Dato Chan Kwong Hon (1909-1978), born in Kuala Lumpur, was the eldest son of tin-mine tycoon and philanthropist Chan Chan Moi. He worked with the Kuala Lumpur Electricity Board after completing his education in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur before assisting his father in his business in 1933. During the Second World War he was appointed deputy captain of Kuala Lumpur Air Defence Brigade and moved to India after the brigade was disbanded and worked in a local radio. Two years later, he returned to Malaya.
He began his political career in 1948. During the Emergency under the British rule, he and a group of Chinese community leaders actively assisted the resettlement of Chinese villagers. He held various posts in the government and Chinese associations, including state assemblyman in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur City Councillor, Senator, president of chambers of commerce, and the Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang Tin Miners Association.
He served various posts related to the tin mining industry, such as member of the Tin Mining Industry Consultative Council, making significant contributions towards ties with the business community of other ethnic groups in the country and the development of the Malaysian tin industry. He sat on the boards of several companies and founded the Selangor Dredging Company with the family of renowned tin miner Zheng Yuan Song in 1962 and served in the first council of the company. The following year, the company became the first Chinese-owned dredging to be listed on the local stock exchange. In addition he owned another tin mining company.
