One Hundred Years' History Of The Chinese In Singapore: The Annotated Edition. Ong Siang Song
for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, and is one of the group of young Straits Chinese who are taking a practical interest in public affairs, having realised the duties of citizenship which devolve more especially on the men of education and standing in our community.
The younger son, Ong Peng Hock, who also received his education at Raffles Institution, was carefully trained by his father in the timber trade, and was [100] managing director of United Sawmills Ltd during the brief period of its existence. As a partner of Ong Sam Leong & Co. he goes on frequent visits to Penang to supervise the management of the branch business there.
There were several firms during this decade having large dealings with outports. Among these were Low Poh Jim & Co chop Joo Tye in Boat Quay (established in 1859) with the principal partner Low Poh Jim stationed in Bangkok; and Yap Sian Tee & Co chop Hong Tye in Boat Quay, whose managing partner Yap E Gin resided in Bangkok. These two firms had previously traded together as Yap E Gin & Co, the partners being Low Poh Jim (Bangkok) and Yap E Gin (China). Low Poh Jim & Co were the first consignees of the steamer Chow Phya, which was built at West Hartlepool in 1858 for the King of Siam or his Prime Minister and for many years was running between Bangkok and Singapore.
The firm of ‘Teang-why & Co’ carried on business in Market Street as merchants from 1840 to 1858. The proprietor was Chee Teang Why, who died in Singapore on the 8th October 1861, leaving a will in which he directed that his house in Bukit China district, and his plantation in Pringget district in Malacca, and his plantation in the district of Toah Pyoh (Thomson Road), Singapore, were not on any account to be sold or mortgaged but were to be reserved for ever as ‘ancestral heritages’, and the rents and profits thereof were to be applied towards paying the expenses of sacrificing to the sinchew or tablets of himself and his deceased ancestors from time to time ‘agreeably to the custom of the Chinese’. Like a similar devise in Choa Chong Long’s will, this devise was some fifty years afterwards (1908) pronounced to be void as infringing the Rule against perpetuities.
The firm of Khoo Cheng Tiong & Co chop Heng Chun at Boat Quay dealt extensively in Saigon rice. The founder was Khoo Cheng Tiong, who came to Singapore with very little means, commenced business about [101] 1850 and gradually became one of the bestknown rice merchants in the Settlement, being worth at the time of his death over a million dollars which, very properly, were mostly invested in this Settlement. He had a wide acquaintance in Singapore, where he was for some time president of the Chinese charitable hospital (‘Tongchay-e-sia’) and one of the recognised heads of the Hokien community. The firm owned large rice mills at Saigon. Khoo Cheng Teow, his brother, was the manager of chop Heng Chun. Seeing that the business was very profitable, Cheng Teow started his own business as rice merchants under the chop Aik Seng & Co, taking Cheng Tiong into partnership with him. He appointed Khoo Syn Thuak to be manager of chop Aik Seng, which, after the death of Cheng Teow in January 1896, owing to bad management had to be closed. One of his sons, Khoo Kok Wah, commenced a new business as rice merchants under the name of Aik Seng & Co in Cecil Street, and this business is in a very prosperous condition to-day.
Khoo Cheng Tiong
Khoo Cheng Teow (left), and his son, Khoo Teck Siong.
On the death of Mr Khoo Cheng Tiong in June 1896, at the age of 76, his second son, Khoo Teck Siong, became the managing partner of the concern. The eldest son, Khoo Teck Him (otherwise known as Khoo Seok Wan), took a literary degree in China. A man of enlightened views, he was strongly in sympathy with the revolutionary movement in China which culminated in the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty in 1911. He took a prominent part in entertaining such distinguished political refugees as Kang-yu-wei and Dr Sun-yat-sen during their sojourn in Singapore. His generous gift of $3,000 towards the fund for starting the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School in 1899 is worthy of more than a passing mention, for at that time our leading Straits Chinese were apathetic, if not inimical, to the cause of female education and refused to contribute anything towards that Fund. Both brothers, Seok Wan and Teck Siong, were executors and trustees of their father’s will. Each of them inherited about $700,000. Seok Wan [102] speculated in land and house property and in six years’ time lost all his patrimony: while Teck Siong held shares in the Opium and Spirit Farm and lost money in that venture, and in December 1907 both brothers figured in the Bankruptcy Court.
Among the principal import and export merchants at this time was Heng Hin & Co, which imported directly French wines, Scotch whiskies and Manila cigars and tobacco. The business was established in 1856 at 12 Market Street by Lim Soon Tee, a Singapore Chinese, and exported largely to the Native States, Borneo and the surrounding islands. The firm also imported rattans, hides, gutta-percha and betelnuts and sold them to local traders. Mr Lim Soon Tee also owned a saw-mill at Syed Alwee Road and a number of bungalows at Almeida Road (now Balmoral Road). Quite recently the firm got into difficulties and in 1915 it ceased to exist. In 1893 Mr Lim Soon Tee had started another firm of Kim Hin & Co at 7 Kling Street which became one of the most important Chinese firms engaged in the liquor trade. The management was placed in the hands of his nephew, Mr Lim Tek Siong, who is now sole proprietor of the concern: his good knowledge of English proving of material advantage in the conduct of his extensive business of Wine and Spirit Merchants, General Importers and Commission Agents, which is now carried on at No. 13 Kling Street.
Another firm of importance was Ah Hood & Co chop Koon Hong at Telok Ayer Street, which was started by Wee Ah Hood and dealt in Straits produce of all kinds. Ah Hood’s father was a Teochew trader named Wee Ah Heng, who settled down in Malacca in 1810. He owned several junks and traded between Selangor and Singapore, running great risks owing to the prevalence of piracy in those early days. He got on friendly terms with one of the old Rajahs of Selangor by whom he was presented with a Malay spear, a kris and a golden image. He had only to place those objects in a conspicuous [103] place on his junk when Malay pirates approached to indicate that he was under the Rajah’s protection, and his vessel was unmolested. He died in Malacca at the early age of 32, leaving his son, Ah Hood, a six months’ old child. Wee Ah Hood was born in 1828, and began life as an assistant in a cloth-dealer’s shop in Telok Ayer Street. By means of his steady application and diligence he was promoted to be manager. On his towkay’s retirement, he established his own business. He was very successful in his transactions and became one of the biggest gambier and pepper merchants of his time. He was highly respected by the European firms with whom he dealt. He died in 1875 at his residence in Hill Street, now occupied by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. This building is one of the four well-known typical Chinese mansions in Singapore. Mr Wee Kim Yam, the eldest son, was born in 1855 and was opium and spirit farmer for the three years 1886-8. In his father’s shop premises he carried on his business of Kim Yam & Co chop Khoon Lee, which was wound up shortly after his death on 17th December 1914. He took a great deal of interest in all public affairs concerning the Chinese community and was made a JP, and served zealously on the Committee of Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the Chinese Advisory Board, the Po Leung Kuk, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Straits Chinese British Association. He has left a son, Wee Hean Boon, who is well educated both in English and Chinese. A young man of progressive views, Mr Hean Boon has been a staunch supporter of Dr Lim Boon Keng in connection with the night school for teaching the Mandarin dialect to Straits Chinese, and also in all movements for social, intellectual and moral reforms on Confucian lines.
Wee Ah Hood
Wee Kim Yam
Another Chinese firm of merchants had come into existence some time before 1859 under the style of Eng-wat, Moh-guan & Bros. Mr See Eng Wat34 was born in Malacca and was one of the first Chinese British subject merchants in Amoy for a great number of years. [104] His second son, Mr See Ewe Boon, was educated at St Xavier’s Institution, Penang, and for a short time was a trader at Amoy. In