ROOTS

MY ANCESTORS
Let me introduce you to my paternal grandparents. The first portrait is of my late grandfather, Mr Cheah Voon Hoy. He was educated in St Michael's School in Ipoh and was a much travelled man in his time. He was a tin miner and a successful one. He was interested in Kung Fu and loved watching the black and white Wong Fei Hung movies that were shown in the cinemas in the 1950s. My late father loved accompanying him to the theatre for such movies. I am told that he was even acquainted with the lead actor of the movie, Kwan Tuck Heng. My paternal grandpa was skilled in martial arts and was especially good in using the stick. He even had some disciples. Grandpa Cheah was also interested in Feng Shui, geomancy and fortune telling. I think it must have rubbed off on this particular grandchild. My grandpa had two wives, one was from an arranged marriage and the other a love match. Grandpa died of cancer in 1963 when he was in his sixties.

The lady in the second portrait was that of my paternal grandmother. The lady who gave birth to my dad. Her name was Lau Yoke Ying. I never got to know her as she died of malaria during the Second World War. At that time my dad was only nine years old. What I know about her is from my late paternal aunt, Cheah Moy and my grandaunt Chu. My grandma Lau was a very tall woman, she was around 5 feet 8 inches in height and was a handsome woman. Many of my relatives who have seen her says that she was very fair complexioned. She was also even tempered and mild-mannered. According to my grandaunt, my grandmother was an orphan. She was born in Indonesia and was adopted by a Chinese Thai couple who were textile merchants who had gone to do business there. Being childless, my great, great grandparents took her from the orphanage to raise as their own. They later adopted another boy from Malaysia. It appeared that her parents and my great grandparents had business dealings and they made a pact to have their children marry. I am told my grandfather never really loved her as he had already given his heart to another lady at that time. Nevertheless, he did what his elders wanted but he later took the woman of his choice as his second wife.

The third woman pictured here is my other paternal grandmother. I do not know her name as my dad kept referring to her as second mother. Actually, she was the mother that he knew as she raised him from the time he was two and that this was the mother that he really loved. Later she also took care of my youngest aunt. She died somewhere in the 1960s. I do not know much about her except that she was a straits born lady, one to whom we refer to as a nyonya. I shall rectify this shortcoming in the near future by getting my aunts to fill me in on her. I shall be introducing my maternal grandparents very soon. So, please look out for the post.