Chew Boon Seong, The Eldest Brother of Boon Juan.

Chew Boon Seong and his wife.

Chew Boon Seong was the eldest of the brothers.

He came to Malaya just before the turn of the 20^th century from China at the invitation of Boon Juan who asked him to come over to help him run the tin mine.

In Malaya he lived at the Kampong Kepayang house managing Boon Juan’ affairs be it the tin-mine and sundry shop business.

He opened Ban Hock Long, his company engaging in mining business like open quarries and open cast mines. 

The Sundry shop was located in Kg. Kepayang.

In 1909 he passed away and his body was brought to the Ipoh railway station and sent to Penang then onwards  to China.

All of Boon Seong’s business after his death was taken over by Boon Juan including Ban Hoe Seng Rice Shop.

Boon Seong married a wife in Malaya. He had a son Choon Yew who married Teh Chua and they had 11 children, 6 sons and 5 daughters.  

Choon Yew’s daughter, Chow Khoon who grew up in Kg Kepayang allowed a glimpse of a life in the 1930’s.

According to Chow Khoon she is the 2^nd of the eleven children. Born in 1925 she is the eldest daughter and was 91 years old (2016). 

They had a sundry shop which was patronized by the workers in the village. It was on the main road of the village. 

Her father Choon Yew was a rubber trader and owned his own rubber estate.

 “He would tap his own rubber and as he was a trader would collect from the other tappers. Overall he became the middleman who also exported the rubber.”

Chew Chow Khoon.

She remembers waking up at 3-4 in the morning and seeing the workers begin to go to tap for rubber. They would wear a lamp on their forehead.

At the end of the day they would carry the day’s collection of rubber from Simpang Pulai to the shop at Kg Kepayang.

Recalling in the early years they used elephants and bullock carts.

“We used to have 3 -4 elephants that would bring the rubber down. Elephants were preferred then to bring the rubber to the village, as they were stronger and carried more than the bullock cart in the early days when there were no roads.

That was during the years 30’s and 40’s.

“By then we had moved to Simpang Pulai from Kg Kepayang. Our house and estate was the boundry of  the current Police Station. It was acquired by the government during the emergency for $1000.00 an acre.”

The house of Chew Choon Yew in Simpang Pulai.

Most of the descendants of Chew Choon Yew were teachers.

Chew Beow Ting (inset) taken off  an Old School Boy photo gathering.

Chow Khoon became a teacher with Poi Lam while her brother Chew Beow Ting was the Headmaster of Phui Ting Primary School , Simpang Pulai when he retired.

The family of Chew Beow Ting, Chew Kean Teik (2nd from left) followed by Chew Kean Seong

Chew Beow Ting died in 2016. His family are living overseas.

End