The Emergency and Chinese New Villages

 

The 2nd Leong Sin Nam Memorial Lecture

"The Emergency and Chinese New Villages" by Prof (Dr) Gary Lit Ying Loong

Opening Speech by Dr Leong Oon Keong:

Good afternoon, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to our Legacy Today Event Space at 15 Clarke Street. Clarke Street is now known as Jalan Sultan Abdul Jalil. This shophouse was built by my grandfather, the late Mr Leong Sin Nam. I was born at the end lot of this row of shophouses.

This Legacy Today Event Space is one of our CSR Projects dedicated to preserving and celebrating our past, while also envisioning and shaping our future in Perak.  I wish to thank my wife Dr Lim and my 2 sons, for being so patient with me, while being away from home to get 15 Clarke Street up and running.  I also wish to pay tribute to my father and mother, the late Mr Leong Yeow Nyean and Mdm Chee Swee Ngoh who endorsed these projects with a gift to the community. We are expanding our outreach by acquiring next door to become an eatery.  We are currently looking for an F&B operator to collaborate with us.

By holding Events at 15 Clarke Street, we hope to inspire and educate future generations about our rich heritage. Carefully selected Events provide opportunities for engagement and dialogue on various challenges faced by our community.

This Event Space will also provide an avenue for young artistes, painters and craftsmen to exhibit their skills and products.  Today our young artist is Mr Daniel Lam Voon Phin who teaches and coaches young boys and girls how to play the piano and keyboard. Please contact him, if you have children wishing to learn how to play the piano or keyboard.

This Event Space also provides opportunities for social and charity projects.  You may wish to take home a bookmark and make a donation of any amount to the Perak Chest Society.  Your donation will help sponsor Caregivers to Respi-Care 2023.

There are several upcoming events, namely:- 1. Archaeological Discoveries in Bible Land 2. Perakian Contribution to the Founding of the Republic of China.

Our Photo Gallery exhibits images from years 1880 to 1940, a very eventful 60-year period, which is also the lifetime of Mr Leong Sin Nam.

This period encompassed the history of British Malaya, the Federated Malay States and the Rulers, Imperial China under the Qing Dynasty with the Last Emperor Puyi, the Chinese Diaspora, Dr Sun Yat Sen and the Chinese Revolution, the Nanyangs and the Rise of the Tin Industry in Malaya.

To discover the rich history from each picture on display, please scan the QR code provided.  Please also remember to visit our Blog for historical updates.

If you are a Perak History enthusiast, please let me know.  We hope to assist the Perak Tourism Board to popularise two Ipoh Heritage Trails, namely the The Cantonese Heritage Trail which encompasses Jalan Leong Sin Nam and The Sun Yat Sen Trail. 

Today, we are very privileged to have Prof (Dr) Gary Lit Ying Loong, from Singapore, to deliver the Second Leong Sin Nam Memorial Lecture.

Professor Dr Gary Lit obtained his BSc degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS), under the Singapore Public Service Commission Merit Scholarship in 1979.  He later pursued his MBA and MSc in UK and obtained his PhD from the University of Melbourne in Australia.  After retiring from the Nanyang Technology University, he became a visiting professor to several universities in Asia and Europe.  Besides conducting lectures and seminars, he has given numerous interviews with major newspapers and TV stations in Asia and Europe.

He has written a well acclaimed book “If the Skies Were to Fall”.  He will be sharing some very interesting stories from his book and you will be totally thrilled.

You may wish to purchase a copy of his book after the talk and have it autographed.

Today’s talk by Professor Gary Lit is on “The Emergency and the Chinese New Villages”.  He will bring to live the happenings during that time.  

The Emergency and Chinese New Villages by Emily Lowe

OMF Bungalow

In 1933, Towkay Leong Sin Nam (梁桑南) built a residential bungalow at Cameron Highlands. The site is 1530 meters above sea level. Picture shows Sir Shenton Thomas with the owner at the front of bungalow.

The name Yi Yun Court “怡云阁”, which means “enjoying panoramic views of clouds atop the pavilion”, greets guests at the entrance gate on the road leading to the bungalow.

The bungalow had been built with a unique architectural design. He inscribed on the building the congratulatory message “情良中心”（Love Center) given to him by the Governor of the Straits Settlements Sir Cecil Clementi Smith (马来联邦钦差大臣,海峡殖民地总督金文泰).





Picture shows the original bungalow without the added upper floor over the covered walkway linking the main building and the tower. A network of hidden underground tunnels, below the rooms' wooden floorboards in the main building and the tower, allowed escape and food stockpile for the occupants during emergencies. Leong Sin Nam was pro-China during the raging Sino-Japanese war.

The first Chefoo School was opened in China in 1881. It moved to Cameron Highlands in 1952. From 1954 to 1959, Chefoo School used the bungalow as a missionary school for children.

In 1964, the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) bought the bungalow and used it as a place of rest and spiritual renewal for members of OMF as well as local pastors and missionaries from other Christian organizations. The bungalow is now called the OMF

Leong Sin Nam Tomb vandalised

Leong Sin Nam's tomb vandalised. Not a pretty sight at all. Two cement statues torn off the sidewall and thrown onto the floor. The heads of the model guards detached at their necks. The worship alter also ripped off from the table and thrown onto the floor.

Utter disrespect for the departed and needing the family to pay for repairs which the money could have been better given to charity for people lacking in food and clothing during the pandemic and floods.

We need more civic minded people to care for public amneties and private property. Distruction of property should never be condoned and the culprits should be brought to justice. 

Vandals damage tomb of late community leader Leong Sin Nam | The Star

独家︱梁燊南坟墓受破坏 2守卫像香炉遭推倒 - 地方 - 大霹雳 - 时事焦点 - 大霹雳焦点 | 星洲网 Sin Chew Daily

Leong Sin Nam's Business Ventures

A cheque issued through The Bank of Malaya Limited

An envelop addressed to The Perak Trust & Investment Co. Ltd. 

Perak State Council 1939

Perak State Council 1939.
Mr Leong Sin Nam (seated second from left).

Adapted from Arkib Negara Malaysia.

Perak State Council 1936

Perak State Council 1936.
Mr Leong Sin Nam (seated 1st from right).

Adapted from Arkib Negara Malaysia.

Perak State Council 1925

Perak State Council 1925.
Mr Leong Sin Nam (3rd from right).

Adapted from Arkib Negara Malaysia.

Leong Sin Nam Ceremony 2019 (79th Anniversary)

This year we have special guests.  Mr Li Xin Xiang from China who authored the book Loh Fang Bo. He was accompanied by Mr Loh Kee Kang.  Dato Hew Choy Kun delivered his Presidential Speech while Dr Leong Oon Keong updated the dinners on Social Enterprises for 15 Clarke Street.

Leong Oon Keong Chest Clinic Sdn Bhd. made a donation of RM 3,000 to SJK (C) Min Tet for its basketball project.  We also presented 20 Pulmonary Rehabilitation Workbooks to the Perak Kaying Association to be given to anyone with a lung condition who needs pulmonary rehabilitation.

Perak State Council 1932

Mr Leong Sin Nam (seated at the far right) at the Perak State Council meeting in 1932.

Source:  Arkib Negara Malaysia

Leong Sin Nam Football Trophy

A rare picture of Mr. Leong Sin Nam (seated 3rd from left) with the football team. LSN was a keen sportsman but not a footballer himself. Date of picture unknown.

Sam Tet School

Fund raising dinner 2016.

60 Years On

 Dear Schoolmates,

Greetings and thank you for being my friends.  I have known some of you since Kindergarten days and I must admit you are special. Spending time together in school was different from time at work. Those were the care free days when only exams mattered.  But then there was still a lot of time when we thoroughly enjoyed our friendship be it in school or out.

My memory is beginning to fade and I think this is the best time to pen down some of the fond memories which we experienced together.

I attended the Wesley Church Kindergarten.  Regret to say I cannot remember who was with me then but some of you would.  So please tell me!  But I do remember the building which is now a multipurpose hall located beside the Horley Hall Gymnasium and Wesley Church. However I will always remember an European teacher who was very kind (unfortunately I forgot her name).  One day my parents came very late to fetch me from school and this lady attempted to take me home on her motor bike.  Well, we never arrived at my home because my travel guidance at that young age was horribly wrong!

My Standard 1 classroom was in the historic school building.  Beside it was a suspended iron rod which was used to sound recess time and the end of the school session.  I fondly remember Mr Foo Choy Wan, the senior assistant, who taught me how to make my first speech during school assembly. He would place / marks in sentences to tell when I should pause to emphasize a point.

Then there was Mr Seow the magician.  I was very enthusiastic about his tricks and even bought some magic potions from his shop in Anderson Road.  Mr. Seow was also in charge of the Projector Club and the first movie I saw was the "Return of the Mummy"; a rather frightening film for kids.  It was screened in one of the classrooms in the new building block and the admission fee was 50 cents.

I loved the swimming lessons taught by "Donald Duck" and Mr Henry Yee. Yew Thye, also known as "bamboo", had some difficulty learning to swim. But then bamboo can naturally float and so in the end he became a life guard with the award of merit. I only took on the bronze medallion under my student coach Chee Ngee On.

I never excelled in sports.  But, then there was this "tug of war" with a thick rope which my team and I won on several occasions for the "Eu Tong Sen" House.  We had numerous practice sessions below that huge "Angsana" tree near the Horley Hall gym.

Below is a picture of the Tuckshop Prefects with our cute sashes worn during duty time.  I loved the art sessions with Mr Lee Kah Meng and Mr Tye Chee Yin.  They were so creative.  Typewriting with Mr Yeoh Cheang Wah was fun. The typewriting lessons came in handy since we now type so much on our computer keyboards.  Mr Yeoh also taught commerce.  My current knowledge of credit and debit columns came from his classes.  Some of the other teachers who had made an impact on my life were Mr Mak Kim Yeng; the discipline master who was also very much into photography; Mr Lee Hoo Keat; the maths teacher who had called almost everyone a "stupid boy"; Mr Brian Foenander; the history teacher who called upon every student to score a higher mark in the history test than the previous test, with a minimum of 80 marks!  Anyone who failed to do so would be caned. We are all experts in history now! These teachers had gone the extra mile to make sure we students learnt what had been taught. I salute all of them. There are many others whom I respect but don't have enough space in this Anniversary Booklet to write about.

Tuckshop Prefects

The six years in Primary School passed by really fast ending with the LCE exam.  The results came out while I was in Bangkok on a trip organised by Mr Quah Guan Teik.  On returning to Ipoh by bus, I was pleasantly surprised by the good results which was posted below the staircases of the main ACS building. During this trip Mr Chan Chee Yin met his future wife. There was romance throughout the excursion.

Canning Garden Methodist Church

I was baptised by Rev. Richard Liew in the Canning Garden Methodist Church.  The founders of this church were Mr Fong, Mr Tye, Mr Mak, Mr Havelock and other teachers from ACS.

Bangkok

With Teh family in Cameron Highlands

The late Paul Teh was one good friend whom I can never forget. He broke his arm when I pushed him off a high wooden bench below the Tembusu trees during some childish play.  We often played marbles and spun tops together below these trees as well.

Mr Seow the Magician

The Magic Club

Secondary School

It was another seven long years in ACS. We were all becoming more matured both mentally and physically. According to the school motto we prayed well and studied well. But I must admit it was only towards the exam time.

As you can see from the photos below we all had great fun. We visited each other on our bicycles. We even cycled to Tanjong Rambutan for a swim. Music was in the air. We held parties not only with MGS girls but also with Convent girls.

It was also a time to serve in various Societies.  I was in the Science Society, Interact Club, Prefects and Librarians Board.  

ACS 1st Grand Prix - Slot Racing

Wong Chee Choong organised this Social

Letting the hot air out before an exam

Now Everyone Can Travel

The Guitar Man and Singers

Better than Friends

Mrs Liew and Librarians

Appreciating our Teachers

A Friendly Lot

I became the Head Librarian during Lower Six Form. Mr Oi Chee Hong was my mentor. The teachers in charge were Mrs Liew and Mrs Lee. The librarians were closely knit and we had many social gatherings together. We were like a big happy family and the library was our second home.

Looking back, I have this advice for students. Please do not get yourself involved in too many extra curricular activities. While in school, study well and score well in exams.  Join only 1 or 2 societies of interest and learn soft skills.  Success in life is not dependent on the number of distinctions one scores in exams but with good exam results there are more career choices and tertiary education opportunities both locally and abroad.

Why do I say this?

Well, I was one who was too involved in school activities. I often had to skip lessons in class because I had to attend meetings or to perform duties. I did poorly in my Lower Six exams. I remembered Mr Woon, my chemistry teacher, who warned me of impending disaster if I continued to neglect my studies and took on unnecessary duties in school.  I took his advice well and returned to my studies as quickly as I could upon starting Upper Six. I took private tuition with some of the brightest students then to play catch up. Truly, things went very well for all of us who studied hard.  For the first time in ACS history, five of us went into medical school, University of Malaya. Medical school was another 5 years of hard work and we went through it without much fuss.

Receiving the Baton

Passing on the Baton

After HSC Exam

Learning is life long. Life is short and even shorter when we reach 60. The questions then for me is what will be the best things to do before I fall "asleep"?

Revisiting ACS Primary

A Meal with Friends

The future is still bright for most of us who can still walk, run, swim, sleep and eat.  I am up and about after my cataract operation in April. I can see clearly now.

Here are the few areas I am heading into: 1. Be deeper rooted in Christ and to spread the good news 2. Building a stronger family unit and making sure my kids are adequately provided for. 3. Building up ESL Healthcare a social enterprise with emphasis on home care. 4. Continuing medical practice until my eyes go dim again. 5. Taking Perak Chest Society to the next level.  6. Establishing TO BE to train and uplift youths. I pray and hope to complete the race in this 3 score and 10 years (Malaysian life expectancy: Male 72 years, Female 77 years).

A heartfelt thank you to all my friends for all the encouragement and support throughout these years. May our friendship continues to grow and prosper.