Lee Kong Chian

Lee Kong Chian (18 October 1893 – 2 June 1967), also known as Li Guangqian or by his alias Lee Geok Kun (Li Yukun), was a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist active in Malaya and Singapore from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was the founder of the Lee Foundation and one of the richest men in Southeast Asia in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also the son-in-law of Tan Kah Kee, another well-known Chinese businessman and philanthropist based in Southeast Asia.

Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato' Dr.

Lee Kong Chian

PMN SPMJ SJMK
Lee Kong Chian
Born(1893-10-18)18 October 1893
Nan'an, Fujian, Qing Empire
Died2 June 1967(1967-06-02) (aged 73)
Singapore
Other namesLee Geok Kun
OccupationBusinessman
Known forPhilanthropic work, founder of Lee Foundation
Spouse(s)Tan Ai Leh
Children6 including Lee Seng Tee and Lee Seng Wee
Parent(s)Lee Kuo Chuan (father)
RelativesTan Kah Kee (father-in-law)
In this Chinese name, the family name is Lee (Li).
Lee Kong Chian
Chinese李光前
Hokkien POJLí Kong-chiân
Lee Geok Kun
Chinese李玉昆
Hokkien POJLí Gio̍k-kun

Early life

Lee was born in Furong Village, Nan'an, Fujian Province towards the end of the Qing dynasty of China. His father was Lee Kuo Chuan (李国专; 李國專; Lǐ Guózhuān). He received his early education in private schools in his hometown. In 1903, at the age of 10, he came to Singapore, then a British colony, to join his father. Lee studied at the now defunct Anglo-Tamil School and Chung Cheng High School.

Lee returned to China in 1909 to complete his education under a scholarship, but it had to end in 1911 as the Xinhai Revolution broke out. In China, Lee studied at Chi Nan College in Nanjing and later the Railway and Mining College in Tangshan, which was then one of the top colleges in China and a forerunner of the present-day Southwest Jiaotong University and North China University of Science and Technology.[1]

Upon returning to Singapore, Lee worked as a teacher at Tao Nan School and as a translator at a Chinese-language newspaper company. He also worked as an assistant field surveyor with the Public Works Department.[2] In 1915, he joined the China Guohua Company owned by Tan Kah Kee, and became Tan's protégé. He was promoted to manager of the Tan Kah Kee Rubber Company in 1917. Three years later, he married Tan's daughter, Tan Ai Leh (陈爱礼; 陳愛禮; Chén Àilǐ).

Career

Seven years later, Lee set up his own rubber smoking house in Muar, Johor, Malaya, which became the Nam Aik Rubber Company in 1928.[3] His enterprises of rubber planting and manufacture, pineapple planting and canning soon expanded to other parts of Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaya, North Borneo, Indonesia and Thailand. He was known as "Southeast Asia's Rubber and Pineapple King". He became one of the richest men in the region, with the Lee Rubber Company becoming a multimillion-dollar business which he started in 1931. His brother George Lee joined him at the company.[4] At the height of their fortune, the company's worth was estimated to be S$600 million.

Lee also went into banking. He became the general manager and vice-chairman of Huayi Bank. In 1933, he was appointed as the vice-chairman of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), a corporation formed from the merger of three Chinese banks.

Supporting education

In 1934, Lee became the chairman of the board of directors of The Chinese High School (now Hwa Chong Institution), a post he held until 1957. In 1939, Lee founded Guozhuan Primary School in his hometown, Furong Village. In 1941, Lee donated his properties in River Valley, Singapore for the establishment of Nan Chiau Teachers' Training College (present Nan Chiau High School). He gave lectures in Columbia University during World War II while he was stranded in the United States. Lee became the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) and donated S$1 million for the development of a medical college on the college's grounds. Other institutions received financial support from the Lee Foundation, including the National University of Singapore, Anglo-Chinese School, St. Margaret's Secondary School, Methodist Girls' School, Singapore Chinese Girls' School, Tao Nan School, Anglican High School and The Chinese High School. The Lee Kong Chian School of Business of the Singapore Management University was named in his honour.

Like Tan Kah Kee, Lee poured his wealth into education and other philanthropic work.[5] He set up the Lee Foundation in Singapore in 1952 and in Malaya in 1960. In 1965, the Lee Foundation Limited was established in Hong Kong. Lee spearheaded free public library services for the nation when he donated S$375,000 through the Lee Foundation to allow the Singapore government to build the Old National Library building at Stamford Road. Between 1952 and 1993, the Foundation donated sums amounting to S$300 million to various causes with no conditions attached.

Later life
Statue of Lee Kong Chian in front of Kong Chian Administration Centre, Hwa Chong Institution.

Lee's work and generous contributions to education and society were recognised. He was conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Malaya in 1958. In 1964, Malaysia's Yang di-Pertuan Agong (head of state), Putra of Perlis, awarded Lee the title Panglima Mangku Negara (PMN), hence Lee was known by the honorific Tan Sri. Prior to that, Lee had been made Dato' by the Sultans of Johor and Kelantan in 1957 and 1959 respectively. He became the chairman of OCBC Bank in 1938 and remained in that position until his death. In 1965, Lee was conferred another honorary degree, Doctor of Letters, by the University of Singapore in recognition of his services to the university and his contributions to arts and education.[6]

Legacy

Lee died in 1967 and is survived by three sons and three daughters.[7]

Places named after Lee Kong Chian

Places named after Lee Kong Chian's father

There are also some places named after Lee's father, Lee Kuo Chuan, including:

  • Kuo Chuan Avenue, a road in Singapore's Marine Parade district
  • Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School
  • Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School
  • Heritage Centre, Hwa Chong Institution (High School Section), previously known as Kuo Chuan Art Centre
  • Lee Kuo Chuan Stadium, Anglican High School
  • SRJK (C) Kuo Kuang (国光国民型华文小学) No. 1 and SRJK (C) Kuo Kuang No. 2 - Two Chinese medium primary school in Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, named after the combination of middle names of Lee 'Kuo' Chuan and Lee 'Kong' (Kuang) Chian.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

References
  1. "GOING ON TRIP ROUND THE WORLD". The Straits Times. 11 August 1935. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. "LEE KONG CHUN TO BE NEW VARSITY'S FIRST CHANCELLOR". Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  3. Suryadinata, Leo (2012). Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume I & II. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 537. ISBN 9789814345217.
  4. "Publisher George Lee dies, aged 69". The Straits Times. 12 October 1965. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  5. "Giving to the School". Lee Kong Chian School of Business. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  6. Nor-Afidah Abd Rahman. "Lee Kong Chian". Singapore Infopedia. Singapore National Library Board. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  7. "Lee Kong Chian dies at 75". The Straits Times. 3 June 1967. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  8. "Lee Kong Chian - School of Medicine".
  9. "Lee Kong Chian School of Business".
  10. "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  11. "90 RECEIVE SULTAN'S C-DAY AWARDS". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Singapore: The Straits Times. 12 February 1960. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  12. "About Lee Kong Chian – Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering & Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman". lkcfes.utar.edu.my. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
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