1859 – 1910
The cultivation of gambier in Singapore begins
declining due to soil exhaustion. A few Teochew
planters begin moving north to Johor and what was
then known as Siam to continue their agricultural
pursuits. Those who stayed turned to trade and
occupied both banks in the middle of the Singapore
River. They became such a dominant force in the area
that it was said that the Teochews in the right bank
had virtual control of the trades in sundry goods and
textiles while the left bank was filled with gambier,
pepper and other tropical produce.
RENOWNED TEOCHEW CLAN MEMBERS
Seah Eu Chin (1805 – 1883)
Seah came to Singapore from Swatow province in 1823, working
first as a clerk in a Chinese shop and then an accounts clerk.
He started his own business at the age of 25 trading in local
commodities and slowly built his wealth. Seah also ventured into
gambier and pepper planting and owned massive tracts of land
that were devoted to this venture. As the leader of the Teochew
clan in Singapore, Seah was very active in community work,
sitting on the board of Raffles Institution and helping to mediate
a huge clash between the Hokkien and Teochew secret societies
in 1854. His influence and power were so huge that he was
nicknamed Emperor. Seah passed away in 1883, leaving behind
four sons and three daughters.
Lim Nee Soon (1879 – 1936)
Lim was born in Singapore and was brought up by his maternal
grandparents as both his parents passed away when he was still a
young child. He attended St Joseph’s Institution at the age of 10 to
learn English and graduated when he was 17-years-old. Lim began
his career as a business apprentice and worked so hard that his
employer praised him highly. In 1908, Lim was appointed the general
manager of Sembawang Rubber Estates Ltd and inherited a few
estates from his grandfather after he passed away. Two years later,
in 1910, Lim was known as the Pineapple King and Rubber King,
after having gone into rubber and pineapple planting with the land
he got from his grandfather. Lim also co-founded the Chinese High
School and had donated S$10,000 to the school in 1919. He was also
responsible for turning the Ngee Ann Kongsi into an organised entity. Lim passed away in 1936
in Shanghai and today, his name lives on in many streets in the northern part of Singapore.
Lee Wee Nam (1880 – 1964)
Lee came to Singapore when he was 16, having been raised by his father in the poor subprefecture of Theng Hai. He began working hard and was soon
recruited into the Sze Hai Tong Banking and Insurance Company
Ltd. Rising through the ranks, Lee became Chairman and Managing
Director in 1932. Lee was noted for his active community work, serving
as the President for multiple organisations such as the Singapore
Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Teo Chew Poit Ip Huay Kuan.
He was also very concerned with the education of the young and was
instrumental in setting up the Ngee Ann Girls School, an institute
for young Teochew women. He also sat on the board of Chinese High
School and Nan Hua Girls’ School. Lee passed away in 1964. Even after
his passing, Lee’s legacy in education continued as his family made a
generous donation to Nanyang Technological University to help build a
library for the Engineering and Science faculties.
1933
The Ngee Ann Kongsi Ordinance to
incorporate the organisation as a legal
entity was passed by Sir Cecil Clementi, the
then Governor of the Straits Settlements.
The Ordinance spelled out clear rules for
the management of the Kongsi and set the
foundation for the organisation to move
forward with a clear leadership structure.
Lien Ying Chow (1906 – 2004)
Well known for being the founder and Chairman of the Overseas
Union Bank, Lien came to Singapore when he was 14 with his
uncle Lien Han Poh and with just a few coins in his pocket. Like all
Teochew immigrants, Lien saw Singapore as a land of opportunity
and started his first business, Wah Hin, at the age of 23. Wah Hin
was a trading company that supplied provisions to the British army
and the civil service. Lien was also responsible for completing the
Ngee Ann Building along Orchard Road in the 1960s, one of the
first landmarks in that area. He was also key in establishing the
then Ngee Ann College, now known as Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Lien
passed away in 2004 at the age of 98.
TEOCHEW TRIVIA!
• Ngee Ann City is a commercial and civic project that was conceptualised in the late 1980s by the leaders of the Kongsi to reinstate Orchard Road as the
main shopping hub in Singapore! The land that the massive complex sits on belongs to the Ngee Ann Kongsi and was previously used as a burial ground.
• To finance the building of Ngee Ann City, the Kongsi managed to secure a record S$412 million loan from the four major local banks. It was the biggest
ever loan given to a charitable organisation at that time. The profits that the Kongsi earns from Ngee Ann City is funnelled back into society, financing
the organisation’s many educational and community projects.
• The oldest Teochew temple in Singapore (and amazingly still standing today) is the Wak Hai Cheng Bio on Phillip Street. T H