KOTA KINABALU: Sabah first Chinese chief minister Tan Sri Peter Lo passed away on New Year’s Day at 96.

According to friends, Lo died of age-related illnesses at a private hospital here on Wednesday night in the presence of family members.

The public can pay their last respects to Lo at the Fook Lu Siew funeral parlour on Mile 2, Jalan Tuaran here.

Further details relating to his burial will be disclosed later.

Known as a gentleman politician, Lo became Sabah’s second chief minister in 1965 following the resignation of Tun Fuad Stephens who had a political fall-out with then Yang DiPertua Negeri Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun.

Lo held the position as a “caretaker” until the first state elections were held in 1967.

He was succeeded by Tun Mustapha, whose Usno party along with the Sabah Chinese Association under the Sabah Alliance, won the elections.

A Sandakan lawyer, Lo lost his state seat in Sandakan and had kept a low profile, only occasionally coming out to give talks on issues relating to Malaysia’s formation and the state-federal relationship.

In 1961 when the Federation of Malaysia was proposed by Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1961, Lo was among the Sabah leaders instrumental in drafting the 20-points safeguards under the Malaysia Agreement in 1963.

The safeguards were incorporated into the Malaysia Agreement and the Federal Constitution.

During his tenure as chief minister, Lo not only had to balance his task in handling the political fallout between two Sabah’s founding fathers – Tun Fuad and Tun Mustapha – but also the Indonesian Confrontation and Singapore’s exit from Malaysia in 1965.

In an interview with the Star over a decade ago, he said the challenges he faced as chief minister was tough as there was pressure from all over.

“These days, Sabah leaders only have to deal with Kuala Lumpur. In those days, I had to handle not only KL’s interest but also demands from London and other groups in the region, ” he said in one of his interviews.

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