Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies (TCLC)

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Tun Tan Cheng Lock was a key public figure who devoted his life to fight for the rights and the social welfare of the Chinese community in Malaya. Tun Tan Cheng Lock was responsible for securing basic rights and respect for the local Chinese – these include citizenship based on jus soli (the principle that a person’s nationality is determined by the place of birth), protection of Chinese education and culture, and participation in the Alliance governing coalition. And most importantly, he worked hard to build a multiracial system of governance in order to make more harmonious race relation in Malaya. It is undeniable that he is one of those leaders who believe that moderation is the only way for Malaya, later Malaysia to move forward.

As a tribute to the founder and the first President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Tun Tan Cheng Lock (1883-1960), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) is proposing to set up the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Center for Social and Policy Studies. The proposed Centre will focus on the study of the history of Malaysian Chinese, the formation of Malaya and Malaysia, the contribution of Malaysian Chinese in Malaysian politic and socio-economic development in the past, present and future, and most importantly the multi-races co-operation since British Colonial in Malaysia, and its findings will be disseminated to the public. Through such initiatives, UTAR hopes to promote the idea of moderation, a realistic value that is increasingly important globally. The centre is to be located at UTAR City Campus at Sungai Long.

research.utar.edu.my/TCLC/