Tan Siew Sin

Tan Siew Sin (; 21 May 1916 – 17 March 1988) was a Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Finance, and 3rd President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA, formerly Malayan Chinese Association) – a major component party of Alliance and later Barisan Nasional (BN) coalitions. In his term as the Minister of Finance, a new Malaysian currency, the Malaysian Ringgit, was introduced. He is the longest-serving Minister of Finance, having served in the position for 15 years.

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 fell 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.

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.

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

Foreign Honours

50px Grand Cross of the Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Datu (GCrS) and paid tribute to his contributions to the nation.