Lee Kong Chian

Lee Kong Chian PMN SPMJ SJMK (Chinese: 李光前; pinyin: Lǐ Guāngqián; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lí Kong-chiân; 18 October 1893 – 2 June 1967), also known by his alias Lee Geok Kun (Chinese: 李玉昆; pinyin: Lǐ Yùkūn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lí Gio̍k-kun), was a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist based in Malaya and Singapore between the 1930s and 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 a son-in-law of Tan Kah Kee, another well-known Chinese businessman and philanthropist based in Southeast Asia.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lee (Li).
Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato'

Lee Kong Chian

PMN SPMJ SJMK
李光前
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
Known forPhilanthropic work
SpouseTan Ai Leh
Children6 (including Lee Seng Tee and Lee Seng Wee)
ParentLee Kuo Chuan (father)
RelativesTan Kah Kee (father-in-law)
Lee Kong Chian
Chinese李光前
Hokkien POJLí Kong-chiân
Lee Geok Kun
Chinese李玉昆
Hokkien POJLí Gio̍k-kun

Early life and career

Lee was born in Furong Village in Nan'an, Fujian, towards the end of the Qing dynasty. His father was Lee Kuo Chuan (simplified Chinese: 李国专; traditional Chinese: 李國專; pinyin: Lǐ Guózhuān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lí Kok-choan).

Lee 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. He studied at the defunct Anglo-Tamil School, and Chung Cheng High School.

Lee returned to the Qing dynasty in 1909 to complete his education under a scholarship, but had to end it in 1911 when 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 one of the top colleges in China at that time, 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, Lee joined the China Guohua Company owned by Tan Kah Kee, and became Tan's protégé. He was promoted to the manager of the Tan Kah Kee Rubber Company in 1917. Three years later, he married Tan's daughter, Tan Ai Leh (simplified Chinese: 陈爱礼; traditional Chinese: 陳愛禮; pinyin: Chén Àilǐ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Ài-lé).

Business 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, a corporation formed from the merger of three Chinese banks.

Philanthropy

Like Tan Kah Kee, Lee poured his wealth into education and other philanthropic efforts.[5] He set up the Lee Foundation in Singapore and Malaya in 1952 and 1960 respectively. In 1965, the Lee Foundation Limited was established in Hong Kong.

Lee also spearheaded free public library services for Singapore 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. The old building was eventually demolished and replaced by a much larger new building, a project that also received substantial financial backing from the foundation. The reference library that occupies the 7th to 13th floors of the new building was named in his honour.[6]

Education

Lee had a particular interest in the field of education and various institutions have been beneficiaries of donations from him or the Lee Foundation, including Singapore Management University, National University of Singapore, Anglo-Chinese School, St. Margaret's Secondary School, Methodist Girls' School, Singapore Chinese Girls' School, Tao Nan School and Anglican High School. After his death, the foundation continued this legacy and expanded into funding scholarships and bursaries offered by both educational institutions and government agencies.

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 (now Nan Chiau High School). He gave lectures in Columbia University during the Second World War 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.

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.[7]

Legacy

Lee died in 1967 and is survived by three sons and three daughters.[8]

Places named after Lee Kong Chian
Lee Kong Chian Lecture Theatre, Nanyang Technological University

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
  • Lee Kuo Chuan Hall, Church of the Ascension Singapore
  • 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. "Lee Kong Chian Reference Library". National Library Board.
  7. Nor-Afidah Abd Rahman. "Lee Kong Chian". Singapore Infopedia. Singapore National Library Board. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  8. "Lee Kong Chian dies at 75". The Straits Times. 3 June 1967. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  9. "Lee Kong Chian - School of Medicine".
  10. "Lee Kong Chian School of Business".
  11. "诚邀出席庚子年校友回校新春团拜" (in Chinese).
  12. "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  13. "About Lee Kong Chian – Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering & Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman". lkcfes.utar.edu.my. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  14. "90 RECEIVE SULTAN'S C-DAY AWARDS". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Singapore: The Straits Times. 12 February 1960. OCLC 556448185. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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