Abstract
Tun Lee Hau Shik (H.S. Lee) was founder leader of the Malayan (later Malaysian) Chinese Association (MCA). He helped forged an UMNO-MCA alliance in 1952 that led to the eventual formation of the Alliance Party and was part of the Malayan delegation to London to negotiate for the country’s independence. Hong Kong-born and Cambridge-educated, Lee came to Malaya in 1924 to take care of his family business. With wealth acquired from tin mining, a well-to-do family and good educational background, Lee quickly rose to prominence in the Selangor Chinese community. However, Lee who served as the Chief Air Raid Warden of Kuala Lumpur and an influential leader in the anti-Japanese movements in Selangor was forced to leave Malaya during the Japanese invasion. This paper will examine the years he spent in India as a political refugee from Japanese occupation of Malaya and the extent to which the experience of the WWII enabled Lee to transform from a local Chinese leader to a national leader.
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