Liew with ‘Legacy’, a book which spotlights a common man who tenaciously builds success for generations. — KT GOH/The Star
THERE have been several published works and books about Chinese immigrant families to Malaysia.
So, one might ask what is different about Legacy – A Family Story 1900-2024.
Legacy is the story of Seet Chwee Bin, an ordinary man who became extraordinary, said the book’s Taiping-born author Liew Suet Fun who has produced some 20 published works on poetry and non-fiction.
The book was commissioned by one of Chwee Bin’s grandsons, Lip Poh, better known as Joe.
While sitting in his garden in England about 15 months ago, Lip Poh thought about having a book written about the three generations of the Seet family.
According Liew, who is also president of the Taiping Heritage Society, the book is not about a rich and famous tin miner nor a rags-to-riches entrepreneur.
Instead, it tells of how an ordinary man started out among millions of Chinese immigrants to Malaya in the late 19th to early 20th centuries.
“Legacy is not just about inheriting material riches but inheriting the intangible qualities of character, toughness, determination and industry.
“These qualities that the late Chwee Bin possessed enabled him to leave China and build for himself and his family a successful life extending generations after him,” Liew explained during the book launch at Nyonya Palazzo, George Town, Penang.
The book starts with how, in 1900, a 23-year-old Chwee Bin had to leave his home in Changchiew, in China’s southern Fujian province, for southeast Asia, to escape poverty, war and famine.
He was considered a late-comer in an era which saw one of the greatest waves of Chinese diaspora.
He had been preceded by more than two million Chinese who had left China in the second half of the 19th century.
“Carrying nothing but hope and courage, Chwee Bin worked in a nutmeg plantation in Province Wellesley (now Seberang Perai) before moving to Melaka where he raised a family in an area called Tua Chu Lai.
“The family grew up in impoverished circumstances but the children became, in turns, a doctor, dentists and a chartered accountant.
“And in the generation after, they continued to become professionals in Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia and the US,” said Liew.
Chwee Bin and wife Chan Chew Lan had three sons, Soon Aun, Soon Guan and Hock Tin, and a daughter Bock Neo.
Most parts of the book are about Soon Guan, who was born in Melaka in 1913.
Liew, who started writing Legacy earlier this year and finished it around June, said Soon Guan carved a niche beyond his father’s imagination by becoming a senior police inspector with the British Police Force.
He was also a translator for the Japanese during World War II.
He then joined the newly formed Special Branch in the early days of the Emergency in Malaya.
“This is when the different threads and complexities of the Seet family story come into play.
“I had to weave them together to make it appealing to readers and keep them engaged,” said Liew.
Soon Guan and his wife Tan Yoke Eng went on to have two sons, Lip Chai and Lip Poh, as well as three daughters Ai Poh (now deceased), Ai Len, and Mei Ling.
The book is more factual and rooted in history, the author pointed out.
It portrays the Seet family as they lived through different eras such as the Great Depression, World War II, Independence, the Emergency and the Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation.
A former chartered accountant, Lip Poh, 72, said the main aim for the family biography was to bring immediate relatives closer through reminiscing a childhood of unquestioning obedience to a strict father.
“We are an ordinary family who are living proof that our elders’ legacy of honesty, integrity and a strong work ethic can bring success.
“The importance of family is often lost as each of us pursue our own paths to success.
“Hopefully, youths, who seem to believe there was no ‘life’ before Google and the distractions of social media, will benefit from reading this book which tells an enduring story set over a span of more than 100 years.
“We also hope that the younger generation, who seem to have no interest in our family roots, will develop an interest once they grow older and have families of their own,” he added.
Copies of Legacy at RM50 are only available from the family by emailing jseet@jcb2002.com.
All proceeds will go to Motor Neurone Disease Malaysia.
