Dato' Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay honorific title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Use of the title various between locations, in some ...

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

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

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 in Malaysia, Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, shopping centres in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, he is responsible for the renovation of

Queen Victoria Building The Queen Victoria Building (abbreviated as the QVB) is a heritage-listed late-19th-century building located at 429–481 George Street, Sydney, George Street in the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. D ...

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

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorses. 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 ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

. in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, 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 responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which ...

s, Bart Cummings, 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 Think Big was an interventionist state economic strategy of the Third National Government of New Zealand, promoted by the Prime Minister Robert Muldoon (1975–1984) and his National government in the early 1980s. The Think Big schemes saw t ...

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

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...

), winner of back-to-back

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

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. He was the owner of the 2008 Melbourne Cup winner Viewed, and is one of four thoroughbred owners to win the Melbourne Cup four Times. He also owned 2009 and 2010 Cox Plate winner So You Think, and the winner of the 2009 Crown Oaks, Faint Perfume. Tan owned a

stud Stud may refer to: 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 bar in San Francisco * ...

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 Wingec ...

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

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. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. For the first eight years of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, 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 () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace of God-Defender of the Realm). The 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 at Moonee Valley Racecourse in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

is named in his honour.

References

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