Tan Sri Dr. Tan Koon Swan (; born 24 September 1940) is a Malaysian political and corporate figure. He was the fifth president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a component party of Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition; from November 1985 to September 1986. Personal life Tan was born in Puchong New Village in Selangor on 24 September 1940 to a poor family. He helped out at his parents' hawker stall while still in school. He studied in a missionary school, and after leaving school, he worked as a clerk with Lembaga Lektrik Negara (LLN) while studying part-time to finish his High School Certificate (HSC). He also worked as a laboratory technician with LLN, then moved on to be an investigator of Inland Revenue Board and a tax consultant with Esso. Tan married his first wife, Catherine Chong, who is a paraplegic and has two children with her. He then got together with his second wife, Penny Chang, fathering another three daughters. Tan, after facing many hiccups in life, is still a respected member of society. He is a born-again Christian who likes to maintain a low profile. Political and business career In 1970, Tan became the General Manager of Genting Highlands Berhad, helping Lim Goh Tong to establish Genting Highlands Resort as a successful tourist destination. In 1976, he attended a senior management course at Harvard University. In 1977, he was invited by the then MCA president Lee San Choon to head the Koperatif Sebaguna Malaysia (KSM) and Multi-Purpose Holdings Berhad (MPHB), the corporate structure through which the MCA hoped to encourage Chinese participation in all areas of economic development. He joined the party and became involved in politics. In 1978 general election, Tan made his political debut and elected as the Member of Parliament (MP), winning a parliamentary seat in Raub, Pahang. The following year, he was elected to the party's Central Committee and appointed Chairman of MCA Wilayah Persekutuan State Liaison Committee. In 1982 general election, he cinched a landslide victory for the parliamentary seat in the opposition stronghold of Damansara, Selangor. 1984 saw him appointed as vice-president of the MCA. In March 1984, Tan was sacked as vice-president from the MCA along with Lee Kim Sai as well as other members for urging the party to investigate its member records for the presence of non-existent people, an issue that had sparked off factionalism and crisis within the