Chew Choon Siew's Marriage To Kwan lu-Foon By Barbara Hsu (Choon Siew's daughter)

Chew Boon Juan’s second son Chew Choon Siew, 26 was a student at the University of Hong Kong when he married my mother 21 year old Milicent Kwan lu-Foon.

Their wedding was on January 24, 1931 at Kowloon Hong Kong. The photo above was taken at my grandparents home at 107, Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, HK.

The Christian ceremony was held at Jordan Road, Union Church in Kowloon. 

 

Flower girls lu-Hin and Mun-Sheung, brides father Dr Kwan Sun-Mun,
Phyllis Kwan, bride Kwan lu-Foon and behind brides mother.

Kwan lu-Foon in western wedding gown ...

.. Kwan lu-Foon attired in formal Chinese costume.

Photo taken in early 1930's at 4 Gurney Drive. Penang. (centre row 3rd from right) Kwan lu-Foon followed by Chew Boon Juan (Choon Siew's father) and Goh Lean Kee (mother). Back row 5th from left Chew Choon Siew.

JAG

The Wedding Of Chew Gaik Swee – Chew Boon Juan’s Youngest Child

Back row. Chew Boon Juan, China Consulate official, Ong Choo Tin, Lo Chung Liang, Chew Gaik Swee, Chew Gaik Heng, Khaw Cheng Bor, China official. Front row children: Mimi Ang, Yeoh Saw Kin and Ong Heng Leong

Chew Gaik Swee was Chew Boon Juans’s last child.  She was 19 when she married a China national Lo Chung Liang. 

The date of their marriage was 7 December 1946. The wedding was held in Penang at the Burma Road Gospel Hall and the reception was at Chew Boon Juan's home at 4 North Bridge road.   

At the Burma Road Gospel Hall

Newly married Lo Chung Liang and Chew Gaik Swee

It was a grand wedding with a lot of Swee’s nieces and nephews acting as bridesmaid, flower girls and page boy. It certainly made for a beautiful wedding. 

The reception was held at Chew Boon Juan's home at 4 North Bridge road.
Note the auspicious 7 tier wedding cake.

the garden party reception ...

 ........ with Chew Boon Juan seated next to the Gaik Swee and her husband.

Ong Choo Tin d/o 2nd aunt Gaik Hoon, Khaw Cheng Bor s/o 1st aunt Gaik Tuan, Chew Gaik Heng d/o Chew Boon Hong, Mimi Ang d/o 8th aunt Gaik See, Ong Heng Leong s/o 5th aunt Gaik Cheng, Yeoh Saw Kin d/o 3rd aunt Gaik Tiew. 

Gaik Heng and Choo Tin. 

Chew Boon Juan's sons-in-law  Ong Chee Suan, Yeoh Ghim Cheow, Lo Chung Liang

Chew Gaik Swee and Lo Chung Liang

Photos were taken at the Burma Road Gospel Hall and Chew Boon Juan’s home. All photos are from the collection of Yeoh Ghim Cheow.

JAG

Heavy Storm Causes Damage To Chew Museum

Repairs to Chew Museum after a heavy storm. (Inset) the inside of the museum. 

The heavy thunder storm which occurred on the afternoon on April 16 damaged over 100 shoplots in Ipoh and unfortunately Ignatius Chews family museum was one of them.

Ignatius Chew the curator of the museum said the roof tiles of the two story building roof was damaged. The museum is located in the compound of Ban Hoe Seng (Auto) .

Debri from behind had landed on the roof ...

.. the roof tiles at the back were blown off . 

“The roof tiles at the back portion of the house were blown off while debris blown over from the school located behind had landed on the roof and damaged other portions of the house.

Inside at the top floor of the museum ...

Pails to capture rain water. It happened during the Covid-19 pandemic and MCO regulations applied.

Most of the major damage was at the top floor. There was damage to the photographs but it was minimal. Nevertheless it remains to be seen if damp might have affected more of the photographs”.

The storm occurred one month into the Covid-19 pandemic when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was in effect. Any repairs that was required at the time needed Police approval.

In the meantime rainwater had seeped through the missing roof tiles and spread to the other rooms causing several photographs to become damp.

..the exhibits were covered for the duration of repair works

With approvals in hand repair work started 2 days after the storm. Due to limited manpower resources the work took ten days to complete.

At first glance the repair was anticipated to be minimal but upon inspection damage was far more extensive.

The downstairs too was affected as the water seeped down the beams causing a lot of watermarks. Luckily again there was no major damage to any photos. 

Water from upstairs ... 

......had seeped down.

According to Ignatius a comprehensive cleanup will take place once the MCO has been lifted.

               

JAG

Mimi And Her Self-Made Man Tan Sri Dato Hanafiah Hussain

Puan Sri Mimi and her 'self made man' Tan Sri Dato Hanafiah Hussainn

A year back when I visited Puan Sri Mimi at her home she described her husband as a kampung boy who became a self-made man.

That description stuck with me for a long time. I never met a self-made man and wondered if I would ever get to meet this man.

I got the opportunity recently when Puan Sri Mimi visited Ipoh together with her very distinguished husband , Tan Sri Dato Hanafiah Hussein. Both Hanafiah and Mimi looked casual dressed in batik as we sat down for a banana leaf lunch for this interview.

Hanafiah was born in Yan, Kedah to migrant parents from Acheh,Sumatra. He attended the Sultan Abdul Hamid College, Alor Star and during his time was a top student. Coincidentally his schoolmate was Mahathir Mohammed. 

“After the war we were together. Mahathir was top in his class in May and was sent to Singapore while I obtained excellent examination results for my Senior Cambridge and was sent to England on a state scholarship in November 1947.

I stayed with an English family for eight years and passed out with honors in economics specialising in accountancy.

Hanafiah described his initial problem learning economics as a tough time plus my poor English did't help in any way.

God blessed me with a good brain.. it is a gift

“After my lectures I would head off to the library with my notes to better understand what i had been taught. It was only after my first year that I grasped the big picture of economics and business.”

Upon graduation, Hanafiah applied for accreditation with the Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) to be recognised as a chartered accountant. He graduated and again was top in his class and became the first Malay chartered accountant of Malaya which he termed as a gift from God.

His career took off upon his return from England. When he paid his respects to the  Sultan of Kedah, the then Sultan Badlishah Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, he was told that he was overqualified to be the state financial controller and told to proceed to Kuala Lumpur where the opportunities were better.

True enough he was absorbed by the British administration into the federal civil service.It was the and the start of his illustrious career.

On FAMA  Tun Razak told me to do something about it 

After Merdeka he was tasked by the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman with the setting up of  FELDA (the Federal Land Developmemt Authority) and later established Tabung Haji, the Muslim Pilgrim Savings Corporation.  

As for the setting up of FAMA Tunku’s successor Tun Razak had told him that the farmers are being exploited by the middlemen. Do something about it.

All of these agencies was established to uplift the socio-economy of the rural poor especially the Malays and was done within the span of ten years starting from 1957.

Looking back Hanafiah said it so nonchalantly “ I was there and it had to be done. That’s why I say i am a Jack of all trades master of none”.

Tan Sri Hanafiah is 93 this year and is still working as the Chairman of an offshore bank, City Credit Investment Bank Ltd. He travels to China, Hong Kong Taiwan and Shanghai every 3 months for meetings.

I was surprised and asked if he was competing with PM Mahathir who at 95 was the oldest working PM. 

Not at all. He replied that God has blessed me with a good brain and that it is a gift.

Perhaps that is an understatement for Hanafiah is an exceptional individual that excelled in everything that he did such as being top in his class and being the 1^st Malay chartered accountant.

Hanafiah receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from Malaysian Institute of Accountants in 2017

Some of his other achievements include (1964 – 1974) MP for Jerai, Kedah, (1986-1990) Malaysian envoy to Taiwan, 

In (2007) he received the Lifetime achievement award from ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and  in 2017 received the Lifetime achievement award from MIA (Malaysian Institute of Accountants ) and Awarded the prestigious Anugerah Tokoh Melayu Terbilang at Umno’s 71st anniversary.

A devout Muslim he likes to attend mosque and pray. He recalled last December when he took ill in hospital his old schoolmate and PM Mahathir Mohammed paid him a visit.

Last December PM Mahathir Mohammed visited him in hospital 

“It was before the Kuala Lumpur Summit which was attended by five Muslim countries. I advised him that when signing all the documents to remember Allah and Allah will shower you with Blessings.

It was only later that I realized I had done most of the talking and was almost like a lecture. But it was all on God and not about politics”.

Looking back Hanafiah had a point when he said that God has blessed and gifted him with a good brain. He has a sterling track record to show for it.  

JAG

Banana Leaf Lunch For Puan Sri Mimi And Hubby Tan Sri Dato Hanafiah Hussain

The banana leaf lunch. From left Pauline Chew. Ignatius Chew, Tan Sri Dato' Hanafiah Hussain, Richard Chew, Puan Sri Mimi and Agnes Chew

It was after the end of the Chinese New Year when Puan Sri Mimi and her husband Tan Sri Dato Hanafiah Hussain paid a visit to Ignatius and Pauline Chew.

Every year the couple would fly to Penang to meet relatives but this year they decided to drive up.

On their way home to Kuala Lumpur they stopped over at Ipoh to visit her cousin Ignatius Chew. Ignatius offered to shout a banana leaf lunch to which she and her hubby gladly accepted.

How they met ....

Mimi is the granddaughter of Chew Boon Juan born to 8^th daughter Chew Gaik See and Charles Ang.

Mimi recalled that she met Hanafiah back in the early seventies when she was working as a ground hostess with then Malaysia Singapore Airlines. 

Tan Sri Hanafiah and Puan Sri Mimi on their wedding day 

"We met when a mutual friend introduced us. Nothing happened at first. Then when he used to visit Kedah he would come over to Penang to see me. 

It was when he began calling on me every day that’s when everything started".

I have been married to Tan Sri now for forty nine years. I cannot imagine that in a year’s time I will be celebrating 50 golden years of marriage” she laughed as if in disbelief.

The couple in later years

The meet-up in Ipoh was timely. The cousins had a lot of catching up to do that they adjourned to an ice cream parlor for another session before returning home.

JAG.

Chew Hoe Kean - First Time Visitor To Chew Museum

From left: Andrew Chew, Chew Yew Kong, Chew Hoe Kean, Noelle Chew and Jordan Tan

Chew Hoe Kean and his family were first time visitors to the Chew Museum. He was accompanied by his son Andrew and daughter Noelle and son in law Jordan Tan on his maiden visit.

He had heard of the museum from his cousins Datin Sharizan and Chew Hoe Peng and had wanted to drop by for some time.

Hoe Kean is the grandson of Chew Boon Hong, the youngest of four brothers that Chew Boon Juan brought over from China to help him with his business.

He was given a tour of the museum by cousin Chew Yew Kong, a grandson of Chew Boon Juan as Ignatius Chew, the museum’s curator was away.

(L) Cousins Yew Kong and Hoe Kean (R) Hoe Kean keenly viewing over the family photos

As he walked around the exhibits Hoe Kean reminisced about his young days when he lived at his grandfather’s house at 33 Gopeng Road (now Jalan Nazrin Shah).

He described the house as large with a main hall and two dining rooms.

“Uncle Chew Choon Siew (the son of Chew Boon Juan) used to visit often. There were twenty of us staying at No 33 at the time. These included all the married brothers and the unmarried sisters too.

Grandfather's house at  33 Gopeng Road was 'large ...with two dining rooms'. Seated are grandparents Lim Keng Bee and Chew Boon Hong

Chew Hoe Kean (extreme left) and grandfather Chew Boon Hong (sixth from left) with uncles,aunts and cousins

At dinnertime  we would join our grandfather. We had two dining rooms and used the one closer to the kitchen which had two tables.

At one table grandfather would sit in the middle joined with the sons and grandsons while the daughters would be at the next table.

My dad Chew Beng Hee was the eldest and had to sit next to grandfather and I was forced to sit in between them” laughing as he recalled good memories from long ago.

  

Hoe Kean described the museum as a great place to relive and understand our family history of the Chews.

Andrew Chew, Chew Hoe Kean, Noelle Chew and Jordan Tan

He thanked Ignatius Chew the curator for doing a wonderful job of reuniting the families of the four brothers.

JAG

A Visit to Ignatius Chew Museum - Kim Tan Discovers Her Roots

At the Chew Museum. Kim Tan with hubby Danny Cheung and daughter Naomi

It took one visit to the Ignatius Chew museum for Kim Tan to realize that her family was large.

  

Kim Tan lives in Singapore and visited Ipoh recently. It was a casual visit with her husband Danny Cheung and daughter Naomi to savor Ipoh’s good food and to find some family history.

Not unexpectedly it was ‘family history’ which became the interesting point of the trip after visiting the museum.

She described it as a surprise for her while her husband was ‘very impressed’ and her ‘7 year old daughter Naomi was excited and fascinated that the family was popular’.

Kim Tan is the grand-daughter of Yeoh Ghim Seng, the son of Yeoh Khuan Joo and Winnie Khong Sau Meng the daughter of illustrious Dr Khong Kam Tak

“My grandparents were from Ipoh and moved to Singapore 70 years ago and settled there. I have never stayed in Ipoh. My grandmother Khong told me stories about Ipoh but they were just names without pictures.

She described her grandmother now 99 years old as very alert for her age and does a lot of things on her own.

Before I came up to Ipoh I researched about the museum and its location. I hadn’t announced my visit and on the day when I dropped by I was lucky that Ignatius was on hand to open the door and explained the family to me.

Going through the museum I never realized I belonged to such a big family, much too large for me to remember all the names.  

Kim described the museum as very interesting and informative and discovered that both her great-grandfathers have street names named after them.

I visited the homes of my great grandparents. Sri Maju office’s was where my Yeoh great grand parents lived. The staff very kindly allowed us to go upstairs of the building.   

Naomi at Sri Maju the former home of her great great grand parents the Yeoh's.  

A road name of another great great grandfather, Dato Khong Kam Tak in Ipoh

Sadly the Khong family home that used to be on Gopeng Road was torn down and is now an Indian restaurant. I took pictures and videos at both locations to show to my grandmother.

Kim thanked Ignatius for putting in the long hours to piece together the family tree and plans to visit again next time hoping to get in touch with more relatives and of course to savor the Ipoh food.

JAG