Tan was an activist, and like other entrepreneurs of his time, he believed in the value of
education. As chairman of the
Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the 1950s, he fought for citizenship for Chinese people in Singapore and for the
Chinese language to be one of Singapore's official languages. As the long-time president of the
Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, Tan Lark Sye contributed generously to charitable and educational causes throughout his life. He provided strong support for educational institutions under the auspices of the association, including
Kong Hwa School,
Tao Nan School,
Nan Chiau Girls' High School, and
Chongfu School. He also contributed to financing the institutions in
Jimei founded by
Tan Kah Kee. In 1957 he donated considerable sums to Thailand's Hokkien clan association to build overseas Chinese schools. His contributions to education, however, were not confined to Chinese schools. In 1949, when the
University of Malaya was set up, Tan donated S$300,000, and between 1950 and 1960 he contributed to the building of schools of different language mediums. Tan's most outstanding contribution, however, was the initiating of the founding of
Nanyang University in 1953. He visited Kuala Lumpur to raise funds, where he was welcomed by fellow philanthropist,
Cheong Yoke Choy, who also contributed to the fund raising. He donated S$5 million to its building fund, as well as of land for its campus on behalf of the Hokkien Huay Kuan. Between 1953 and 1963, he was Chairman of Nanyang University's Executive Committee, and was in charge of various aspects of the university by building, teaching staff, research facilities, library, student welfare and others. Nanyang University was later merged with The University of Singapore in 1980 to form the current
National University of Singapore. The establishment of Nanyang University had a lasting influence on Chinese education in the region and beyond. It pioneered the establishment of Chinese Studies departments in Ngee Ann College, the University of Singapore and the University of Malaya. The establishment of the
Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the
Southern University College in
Johor, Malaysia, were also inspired by the ideals underlying the founding of Nanyang University. In 1974, a Tan Lark Sye scholarship was set up, and in 1998 the Tan Lark Sye professorship in Chinese language and culture was established to honour Tan. ==Honours==