The Tan Kah Kee Professorship was launched on 21 October 1996 by President Ong Teng Cheong at National Institute of Education (NIE) to honour the late Mr. Tan Kah Kee and to pay tribute to his exceptional and wide-ranging contributions. The 21 October was significant as it was Mr Tan Kah Kee's birthday.

A donation of $1.5 million from the Tan Kah Kee Foundation and a dollar-for-dollar government matching grant made the Professorship possible. Professorship was in the first instance given to the area of History, and it will later include the other fields such as Education and Entrepreneurship. Professor Daniel W.Y. Kwok from the University of Hawaii was the first eminent person to be appointed to fill the Chair in History at the School of Arts.

The Tan Kah Kee Professorship, the fourth at National Technological University (NTU), was managed by an advisory committee comprising of the university's President, Dr Su Guaning, three academics and three members from the Tan Kah Kee Foundation.

Mr Tan Tock San's Speech on the Launching Ceremony

First of all on behalf of Tan Kah Kee Foundation I wish to express our heartfelt thanks to your Excellency that in the midst of your busy schedule you have taken time to officiate this ceremony to establish the Tan Kah Kee Professorship. We gather here this morning for a historic occasion to launch the Tan Kah Kee Professorship in NTU. It falls on his birthday. To many of us, the name of the philanthropist, Mr. Tan Kah Kee is a familiar one but to those of a different generation, please allow me to say a few words.

The late Mr. Tan Kah Kee was born on 21 October, 1874 in Chi Mei Village, Fujian Province. He came to Singapore from Fujian Province, China, in 1890, at the tender age of about 16 years old, to join his father, a trader. He started 1ife as an apprentice trader and gradually through sheer perseverance, diligence and frugality, worked his way up to one of the earlier pioneer industrialists in Singapore in the early part of this Century. In the midst of running his business as, among other things, a planter and an industrialist, he did not lose track of his burning ambition to fulfill his love and devotion to promote education. He was deeply involved in the founding of not one but five schools, namely:

1. Tao Nan School
2. Ai Tong School
3. Nan Chiau High School
4. Chongfu Primary School
5. Kong Hwa School

To upgrade Chinese education, Mr. Tan Kah Kee had the foresight to and was instrumental in acquiring a large piece of prime land Bukit Timah where the Chinese High School now stands.

He did not forget and also contributed to promote English education. Back in Xiamen, he established the Xiamen University and the Jimei School which is now elevated to Jimei University. Although an entrepreneur and industrialist, he was so devoted to promote education that during the 1930 recession he even remitted his salary to the Xiamen University. Mr. Tan Kah Kee passed away at the ripe old age of 87 on 12th August, 1961.

A memorial service was held by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry which was attended by thousands of Singaporeans and others from all walks of life. At this memorial service, thousands donated money in his honour and under the leadership of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Tan Kah Kee Scholarship Fund was set up in 1968, to fund scholarships to graduates and undergraduates. In 1982, the Management Committee of the Tan Kah Kee Scholarship Fund decided to transfer the Scholarship Fund to form the Tan Kah Kee Foundation. Since then, the activities of the Foundation are centered on the Young Inventors Award which was mooted by Nobel Laureate Prof. C. N. Yang, the Postgraduate Scholarships Award and the Tan Kah Kee Public Lecture. From this year onwards, we are glad to let you know that Tan Kah Kee Young Inventors Award has received support and sponsorship from A*Star, formerly known as the National Science Technology Board ("NSTB"). Also beginning this year, we have established a Tan Kah Kee Gold Medal Award at the Department of Chinese Studies, NUS.

Evolution of the Foundation continues. The 2lst Century will bring in more challenges. The Foundation will not be complacent and has to adapt to changes. We have amended our articles of association, thereby, we have invited professionals from the various disciplines, such as education, science, medicine, engineering, economics and business administration. The Tan Kah Kee Foundation is confident to march into the new Century. Thus we are here to launch the Tan Kah Kee Professorship.

May I digress to mention a fact that was not so well published. In November 1964, the Blue Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China, discovered a star. The position of the star must be verified and checked by the international Observatory. The discoverer of the star has the right to name it. In l983, the Internationa1 Observatory confirmed the discovery of the star. In 1990, the Chinese Authorities named the star as "Tan Kah Kee Star". It bestowed upon Tan Kah Kee a very high honour indeed; in recognition for his life long contribution to China and the Overseas Chinese.

In conclusion, I wish once again to express my deepest gratitude and heartfelt thanks to your Excellency, President Ong Teng Cheong for taking his valuable time from his busy schedule. And also to Dr. Wee Kim Wee who has cut short his vacation to be with us this morning. On behalf of the Tan Kah Kee Foundation, I wish to express our deepest thanks to the generosity of the many supporters from all walks of life and also to each of you for your presence here this morning. Thank you.

Quote:

"The Professorship will contribute to the advancement of NTU as an institution of academic, excellence and fulfill one of Mr Tan Kah Kee's legacies, namely, his model of modernization through the promotion of education as well as industrial and technological development."

"This Professorship is in the spirit of Tan Kah Kee - he was not just my uncle but everybody's uncle as he believed that education was not just for his family but for all."