Tan Siew Sin

Early life

Tan was born in Malacca on 21 May 1916 as the only son of Malaysian statesman and Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) founder Tan Cheng Lock. Of Peranakan heritage, he did not speak Mandarin.

In 1935, he felt ill and was diagnosed as having tuberculosis. He fully recovered after an operation in Switzerland for treatment. Three years later, he moved on to his higher education in the field of law in England. He never completed his legal studies. Fearing an outbreak of war in Europe, in July 1939, his father ordered him and his two sisters to leave London and return to Malacca. On 1 September 1939, Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, an event that marked the start of World War II. For this reason, He studied only one year of law. He returned from London to take over the family's plantation business that year.

Political career

Tan Siew Sin was elected a Member of Parliament for Malacca in 1955. He joined the Malaysian cabinet first as minister of trade and industry, and later became the finance minister in 1959. He then took over as president of the MCA in November 1961, and held on to both positions until 1974. Tan was appointed the Deputy Chairman of the Alliance in 1964. He led his party to victory in the 1964 General Election, winning 27 of the 33 parliamentary seats contested.

Tan however came under criticism for not pushing for the recognition of Mandarin as an official language and the establishment of a Mandarin language university.

In the 1969 general election, MCA lost more than half its seats to the new, mainly Chinese Malaysian, opposition parties Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan). Tan considered taking the party out of the Alliance but decided against it. In order to regain Chinese support, Tan attempted to broaden the appeal of the party previously seen as a party of the taukeh (tou jia, rich men), and invited professionals to join the party. Other initiatives included the Chinese Unity Movement and the Perak Task Force to help built support in New Villages in Perak. In 1973, Tan Siew Sin requested a position as Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet reshuffle following the death of Tun Dr. Ismail, but this was refused by Tun Abdul Razak, which angered Tan. Tan retired from politics on 8 April 1974 after undergoing lung surgery. After his resignation he became a financial advisor to the government on economic issues.

Business career

After his retirement from politics, Tan was nominated chairman of Sime Darby. He was also the chairman of United Malacca Rubber Estates, and sat on the boards of a number of companies, including Unitac, Siemens, Pacific Bank, Highlands & Lowlands, and Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance. Tan was also president of the National Shooting Association of Malaysia.

Death

Tan Siew Sin died on 17 March 1988 in Kuala Lumpur, and was buried in the family burial ground in Malacca.

His widow, Catherine Lim Cheng Neo, whom he married on 8 February 1947 was an active campaigner for family planning. They had three daughters.

In Kuala Lumpur, there is a street, Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin (formerly Jalan Silang) which was renamed after him in 2003. At Tunku Abdul Rahman University College 's Main Campus in Kuala Lumpur there is a new building named after him, known as "Bangunan Tun Tan Siew Sin".

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

• Malaysia
  • [[File:Malaysian Commemorative Medal ribbon.gif|50px]] Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold) (PPM) (1965)
  • [[File:Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia - SSM.svg|50px]] Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (SSM) – Tun (1967)
• Selangor
  • [[File:MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Grand Commander - SPMS.svg|50px]] Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor (SPMS) – Dato' Seri (1985)

Foreign Honours

• Belgium
  • [[File:BEL Order of Leopold II - Grand Cross BAR.png|50px]] Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II (1967)
• Indonesia
  • [[File:Pita (Ribbon) Bintang Mahaputera Adipradana.png|50px]] Star of Mahaputera 2nd Class
• Philippine
  • [[File:PHL Order of Sikatuna - Grand Cross BAR.png|50px]] Grand Cross of the Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Datu (GCrS)

Other

On June 28, 2003, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad posthumously awarded Tan the National Integrity Award and paid tribute to his contributions to the nation.

References

• Pioners FFPAM (Federation of Family Planning Associations, Malaysia) website, accessed 20 August 2005.
• World Book Encyclopedia, Australasian edition, 1966

References

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7. Cheah Boon Kheng. (2002). "Malaysia: The Making of a Nation". Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
8. Philip Mathew. (2014). "Chronicle of Malaysia: Fifty Years of Headline News, 1963-2013". Editions Didier Millet.
9. (19 March 1988). "Siew Sin dies of heart attack". New Straits Times.
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11. "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". [[Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia)]].
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13. "SPMS 1985".
14. (28 April 1967). "Belgium honours Tun and 3 Ministers". The Straits Times.
15. (19 March 1988). "Tun Tan Siew Sin: Tall among greats". [[New Straits Times]].
16. (2003-07-04). "Posthumous awards for three".
17. (2003-06-29). "Emulate the three Tuns, Dr Mahathir tells Malaysians".