It is the largest gift the National University of Singapore (NUS) has received from an international alumnus, but Indonesian tycoon Tahir is reluctant to talk about the $30 million he has just pledged.

The 59-year-old chairman and chief executive of Indonesian conglomerate Mayapada Group, and one of the country’s wealthiest men, prefers to talk about his philosophy of philanthropy.

“There are lots of people richer than me,” he said, with a wave of his hand. “It’s not about how many cars you have, how rich you are. That’s disgusting.”

A big supporter of education, the Indonesian-born Singapore permanent resident is donating the $30 million to the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine to advance research and education. As a result of his gift, the total sum received by NUS, including a government matching grant, is expected to be around $75 million.

Tahir has made three previous gifts to NUS — between 2006 and last year — for scholarships and bursaries, totaling $3 million.

He has a special affinity with NUS. While the ethnic Chinese is a business graduate from the then Nanyang University, he is technically an NUS alumnus as a result of the 1980 merger.

Also, his son Jonathan, 24, graduated from NUS’s business school two years ago.

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