Magdalene Teo Explained

Honorific Prefix:Datin Paduka
Magdalene Teo
Honorific-Suffix:DPMB
Office:Ambassador of Brunei to China
Term Start:3 April 2008
Term End:2018
Predecessor:Abdul Hamid Jalil
Successor:Abdu'r Rahmani
Office1:High Commissioner of Brunei to Canada
Term Start1:15 March 2005
Term End1:2007
Predecessor1:Jocklin Kongpaw
Successor1:Rakiah Abdul Lamit
Birth Name:Teo Chee Siong
Birth Date:1958–1959
Birth Place:Jinjiang, Fujian, China
Death Date:31 July 2021 (aged 63)
Death Place:Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Resting Place:Berakas Catholic Cemetery
Parents:Zhang Guilin (father)
Zhuang Jinzhu (mother)
Occupation:Diplomat
Module:
Child:yes
T:張慈祥
S:张慈祥
Order:st
P:Zhāng Cíxiáng
Poj:Tioⁿ Chîr-siông

Magdalene Teo Chee Siong (; died 31 July 2021)[1] is a Brunei diplomat of Chinese descent who became the ambassador to China from 2008 to 2018, and high commissioner to Canada from 2005 to 2007. She was also one of the players in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)'s probe into the Senate controversy.[2] [3]

Education

Magdalene went to a Chinese secondary school before switching to a government institution. After receiving a government grant to study law in the United Kingdom and graduating in 1983, she made the decision to work for the Bruneian government in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs upon her return.[4]

Diplomatic career

Canada

On 15 March 2005, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah agreed to grant audiences and deliver credentials to Magdalene Teo, the newly appointed Brunei high commissioner to Canada, at the Istana Nurul Iman.[5]

In records sworn in an Ottawa Courthouse related with the police investigation of former Senator Mac Harb, one of four senators facing corruption and breach of trust accusations, the RCMP references Magdalene Teo multiple times. None of the affidavit-based concerns raised by the police have been addressed, let alone substantiated, in court. She came in the nation's capital in 1995 and left in 1998, according to a report in Ottawa's Embassy Magazine. In 2005, she returned to Canada as Brunei's high commissioner.

Investigators claim that Harb transferred 99.99 percent of the title to Magdalene Teo just hours after taking out a $177,000 mortgage on his Cobden house in October 2007.[6] [7] By November, she had left the position as ambassador and, according to the court filing, was designated as an absentee homeowner on the home's insurance policy.[8] Magdalene Teo has been unable to be reached by the RCMP since her initial harsh email reply to their inquiry. The government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was urged to help find her. Despite her unwillingness to engage alongside Canadian authorities, she took on the role of a Chinese ambassador.

China

In 2008, President Hu Jintao acknowledged her credentials. She was selected the "player with the most potential" in a tai chi competition for officials in 2008, according to the China Daily. In another interview, she extolled the virtues of traditional Chinese medicine for her lower back and leg problems. She is in charge of formal visits by Brunei's dignitaries and was one of 52 people awarded honorific title by the Sultan of Brunei in 2012.[9]

On 5 September 2014, Datin Magdalene and senior officials from the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources attended the 21st APEC Small and Medium Enterprise Ministerial Meeting in Nanjing.[10] Her and Yahya Bakar visited the CAEXPO Tourism Exhibition on 29 May 2015 in Guilin.[11] After witnessing President Xi Jinping arriving in Brunei on 18 November 2018, Magdalene Teo stated that bilateral relations between the two nations have stood the test of time.[12]

Datin Magdalene stated at a flight launch event in Zhengzhou that the flight launch from the Zhengzhou-Bandar Seri Begawan route by Royal Brunei Airlines was a new sign to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Brunei and China, as well as closing the exchange of the two countries in the trade, investment, tourism, and culture sectors.[13]

Death

After a battle with illness on 31 July 2021, Datin Magdalene passed away at the age of 63.[14] [15] Her funeral was held from 2 to 3 August at the Church of Our Lady of Assumption, and she would be laid to rest at Berakas Catholic Cemetery.[16]

Honours

Throughout her career, she has received the following honours;

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2008-04-04 . 胡锦涛接受9国新任或首任驻华大使国书 . 2023-12-19 . . zh . 2. https://web.archive.org/web/20190313105747/http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2008-04/04/content_48330839.htm . 13 March 2019 .
  2. Web site: Alex Boutilier . Tonda MacCharles . 2014-01-26 . The mystery diplomat at the heart of Mac Harb's case . 2023-12-21 . www.thestar.com . en.
  3. News: 2018-07-11 . Ex-senator Mac Harb cleared of mortgage fraud, blames Tory senators for his legal troubles . 2023-12-21 . www.cbc.ca.
  4. Web site: 2021-08-04 . 汶莱驻中国前任大使拿汀张慈祥昨日(8月3日)举殡。近200名包括社团领导、亲友、信众参加殡葬弥撒。 . 2024-04-21 . www.facebook.com . zh.
  5. Web site: CT Hj Mahmod . 2006-03-16 . Sultan presents credentials to envoys . 2023-12-21 . sultanate.com.
  6. Web site: The RCMP has unveiled more details about its allegations of mortgage fraud against former Liberal senator Mac Harb. . 2023-12-21 . www.ctvnews.ca.
  7. News: 2013-07-25 . RCMP probe Harb's expense claims on 'uninhabitable' home . 2023-12-21 . www.theglobeandmail.com . en-CA.
  8. Web site: 2013-07-26 . Top Liberal had no idea embattled senator was claiming living expenses for 'uninhabitable' house . 2023-12-21 . nationalpost.com.
  9. Web site: 52 distinguished persons honoured . 2023-08-27 . btarchive.org.
  10. Web site: 2014-09-05 . THE 39TH APEC SME WORKING GROUP MEETING AND THE 21ST APEC SME MINISTERIAL MEETING . 2023-12-21 . mprt.gov.bn.
  11. Web site: 2015 . MINISTER ATTENDED THE 2015 CHINA-ASEAN EXPO TOURISM EXHIBITION IN GUILIN, CHINA . 2023-12-21 . agriculture.gov.bn.
  12. Web site: 于小明 . Arrival eagerly awaited by local residents . 2023-12-21 . www.chinadaily.com.cn.
  13. Web site: Penerbangan Hangzhou-Suratthani, Zhengzhou-Seri Begawan Beroperasi . 2023-12-21 . malay.cri.cn.
  14. Web site: Han Yin Kong . 2021-08-02 . 華大使吊唁拿汀張慈祥 . 2024-04-21 . weareunited.com.my . zh.
  15. Web site: Han Yin Kong . 2021-08-03 . 中國東盟協會 電唁已故張慈祥家屬 . 2024-04-21 . weareunited.com.my . zh.
  16. Web site: 2021-08-01 . 张健康律师令胞妹 . 2024-04-21 . SinChewBrunei . zh.