User:Lemongirl942/Maria Chin Abdullah

Maria Chin Abdullah (born Mary Chin Cheen Lian; 1956) is a Malaysian lawyer and activist. She is best known for advocating electoral reform and women's rights. Since 2013, she has served as the chairperson of Bersih, a coalition of NGOs advocating for free and fair elections in Malaysia.

Mary Chin Cheen Lian was born in 1956 to Malaysian Chinese parents in Paddington, London. At the time of her birth, her parents were studying in the UK; her father was studying engineering at the Imperial College and her mother did hairdressing. After completion of their studies, the family came back from UK but had to move to Singapore where Chin's father worked with the government till Singapore's separation from Malaysia in 1965. Chin has said that she mainly grew up around Petaling Jaya. However, as her father worked with the Public Works Department, she has also lived in Seremban, Klang, Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh.

Chin's family was from a tin-mining background. Her father was of Hakka descent while her mother was Cantonese. She can speak both Hakka and Cantonese.