Tan was born on 5 April 1940, in Yong Peng, Johor state of migrants from Fujian province, China.
Bishop Tan was also a founder of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism in the early 1980s.
Today, the council consults with the government, and vice versa, on laws, policies and other matters affecting non-Muslims.
He has also been active in ecumenism, having served as assistant secretary and later as executive committee member of the Christian Federation of Malaysia until he went to Rome 1992.
[1] Pope Francis accepted Bishop Tan's resignation from office (due to reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75) on 19 November 2015.