Tan Hiok Nee

Major China Dato' Tan Hiok Nee
陳旭年
Major China of Johor
In office 1870–1875
Preceded by	Kapitan Seah Tee Heng
Succeeded by	Kapitan Lim Ah Siang
Constituency	Johor
Members to the Council of State of Johor
In office 1874–1875
Preceded by	-
2nd The Leader of the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor
In office 1864–1885
Preceded by	Kapitan Tan Kee Soon
Succeeded by	Kapitan Lim Ah Siang
Personal details
Born	1827 Chaoshan China
Died	21 May 1902 Chaoshan, China
Residence	Johor Bahru Malaysia, Singapore

Major China Dato' Tan Hiok Nee (Chinese: 陳旭年; pinyin: Chén Xùnián; a.k.a. Tan Yeok Nee; 1827 – 21 May 1902) was the leader of the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor, succeeding Tan Kee Soon in circa 1864, he transformed the Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor from a quasi-military revolutionary brotherhood, based in the rural settlement of Kangkar Tebrau, into an organisation of kapitans, kangchus, and revenue farmers, based in the state capital of Johor Bahru. His grandson Tan Chin Hian, was the chairman of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Singapore Teochew Poit It Huay Kuan and Ngee Ann Kongsi Singapore for many years.

Tan was born in a Teochew family from Jin Sha Village (), Caitang Town () of the former Chaozhou Fu, China in 1827. He started life as a cloth peddler and in the course of his frequent visits to Wan Abu Bakar's home in Telok Blangah of Singapore, where he became a friend of the royal family. He subsequently extended his textile business to Johor Bahru where many textile shops still line Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, a road named after him, and where he used to stay. With the help of the Temenggong, Tan moved to Johor in 1853. He obtained his first surat sungai (river document) of Bukit Berangan, a tributary of the Johor River in 1853, then aged 26 in partnership with Tan Ban Tye. There, he began cultivation of pepper and gambier. This was to form the beginning of a vast holding of 9 such grants which made him the largest holder of kangchu concessions, as well as the wealthiest and most influential Chinese in Johor. A map of Johor Bahru drawn in 1887 shows Tan Hiok Nee as the owner of several lots of land in the centre of Johor Bahru where he owned many shops and houses as well as started a market on an island called Pulau Segget, midpoint of Sungai Segget. In 1854, he started develop the left bank of the Johor River. Within 5 September 1863 – 11 September 1863, Tan Hiok Nee obtained four additional kang-chu rights within a one-week period. On 5 September 1863, he received a Surat Sungai granting him the rights to three adjacent river: Keringkim (or Kim Kim), Kong Kong and Tukang. By then, he was the most prominent businessman in Johor with seven kangchu rights. This meant controls over the entire left bank of the Johor River which spanned from the south of Kota Tinggi to Pulau Ubin.

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