Of all the places we hit on this group excursion day, my personal favourite was definitely by the contributions of Gan Eng Seng. First, we parked in front of the school he dreamt of building in 1995 - Gan Eng Seng School. Having little education growing up, he realised education was the 
crucial factor that contributed to his wealth and prosperity. I admire his vision to build a school for the poor that taught both English and Chinese. Gan Eng Seng believed that people of all economic background should have the opportunity to thrive in a learning environment. What was so unique about the school was the fact that it was the only school in Singapore that was initiated, established and maintained by a local citizen through charitable donations. Other schools at the time were almost all built by missionary or government organisations. It was also interesting to know how his 3 sons became involved and served on the Board of Trustees when he died. The altruistic gene ran in the family.
crucial factor that contributed to his wealth and prosperity. I admire his vision to build a school for the poor that taught both English and Chinese. Gan Eng Seng believed that people of all economic background should have the opportunity to thrive in a learning environment. What was so unique about the school was the fact that it was the only school in Singapore that was initiated, established and maintained by a local citizen through charitable donations. Other schools at the time were almost all built by missionary or government organisations. It was also interesting to know how his 3 sons became involved and served on the Board of Trustees when he died. The altruistic gene ran in the family.Gan
Gan Eng Seng was also a big believer in quality and universal healthcare. As a Canadian, this is something that hits home for me, as we are one of the last countries who practice universal healthcare for the entire population. The Thong Chai Medical Institution was another organization that Gan Eng Seng supported financially. Today, it stands proudly as the oldest charitable organization in Singapore. Since 1975, it has been treating the poor of all races and religions and continues to provide free medical consultation and Chinese herbal medicines to all today.
When we arrived at the hospital holding cameras and video recorders, a man asked us if we were media guests from MediaCorp. We laughed and said were SMU students who came to learn more about the hospital. He informed us that on March 21st, there was a Charity show performed by Jackie Chan and Wakin Chau. Having watched many of Jackie Chan’s movies, I was quite excited about this news. The show is supposed to telecast “live” on air tonight at 7pm on channel 8! Oh, if only I had a TV in the hostel I’m staying at! :o( Sigh*
Lastly, we drove to the Ee Hoe Hean Club, and we quickly parked the car to get some close up photos and recordings. It was located on Bukit Pasoh Rd with many nice cars parked in front. Set up by with many early Chinese community leaders such as Tan Kah Kee and Gan Eng Seng, the club functioned as a place for the rich to come and mingle to exchange ideas. To this day, the club is still up and running and plays an active role in communal services! 
The generous men continue to surprise me, one after another is supporting the development of Singapore in their own ways. I am proud to say as a Finnish man that we are also among the last countries to provide free medical care for everyone. Therefore I must agree with the post, I hold in high regard Gan Eng Seng’s contributions to free medical services. I find it very important to take care of all people, no matter if they are rich or poor or from different races.
ReplyDeleteAs Finland also offers free education from pre-school to university, I have seen that by giving equal opportunities to people a small country in difficult conditions/in modern world can survive among the big nations and global economy. Therefore I admire Gan Eng Seng’s farsightedness to support education and give a great advantage to Singapore to develop. He has set a direction what I think every wealthy businessmen or governments should follow, equal opportunities in education and free medical services for all.
Interesting comment Joonas. I believe in universal healthcare and education too. However, with the majority of the population turning 65 within the next decade, there needs to be a lot of healthcare strategic management restructuring... improve quality of care, but also reduce cost and increase productivity. This is actually one area of business I'm very interested in, and why I came to Singapore in the 1st place to learn about their system. I think Singaporeans don't even realize how efficient their 2-tiered system really is! Having lived in both US and Canada for a number of years, I really see the extreme sides of both the private and public healthcare systems. They both have advantages and flaws. It can be interesting to consider how "chinese-ness" has contributed to the links & connectors that has improved Singapore's efficiency in their healthcare system.
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