Foo Tye Sin

Foo Tye Sin (simplified Chinese: 胡泰兴; traditional Chinese: 胡泰興; pinyin: Hú Tài Xìng) was a Justice of the Peace and an influential community leader of 19th century.[1] Penang born Foo Tye Sin, a British subject,[2] 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[3] and the Penang Free School.[1][3][4] Tye Sin Street (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.[5] His services were often called for in arbitration proceedings between the Hai San and Ghee Hin societies involved in the Larut Wars.[6] 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."[4][7][8] 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.[9]

Tye Sin Tat and Co.

Foo Tye Sin and Koh Seang Tat, a descendant of Koh Lay Huan, the first Kapitan China of Penang,[4] were business partners in the firm of Tye Sin Tat & Co., ships' chandlers, which was located at Beach Street.[9] They were, together, two of the three Chinese Justices of the Peace in 1874."[4]

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
  • Tan Ley Kum (陈俪琴), Chairman
  • Cheah Chean Eok (谢增煜), Secretary
  • Lee Phee Yeow (李丕耀), Chong Moh & Co.
  • Cheah Eu Ghee (谢有义), Chie Hin & Co.
  • Khoo Thean Teik (邱天德), Chin Bee & Co.
  • Khoo Sim Bee (邱心美), Ee Soon & Co.
  • Cheah Tek Soon (谢德顺), Sin Eng Moh & Co.
  • Ong Beng Tek (王明德), Ban Chin Hong & Co.
  • Foo Tye Sin (胡泰兴)
  • Yeoh Cheng Tek (杨清德), Hong Thye & Co.
  • Khaw Sim Bee (许心美), Koe Guan & Co.
  • Cheah Leng Hoon (谢凌云), Eng Ban Hong & Co.
  • Gan Kim Swee (颜金水), Aing Joo & Co.
  • Tan Lim Keng (陈锦庆), Kim Cheang & Co.
  • Ong Boon Tek (王文德), Treasurer
  • Logan & Ross: Solicitors[10]

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.[11]

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).[3]

Foo Tye Sin Mansion

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

References
  1. Historical Personalities of Penang By Historical Personalities of Penang Committee, Published by Historical Personalities of Penang Committee, 1986; Page 55
  2. About Others and Myself, 1745 to 1920 By Archibald Edward Harbord Anson Published by J. Murray, 1920; pp. x, 877, 878
  3. 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; ISBN 967-9948-32-3, ISBN 978-967-9948-32-5; pp. 53–57
  4. 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 [email protected] 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. Chung Keng Quee and the Fourth Larut War
  8. CS Wong, A Gallery of Chinese Kapitäns (Singapore: Dewan Bahasa dan Kebudayaan Kebangsaan, Ministry of Culture, 1963)
  9. 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
  10. Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle, 9 February 1886, p. 2
  11. 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

Further reading
  • The Journals of J. W. W. Birch, First British Resident to Perak, 1874–1875: First British Resident to Perak, 1874–75 By James Wheeler Woodford Birch, Peter Laurie Burns Contributor Peter Laurie Burns Published by Oxford University Press, 1976; p. 22, 158n
  • Capital and Entrepreneurship in South-East Asia By Rajeswary Ampalavanar Brown, 1943– Brown Published by St. Martin's Press, 1994; ISBN 0-312-12096-6, ISBN 978-0-312-12096-2; p. 82
  • The Internationalization of Chinese Revenue Farming Networks by Carl A. Trocki published in Water Frontier: Commerce and the Chinese in the Lower Mekong Region, 1750–1880 By Nola Cooke, Tana Li Contributor Nola Cooke, Tana Li Published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2004; ISBN 0-7425-3083-3, ISBN 978-0-7425-3083-6; p. 170
  • Chinese Secret Societies in Malaya: A Survey of the Triad Society from 1800 to 1900 By Leon Comber Published for the Association for Asian Studies by J.J. Augustin, 1959; pp. 125, 309
  • The Official Catalogue of the Exhibits Published by Mason, Firth of M'Cutcheon, general printers, 1880; pp. xiii, 166, 167
  • Official record By Melbourne internat. exhib Published by, 1882; pp. xxiv, 500
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