Tan Cheng Lock pushed to protect women’s rights, says granddaughter

Malaysia's founding father and respected politician Tan Cheng Lock was a strong advocate for women's rights, according to his granddaughter, Tan Siok Choo. Cheng Lock played a pivotal role in shaping marital rights reforms during the pre-independence era, particularly through the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act 1940. This legislation required civil marriages to be registered and monogamous, aiming to safeguard widows' entitlement to their husbands' estates.

Siok Choo, 73, revealed that her grandfather recognized the numerous challenges faced by Chinese marriages, especially customary ones, as they lacked written regulations and were often informal. In many cases, the wives of affluent men struggled to claim their husbands' estates due to the absence of documented proof of marriage. The Six Widows' Case of 1908, where six women sought portions of their deceased husband's estate, served as a stark reminder of the unfairness faced by women in such circumstances.

In a bid to rectify this injustice, Cheng Lock actively pushed for the Civil Marriage Act, ensuring that all non-Muslim marriages were registered. Demonstrating his unwavering commitment to the cause, he remarried his own grandmother under the provisions of the act. Cheng Lock also fought valiantly to abolish the "mui tsai" system, a Chinese practice that saw young girls from impoverished families employed or "fostered" by wealthy households, leaving them vulnerable to mistreatment and exploitation.

Siok Choo recounted an incident when Cheng Lock read a distressing story about a young woman forced into prostitution due to her father's inability to provide for her in his will. Moved by this incident, Cheng Lock rewrote his will, granting equal shares to his two aunts, Alice and Agnes Tan, along with his father, former finance minister Tan Siew Sin. Despite this compassionate act, Cheng Lock did not hesitate to change his will even though his son was recently married and about to have children.