was among the inaugural batch of graduates from the University of Malaya in 1950, and in 2005, he received the National University's Distinguished Alumni Service Award in recognition of his contributions to the Alumni Association.

The association was made up of medical, dental and pharmacy graduates from the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore, which later became the faculties of medicine in Malaysia and Singapore

Dr John Wong, dean of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, who treated the late Dr Chee over the last few months, said his patient was an 'unerring champion of faculty members of the past' and a 'mentor for future generations of students and doctors'.

'He was passionate in his belief that Singapore needed a strong NUS as it was responsible for producing most of Singapore's health-care professionals,' he said.

Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, NUS president, said: 'Dr Chee was... a man who reminded us always of the great honour of carrying on the special heritage we have inherited at NUS.'

Describing Dr Chee as a pioneering force in the setting up of NUS' vast alumni network, which has more than 200,000 members, Dr Teo Choo Soo, director of the NUS Office of Alumni Relations, said: 'He was not afraid to speak out on issues.

'But he will be remembered in history not just as one of the most passionate members, but as among the most distinguished members of our alumni.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.