Tan Kee Soon

Kapitan Cina Tan Kee Soon
Kapitan Cina of Johor
In office 1845–1857
Preceded by	New creation
Succeeded by	Kapitan Cina Tan Cheng Hung
Personal details
Born	1803 Chaozhou, Guandong, China
Died	1857 Johor
Residence	Johor, Malaysia
Occupation	Kapitan Cina

Kapitan China Tan Kee Soon (simplified Chinese: 陈开顺甲; traditional Chinese: 陳開順甲; pinyin: Chén Kāi Shùn Jia; 14 November 1803 – 1 February 1857) was the first leader of Ngee Heng Kongsi of Johor, and also the first Kapitan China of Tebrau, Johor Bahru. On 22 October 1844, he was granted the first Surat Sungai on Tebrau to become the first Kangchu of Tebrau.

Tan was born in Dongfengzhen, Chao'an, Chaozhou, Guangdong, China. He joined the secret society Tiandihui as a young man.

Tan was one of the leaders of the Ngee Heng Kongsi in Singapore who in 1846 ordered the 4,000 members of its brotherhood to relocate in Johor in protest against the imposition of quit rent in Singapore. He settled in Johor having obtained a surat sungai (river document) for Sungai Tebrau in 1844. He established a pepper and gambier settlement at Tan Chukang at Kangkar Tebrau, the oldest known Chinese settlement in Johor. However, he did not obtain more than the one grant, unlike other Ngee Heng leaders who held multiple concessions. Chinese sources described him as a yishi, a righteous political dissident who resisted the Manchus. In fact, the site of Tan Chukang, located deep in the jungle, suggests that it was selected as a place of refuge. As such, he would have been in command of military resources which would have been an asset to Sultan Abu Bakar during the crucial period when he was establishing authority over Johor.

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