MELAKA: Melaka MCA will honour the legacy of Tun Tan Cheng Lock by transcending racial boundaries and serving all Malaysians, says Datuk Wira Lim Ban Hong.
The state MCA chairman said the vision of the Melaka-born independence leader must continue to guide the party, particularly its younger generation of leaders.
“Tun Tan Cheng Lock was a visionary statesman who helped establish MCA, but his service was never confined to a single community. He believed in cross-racial cooperation and devoted himself to building a nation where every Malaysian had a place,” Lim said on Sunday (Sept 6).
He was speaking following the state-level launch of Tan's biography at Persatuan Peranakan Cina Melaka along Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock.
The book was launched by Tan’s granddaughter, Datin Paduka Tan Siok Choo, alongside Baba and Nyonya Association of Malaysia chairman Datuk Ronald Gan and Persatuan Peranakan Malaysia president Peter Ong.
Lim noted that while MCA has a responsibility to safeguard the interests of the Chinese community, it remains committed to the welfare of all ethnicities.
“Young MCA leaders must remain steadfast in upholding his political philosophy and resist allowing the party’s mission to narrow along racial lines,” he said, calling Tan a key founding father alongside Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak, and Tun V.T. Sambanthan.
Lim highlighted the venue’s historical weight, noting that Tan served as the association's third president in the early 1900s, with family roots in Melaka dating back to 1771.
Recalling national tributes, Lim cited the country’s first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who praised Tan’s loyalty to Malaya as a beacon for Chinese Malayans during a pivotal era. Malaysia’s second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, similarly remembered him as a pioneer for national unity.
Meanwhile, Siok Choo described the biography as a personal quest to understand the grandfather she lost when she was just eight years old.
She shared that despite being a Baba Nyonya leader who spoke no Chinese dialect, Tan successfully led a predominantly Chinese political party. His outgoing nature allowed him to build deep relationships with Malay leaders, strengthening his belief that Malaya's future rested on mutual trust and collaboration.
During the launch, United Malacca Berhad—founded by Tan in 1910—purchased RM20,000 worth of copies of the biography.
