Tam Kan

Statue of Tam Kan and Lam Chee

Tam Kan(Chinese:Đàm căn;pinyin:Tán Gēn;18 December 1917 - 10 June 2001) was born inXinhui(Tân hội), a city district in the city ofJiangmenin the province ofGuangdongin southern China. He is the second son of Tam See Chow's second marriage to Wun Li King. Although Tam See Chow was a rich and high-ranking official, Tam Kan went through hardship since the age of three when his father died. He learnt carpentry and worked to support his mother, and went through the hardship of surviving WW2. He was one of many workers that participated in the construction of many building structures in Guangzhou includingHaizhu Bridge(Hải châu kiều), National Sun Yat-sen University Library (Quốc lập trung sơn đồ thư quán), andGuangzhou Baiyun International Airport(Bạch vân cơ tràng). He later went to Hong Kong and worked for the Asiatic Petroleum Company (Hương cảng á tế á du công tư) and theBritish North Borneo Companyand in 1951 was one of the early batch of workers selected for transfer from China toNorth Borneo(now calledSabah).(1)

During the 50s, Tam Kan worked as a foreman of the British North Borneo Company, contributed and witnessed the early development of North Borneo. He oversaw many constructions of the early buildings and landmarks of which many still exists in today's Sabah, such as the Standard Chartered Bank building (opposite Suria Sabah) and TheHong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation(HSBC) building. He established his own company 'Tam Kan Contractors Company' (Đàm căn kiến thiết công tư) in 1958 inKota Kinabalu,previously known asJesseltonbefore independence.

After North Borneo attained self-government on 31 August 1963, Tam Kan became one of the first to establish a foothold in the booming construction industry and the company went on to build many iconic buildings in the state of Sabah, such asSacred Heart Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu;Segaliud Bridge; Teachers' Training College; 100 Police Flats in Kepayan; Police Flats in Tanjung Aru, shop houses and many more. Although many still exist today, some have either been demolished or are going to be demolished such as ‘Tam Kan Flats’ as reported recently in 2015 by Malaysian media. (2)(3)(4)(5)

Tam Kan also constructed, owned and operated the Winner Hotel, one of only two tallest buildings in Kota Kinabalu in the 60s. His residence at 5 1/2 mile Tuaran Road was a unique building designed by himself in the 60s and is believed to be the first private residential address with a full sized water fountain.

Tam Kan was also the founding President of the West Coast Sze Yi Association (Tứ ấp công hội) where he initiated the funding and construction of the eight-storeySze Yibuilding in Bundusan Commercial Centre in Kota Kinabalu. He was president from 1986-1989 and an honorary president (Vĩnh cửu danh dự hội trường). 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 underOrders, decorations, and medals of Malaysiafor more info).

Title Given by Head of State

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 (Chấn hưng tân hội cống hiến tưởng) 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 marriedLam Chee (Chinese:Lâm châu,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

1. Chinese Government webpages on The History of Overseas Xinhui Chinese (Tân hội hoa kiều hoa nhân sử thoại):http://www.gd-info.gov.cn/books/dtree/showSJBookContent.jsp?bookId=16916&partId=98&artId=81424
2. Malaysian Chinese Association(Link:http://www.mca.org.my/en/tam-kan-flats-in-inanam-to-be-demolished/)
3. The Borneo Post(Link:https://www.propertyhunter.com.my/news.php?id=1577),
4. New Sabah Times(Link:http://www.newsabahtimes.com.my/nstweb/fullstory/87229),
5. 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)
6. Daily Express (Malaysia)online newspaper of East Malaysia published on 6 July 2015. Link=http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=101248)
7. Chinese Government webpages on The History of Overseas Xinhui Chinese (Tân hội hoa kiều hoa nhân sử thoại):http://www.gd-info.gov.cn/books/dtree/showSJBookContent.jsp?bookId=16916&partId=129&artId=81424
8. Chinese Government webpages on The History of Overseas Xinhui Chinese (Tân hội hoa kiều hoa nhân sử thoại):http://www.gd-info.gov.cn/books/dtree/showSJBookContent.jsp?bookId=16916&partId=124&artId=81424
9. Chinese Government webpages on The History of Overseas Xinhui Chinese (Tân hội hoa kiều hoa nhân sử thoại):http://www.gd-info.gov.cn/books/dtree/showSJBookContent.jsp?bookId=16916&partId=98&artId=81424