Ipoh Is a Chinese Town by Ian Anderson S the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) Approaches Our Thoughts Turn to the Chinese Population of Ipoh and the Kinta Valley
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
FREE COPY (Reg. No. 687483T) February 1 - 15, 2019 PP 14252/10/2012(031136) 30 SEN FOR DELIVERY TO YOUR DOORSTEP – ASK YOUR NEWSVENDOR ISSUE 297 100,000 print readers Bimonthly 925,475 online hits (Dec) – verifiable Ipoh is a Chinese Town By Ian Anderson s the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) approaches our thoughts turn to the Chinese population of Ipoh and the Kinta Valley. Ipoh Ais a Chinese town or, to be politically correct, Ipoh is a Malaysian Chinese Town, although certain members of the community would not agree with either of these statements. Nonetheless, it is true, for the bulk of both Old Town and New Town were built by the Chinese. They built streets of shophouses, Clan Association, Hospitals and Schools and history reveals that in the great majority of these were Chinese miners, initially simple coolies, who made their fortunes here, becoming multi-millionaires, in the process. We call them the Pioneers. Continued on page 2 Perak Hakka Association Present-day Ka Yin Association Kah Yin Association and Min Tet School Perak Community Specialist Hospital (formerly Perak Chinese Maternity Hospital) YOUR VOICE IN THE COMMUNITY 2 IE297 FEBRUARY 1-15, 2019 www.ipohecho.com.my Ipoh Echo Foodie Guide Ipoh Echo Tin Brought Fortune Hunters Dialect Groups Chinese Occupations But who were these Chinese and where did they come from? The best way to answer But let us not misunderstand the situation; apart from the Hakka, the Jews of Asia, who that is to consider them in dialect groups, distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or over the past 1000 years had migrated from Northern China and known to be hardworking vocabulary, for a Chinese is not just a Chinese, but a proud member of one of the famous subsistence-farmers, there were very few Chinese in the mines; other groups preferring to ethnic groups, and many still think of themselves that way. Thus there are Hakka, Hok- support the tin ore fields in countless other ways. They became street barbers, rickshaw kien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese and the Foochow, to name just a few. Even then it pullers, cooks or servants; opened coffee shops, brothels and opium dens; were tradesmen is not that simple as each dialect group also pays allegiance to a specific region. Thus, for like goldsmiths, clog makers, tinsmiths; or professionals, engineers, insurance and example, we get Kah Yin Hakka who originate from an area known as the five counties banking. Cantonese women, however, formed the great bulk of Amahs for the Europeans in Guangdong and see themselves as distinct from others. and rich2 Chinese. It is from those early days that Ipoh still celebrates Hakka Noodles and Yong Tau Fortunes to be Made Foo, Teochew porridge and Bak Kut Teh, Cantonese Yee Mee, Hainanese Chicken Rice But why did so many Chinese flock to Ipoh? Tin! It was the lure of money to be made – Ipoh has them all! from tin mining that brought the Chinese to Ipoh in huge numbers. It was the dream of them all, to come to Nanyang, the Southern Seas, make their fortune from tin, and return to their villages as rich men. Sadly, very few made it as life was tough here in those early The Early Towkays or Pioneers days and many died here, while others just did not gather the riches they expected, and made their lives here rather than returning to a home with so many problems. However, But who were these Chinese immigrants that built Ipoh, the Towkays? Whatever dialect there were many, particularly the Hakka that did achieve those vast fortunes and lived they spoke, they were entrepreneurs and philanthropists who cared for the people, their their lives of millionaires so different to the days when they had started out as coolies in health and their education. the mines. Towkay Leong Fee Perak Kah Yin Association, The Perak Chinese Chamber One of the earliest of these was a penniless young of Commerce, the Perak Chinese Tin Miners Association man, a Hakka, named Leong Fee. He came to Ipoh in and Min Tet Primary School 1876, he was 19 years old. Surprisingly, he brought his With three wives and 14 sons, it is said that the legend family tablets with him and founded the Paloh (God of of the three Concubine Lanes came about as he gave one Prosperity) Temple to keep them to each wife and in Chinese, they became known as First in. There seems no doubt that Wife’s Lane, Second Wife’s Lane, etc. The amazing thing he planned to stay! A successful about this man is that when he came to Malaya, he could miner who became exceptionally neither read nor write! rich, he became very friendly with another young coolie, Yau Towkay Leong Sin Nam First Perak Chinese Hospital Tet Shin and, as they prospered, Following on from these joined with him on several Hakka ‘Pioneers came Leong projects to improve Ipoh. Sin Nam, (LSN) born in 1880. With four wives, two He first arrived in Malaya concubines and his dancing girls when he was three years old, in his private club, Han Chin Leong Fee but returned to Guangdong, Pet Soo, he obviously enjoyed with his mother, in 1896 with the girls. But it seems that these his dead father’s remains. were not enough for him, as after he passed away, a three- On the way, his mother also year-old boy appeared at his first wife’s doorstep. The man passed away and our 16-year- who accompanied the child said that the child was the old had to take responsibility product of Leong Fee’s liaison with a “Mystery” lady but for the remains of them both! the lady had recently passed away. Mdm. Cheah took the He remained in his village for child into her household. They named him Lincoln Leong the next two years, where it is Yee Khean (Liang Yi Chuan). recorded that he lived the high Leong Sin Nam life and took up opium smoking. Perak Chinese Chamber of Commerce, now Recognising the dangers of his way of life, he returned to Malaya and Ipoh where he took up employment, initially as a mining coolie and then a clerk. Soon he was into mining on his own account and then expanded into other business interests, including plantations. As his business interests grew, so did his philanthropy. He took on major business and social projects far too many to list here, but we cannot forget his huge input into education and many schools, both Chinese and English have much to thank him for. One outstanding example of his support for education is that he even lent his bungalow in Gopeng Road to the Perak Girls’ School when he heard they were short of classrooms. But he never forgot his homeland. He was a great supporter of the revolutionary God of Prosperity Temple Dr Sun Yat Sen and while living in Ipoh, held several The Original Perak Chinese Chamber of Commerce government posts in China. Locally, in 1937, he was the Towkay Yau Tet Shin Chairman of the Perak Overseas Chinese Disaster Relief Towkay Dato’ Seri Lau Pak Khuan Born as a Hakka in 1859 in Fund and personally made huge donations to this and Born in 1894, again in Guangdong, he started in Malaya other funds to support the Chinese people. Guangdong, young Lau as a mining coolie. He hated In 1939, when his health was failing, his doctor came to Malaya in 1912, it and became a street hawker suggested opium, but he declined as he remembered that taking up employment as instead. He saved hard and the drug almost ruined his life when he was just 16 years a “pushcart” boy in the started his own grocery shop in old. He passed away in 1940. mines. From this humble Ipoh eventually leasing mining beginning, he rose to land from the government. become one of the most A successful miner, he then important businessmen in branched out into a variety of Malaya with 20 mines to money-making schemes that his name. Chronologically included administering taxes later than Leong Sin Nam, for liquor, owning pawnshops he followed on many of the and becoming the government good works of his senior, Yau Tet Shin contractor for opium dens, while creating his own. For Dato’ Seri Lau Pak Khuan brothels and gambling houses. example at the age of 26, he Incredibly successful he gave Ipoh its first theatre in joined the Perak Chinese 1891, a beautiful garden by the river (The People’s Park), Chamber of Commerce where LSN was the second a new market, a Mandarin School and in 1909 built the President, becoming President himself in 1947. He held first 300 houses of Ipoh New Town. In addition, he was the post for 33 years and as LSN aged, Lau Pak Khuan the one who donated great sums of money to build the Leong Sin Nam Bungalow School Continued on page 6 YOUR VOICE IN THE COMMUNITY www.ipohecho.com.my Ipoh Echo Foodie Guide Ipoh Echo IE297 FEBRUARY 1-15, 2019 3 From The Editor’s Desk PAY OR WE’LL CUT SUPPLY Judging from the “altercation” the long-cherished marketing adage about customers being the king does not feature in TNB’s scheme of things. using such a contraption in a placid surrounding like the EcoVillage. It is not only ridiculous but out-rightly By Fathol Zaman Bukhari immoral. Judging from the “altercation” the ell, this is nothing long-cherished marketing adage about new. When one customers being the king does not is vested with feature in TNB’s scheme of things.