Retired teacher's book project explores Peranakan Chinese history in Kelantan

Retired teacher Wee Chong Joi, 92, (second, right) seen with his daughter Alison (right) at the recent launch of his book on Kelantanese Chinese Peranakan history in Kota Baru, Kelantan. Photo: Bernama

A casual Chinese New Year visit to an uncle’s house at Kampung Pasir Parit in Pasir Mas, Kelantan in 1994 sparked a retired teacher’s desire to find out more about the Kelantan Peranakan community which he is a part of.

Wee Chong Joi, who was then teaching at a school in Kelantan, found himself drawn to his 80-year-old uncle Koh Boon Chok’s vivid account of his family ancestry. Koh, a fourth-generation Kelantan Peranakan Chinese, could even recall the names of his ancestors with ease.