3 days ago
Community leaders pay final respects to adoptive father of well-known social activist Kent Tan
A SON'S GOODBYE: Kent Tan Chow Teng (second from left with while T'Shirt) together his mother (with walking beside) at the late Bobby Tan Say Kuan's wake Jelutong Memorial Park in Batu Berendam, accompanied by state and NGO leaders.
MELAKA: Community leaders and members gathered to pay their final respects to Bobby Tan Say Kuan, the adoptive father of well-known social activist and lawyer Kent Tan Chow Teng.
Say Kuan passed away peacefully on July 18 at a nursing home in Ayer Keroh here following complications from liver cirrhosis, a condition he was diagnosed with recently.
He had celebrated his 67th birthday on July 5 at the home as Kent, as the only son, had no choice but to arrange for nursing care as his mother was preparing for back surgery.
Among those who attended the wake on Sunday (July 20) were Melaka State Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Kerk Chee Yee, Melaka entrepreneur development, cooperatives and consumer affairs committee chairman Allex Seah Shoo Chin and former state executive councillor and current chairman of International Labour Care Organisation (ILCO), Datuk M.S. Mahadevan.
Overcome with emotion but determined to honour his father's wishes, Kent reminded mourners to find comfort in his father's legacy rather than sorrow in his passing.
'My dad didn't want anyone to be sad and that was his last wish,' he said when interviewed at the wake.
Despite the grief, Kent said he was deeply touched by the turnout and the support shown by members of the public.
'He was a modest and kind-hearted man.
"If reincarnation truly exists, I would choose to be born as his son in every lifetime,' he added.
Kent's mother, Cindy Yeo Inn Inn, 63, shared that her son had insisted on a burial instead of cremation, wanting to uphold traditional filial piety and visit his father's grave each year during Qing Ming, the annual tomb-sweeping festival observed by the Chinese community.
'I told Kent that he may one day have to move to another state or go abroad and might not be able to visit regularly.
'But my son was firm and said he would always make time to remember and honour his father when we decided not to cremate my late husband, she said.
Qing Ming holds deep cultural importance among the Chinese community, symbolising remembrance and respect for one's ancestors.
Kent, 32, had previously shared with The Star on July 7 how he was adopted after being born to his biological parents in Johor on Aug 10, 1993.
His adoptive parents had also been open about the adoption from the beginning, always reminding him that he came into their lives as a divine blessing.
A familiar face in Melaka's cultural and social circles, Kent is fluent in seven languages and dialects, including Hainanese, Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Malay, English and Mandarin.
He currently serves as chairman of the Heng Leng Lion and Dragon Dance Association and acts as legal adviser to more than 20 temples and social organisations in the state.
