He was also an anti-opium fighter, philanthropist and social reformer.
He served in a number of important committees including the Tan Tock Seng Hospital Management Committee, the Central Midwives Board and the Council of King Edward VII College of Medicine.
After the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, he joined the Advisory Council where he spoke out against social ills caused by the war.
He founded the Chinese Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in 1945 and formed the Chen Su Lan Trust in 1947.