Hong Lim Exclusive
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purely altrustic. His philanthropy was spurred considerably by a bitter rivalry with Tan Tock Seng’s business faction. This led to an outpouring of monetary support for rival temples, schools and charitable institutions, as the two factions competed for social influence.
Despite his notoriety, Cheang was undeniably compassionate. When Cheang learnt that the brilliant son of his deceased employee would be forced to leave school to support his family, Cheang ensured the family’s provision, enabling the boy to continue in Raffles Institution. This boy was Lim Boon Keng, who grew up to be a Queen’s Scholar, legislator, pioneer for girls’ education and as poetic justice would have it— the founder of the Anti-Opium Society in 1906, which worked to stamp out the corrupting opium trade in Singapore.
His Ultimate Legacy
For his public contributions, Cheang was given the title “Justice of Peace” by the British, and recognized as the Headman for the Hokkiens in Singapore. He died in 1893, at age 52, leaving behind an estate worth millions of dollars to his 14 children. Long after Cheang’s death, Hong Lim Park remained a vibrant community space, used for the Straits Chinese Recreational Club’s cricket activities, storytelling and Chinese opera. Hong Lim Park was also the site of many political rallies in the 1950s and 1960s, which culminated in the birth of our nation.
Perhaps the moral of this morally-complex story is— What ultimately stood the test of time was not Cheang’s ruthlessly-built empire of vice, but his generous acts of public service.
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HONG LIM COMPLEX(ITIES) cont'd....
*An aside: accidental women’s lib?
Lim Boon Keng also co-founded the Straits Chinese Girls’ School, which is known to us today as Singapore Chinese Girls’ School. The school’s primary mission, however, was less to empower its charges than to turn them into better wives and mothers. Contrary to their glorification in local productions such as “The Little Nonya”, the largely uneducated, uncouth Nonya women of the time were viewed as “stumbling blocks to [their sons’] real enlightenment”, and Lim viewed rudimentary education as the key to transforming them into delightful companions as well as manufacturers of enlightened Chinese sons.