Dato' Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin. Origin The oldes ...

Tan Chin Nam (; 18 March 1926 – 21 October 2018) was a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n entrepreneur and developer. His family is the majority shareholder of IGB Corporation Berhad. Tan was reportedly one of the richest men in Malaysia and had several companies and businesses. He is famous as a property developer and was involved in various projects such as

Shangri-La Hotel Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts () is a multinational hospitality company. Founded in 1971 by tycoon Robert Kuok in Malaysia, the company now has over 100 luxury hotels and resorts with over 40,000 rooms in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East ...

in Malaysia, shopping centres in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and Malaysia, including one of the largest shopping malls in the world,

Mid Valley Megamall Mid Valley Megamall is a shopping mall in Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It sits at the entrance of Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur. Developed by IGB Berhad, the complex was opened in 1999. The mall has garnered media attention with even ...

. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, he is responsible for the renovation of

Queen Victoria Building The Queen Victoria Building (abbreviated as the QVB) is a heritage-listed late-nineteenth-century building designed by the architect George McRae located at 429–481 George Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian st ...

(QVB) and Capitol Theatre in Sydney. He also owns a number of Australian-based

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorses Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. Tan's biography, released in 2006 and published by MPH Malaysia, is called ''Never Say I Assume!''.

Early life

Tan Chin Nam was born on March 18, 1926"Congratulations to Dato Tan Chin Nam on his 90th birthday"

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

. in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, Malaysia. He was the sixth of twelve children.

Thoroughbred horse racing

The principal owner for one of Australia's most successful

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

Bart Cummings James Bartholomew Cummings (14 November 1927 – 30 August 2015), also known by his initials J. B. Cummings, was one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He was known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as he w ...

, Tan had a successful working relationship with Cummings for more than thirty years until the latter's death in 2015. He owned at least a share in most of Cummings' well-known horses, including

Think Big In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...

(co-owned with Queensland property developer Rick O'Sullivan and then joined by

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

), winner of back-to-back

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

s in 1974 and 1975, as well as the multiple

Group One Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern races, Pattern race sys ...

winner,

Saintly Saintly (21 September 1992 – 16 December 2016) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1997. A giant chestnut gelding by Sky Chase out of All Grace (by Sir Tristram), he was bred by his tra ...

. He was the owner of the

2008 Melbourne Cup The 2008 Melbourne Cup, the 148th running of Australia's most prestigious Thoroughbred horse race, was run on Tuesday, 4 November 2008, starting at 3:00 pm local time (0400 UTC). It was won by Viewed. On 3 December 2008, Luca Cumani, tr ...

winner

Viewed Viewed (4 October 2003 – 18 April 2010) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 148th Melbourne Cup on 4 November 2008. Racing record 2008 Melbourne Cup Prior to the Cup, Viewed won the AJC Listed Japan Racing Association ...

, and is one of four thoroughbred owners to win the Melbourne Cup four Times. He also owned 2009 and 2010

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...

winner

So You Think So You Think (foaled 10 November 2006) is a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse, now majority owned by Coolmore Stud of Ireland. So You Think came to prominence through winning the 2009 and 2010 Cox Plates, Australia's premier weight for ag ...

, and the winner of the 2009

Crown Oaks The Victoria Racing Club Oaks (known as the Kennedy Oaks for sponsorship reasons), is a Victoria Racing Club (VRC) Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies, run under set weights conditions, over 2,500 metres at Flemington Racec ...

, Faint Perfume. Tan owned a

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay ba ...

farm located along the

Wingecarribee River The Wingecarribee River ( Aboriginal Dharawal: ''Winge Karrabee''), a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury– Nepean catchment, is located in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Wingecar ...

Burradoo, New South Wales Burradoo () is a suburb of Bowral, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The village of Burradoo is well known as an expensive area in the Southern Highlands (among other residential areas including ...

that he named Think Big Stud.

Chess

In 1975, Tan decided that there was great potential in expanding the game of

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. For the first eight years of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, chess had been prohibited, but in 1974 there was an easing of the ban and, together with some leading Chinese officials, Tan set-up the "Big Dragon Project", with the aim of having China dominate the chess world by 2010. In 1982 he became the first

Deputy President for Asia. Tan was also president of the Malaysian chess federation for many decades.Long, Peter (2018-10-22)
"Obituary for Honorary Life President of the Malaysian Chess Federation Dato Tan Chin Nam"
FIDE. Tan sponsored the annual chess tournament Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysian Open, which takes place in Kuala Lumpur since 2004.

Honours

* : ** Companion of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...

(JMN) (1978) * : ** MY-TER Order of the Crown of Terengganu - SPMT - SMT - AMT

Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Terengganu The Most Distinguished Order of the Crown of Terengganu (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Terengganu Yang Amat Mulia'') is an honorific order of the Sultanate of Terengganu. History It was founded by Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengg ...

(SPMT) - Dato' (1996)

Death

Having retired from the corporate world in the 1990s, he died on October 21, 2018, aged 92, in Kuala Lumpur. The

Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes The John F. Feehan Stakes is a Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 2 Australian Thoroughbred horse race held under Weight for Age conditions, for horses aged three years old and upwards, over a distance of 1600 meters at Moonee Valley Racecourse in ...

Moonee Valley Racecourse Moonee Valley Racecourse, currently marketed as The Valley, is a horse-racing track in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, Victoria Australia. History Moonee Valley Racecourse was established in 1883 by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox, who purchased a farm ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

is named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Chin Nam 1926 births 2018 deaths Australian racehorse owners and breeders Malaysian businesspeople Malaysian billionaires Malaysian people of Chinese descent People from Kuala Lumpur Companions of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Chess officials