Former The Borneo Post editor Tan Chin Siang passes away
KUCHING: Former The Borneo Post senior news editor Tan Chin Siang has died at the age of 59.
He passed away at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) on Tuesday afternoon after a long battle with multiple myeloma cancer.
The veteran pressman is survived by his widow Siaw Ming Hui and son Tan Jun Jie.
Tan was an editor at The Borneo Post from 2010 to 2017. Prior to that, he was also an editor for Eastern Times.
Siaw said Tan’s first foray into journalism was with the New Straits Times (NST) during his 20s.
“His first mentor in the industry was James Ritchie,” she said.
She shared many fond memories of her late husband but one she cherished the most was how devoted he was to his family.
“He was the most gentle man I’ve known and in our 24 years of marriage, not once did he raise his voice at me.
“Tan was a gentleman and a very kind person. He has been a very devoted husband to me as well as a loving father to our son,” she told The Borneo Post when contacted.
The Borneo Post senior managing editor Francis Chan said he remembered Tan as a disciplined and meticulous editor.
“He took his work seriously and got along well with people he worked with. He could have advanced further in his career had it not been for his illness.
“We lost a friend and a cherished colleague,” he said.
Tan’s former colleague at NST, Sulok Tawie, also shared the same sentiment, noting that Tan was well-liked by staff at the national paper.
“He was always jovial and often cracked jokes. Some were dry jokes but it was all done in good spirit,” he said.
Sulok also said Tan was helpful to his colleagues including young reporters from the media fraternity who needed advice on how to handle certain stories.
“I joined NST in 1996 and at that time, he was a clerk. He became a reporter later that year and if I’m not mistaken, left the company in 2008.
“During those years, we worked well with each other and never had any unnecessary arguments,” he recalled.
Cindy Lai, a reporter with The Borneo Post in Miri, credited her winning a major journalism award to Tan.
“One day back in 2015, Tan rang me out of the blue with the idea of asking me to interview Miri’s calligraphy and photography veteran Ting Nai Ho for a feature article.
“He said Ting’s background could be an interesting topic for a feature and his suggestion and guidance won me my first Kenyalang Journalism Award,” she reminisced.
Lai said she called Tan after the awards ceremony to thank him.
“I am grateful to him for sharing that idea with me,” said Lai.
Tan’s wake was held at the Sarawak Hun Nam Siang Tng Funeral Parlour, Jalan Sekama here.
The cortège will leave for Nirvana Memorial Park’s Treasure Hall Crematorium at 10am today (May 12).