Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Tan Cheng Lock
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Background== Born on 5 April 1883, Tan was the third son of Tan Keong Ann ({{zh|c=陳恭安|p=Chén Gōngān|s=|t=|poj=Tân Kiong-an}}),<ref>Page 127, ''Who's Who in Malaya 1938''</ref> who had seven sons and daughters, and was a [[immigrant generations|fifth generation]] [[Peranakan]]-[[Hoklo people|Hokkien]] [[Chinese Malaysian]] living at 111, Heeren Street ({{langx|ms|Jalan Heeren}}) in [[Malacca]]. His ancestor, Tan Hay Kwan ({{zh|t=陳夏觀|p=Chén Xiàguān|c=|s=|poj=Tân Hē͘-kuan}}), a junk owner and trader, had migrated to Malacca from [[Zhangzhou]] prefecture in [[Fujian]] Province, China in 1771.<ref>Page 1, "A Son of Malacca" 1985. Private publication authored by Mrs Agnes Scott-Ross a.k.a. Agnes Tan Kim Lwi.</ref> His grandfather, Tan Choon Bok ({{zh|c=陳春木|p=Chén Chūnmù|s=|t=|poj=Tân Chhun-bo̍k}}), was very wealthy but he felt his four sons were unworthy to inherit his business empire and wealth and locked his assets in a family trust which ended 84 years after he died, in 1964. By then Tan Cheng Lock had been dead for four years.<ref>Nutgraph.com interview with Tan Siok Choo, granddaughter of Tan Cheng Lock, 7 January 2010.</ref> Tan Cheng Lock's father, Tan Keong Ann, was so devastated by his 'disinheritance' that he railed at his father's portrait daily and took to drink.<ref>Biodata on Tan Cheng Lock, Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia 2000.</ref> He did not try to earn a living to support his family and instead lived off his annual allowance of $130 (Straits dollars) from the family trust in genteel poverty.<ref>Speech by Tan Siok Choo, granddaughter of Tan Cheng Lock, addressed to the MCA School of Political Studies.</ref> Tan Cheng Lock refused to emulate his father. The young Tan attended [[Malacca High School]] and won the Tan Teck Guan Scholarship awarded to top performers in the school. He later continued his education at the [[Raffles Institution]] in Singapore. He was unable to proceed to England to study law due to his financial situation so he decided to teach instead, and taught at the Raffles Institution from 1902 to 1908.<ref>Biodata on Tan Cheng Lock, Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia 2000.</ref> He was unhappy with his lot and was too impatient to be a teacher,<ref>Speech by Tan Siok Choo, granddaughter of Tan Cheng Lock, addressed to the MCA School of Political Studies.</ref> so his mother, Lee Seck Bin, insisted he return to Malacca to work as an assistant manager of the Bukit Kajang Rubber Estates Ltd.,<ref>Page 1, "A Son of Malacca" 1985. Private publication authored by Mrs Agnes Scott-Ross a.k.a. Agnes Tan Kim Lwi.</ref> a company which belonged to his maternal cousin, Lee Chim Tuan.<ref>Biodata on Tan Cheng Lock, Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia 2000</ref> Being a rubber planter suited him and he was a quick learner. Soon he was appointed visiting agent to Nyalas Rubber Estates in Malacca in 1909. In 1910, Tan was involved in the founding of three rubber companies. He started United Malacca Rubber Estate Ltd. himself, and he obtained the assistance of other businessmen to jointly set up Malacca Pinda Rubber Estates Ltd. and Ayer Molek Rubber Company, Ltd.<ref>Pages 2 and 3, Report on THE MALAYSIAN PLANTATION INDUSTRY, 1880–1921 by Boon Weng Siew, Vice chairman, MPOA & President, MEOA.</ref> Three years later in 1912, he was nominated as Malacca Council Commissioner and a Justice of the Peace for Malacca by the [[British government]]. Months later, he was also nominated as the Commissioner of the Town Council for the towns and Malacca port as well. In 1914, he resuscitated the Chinese Company of the Malacca Volunteer Corps (later also known as B Company, 4th Battalion, Straits Settlement Volunteer Force) and served as a private for five years until 1919.<ref>Page 19, Leaders of Malaya and Who's Who 1956.</ref> In 1915, he revived the Straits Chinese British Association (SCBA), electing him as the President of SCBA soon after. In 1923, at the age of 40, he was appointed as a nominated member of the [[Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements]]. In 1926, Tan made a speech to the legislative council about the ideals of a territorially and politically united Malaya. Like many Straits-born Chinese of his time, Tan was partial towards Britain but was deeply influenced by ideas of independence which were sweeping across many British colonies. He advocated for a "united self-governing British Malaya". From 1933 to 1935, he was an [[unofficial member]] of the Straits Settlements Executive Council. He championed social causes like opposing opium smoking, promoting Chinese vernacular education, legislating against polygamy and pressing for immigration policy reform. During the [[Japanese occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak|Japanese occupation of Malaya]], Tan and his family lived in exile in [[India]]. They witnessed the struggles of [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and [[Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru]] for independence during their stay in India, which inspired them to do the same for [[British Malaya|Malaya]] when they returned.
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)