The late Tun Sir Henry H. S. Lee’s private papers has a home at the ISEAS Library, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.

Tun H. S. Lee was one of the founders of the Malaysia Chinese Association (MCA) and the Alliance Party. He was one of the Malayan political leaders who played a pivotal role in the signing of the London Merdeka Agreement under which Malaya achieved its independence. He later became the first Finance Minister of an independent Federation of Malaya in 1957. Tun H.S. Lee was a key figure in the developments which shaped Malaysia and Singapore from the 1930s to the 1980s.

On 5 May 2010, at a ceremony held at ISEAS, Dato’ Douglas K. K. Lee and Dato’ Thomas M. L. Lee, two of the three surviving sons of Tun H. S. Lee, officially handed over the papers of to Professor Wang Gungwu, ISEAS Board of Trustees Chairman. The third son, Mr George Lee was unable to attend the ceremony. The event was attended by 78 guests including eight family members of Tun H.S. Lee. An exhibition featuring some of his original papers and photographs was specially set up at the ISEAS Library.

A tour was conducted to show where and how the papers have been conserved and preserved since its arrival from Kuala Lumpur on 23 January 2010. Some 150 cartons of 180,000 documents and 4,000 photographs are stored in a climate-controlled room in ISEAS Library. Nine Library staff had spent two months transferring them to acid-free boxes and folders, after the materials had undergone eight weeks of fumigation.

An international conference organized by ISEAS is planned for early 2011. About 16 experts and academics have been identified. Enquiries should go to the coordinator Dr Geoff Wade at gwade@iseas.edu.sg.

For those interested to study the contributions of Tun H.S. Lee or the history of a critical period in Malaysian history, these papers would be a valuable treasure trove and primary resource. Write to ISEAS Library: iseaslib@iseas.edu.sg if you are interested in the collection.

This is the latest collection of private papers received by ISEAS Library, joining the collections from other eminent personalities such as David Marshall, S. Rajaratnam, Tan Cheng Lock and Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.

Contributed by ISEAS Library