Tan Kai Hee (8 January 1937 – 22 February 2022) was a notable figure in Malaysia who was firstly a socialist politician and political prisoner.
After many years of detention without trial, he returned to civilian life and started a traditional medicine business Hai-O which made him a multi-millionaire.
[1] Born in Kluang, Johor, Tan worked a number of odd jobs including on rubber estates, a canning factory, a bicycle shop and night markets.
This was because when he was 13, his father was deported back to China and his mother and six siblings returned, while Kai Hee and two other children stayed in Malaya having to fend for themselves.
[2] This gave him an understanding of the difficulties faced by the poor and he joined the Labour Party of Malaya in the 1950s, rising to become its deputy secretary-general in the early 1960s.