was also the founding President of the West Coast Sze Yi Association () where he initiated the funding and construction of the eight-storey Sze Yi building in Bundusan Commercial Centre in Kota Kinabalu. He was president from 1986-1989 and an honorary president (). The Association established an education loan scheme for the good of members' children in 2015, continuing Tam Kan's belief that all children should receive an education. (6) His many contributions to Sabah, Malaysia, formally known as North Borneo was recognized by the Head of State and he was conferred the titles 'BSK' and 'ASDK' in the 70s and 80s respectively for outstanding services for Sabah Malaysia (see Wikipedia under Orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia for more info). Tam Kan was a philanthropist who worked tirelessly to help the less fortunate. He was particularly keen in promoting education and sponsoring children in attaining formal education, both locally and overseas, as he himself was deprived of an education. He had donated generously to the running and building of schools and libraries in Malaysia and in China. Tam Kan had never forgotten his roots, and was actively involved and contributed in the development of Xinhui. He was given a special award () for the contribution and promotion of city by the Xinhui City Government and is in the list of outstanding overseas Chinese originated from the city. (7)(8)(9) Tam Kan died on 10 June 2001 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia at the age of 84 having suffered from ill health for a number of years. Tam Kan married Lam Chee (, 26 April 1922 - 24 January 2012) on 28 October 1942 and has four sons and three daughters. Tam Kan Contractors Company is no longer active in the Malaysian construction industry. Sources/Links Chinese Government webpages on The History of Overseas Xinhui Chinese (): http://www.gd-info.gov.cn/books/dtree/showSJBookContent.jsp?bookId=16916&partId=98&artId=81424 Malaysian Chinese Association (Link: http://www.mca.org.my/en/tam-kan-flats-in-inanam-to-be-demolished/) The Borneo Post (Link: https://www.propertyhunter.com.my/news.php?id=1577), New Sabah Times (Link: http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/87229), Kinabalu Today (Link: http://www.kinabalutoday.com/index.php/home-2/local-news/7490-sell-off-abandoned-tam-kan-flats-rather-than-rebuilding-it-suggests-lawmaker) Daily Express (Malaysia) online newspaper of East Malaysia published on 6 July 2015. Link=http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=101248) Chinese Government webpages on The History of Overseas Xinhui Chinese () : http://www.gd-info.gov.cn/books/dtree/showSJBookContent.jsp?bookId=16916&partId=129&artId=81424 Chinese Government webpages on The History of Overseas Xinhui Chinese (): http://www.gd-info.gov.cn/books/dtree/showSJBookContent.jsp?bookId=16916&partId=124&artId=81424 Chinese Government webpages on The History of Overseas Xinhui Chinese () : http://www.gd-info.gov.cn/books/dtree/showSJBookContent.jsp?bookId=16916&partId=98&artId=81424 20th-century Malaysian businesspeople People from Xinhui District Chinese emigrants to Malaysia 1917 births 2001 deaths