Foo Tye Sin Explained

Honorific Suffix:JP
Birth Place:Bayan Lepas, Penang, British Malaya
Death Date:[1]
Death Place:Light Street, George Town, Penang,
Occupation:Businessman, tine miner, mediator
Known For:Pepper King

Foo Tye Sin was a Justice of the Peace and an influential community leader of 19th century.[2] Penang born Foo Tye Sin, a British subject,[3] was a Hakka tin miner who could trace his ancestry to the Yong Ting District, Ting Chou Prefecture, Fujian. He was educated at St. Xavier's Institution[4] and the Penang Free School.[2] [4] [5] Tye Sin Street (Chinese: 四条路), or Lebuh Tye Sin as it is now known as, is named after him.

Disturbances at Pinang and Larut

He was involved in events leading up to the signing of the Pangkor Treaty that would end the ten-year Larut Wars.[6] His services were often called for in arbitration proceedings between the Hai San and Ghee Hin societies involved in the Larut Wars.[7] Foo Tye Sin was one of three Chinese considered respectable enough to sit on the commission of inquiry into the 1867 Penang riots. He was the only non-partisan Chinese at a ceasefire conference called by Lt. Governor Anson at the height of the Larut war, even though he was, according to CS Wong, "...overtly and independent, but covertly a Hai San sympathiser."[5] [8] [9] Foo Tye Sin and Ong Boon Teik were creditors of Ngah Ibrahim the Mantri of Larut. In early 1872, Foo Tye Sin and Ong Boon Teik sued Ngah Ibrahim.[10]

Tye Sin Tat and Co.

Foo Tye Sin and Koh Seang Tat, a descendant of Koh Lay Huan, the first Kapitan China of Penang,[5] were business partners in the firm of Tye Sin Tat & Co., ships' chandlers, which was located at Beach Street.[10] They were, together, two of the three Chinese Justices of the Peace in 1874."[5]

The Penang Khean Guan Insurance Company (1886)

He was a founder and member of the board of directors of the Penang Khean Guan Insurance Company. The board was composed thus:

Name of Partners

Pitt Street Kong Hock Temple (1887)

Together with Khaw Boo Aun (also spelt Koh Boo Aun), Khoo Thean Teik and Cheah Tek Soon, He was made a trustee of the Pitt Street Kong Hock Temple in 1887, with the power to appoint and remove monks.[12]

Penang Po Leung Kuk (1889)

Along with Koh Seang Tat, Khaw Sim Bee, Ong Boon Teik and Ong Beng Teik, he was a founder of The Penang Po Leung Kuk (1889).[4]

Foo Tye Sin Mansion

Foo Tye Sin's mansion was one of the first non-European mansions to be erected along Light Street.

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Death of Foo Tye Sin . Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle . November 6, 1888.
  2. Historical Personalities of Penang By Historical Personalities of Penang Committee, Published by Historical Personalities of Penang Committee, 1986; Page 55
  3. About Others and Myself, 1745 to 1920 By Archibald Edward Harbord Anson Published by J. Murray, 1920; pp. x, 877, 878
  4. The Penang Po Leung Kuk: Records and Recollections (1889–1934): Chinese Women, Prostitution & a Welfare Organisation By Neil Jin Keong Khor, Keat Siew Khoo, Izrin Muaz Md. Adnan Published by Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2004;, ; pp. 53–57
  5. Gangsters into Gentlemen: The Breakup of Multiethnic Conglomerates and The Rise of A Straits Chinese Identity in Penang by Engseng Ho, Department of Anthropology, William James Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 Email ho@wjh.harvard.edu Presented at The Penang Story œ International Conference 2002 18–21 April 2002, The City Bayview Hotel, Penang, Malaysia organised by The Penang Heritage Trust & STAR Publications
  6. The Making of Modern South-east Asia By D. J. M. Tate Published by Oxford University Press, 1979; Item notes: v.1; p. 301, 558
  7. The Impact of Chinese Secret Societies in Malaya: A Historical Study By Wilfred Blythe, Royal Institute of International Affairs Published by Issued under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs [by] Oxford U.P., 1969; p. 134
  8. [Chung Keng Quee#The Fourth Larut War|Chung Keng Quee and the Fourth Larut War]
  9. CS Wong, A Gallery of Chinese Kapitäns (Singapore: Dewan Bahasa dan Kebudayaan Kebangsaan, Ministry of Culture, 1963)
  10. The Western Malay States, 1850–1873: the effects of commercial development on Malay politics By Kay Kim Khoo Published by Oxford University Press, 1972; pp. 173, 209, 210
  11. Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle, 9 February 1886, p. 2
  12. Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society By Malaysian Branch, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Malaysian Branch, Singapore, 1988; p. 71

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