Activists on the Fringe: Chinese Intelligentsia in Penang in the Early 20th Century
- Activists on the Fringe:Chinese Intelligentsia in Penang in the Early 20th Century
From the early days when the Chinese immigrants started to arrive in Penang, until as recently as the first part of the 20th century, the Chinese had participated actively in the economic, social and political development of Penang. Among these pioneer immigrants, there was a group which was small and little noticed, compared to the commercially active traders, planters and laborers. Although not much written about, this group of individuals who contributed significantly to the educational and cultural development of the Chinese community in Penang was remarkably well captured in the book, Nanyang yingshu haixia zhimindi zhilüe [inline-graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="01i.gif"/] (Gazetteer of the Nanyang British Straits Settlements), compiled by Song Yunpu [inline-graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="02i.gif"/], a Minguo [inline-graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="03i.gif"/] (Republican period) merchant, and published around 1930. This article aims to study this particular group of Chinese in Penang by examining their aspirations and actions, to bring about an awareness of their influence and contribution.
Introduction
Since Captain Francis Light1 appointed Koh Lay Huan as the first Chinese Kapitan of Penang,2 immigrants from the southeastern provinces of China had been coming to Penang in growing numbers in the early 20th century. Drawn by economic opportunities, they came to clear land, to plant, to mine or to trade.3 To be more precise, from Captain Light's arrival to the year 1930, when the book Nanyang yingshu haixia zhimindi zhilüe (Gazetteer of the Nanyang British Straits Settlements) was published (Song 1930),4 the number of Chinese immigrants in Penang was on a yearly increase (except for the period from 1914 to 1928), reaching two prewar peaks in 1911 and 1929.5 The fact that "the Chinese became the largest racial group of Penang" (Khor 2004: 17)6 was not [End Page 34] perceived without some anxiety. It was at about the same time that the British government passed the Immigration Restriction Ordinance (1928–31) to restrict the entry of adult male Chinese immigrants to Penang, as "it is considered that the entry of such labourers is likely to cause unemployment" (ARSS 1998(9): 698). The anxiety was not with regard to the numbers alone. The British colonial government also stated that "the majority of labourers in the Colony are Chinese and South Indians. The latter are chiefly engaged in agricultural work and on public services, the former in agriculture and every other form of manual labour. Skilled work is almost entirely in the hands of the Chinese" (ARSS 1998 (9): 419).7 One can take this as an official acknowledgment that the Chinese immigrants simply could not be dismissed as unimportant. Yet the British colonial government's attitude toward the Chinese community was one of non-interference. It was only in later years, when the operations and rivalries of the various secret societies associated so closely with the mining and revenue farming activities of the various dialect groups brought so many problems with law and order8 that the British colonial government changed its policy. To manage the Chinese, the British colonial government established the office of the Protector of Chinese in 1877, and started to appoint leaders of the Chinese community as Justices of the Peace (JP), to work as an intermediary between the community and the British government. That in consequence gave the British better control.9 Not only was order maintained, there were some rather unexpected gains as well. It was stated in the 1891 report that after the final settlement of the affairs of the "dangerous" societies, "the Ghi Hin had a balance of over $70,000 after paying all debts, and some little difficulty arose as to the disposal of this large amount." Eventually a donation of $3,000 was given to the Penang Free School, $2,000 was donated to the Pauper Hospital and another $2,000 to the Leper Asylum (ARSS 1998(3): 626).
Objective of this Study
Among the...
