Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, Volume 5, 2011-12
南方華裔研究雜志, 第五卷, 2011-12
Uncovering the Myths of Two 19th-century Hokkien Business Personalities
in the Straits Settlements
©2012 Wong Yee Tuan*
The aim of this paper is to uncover and clarify the identities of two 19th-century
Hokkien business personalities, namely Khoo Thean Poh 邱天保 and Khoo Tiong Poh
邱忠波, who had their business operating centre based in Penang and Singapore
respectively, the two most important ports-of-call of the British colonies in Southeast
Asia.
Two scholarly works – The Contest for North Sumatra by Anthony Reid and
Shiwai Wu Taoyuan Letu Zai Danxin 世外无桃园 乐土在丹心 (No Paradise in the World
1
and Elysium in His Mind) by Qiu Ge Ping 邱格屏, deal with Khoo Tiong Poh, but they
both confuse Khoo Tiong Poh with Khoo Thean Poh. In order to rectify this situation, I
will point out the reasons for the two scholars making the mistake; present seven
sources that distinguish the two Hokkien business personalities and present
biographical accounts which illuminate their family backgrounds, sociopolitical
connections, and business involvements in the Straits Settlements and beyond.
Reasons for Errors
Reid identified Khoo Tiang Poh as Khoo Tiong Poh, who established a shipping firm
2
Bun Hin & Co. in association with Raja Wichit of Phya Puket in 1874. To Reid, these
two romanized Chinese names refer to the one person though there is a spelling
difference in the middle names – Tiang and Tiong. It is indeed common for the
romanized Chinese name of a personality to be transcribed in different forms in the
colonial records or documents. For example, the romanized Chinese name of 郑景贵, a
th
19 -century Hakka tin magnate and community leader, appears in at least five different
spelling forms in colonial records – Chung Keng Kwee, Cheang Keng Kwi, Chong Kang
3
Quee, Chang Ah Quee, and Chung Keng Kooi.
Qiu has revealed that the romanized name of Khoo Tiong Poh is also written in
two other forms – Khoo Teong Poh and Khu Poh in colonial records. ‘Khoo Teong Poh’
is indeed a variation in spelling for ‘Khoo Tiong Poh’, but this is not the case with ‘Khu
Poh’. Qiu has conveniently assumed that ‘Khu Poh’ and ‘Khoo Tiong Poh’ refer to the
same person. However, ‘Khu Poh’ is in fact an alternative name of Khoo Thean Poh.
Why do multiple romanized variants of a Chinese name appear in colonial
records? This is primarily attributed to the different ways that British officials in the
Straits Settlements grasped a particular Chinese dialect intonation. There were at least
four major Chinese dialects spoken at the time, namely Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese,
and Teochiu. Khoo Tiang Poh and Khoo Tiong Poh were both Hokkien. Hence, their
romanized names were transcribed based on Hokkien intonation. Their family name
and last name are the same in Hokkien intonation but the middle characters are
*Wong Yeetuan is a fellow of the Penang Institute, Malaysia. His email address is:
<yeetuanwong@yahoo.com.au>
1
Anthony Reid, The Contest for North Sumatra: Atjeh, the Netherlands and Britain 1858-1898, (London:
Oxford University Press), 1969. Qiu Ge Ping 邱格屏, ‘Shiwai Wu Taoyuan Letu Zai Danxin 世外无桃园 乐土在
丹心 (No Paradise in the World and Elysium in His Mind)’, Yun Meng Xue Kan 云梦学刊 (Journal of
Yunmeng), 第 30 卷第 5 期, 9 月 2009.
2
Anthony Reid, The Contest for North Sumatra, p.221. (See footnote 2)
3
Lee Kam Hing and Chow Mun Seong, Biographical Dictionary of the Chinese in Malaysia, (Kuala Lumpur:
Pelanduk Publications), 1997, pp.38-39. Also see Tan Yeow Wooi 陈耀威, Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee’s
Shen Ji Jia Shu and Hai Ji Zhan 甲必丹郑景贵的慎之家塾与海记栈, p.35, forthcoming.
147
Wong Yeetuan, Uncovering the Myths of Two 19th-century Hokkien Business Personalities
4
pronounced differently —Tiang is 天 (t‘ian) while Tiong is 忠 (tiɔŋ). Not knowing
Hokkien, Reid is not able to tell the difference in intonation in the two words. Despite
her knowledge of Chinese, Qiu fails to detect that “Khu Poh” and “Khoo Tiong Poh” are
names of two different people as the family name and the last name of the two have
the same pronunciation.
Evidence from Sources
There are three sources providing information that helps clarify the identity of Khu Poh
5
(Khoo Poh) or Khoo Thean (Tiang) Poh. First, the Perak Government Gazette which
published a list of landowners has the names of Khoo Tiong Poh and Khoo Poh Alias
as different entries, indicating that they were different persons (see Figure 1). Second,
Triad and Tabut: A Survey of the Origin and Diffusion of Chinese and Mohamedan
6
Secret Societies in the Malay Peninsula A.D. 1800-1935 by Mervyn Llewelyn Wynne
mentions that Khoo Poh (Khu Poh) was Khoo Thian Poe (see Figure 2). Third, the
7
Foreign Office Series Files (FO 422) which contains a report on the Nisero Incident
noted that Khoo Tian (Thean) Poh (Tempoh) was the younger brother of Khoo Tian
(Thean) Tek (see Figure 3).
The other four sources verify that the romanized name of Khoo Tiong Poh has
never been written as “Khu Poh” or “Khoo Tiang Poh”. A letter found in the Selangor
Secretariat File was written by Khoo Teong Poh addressed to J. P. Rogers, the British
8
Resident of Selangor in 1891 (see Figure 4). News on Khoo Teong Poh’s death was
9
published in Pinang Gazette & Straits Chronicle, 4 March 1892 (see Figure 5). A
petition letter was written by Khoo Tiong Pan addressed to the Resident of Selangor
10
about Khoo Tiong Poh’s sons and estate (see Figure 6). Finally there is Khoo Tiong
11
Poh’s last will and testament of 1893 (see Figure 7). These four sources clearly show
that there are only two correct forms of romanized Chinese for 邱忠波 – “Khoo Tiong
Poh” and “Khoo Teong Poh”.
Biographical Accounts
The materials which I have gathered serve as more than just as a means to
authenticate the identities of the two business personalities. They also throw light on
their roles in the social, economic, and political developments in local and regional
context. Based on the materials, I have compiled biographical accounts of the two
Hokkien mercantile personalities:
Khoo Thean Poh, Khoo Tian Poh, Khoo Tiang Poh, Khoo Poh, Qiu Tian Po 邱天保
(1833-1919), trader, revenue farmer, community leader
Khoo Thean Poh alias Khoo Poh was born in Penang in 1833 and was the eighth son
12
of Khoo Guek Chio 邱月照, a merchant, landowner and a leader of the Khoo clan. His
4
Li Rong 李荣, 厦门方言词典(Xiamen Fangyuan Cidian), 南京：江苏教育出版社，1998. Also see Kam Ui
Lim 甘为霖, 厦门音新字典 Xiamen Yin Xin Cidian (A Dictionary of the Amoy Vernacular), (Taiwan: The
Taiwan Church Press), 2004. 天 in Hokkien is more commonly romanized as ‘Thian’ or ‘Thean’.
5
Perak Government Gazette, vol.IV, July-December 1891, p.998.
6
Mervyn Llwellyn Wynne, Triad and Tabut: A Survey of the Origins and Diffusion of Chinese and
Mohammedan Secret Societies in the Malay Peninsula 1800-1935, (Singapore: Government Printing Office),
1941, p.401.
7
‘Report on Nisero Incident’ in Foreign Office Series Files (FO 422), p. 61.
8
Selangor Secretariat File Misc 4728/91. This file is available in the National Archive of Malaysia.
9
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, 1892.
10
Selangor Secretariat File Misc 1633/97. This file is available in the National Archive of Malaysia.
11
The last will and testament of Khoo Tiong Poh can be found in Hong Kong’s Public Record Office.
12
Xinjian Qiu Zeng Shi Zupu 新江邱曾氏族谱 (The Genealogy of the Sin Kang Khoo and Chan Clans), 第 21
卷 – 海、十九世谱传.
Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, Volume 5, 2011-12
南方華裔研究雜志, 第五卷, 2011-12
ancestral origin can be traced to Sandu Xin’an (Sin Aun) Village 三都新垵村, Hai
Cheng district 海澄县, Zhangzhou prefecture 漳州府, Fujian province 福建省.
In the 1860s, Thean Poh was actively involved in the pepper trade with
Northern Sumatra, particularly the western coast of Aceh. Together with Khoo Kay
Chan, Lim Pet Lean, and Lim Tit, he formed a company that operated seven sailing
13
ships, schooners, barques, and brigs. In order to manage his business, Thean Poh
used to live at Melabuh for few years and established a close relationship with Teuku
Imam, the Raja of Tenom and Teuku Yit, a prominent Acehnese trader. Besides, he
also had one of his daughters married to Syed Mohamed Alatas, a wealthy Acehnese
merchant of Arab descent. Having formed such alliances with the Acehnese, Thean
Poh was able to secure a monopoly of the pepper trade which the European found
hard to break. Thean Poh was also a partner of the Boon Tek & Co., located at 29
Beach Street, which operated as ship chandlers, general store keepers, and general
14
commission agents.
Owing to the wars between the Acehnese and the Dutch and the restriction
placed by the Dutch government on the export of pepper, Thean Poh sold all his ships
and retired from the pepper trading business in the late 1870s. Later he became
actively involved in the opium farm business. Together with his nephew, Khoo Hun
Yeang and a few Chinese towkays, he gained control of opium farms in Penang,
15
Singapore, and Hong Kong.
With his success in business, Thean Poh rose to become an important social
figure and assumed leadership positions in Chinese organizations. He became the
16
vice-president or Gee-ko of Kien Tek Tong, the most powerful Hokkien hui or “secret
society” in Penang. In 1867, he and his elder brother, Khoo Thean Teik, the president
or Toa-ko of Kien Tek Tong, formed an alliance with the Red Flag, an Indo-Malay
“secret society”, mobilized thousands of coolies and started the Penang Riots, the
worst in nineteenth century British colonies, in order to regain control of the opium farm
in Penang. As a result, he was arrested and deported to Kedah. He was later allowed
to return to Penang when the British authorities found that he was a natural-born British
17
subject who was not liable to deportation.
Despite the British criminal charges against him, Thean Poh assisted the
British to resolve the Nisero Incident in Aceh. In 1884, he accompanied Sir William
Maxwell, the Resident Councilor of Penang, to negotiate with the Acehnese chiefs for
the relief of the 26 crew of the Nisero, who were detained when their schooner was
18
wrecked on the west coast of Sumatra near Tenom. Being an associate of the
Acehnese chiefs, Thean Poh successfully obtained the release of the crew. In
recognition of Thean Poh’s help the Government of the late Queen Victoria awarded
him a gold watch with the following inscription – “Presented to Khoo Thean Poh by Her
Majesty’s Government for services in connection with the release of the crew of the
Nisero”.
In 1889, Thean Poh became a board member of Boon San Tong Khoo Kongsi
and in 1892 he served as its president. In 1895, he became the secretary of the
Chinese Town Hall and Kong Hock Keong 广福宫 as well as acting secretary of Lam
19
Wah Hospital 南华医院. Thean Poh also donated generously to cemeteries and
temples in Penang for their renovation and restoration. In 1886, he donated $60 to
13
‘Report on Nisero Incident’ in Foreign Office Series Files (FO 422), p. 61.
14
The Penang Directory for the year 1874 including that of Deli, p.32.
15
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, 21 January 1919, p.7.
16
,Mervyn Llwellyn Wynne, Triad and Tabut, p.248.
17
Wilfred Blythe, The Impact of Chinese Secret Societies in Malaya: A Historical Study, London: Oxford
University Press, 1969, pp.147-8.
18
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, 21 January 1919, p.7. Also see Straits Times
Weekly, 1 October 1890, p.9.
19
Teoh Shiaw Kuan 张少宽, Binlangyu Fujian Gongzhong Jijia Beimin Ji 槟榔屿福建公冢暨家冢碑铭集
[Epigraphic Inscriptions of Penang Hokkien Cemeteries]. Singapore: 新加玻亚洲研究学会 Singapore Society
of Asian Studies, 1997, p.183.
149
Wong Yeetuan, Uncovering the Myths of Two 19th-century Hokkien Business Personalities
build a rest house in the Batu Lanchang cemetery. In 1890, he made a donation of $60
to build a rest house in the Hokkien cemetery of Pulau Tikus and two years later
another donation of $12 for reconditioning the cemetery. In 1891, he made a donation
20
of $162 to build the main hall of Qing Long Gong temple 清龙宫.
In January 1919, Thean Poh passed away at the age of 86 and leaving behind
four sons, five daughters, and many grandchildren, and great grand children.
Khoo Tiong Poh, Khoo Teong Poh 邱忠波 Qiu Zhong Bo, (1830-1892), ship owner,
merchant, revenue farmer, tin miner.
Khoo Tiong Poh was born in China in 1830 and migrated to the Straits when he was
about 22 years old. His ancestral home was Sandu Xin’an (Sin Aun) Village 三都新垵村,
21
Haicheng district 海澄县, Zhangzhou prefecture 漳州府, Fujian province 福建省. He
was the eldest son of Khoo Eng Chye 邱应财. In Singapore, he became a partner of
chop Teong Ho in Market Street and of the ship-chandlery firm of Ann Bee, Keng Lam
& Co. or Chop Sin Bee Siang in Bonham Street. In 1874, Tiong Poh, who retired from
Teong Ho, partnered with Rajah Wichit of Phya Puket to establish a shipping and
22
trading company – Bun Hin & Co. 万兴公司 located at Malacca Street of Singapore.
Bun Hin & Co. also served as an agent for Man On Insurance Company Limited of
Hong Kong and Singapore Patent Paint C. Ltd.
23
In 1880, Tiong Poh recruited a capable person, Quah Beng Hong 柯孟洪
from Penang, an elder brother of Quah Beng Kee 柯孟淇, as the manager of Bun Hin &
Co. Within a few years, the company opened branches in Penang, Hong Kong, Amoy,
and Swatow. The branch in Penang was known as Bun Hin Chan located at No. 89,
24
Beach Street. At one time, Bun Hin & Co. owned twelve steamers – s.s. Cheang
Chew, s.s. Cheang Hock Kian, s.s. Cheang Hye Teng, s.s. Samtor, s.s. Chow Phya,
s.s. Petrel, s.s. Chan Tai, s.s. Kedah, and s.s. Hanoi, s.s. Pearl, s.s. Carisbrooke, and
25
s.s. Ferntower. Each of these steamers plied different regional and international
routes. For example, s.s. Chow Phya sailed between Singapore, Melaka, and Klang;
s.s. Hanoi sailed between Penang and Larut; s.s. Cheang Hye Teng sailed between
Penang, Singapore and China. The principal commodities carried by these steamers
were tin from Perak and Phuket, rice from Saigon, coolies and China goods from China.
Bun Hin & Co. became the largest and leading shipping enterprise in the
Straits. This success was attributed to Tiong Poh’s innovative shipping policy: 1.Never
sail an empty ship; always carry something, even a cut-price rate, in either direction. 2.
Always match the lowest rate/charge until the competitors were out of business and
then enjoy the luxury of monopoly. He ran a tight and efficient shipping enterprise. One
British sea captain recalled in his memoir that Khoo Tiong Poh's ships in any Malay
ports always had sixty coolies waiting at the dock to load and unload. Such was his
26
impressive no nonsense efficiency.
20
Teoh Shiaw Kuan 张少宽, Binlangyu Fujian Gongzhong Jijia Beimin Ji 槟榔屿福建公冢暨家冢碑铭集
[Epigraphic Inscriptions of Penang Hokkien Cemeteries], pp.118, 130, 149
21
槟城龙山堂邱公司: 历史与建筑材料 [Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi: The History and Architecture], 槟城: 槟
城龙山堂邱公司出版小组 [Penang: Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi Publication Committee], 2003, p.44. Also
see Song Ong Siang, One Hundred Years’ History of the Chinese in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur: University of
Malaya Press, 1967, pp.176, 188, 201-2.
22
Song Ong Siang, One Hundred Years’ History of the Chinese in Singapore, pp.176, 188, 201-2.
23
He married Khoo Sor Peck, the eldest daughter of Khoo Tiong Poh. In 1885, he suffered severe head
injuries after being thrown from a horse. After two weeks he succumbed to the injuries and died. His body
was buried at his father-in-law’s plantation at Batu Lanchang.
24
Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle, 14 July 1891, p.6.
25
The Singapore and Straits Chronicle for 1891, p.144. Also see Song Ong Siang, One Hundred Years’
History of the Chinese in Singapore, p. 201.
26
Oral history provided by William Khoo, a fourth-generation descendant of Khoo Tiong Poh. He is currently
residing in the USA.
Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, Volume 5, 2011-12
南方華裔研究雜志, 第五卷, 2011-12
Apart from shipping and trading, Tiong Poh also had business interests in tin
mining, revenue farming, planting, rice milling, and insurance. He partnered Ong Beng
Tek and Khoo Cheng Sin and ventured into the tin mining and smelting business in
Perak. They operated chop Khun San, a shop-cum-smelting house located at Main
27
Road, Kamunting of Larut. In Kamunting, Tiong Poh owned nine pieces of lands
totaling about 16,000 square feet. In Selangor, he owned the chop of Hock San to
operate tin mining. Besides having his own tin mines, he also financed other Chinese
towkays’ mining operation. In 1886, Tiong Poh became the director of The Straits Fire
Insurance Company, Limited, which was incorporated in Singapore. Forming an
alliance with the Penang Opium Syndicate, he was successful in gaining control of the
Singapore opium and spirit farms 1889-1891 and the Larut coast revenue farm in
28
1891. In Penang, Tiong Poh owned a large plantation near Batu Lanchang.
Tiong Poh’s philanthropic deeds in Penang were his donations to the two
largest Hokkien cemeteries (Batu Lanchang and the Batu Gantong cemeteries) and
four major Chinese temples (Shui Mei Gong 水美宫, Qing Yun Yan 清云巖, Cheng
29
Huang Temple 城隍庙, and Qing Long Gong 清龙 宫. He was appointed to the
Selangor Cooly Depot Committee. In 1888, he was given an honourable title – Dao Tai
道台 by the Qing government for his financial contribution for coastal defence and flood
30
relief in China.
Tiong Poh had three wives (Yeoh Siew Kim, Tan Poo Neo, and Tio Oo Neo),
eight sons (Khoo Geen/Phee Soon, Khoo Geen Haw, Khoo Geen Keat, Khoo
Geen/Mah Lek, Khoo Geen Choe, Khoo Geen Yew, Khoo Geen Tah, and, Khoo Geen
Teow), and four daughters (Khoo Sor Pek, Khoo Sor Tin, Khoo Sor Gan, and Khoo Sor
31
Lan). On 2 March 1892, he passed away in Singapore following a prolonged illness.
His body was brought to Penang by s.s. Cheang Chew to be buried in his plantation.
The whole of his estate, including those in Singapore, Swatow, Amoy, and Hong Kong
was estimated at $2,000,000. Tiong Poh Road and Tiong Poh Avenue in Singapore are
32
named after him.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, the romanized Chinese names in different Chinese dialects found in the
colonial records pose a great challenge to scholars and researchers of Southeast
Asian Chinese history. Without knowledge of Chinese dialects, it is difficult for one to
identify and distinguish the Chinese personalities by relying on one or two source(s).
But this difficulty can be surmounted by consulting more and different type of sources.
The identification of the Chinese business personalities indicate who the influential
players were in the mainstream of socioeconomic and political affairs in Southeast Asia.
More importantly, it enables us to see the different dialect groups they belonged to
rather than being lumped together as “Chinese”. These business personalities
commanded a web of networks linking to the colonial powers, the grassroots, and the
indigenous chieftains and royalty. In this regard, the Chinese business personalities
can serve as an entry point for tracing not only the dynamic local, intra-regional, and
27
Perak Government Gazette, July-December 1891.
28
The Singapore and Straits Chronicle for 1891, p.153.
29
Wolfgang Franke and Chen Tie Fan, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Malaysia, vol.2. Kuala Lumpur:
University of Malaya Press, 1982-1987, pp. 580, 598, 623.
30
Kua Bak Lim 柯木林，Xin Hua Lshi Renwu Zhuan 新华历史人物传 (Who’s who in the Chinese Community
in Singapore), Singapore: EPB Publishers Pte Ltd, 1995, p.102. Also see Yen Ching-hwang 颜清湟, Haiwai
Huaren Shi Yanjiu 海外华人史研究 (Studies in Overseas Chinese History), 新加坡: 新加坡亚洲研究学会,
1992, p.28.
31
From the tombstone of Khoo Tiong Poh’s grave is located at his family burial ground at Penang. Also see
Qiu Ge Ping 邱格屏, ‘Shiwai Wu Taoyuan Letu Zai Danxin 世外无桃园 乐土在丹心 (No Paradise in the World
and Elysium in His Mind)’, p.66.
32
Kua Bak Lim 柯木林, Xin Hua Lishi Renwu Zhuan 新华历史人物传 (Who’s who in the Chinese Community
in Singapore), pp. 101-2.
151
Wong Yeetuan, Uncovering the Myths of Two 19th-century Hokkien Business Personalities
inter-regional economic activities, but also dialect and ethnic relationships in the
colonial and indigenous setting.
In the age of the nation-state, the dominance of the country-based and
Eurocentric approaches has displaced or suppressed the transnational and cross-
ethnic elements that constituted the very fabric of nineteenth century Southeast Asian
society, economy, and politics. In this manner, important aspects of Southeast Asian
history have been distorted, if not shunned. A reappraisal of existing historical methods
and techniques is required to recover the nuanced picture of Southeast Asian Chinese
history. The investigation of Chinese business personalities, as undertaken here,
provides for a different template and an alternative trajectory from which to make fresh
explorations into Southeast Asia’s past.
Figure 1: Perak Government Gazette (Source: National Archive of Malaysia)
Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, Volume 5, 2011-12
南方華裔研究雜志, 第五卷, 2011-12
Figure 2: Triad and Tabut: A Survey of the Origin and Diffusion of Chinese and Mohamedan
Secret Societies in the Malay Peninsula A.D. 1800-1935 (Source: The Australian
National University’s Library)
Figure 3: A Report on the Nisero Incident (Source: National Archive of Malaysia)
153
Wong Yeetuan, Uncovering the Myths of Two 19th-century Hokkien Business Personalities
Figure 4: Letter by Khoo Tiong Poh (Source: National Archive of Malaysia). Note: The author
copied this from the original letter found in the National Archive Malaysia
Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, Volume 5, 2011-12
南方華裔研究雜志, 第五卷, 2011-12
Figure 5: Pinang Gazette & Straits Chronicle (Source: University of Malaya’s library)
155
Wong Yeetuan, Uncovering the Myths of Two 19th-century Hokkien Business Personalities
Figure 6: Letter by Khoo Tiong Pan (Source: National Archive of Malaysia)
Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, Volume 5, 2011-12
南方華裔研究雜志, 第五卷, 2011-12
Figure 7: Khoo Tiong Poh’s Will & Testament (Source: Hong Kong’s Public Record Office)
