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Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato'Lee San ChoonPMN SPMJ SSIJ PPM KMN
李三春
Lee in 2006
4th President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA)
In office August 1975 – 25 March 1983
Preceded by	Tan Siew Sin
Succeeded by	Tan Koon Swan
Ministerial roles
1964–1969	Parliamentary Secretary of Labour
1969–1971	Deputy Minister with Special Functions
1971–1973	Assistant Minister of Labour
1973–1974	Minister of Technology, Research and Coordination of New Villages
1974–1978	Minister of Labour and Manpower
1978–1979	Minister of Works and Public Amenities
1979–1983	Minister of Transport
Faction represented in Dewan Rakyat
1959–1974	Alliance Party
1974–1983	Barisan Nasional
Personal details
Born	Lee Soon Seng (1935-03-24)24 March 1935 Pekan, Pahang, Federated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	3 March 2023(2023-03-03) (aged 87) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Political party	Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) (1957 – 2023)
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse	Mok Thye Yuen ​(m. 1962)​
Children	2
Occupation	Businessman politician

Lee San Choon (Chinese: 李三春; pinyin: Lǐ Sānchūn; 24 March 1935 – 3 March 2023) was a Malaysian politician and businessman. He was the fourth president of Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a major component party of the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) from 1975 to 1983. He led the party in three general elections in Malaysia, most successfully in the 1982 general election. He held various ministerial posts in the cabinet of the Malaysian government from 1969 to 1983, such as Labour and Manpower Minister, Works and Public Utilities Minister, as well as Transport Minister.

Early life

Lee San Choon was born on 24 March 1935 in Pekan, Pahang to Lee Debin (Chinese: 李德斌) and Yang Zhenling (Chinese: 楊貞齡), immigrant parents from Tianmen, Hubei in China. The third of six children, he lost his mother at the age of ten, and he had five other half-siblings after his father remarried.

Lee had his early education in a Chinese-medium school, Chung Hwa School in Pekan, before being transferred to Sultan Ahmad School for a year of English education. The family moved when he was 12 to Johor Bahru in Johor, where he started his secondary education at the English College. After obtaining his Cambridge GCE O-Level, he taught English at a primary school in Geylang, Singapore. He completed his A-Level in 1955, and although he had intended to continue his education abroad, family financial constraint forced him to abandon the plan. He held a minor position in the government's Social Welfare Department, then worked as a clerk in a textile factory.

Political career

Early career

Lee San Choon joined the Malayan Chinese Association in 1957. He was elected a member of parliament in the Kluang Utara parliamentary seat in the 1959 Malayan general election, winning the former socialist stronghold by a majority of 1,458 votes, and became the youngest MP in Malaya at the age of 24. After Kluang Utara, he represented the Segamat Selatan constituency from 1964 to 1974 and Segamat until 1982. He was elected Chairman of MCA Youth in 1962. He caused a stir when he urged the leaders of MCA to resign in 1963. In 1965, MCA Youth supported the campaign to make Chinese a national language. Due to the political sensitivity of the issue, he offered to resign but was persuaded to stay. In 1968, as MCA Youth leader, he was involved in the creation of the Koperatif Serbaguna Malaysia Bhd (KSM), a business organization based on the cooperative principle.

After the 13 May incident in 1969, Lee was appointed Deputy Minister with Special Functions in the Cabinet by the National Operations Council. When parliamentary democracy was restored in 1971, he was appointed Assistant Labour Minister in the new cabinet. He became the Deputy President of MCA in 1972. He was made Minister with Special Functions in 1973, then the Minister of Technology, Research, and New Village Coordination the same year.

1974–1981: MCA leadership

On 8 April 1974, just before the 1974 general election, he was made Acting President of MCA after Tun Tan Siew Sin resigned on the grounds of ill health. He was then elected President of MCA in August 1975. By this point, the influence of MCA had waned once the expanded coalition Barisan Nasional dominated by UMNO was formed. The cabinet posts allocated to MCA therefore also declined in importance, and the various offices in the Malaysian government held by Lee as President of MCA included the Labour and Manpower Minister, the Works and Public Utilities Minister, and the Transport Minister.

While he was president of MCA, Lee launched five significant initiatives. These were the building of Wisma MCA, the headquarters of the party; the setting up of a building fund for Tunku Abdul Rahman College to expand opportunity for tertiary education for the Chinese population; the founding of Multi-Purpose Holdings Berhad, an investment holding company; the establishment of Malaysian Chinese Cultural Society; and a drive to increase MCA membership. Lee tried shifting the image of the party from one that's dominated by an English-educated elite and wealthy towkay, and continued with the attempt to broaden the appeal of the party and brought in professionals, including some leftists. The membership of MCA doubled from 200,000 to 400,000 during his tenure.

In 1978, Lee did not support the attempt to make Chinese a national language or the establishment of an independent Chinese university, and he also proposed converting Chinese secondary schools into national-type schools, all of which disappointed many in the Chinese community. Education was a contentious issue in the 1978 general election, and MCA saw a small loss of support, winning 17 of the 28 parliamentary seats contested, which was down 2 from 1974. However, in a bid to improve Chinese participation in government universities which had declined due to government policy of positive discrimination in favour of Malays, Lee led a delegation to persuade the prime minister Tun Hussein Onn to fix the intake of non-Bumiputras in the five government universities at 45 percent in 1979. Also in 1979, in a period of internal political struggle, he fought off a challenge from Michael Chen for the presidency of MCA and was re-elected.

1982–1983: Electoral success and resignation

In the 1982 general election, in response to a taunt by the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) that the MCA's leadership did not dare contest seats with a large urban Chinese majority, Lee accepted the challenge and contested the parliamentary seat for Seremban against the DAP chairman Chen Man Hin who had held that seat since 1969. Lee won the contest by a small majority, and also led his party to a landslide victory, winning 24 out of 28 allocated parliamentary seats and 55 out of 62 state seats.

However, on 24 March 1983, at the height of his career, Lee unexpectedly resigned his cabinet post of Minister of Transport for unspecified reasons and relinquished his position as President of MCA a day later. He never gave an explanation for his resignation, apart from stating in an interview with the Chinese edition of Asiaweek in 2000 that he was "stabbed in the back" by UMNO leaders in the 1982 election.

Business career

After he retired from politics, Lee was appointed chair/chief executive officer of Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd, Chair of Malaysian French Bank Bhd, and Chair of Industrial Oxygen Incorporated Bhd. He was also Chairman of Lee & Mok Sdn Bhd, Sunrise Bhd, Magerk Sdn Bhd, and Worldspan Travel (M) Sdn Bhd.

Personal life

Lee married Dianne Mok Thye Yuen (Chinese: 莫泰媛) in 1962. They have two children, son Kwan Por (Chinese: 李官博) and daughter Ann Gee (Chinese: 李安琪).

He received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Campbell University, North Carolina, United States.

Death

Lee died on 3 March 2023 at age 87.

Election results

Honours

•  Malaya :
  • Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (KMN) (1963)
•  Malaysia :
  • Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Silver) (PPM) (1965)
  • Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) – Tan Sri (1990)
•  Johor:
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato' (1973)
  • Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty of Sultan Ismail of Johor (SSIJ) – Dato' (1977)

Places named after him

• Dewan San Choon Wisma MCA, a Hall for the Annual General Meeting of Malaysian Chinese Association

See also

• Malaysia portal

References

1. ^ Wong Wun Bin (2012). Leo Suryadinata (ed.). Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 534–536. ISBN 978-9814345217.
2. ^ "第4任总会长：丹斯里李三春". 马华公会 Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). Archived from the original on 9 August 2011.
3. ^ Wong, Win Bin (黄文斌) (2003). "李三春 时势英雄之得失功〉". In Ho Khai Leong (何启良) (ed.). 马来西亚华人历史与人物 政治篇 匡政与流变 (in Chinese). Kuala Lumpur: Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies. pp. 200–242. ISBN 983-9673-72-6.
4. ^ "马华前总会长李三春与世长辞". Sinchew.com.my (in Chinese).
5. ^ Edmund Terence Gomez (2012). Chinese Business in Malaysia: Accumulation, Ascendance, Accommodation. Routledge. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-0415517379.
6. ^ "Tan Sri Lee San Choon". Malaysian Chinese Association. Archived from the original on 20 April 2011.
7. "马华第四任总会长 李三春逝世". Orient Online. 3 March 2023.
8. "Tan Sri Lee San Choon (President April 1974 – March 1983)" (PDF). MCA.
9. ^ Ting Hui Lee (2011). Chinese Schools in Peninsular Malaysia: The Struggle for Survival. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 127–128. ISBN 9789814279215.
10. Diane K. Mauzy, R. S. Milne (1999). Malaysian Politics Under Mahathir. Routledge. p. 91. ISBN 978-0415171434.
11. "李三春与巫统谈判达"628方案" 大学新生土著55". Sinchew.com.my. 3 March 2023.
12. Harold A. Crouch (1982). Malaysia's 1982 General Election. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 9–12. ISBN 978-9971902452.
13. Harold A. Crouch (1982). Malaysia's 1982 General Election. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 48. ISBN 978-9971902452.
14. "San Choon Resigns". New Straits Times. 24 March 1983.
15. Adbullah Ahmad (26 September 2000). "Backstabbing: Et tu San Choon?". New Straits Times.
16. "大选撼赢曾敏兴如日中天李三春突引退未解之谜". Sinchew.com.my (in Chinese). 3 March 2023.
17. "Annual Report 2001". Sunrise Berhad. p. 12 – via i3investor.
18. Lai, Allison (7 March 2023). "MCA leaders, friends and families bid farewell to Lee San Choon". The Star.
19. "Tan Sri Lee San Choon" (PDF). Malaysian Chinese Association.
20. "Former MCA President Lee San Choon Passes Away". The Star. 3 March 2023.
21. "CLEA Lower Chamber Elections Archive". University of Michigan. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
22. "Malaysia General Election 1964 > Parliament > Johore". singapore-elections.com. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
23. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1963" (PDF).
24. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1990" (PDF).
25. Johore Sultan's Birthday List Parade. New Straits Times. 3 November 1973.
26. Kamdi Kamil, ed. (2014). Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar (English College) : Sejarah dan Biografi 100 Tokoh Melakar Kegemilangan (1st ed.). Johor Bahru: Percetakan Bumi Restu Sdn Bhd. p. 130. ISBN 978-983-42249-8-1. OCLC 892514524.
27. Hana Naz Harun (3 March 2023). "Former MCA president Lee San Choon dies". New Straits Times. Retrieved 4 March 2023.

External links

• "Tan Sri Lee San Choon" (PDF). Malaysian Chinese Association.
• "Tan Sri Lee San Choon". Malaysia Factbook. Archived from the original on 25 March 2013.

v t e First Razak cabinet (1970–1974)
Prime Minister: Abdul Razak Hussein
Ismail Abdul Rahman Hussein Onn Tan Siew Sin V. T. Sambanthan Sardon Jubir Khir Johari Jugah Barieng V. Manickavasagam Mohamed Ghazali Jawi Abdul Ghafar Baba Abdul Ghani Gilong Lee Siok Yew Asri Muda Hamzah Abu Samah Fatimah Hashim Ong Kee Hui Ghazali Shafie Ong Yoke Lin Abdul Taib Mahmud Lee San Choon Ali Ahmad Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail Mohamed Yaacob Michael Chen Wing Sum Aishah Ghani

v t e Second Razak cabinet (1974–1976)
Prime Minister: Abdul Razak Hussein
Hussein Onn Abdul Ghafar Baba Lee San Choon V. Manickavasagam Asri Muda Hamzah Abu Samah Ong Kee Hui Ghazali Shafie Abdul Ghani Gilong Lee Siok Yew Abdul Kadir Yusuf Aishah Ghani Abdul Taib Mahmud Ali Ahmad Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail Mohamed Yaacob Michael Chen Wing Sum Musa Hitam Mahathir Mohamad

v t e First Mahathir cabinet (1981–1982)
Prime Minister: Mahathir Mohamad
Musa Hitam Lee San Choon Ong Kee Hui Ghazali Shafie Aishah Ghani Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah Chong Hon Nyan Shariff Ahmad Mohamed Rahmat Richard Ho Ung Hun Paul Leong Khee Seong Abdul Manan Othman Leo Moggie Irok Neo Yee Pan Samy Vellu Mokhtar Hashim Rafidah Aziz Sulaiman Daud Pengiran Othman Pengiran Rauf Sanusi Junid Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Mohamed Nasir

v t e Second Mahathir cabinet (1982–1986)
Prime Minister: Mahathir Mohamad
Musa Hitam Abdul Ghafar Baba Lee San Choon Ghazali Shafie Aishah Ghani Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah Chong Hon Nyan Paul Leong Khee Seong Abdul Manan Othman Leo Moggie Irok Neo Yee Pan Samy Vellu Mokhtar Hashim Rafidah Aziz Sulaiman Daud Pengiran Othman Pengiran Rauf Sanusi Junid Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Rais Yatim Mak Hon Kam Mohd. Adib Mohd. Adam Stephen Yong Kuet Tze Shahrir Abdul Samad Anwar Ibrahim James Peter Ongkili Abu Hassan Omar Mohd Khalil Yaakob Daim Zainuddin Ling Liong Sik Chan Siang Sun Lee Kim Sai Mohamed Nasir

• 1935 births
• 2023 deaths
• People from Pahang
• Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent
• Malaysian businesspeople
• Presidents of Malaysian Chinese Association
• Malaysian Chinese Association politicians
• Government ministers of Malaysia
• Transport ministers of Malaysia
• Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm
• Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor
• Officers of the Order of the Defender of the Realm
• Malaysian MPs 1959–1964
• Malaysian MPs 1964–1969
• Malaysian MPs 1971–1974
• Malaysian MPs 1974–1978
• Malaysian MPs 1978–1982
• Malaysian MPs 1982–1986