The Foochows of Sitiawan: A Historical Perspective
Following on from my two previous posts about the Foochows of Sitiawan, here is the promised image of the book referred to.
Written by Shih Toong Siong, a descendant of those first immigrants the book tells the story of the Foochows since 1903. They were a ‘population transplant’, for a rice growing experiment, fully paid for by the British Colonial Administration and brokered by 3 Methodist Ministers known as ‘The Pioneers’. The scheme was a failure, but they were saved by the boom in rubber which they were able to grow successfully on their ‘Chinese Only’ land given to them by the government. The book endeavours to establish the very beginnings of the various schools, towns and churches of today’s Sitiawan.
There is also a fascinating section about a young schoolboy Ong Boon Hua, better known today as Chin Peng.
The ISBN is 983-41824-0-6 and it retails at RM49.00
I recently discovered that Lin Chen Mei (Ling Ching Mi, etc.) was the uncle of my grandfather Lin Shou En (Ling Shou En, etc.) who was the second president (he served for three terms) of the Foochow Association of Sibu. Foochows might be interested in the Cultural Heritage Centre there — quite a grand monument supported by (I believe) voluntary gifts from the community.
I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has knowledge of Ling Ching Mi or his family. My website/blog has an email address.
Hi Hock G. Tjoa,
I’m related to Ling Ching Mi. He is my great grandfather. My grandfather, Ling Siu Pi,is Ling Ching Mi’s,third son.
Is this book still available for purchase?
I have just checked and it appears that the book is generally out of stock. However,you may stand a chance if you contact the publishers at
Persatuan Kutien Daerah Manjung
11425 Jalan Besar Ayer Tawar Perak 32400 Malaysia,
Tel: 605-6722003
Fax: 605-6722003
Good luck.