Vincent Tan Chee Yioun – Giving Pledge Statement

Coming from a relatively poor family and without the benefit of a formal tertiary education, I have been blessed with material success beyond my wildest imagination. Yes, I have worked hard and smart, but there are many who undoubtedly have worked harder and who are far smarter than I and yet have not achieved the same level of material success. My success could not have been possible without divine blessings.

I am also keenly aware that there is only so much money that a person needs for himself and his family and this brings home the sense that when one is blessed with great wealth beyond what is needed, there is a corresponding moral and social responsibility to put the money to good use. For this reason, I have for many years done my part to help the less fortunate and under-privileged through monetary donations and other means of material support. I have also established a foundation known as Better Malaysia Foundation to organize and focus these efforts with the aim of giving back to the community and generally making Malaysia a better place. This, in part, is also to return to society what I have benefited through the support my fellow Malaysians have given to the various businesses of both the publicly listed Berjaya group of companies of which I am the major shareholder and my other privately held concerns.

Ideally, acts of philanthropy are better kept private but I have been inspired by the philanthropic works of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett and their effort to encourage the wealthy to pledge at least 50% of their wealth for philanthropic purposes. It has led me to ponder and consider how I can better manage and use my wealth for philanthropy, and to also publicly make a pledge to donate at least half of my wealth for philanthropy during my lifetime.

It is my hope that with my joining the Giving Pledge, more wealthy Asians, and in particular Malaysians, will be inspired to use their wealth and resources, and perhaps even pledge to donate at least half their wealth, for philanthropic purposes.