About Tan Kah Kee Foundation Malaysia

As Tan Kah Kee lived in Malaya and Singapore for 50 years, he harbored as many feelings towards the two countries as his hometown Jimei, China, and contributed a lot to social and educational development in Southeast Asia. Nowadays, some opine that his long-term dedication and commendable character aren’t as significant as before, for his values are rarely appreciated in today’s world.

Numbering about 7 million, Malaysia has one of the largest overseas Chinese populations. As traditional values are gradually giving way to so-called international trends, reintroducing the great spirit and thoughts of Tan Kah Kee in these challenging times will have a far-reaching impact.

In the early summer of 2011, the founder and managing director of Hai-O Enterprise Berhad, Tan Kai Hee, felt that the noble spirits which Tan embodied were slowly waning. As such, he came up with the idea of establishing the Tan Kah Kee Foundation Malaysia. By chance, Tan Kai Hee brought up his idea to the founder of INTI Education Group, Tan Yew Sing. Both prominent figures, who were dedicated to promoting Chinese culture and education, agreed to collaborate for a common goal. In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Tan Kah Kee’s death, they announced the establishment of the Tan Kah Kee Foundation and set up a pro-tem committee to push forward with the process of establishing the foundation.

While the foundation’s registration under the Registry of Societies Malaysia was ongoing, the pro-tem committee had begun to organize a wide array of forums, symposiums, seminars, and dinners, as well as to publish books about Tan Kah Kee. It was hoped that the series of efforts could speed up the process of establishing the foundation.

Tan Kai Hee and Tan Yew Sing pledged to sponsor RM1 million ringgit each to the Tan Kah Kee Foundation, hoping to encourage more donors to join the cause. In December 2011, a formal pro-tem committee with a clear vision and missions was established. It set the target of seeking at least 10 founders to donate RM1 million each to become the foundation’s initial capital.

Shortly after the establishment of the foundation was announced, Tan Sri Lim Gait Tong, the chairman of Farlim Group, and Dato’ Ir Steve Chong Yoon On, managing director of The Austin Heights Group, pledged to donate RM1 million each to the foundation. Apart from developing the foundation, their unwavering support also reflected the recognition of Tan Kah Kee’s spirit by Malaysia’s business community at large.

The Early Stages of the Foundation and Its Vision

Under the leadership of the four founders, the pro-tem committee was frequently in touch with the Ee Hoe Hean Club in Singapore and TanKah Kee Foundation (Singapore), both of which already had cumulative years of international experience. The interaction did not just promote cross-cultural communication between Malaysia and Singapore, but also accelerate the establishment of the Tan Kah Kee Foundation in Malaysia through learning from the experience of its Singapore counterparts.

After establishing a good rapport, the founders invited Professor Wang Gung Wu (Chairman of National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute, former Headmaster of University of Hong Kong, and one of the founders of Tan Kah Kee International Society); and Professor Pan Guo Ju (Chairman of Tan Kah Kee Foundation (Singapore), Vice President of Tan Kah Kee International Society, and Head of Nanyang Technological University’s Advanced Research Institute) to be the foundation’s advisors.

In November 2012, an exquisite gift, which was given by the China Overseas Exchange Association from China to Tan Kah Kee Foundation Malaysia, arrived in Malaysia. It was a seven-foot-tall statue of Tan Kah Kee, weighing 100kgs. The statue, which represented Tan’s courage and unbreakable determination, was officially inaugurated by Jia Qing-lin, the President of The National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on February 6, 2013.

In the early days of the foundation’s establishment, the founders contributed a lot and carved out the future development of the foundation. Taking stock of the opportunity that Malaysia and China were developing stronger bilateral relations, the founders used Tan and his spirits as the symbol of the Overseas Chinese’s achievement to deepen multifaceted collaborations in the culture and education sectors between the two countries.

Additionally, Tan Kah Kee Foundation Malaysia received great support from China in building a memorial. The founders and the pro-tem committee members visited Xiamen University, JimeiUniversity, The Committee of Jimei Schools, Tan Kah Kee Memorial, Overseas Chinese Museum and etc. The team was warmly welcomed and assisted by its counterparts in China. The team then invited Chen Cheng, the Curator of Tan Kah Kee Memorial Museum, and Ding Jiong Chun, the Dean of Overseas Chinese Museum, to be advisors to the foundation and provide guidance throughout the process of constructing the memorial.

The pro-tem committee was comprised of leaders and scholars in the Malaysian Chinese community. During the early stage of establishing the foundation, the committee had referred to the organizational structures of many internationally renowned foundations and proposed to lay down the foundation’s preamble, vision and missions, organizational management, future structure, and an outline of main activities. In order to systematically explore Tan Kah Kee’s historical footprints in Southeast Asia, the committee also began to collect related artifacts and construct the memorial. With clear objectives, strong convictions, and specific plans, the process of establishing Tan Kah Kee Foundation Malaysia went smoothly.