KUALA LUMPUR: Multi-millionaire socialist and the Hai-O Enterprise founder Tan Kai Hee died at 9pm last night. He was 85.
Kai Hee, who was born in 1937 in Kluang, came from a poor family but worked hard to build his fortune and business over the years.
He had first set up the Hai-O business importing herbal products from China in 1975 with the help of family and friends.
Kai Hee slowly grew his business and never failed to give back to society through various donations that he regularly made.
He handed over the business to his son, Keng Kang, in 2016, though he remained chairman of the company.
In 2017, he lost his wife, Tan Siow Eng.
It is understood that Kai Hee left his wealth, worth more than RM100 million, in a trust fund meant for charities and Chinese community improvement efforts.
Apart from his business, Kai Hee also served as Labour Party of Malaya deputy secretary-general and was a member of the Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front in the 1960s.
He also held important roles in the Malaysia-China Friendship Association and the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce.
Kai Hee played a significant part in promoting the development of Malaysia-China bilateral ties in the early years.
Meanwhile, Sahajidah Hai-O Marketing which is part of the Hai-O Group (now BESHOM) on a Facebook post wrote: "His passing is certainly very sad and is a great loss for all of us including the BESHOM distributors.
"May the late Tan Kai Hee whom we all love rest in peace and all his memories remain fresh in our memory and the entire legacy of Hai-O."
Kai Hee's funeral will be held on Saturday at the Nirvana Memorial Centre in Sungai Besi, where people may also pay their respects starting from today.