DR WU Lien Teh is certainly one of the most distinguished Penangites of all time. He was the first medical student of Chinese descent to study at the University of Cambridge and also the first Malaysian Chinese to be nominated for a Nobel Prize in Medicine.

The Penang Free School (PFS) student, who was born in Penang in 1879, must be the only Malaysian to ever be nominated for that prestigious award.

His father was an immigrant from China while his mother was a second-generation resident of Malaya.

His brilliance was already clear when he studied at the PFS, where he won the Queen’s Scholarship in Singapore at the age of 17, earning him a place at the Emmanuel College in Cambridge in 1896.

Remarkable man: Dr Wu, aged 77, in a photo taken in Cambridge, England, in 1956.

According to an article in the Penang Monthly by Koh King Kee, Dr Wu completed his medical degree two years ahead of requirement, and won all possible prizes and scholarships in a class of 135 students.

“He pursued a postgraduate study of malaria at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and bacteriology at the Hygiene Institute of Halle in Germany and the Institute Pasteur in Paris. He was the first student of Chinese decent to graduate with an MD from Cambridge University,” Koh wrote.

But after graduating, Dr Wu found that even his abilities worked against him in the colonial system. There was a two-tier medical system in the British colonies, where only British nationals could hold the highest position of fully qualified medical officers or specialists, according to reports.

But that did not deter him as he went on to become a scientist and an anti-opium advocate. He spent the first four years of his medical career at the Institute of Medical Research, researching beri-beri, which causes the body system to break down as a result of deficiency in Vitamin B.

Cambridge days: Dr Wu and his wife. – Photo courtesy of http:/ /penangmonthly.com/wu-lien-teh-the-father-of-modern-medicine-in-china/

Dr Wu was also very vocal on social issues and founded the Anti-Opium Association in Penang, which pitted him against powerful forces – the British colonists who approved the distribution of opium and triad-linked Chinese tycoons.

He was soon framed by these connections, leading to a search and subsequent discovery of a mere one ounce of tincture of opium in his clinic, according to a posting in Wikipedia.

It was quickly regarded as illegal, although he was a fully qualified medical doctor who had used the drug to treat opium patients.

Dr Wu’s prosecution and appeal rejection attracted worldwide publicity, including an invitation from the Chinese Government
in Peking to take up the post of Vice-Director of the Imperial Army medical College in Tianjin.

Left with little options, Dr Wu travelled to Harbin, on the instruction of the Foreign Office in Beijing, to investigate an unknown disease which killed over 60,000 people in north-eastern China, which turned out to be a bubonic outbreak.

He poured himself into the research work, bringing together scientists from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Russia and Mexico in a race against time to fight the disease.

Dr Wu was the first president of the China Medical Association (1916–1920), where he set up more than 20 hospitals, and directed the National Quarantine Service (1931–1937). To the Chinese, he was regarded as the father of modern medicine.

Research in China: Dr Wu travelled to China to investigate an unknown disease. This picture shows him (foreground) at the Harbin Hospital.

But his career as a scientist was cut short by the war in 1937 when the Japanese attacked China.

In fact, his villa in Shanghai was bombed by the Japanese.

He returned to Malaya where he opened a clinic in Ipoh at Brewster Road – which has been renamed Jalan Sultan Idris Shah.

His social work continued where he collected donations for the setting up of the Perak Library, now the Tun Razak Library, in Ipoh.

Koh wrote that despite keeping “a low-profile civilian life”, there were moments of drama in his life. During the Japanese occupation, Dr Wu was kidnapped by Communist guerillas and released only after a ransom of 7,000 dollars was paid.

“Two months later, it was the Japanese’s turn to arrest him on suspicion of supporting anti-Japanese forces. He was eventually cleared of the charge after a Japanese officer who was his patient testified to his innocence.”

He practised medicine until the age of 80 and like all Penangites, the state was his forever home.

He bought a house in Chor Sin Kheng Road in Air Itam, Penang, for his retirement and died on Jan 20, 1960, aged 81, after he suffered a stroke.

Dedicated : Dr Wu performing tests in his laboratory in Harbin, China, in 1911.

According to Koh, Wu’s death was mourned by the international medical community, and The Times London commented on Jan 27, 1960: “By his death, the world of medicine has lost a heroic and almost legendary figure and the world at large one of whom it is far more indebted to than it knows.”

Dr Wu was accorded no less than 20 honorary degrees from renowned academic institutions, including PhDs from Johns Hopkins University, Hong Kong University and the Imperial University of Japan.

A road in Ipoh Garden South has been named after Dr Wu. In Penang, too, a private road named Taman Wu Lien Teh is located near the Penang Free School. One of the school houses is Wu Lien Teh which bears the colour green.

I decided to ask our reporter in Penang to check out if residents of Taman Wu Lien Teh knew the history behind the name of their road.

However, residents living in the 21 houses in the area know little about Dr Wu or his contribution to the society.

Quah Chun Hua, 61, a ship broker staying in nearby Jalan Cheeseman (another PFS icon) said he could not recall anything about Dr Wu.

“But I remember he was a scientist and that he did complete his early education in Penang Free School,” said Quah, who has been staying there for 21 years now.

Muhammad Haniffa Abdullah, 50, a security guard, said he had never even heard about Dr Wu.

He said only the elderly could remember him and most residents here had moved in not too long ago.

Early this year, the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society was set up with a website (http://wulientehsociety.org/) detailing the life and contributions of the doctor, surgeon, scholar and author.

Society president Datuk Anwar Fazal said the Penang Institute, which was formerly known as the Socio-Economic and Environ-mental Research Institute (SERI), would be hosting an international conference on global health next year.

The conference will be closely linked to Dr Wu’s work in fighting plague, focusing on the burden of infectious diseases such as AIDS/HIV, and water-borne infections.

Writer Quah Seng Sun, also an Old Free, best summed it up by describing Dr Wu as “a Penang-born who saved the world. He had the world at his feet but then he chose to return here to private medical practice and live out the rest of his life in relative obscurity. He was a real Anak Pulau Pinang, a real Son of the Penang Free School.”

Changing landscape: The original Kampung Batu Uban is overshadowed by new condominiums and apartments being built in the area.

ANYONE driving towards the Bayan Lepas International Airport is unlikely to miss the Batu Uban village but most of us would probably not even give it a second look.

But Batu Uban is a treasure trove of history with possibly one of the best stories to tell of early Penang.

The traditional Malay village is regarded as one of the earliest settlements in Penang before the arrival of Captain Francis Light.

It is also the home of the state’s oldest mosque, Masjid Jamek Batu Uban, built in 1734.

The mosque is said to have begun as a surau, or prayer hall, erected by Haji Mohammed Saleh, popularly known as Nakhoda nan Intan bin Tuanku Patis nan Sabatang, a Muslim leader from Kampung Bodi in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra.

Kampung Bodi, Pagaruyung and Sungai Tarab are reportedly in the Minangkabau province and are associated with early Penang and Batu Uban.

The great man’s grandson: This is a drawing from the book by John Anderson (1826) Mission to the East Coast of Sumatra in 1823. The person sitting fourth from left is, was Datuk Muda Husin, the Datuk Bogak Batubara Tanah Datar, the grand son of Datuk Jenaton. Husin is the closest that we can get of the image of Datuk Jenaton. – Pix and caption courtesy of Prof A. Murad Merican.

Haji Mohammed Saleh and his followers arrived in Penang, which was then still densely covered in jungle, and built a settlement by the coast, to be inhabited mostly by fishermen.

It was named Batu Uban, meaning “grey hair rock”, after a sea boulder in the vicinity which had some dried grass clinging onto it, which seemed to resemble white hair.

But Batu Uban was founded by a Minangkabau trader-warrior, Datuk Jenaton Raha Labu, who had business interests on both sides of the Straits of Malacca.

In return for having thwarted a Siamese invasion, the then ruler of Kedah, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Abidin, granted Jenaton a one-hundred acre site in Batu Uban.

Jenaton and his 90-odd followers from Batu Bara in North Sumatra, cultivated land in what is now known as Bukit Batu Uban.

State’s oldest mosque: Masjid Jamek Batu Uban weas built in 1734.

This is where Minden is now, the site of the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

In June 2013, more than 200 descendants of Jenaton flew in from different parts of the country and Indonesia to attend the sixth Jenaton family gathering in Penang.

The event brought together members of six generations of the Jenaton family, with some coming from the original hometown of Batu Bara.

Jenaton, who was a trader and plantation owner, had three wives and six children. His descendants now number more than 5,000.

Datuk Jenaton Family Gathering committee head Abdul Halim Ahmad said the event had been held every few years since 2002 to commemorate Jenaton, and to give his descendants a chance to mingle and get to know the extended family, the newest additions and the latest updates.

According to Dr Ahmad Murad Merican, a sixth-generation member of the family, the family lineage started from Pagar Ruyong and Bukit Tinggi in Indonesia.

“Jenaton was a Minangkabau court prince and a chieftain in Batu Bara, Sumatra, before leaving for Penang in early 1749,” he said, adding that prior to that, Jenaton frequently travelled between Penang, Kedah and Batu Bara for trading activities.

Dr Ahmad Murad said Jenaton can be counted as one of the earliest settlers in Penang after being awarded the land by the Sultan of Kedah.

“The land was a gift from the Sultan for Jenaton’s help in strategising Kedah’s war against the Achenese and the Bugis back then,” he said.

Progeny’s home : 86 Armenian Street, Penang. This house belonged to Aishah binti Abdullah, the grand daughter of Jenaton in the late 1800 who married Che’ Din Kelang or Jamaluddin, a wealthy trader and property owner from Kelang. — Courtesy of Dr Ahmad Murad Merican

The Star quoted Dr Ahmad as saying that the land encompassed Batu Uban, Minden Heights and Bukit Gelugor, where Jenaton ventured into farming and trading by planting coconuts and sugar cane.

As a committee member of the Penang Malay History and Heritage Society (Pewa­ris), Dr Ahmad also spoke about latest developments tied to the Jenaton family.

“We have written a letter to the Penang Islamic Religious Council (MAIPP) to allow us to preserve Jenaton’s burial site in Persiaran Changkat Minden as a heritage site,” he said.

The Jenaton family history is closely linked to our nation’s history with notable descendants such as brothers Aziz and Yusof Ishak, who founded Utusan Melayu in 1939.

Yusof was also the first president of Singapore while his other brother Rahim served as Singapore’s Minister of State under Lee Kuan Yew. Rahim was also ambassador to Indonesia.

Other notable descendants are the late Supreme Court (now Federal Court) judge Tan Sri Wan Sulaiman Pawanteh and the distinguished career diplomat Tan Sri Razali Ismail.

Razali made an impact at the United Nations when he headed the Malaysian delegation in 1989 and 1990 during which time he also served as chairman of the UN Security Council. From 1996 to 1997, he became the president of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Batu Uban of today is also the site of a number of high-rise residential properties such as Sunny Ville, Villa Sri Kenanga, E-Park and N-Park.

And as Dr Murad correctly said the “village is now squeezed by land reclamation and the coastal highway, and the construction of apartments and condominiums. No one cares about history and heritage unless it has commercial value.”

But the story of Batu Uban must be remembered and recognised so that the legacy of Jenaton and the others who settled and built up the vibrant coastal settlement is recognised and honoured.

Foo: He was one of the three Chinese commissioners appointed by the British to sit on the inquiry board to look into the 1867 Penang Riots.— filepi

FOO Tye Sin was a remarkable man. The Chinese community leader was a Justice of Peace, businessman, tin miner and mediator who played major roles mostly reserved for leaders who had migrated from China and made it big in Penang.

But Foo was local-born and English educated. Even more unusual, he studied at both St Xavier’s Institution and Penang Free School, the two biggest rival schools in the state.

Tye Sin Street, popularly known to Penangites as “Si Tiau Lor”, meaning “Fourth Street” in Hokkien, is named after him. Interestingly enough, Tye Sin Street is within the working class neighbourhood of the Seven Street Precinct which I wrote about in an earlier column. (“Iconic streets locally known by numbers”, The Star, April 13).

The precinct was initially considered for inclusion within George Town’s World Heritage Site, but it did not fall within the zone, which is a shame as there is much history surrounding the area.

Tye Sin Street stands out in this precinct because it is the only Chinese name among the seven streets and another two which were also added on later.

Modern-day Tye Sin street: Tye Sin Street, popularly known to Penangites as Si Tiau Lor, meaning ‘Fourth Street’ in Hokkien, is named after Foo.

The streets in order of numbers are: Magazine Road, Noordin Street, Presgrave Street, Tye Sin Street, McCallum Street, Katz Street, Cecil Street, Herriot Street and Sandilands Street.

Tye Sin Street runs from Jalan Gurdwara (formerly Brick Kiln Road).to Jalan CY Choy (formerly Bridge Street).

According to reports, Foo was a Hakka born in a pepper estate in Bayan Lepas, Penang.

He started his early education with a private Chinese teacher before continuing at Penang Free School and later, the St Xavier’s Institution.

It is certainly most unusual for Foo to have studied in both schools as the rivalry between the two premier schools, which provided boarding for students from other states, was intense.

He was regarded the only non-partisan Chinese at a ceasefire conference called by Lt. Governor Anson at the height of the Larut War for control of the tin mines between the Ghee Hin and the Hai San gangs. Foo was perceived by some to be a Hai San sympathiser.

Foo Tye Sin Mansion: The building above was Foo’s home in Light Street. It is one of the first non-European mansions built in 19th century Penang. The magnificent building is now home to a branch of Hong Leong Bank (below). — Picture above taken from Penang Postcard Collection 1899-1930s by Khoo Salma Nasution and Malcolm Wade

Foo was one of three Chinese commissioners appointed by the British to sit on the inquiry board to look into the 1867 Penang Riots.

The Penang Riots rocked the state for nine days which saw heavy street fighting and bloodshed among the secret societies of Penang, chiefly the Cantonese speaking Ghee Hin and Hakka speaking Hai San. It was a fight over the control of business interests involving tin mining, gaming and opium farms.

Along Penang’s Heritage Trail, Cannon Street was so named because of the hole made on the ground by a cannon ball fired into the area at the height of the riots.

According to a report, the fighting was eventually quelled by Sepoys or paid Indian troops, brought in from Singapore by the Governor-General, but by then, hundreds had been killed and scores of houses burned.

A penalty of $5,000 (Straits Settlement Dollars) was levied on each of the secret societies, some of which was later used to finance the building of four police stations to deal with any future trouble, it was reported.

Foo made a name for himself within the Penang elites because he was local-born and English educated, a rarity among the local Chinese business community.

He was also one of the founders of the Penang Chinese Town Hall, which was founded in 1883. The present building of the business association, completed in 1983, is located at Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling or formerly known as Pitt Street, next to the iconic Kuan Yin Teng (Temple of the Goddess of Mercy).

In fact, it sits directly opposite the old Star office, where I first started work as a rookie reporter in 1980.

The Penang Chinese Town Hall is also a favourite spot for political parties to hold ceramah during the elections, sometimes, with the crowd spilling onto the road, if it involves DAP politicians.

Just a short walk away from the Penang Chinese Town Hall is the Foo Tye Sin Mansion, located along Light Street.

It is one of the first non-European mansions to be built in 19th century Penang. The magnificent building is now home to a branch of Hong Leong Bank.

Foo Tye Sin, a true Penangite, has gone down in history as one of the biggest names of the state, whose influence also stretched further beyond.

As I was going through The Star’s archives, I came across an interesting article about a book written by a fellow journalist Tony Danker entitled The Cristangs of Tye Sin Street.

Danker wrote about how his family of Portuguese Eurasians, originally from Kuala Lumpur, moved to Penang in 1921.

They first stayed in Green Hall, near the Esplanade, before settling in Tye Sin Street.

“The area was infamous as a gangster haven. But in all the years that we lived there, we were never disturbed by the gangsters,” wrote Danker.

There are many interesting anecdotes about the family, including how his father, Chris, represented the state in football from 1932 to 1941.

He appeared in the 1934 and 1941 Malaya Cup Finals, losing in both to Singapore, and suffering a broken collarbone to end his state career.

Then there was Uncle William who was a good boxer and famed for donating blood. He was much sought after by our neighbours, who gave him money and gifts for his blood.

Stories like this remind us that history is alive if we continue to not only research deep into the past, but also take efforts to trace the links to our present-day generations.

The educator: Ramanathan in his office in 1963. – Photo courtesy of MBS Heritage Centre

PENANG, or more specifically George Town, still does not have a mayor or Datuk Bandar although it has long attained the status of a recognised city.

Many towns in Malaysia are eager to seek city status and have to work hard to meet the requirements and standards.

Ironically, there are also those which have attained city status but in reality, are not functioning as cities, in the eyes of many.

Back in 1956, George Town had become the first municipality in the Federation of Malaya to have a fully elected council, with G.H. Goh from the Alliance comprising Umno, MCA and MIC as its first president.

More importantly, on Jan 1, 1957, George Town became a city by a royal charter granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Historical significance: The land on which Jalan D.S. Ramanathan passes through was formerly known as the Ayer Rajah Estate.

George Town, in other words, was the first town in the Federation of Malaya to be elevated to a city, and the only city in Malaya/Malaysia until Kuala Lumpur was granted city status in 1972.

The first mayor of George Town was councillor D.S. Ramanathan from the Labour Party of Malaya.

The former teacher, who began his career in Perak, was the president of the National Union of Teachers from 1959 to 1962 as well as vice-president of the Malayan Teachers National Congress from 1961-1962.

During that period, he was also an active member of the National Joint Council of Teachers.

But it was his involvement in politics that Ramanathan made his mark in the state’s historical landscape.

He was a founder member of the Pan Malayan Labour Party and was its first chairman.

Politics at the local level was very vibrant back then.

The people at that time elected over 3,000 representatives to head 37 town councils, 37 town boards, 289 local councils and seven district councils.

George Town was said to be the richest local council with reserves totalling $6.037mil.

Local elections were suspended in 1964 because of the Indonesian Confrontation.

Ramanathan was popular and was elected the mayor of George Town for two terms – 1958 and 1959.

According to a report in The Star by Neil Khor and Khaldun Malik, after elections were suspended, “Ramanathan accused his local council colleagues of corruption and mismanagement” leading to the formation of the Athi Nahappan Commission to study the alleged corruption and inefficiency of local government in Malaysia.

Despite his socialist inclinations and fiery image, Ramanathan was a dedicated Methodist.

After finishing his term as mayor, he was appointed as the headmaster of the Penang Pykett Methodist School.

The old school: Pykett Methodist School as it is today.

The appointment by the Annual Conference of the Malayan Methodists was reported in the Straits Times issue of Dec 15, 1959.

Ramanathan, who passed away in 1973, was married to Ruth Vanniasingham, who now lives in Kuala Lumpur.

But her family members declined The Star’s request for an interview.

Hailing from a prominent Jaffna- Tamil family, her father, Kanagasa-bapathy Vanniasingham founded the Tamil Methodist Church in Penang.

According to reports, Ruth was the first person in Penang to obtain the Licentiate of the Trinity College of Music in 1936.

She initially taught Penang’s renowned pianist Dennis Lee before he went to the United Kingdom.

Scott Road, a small road off Air Rajah Road, has been renamed in honour of Ramanathan.

Scott Road is said to have been named after James Scott, who was a partner of Francis Light.

The land on which the then Scott Road passes through was formerly the Ayer Rajah Estate which belonged to the Brown Family, which has close ties with the Scotts, according to reports.

Although Ramanathan has been described as “an erstwhile socialist challenging the colonial and federal authorities for the most downtrodden people in the country, and stood side by side with Lim Kean Siew and other socialists” the politicking from within the ranks made him quit the socialist platform.

With various allegations hurled against him, Ramanathan resigned from the LPM to become an independent councillor and subsequently an Alliance councillor, representing the MIC.

The principal: Ramanathan (front, third from right) with the other members of the Penang Pykett Methodist School board.

Not surprisingly, the Left has not spoken highly of him, and has refused to accord him the kind of respect given to other socialist comrades.

When Scott Road was renamed in his honour, it sparked off controversy and the road sign was defaced on numerous occasions.

One reader wrote in to The Star, at the height of the controversy, to say that if any road should be renamed in his honour, it should be Pykett Road, since he was the headmaster of the school there.

Some said the residents, who are mostly affluent, did not like being linked to someone with a socialist background.

Others claim the controversy was ignited by his former socialist comrades.

But a compromise seems to have been struck, ending the standoff, with the city authorities putting both the names of Ramanathan and Scott on the roadsign now.

As a student, then in my secondary years, I spent a fair bit of time playing football with my school mates at the open field at the then Scott Road.

Although I lived in Ayer Itam, which was far away from the area, it did not stop me from cycling all the way to Scott Road, where many of my friends were living nearby in Pulau Tikus for our games.

My years as a Boy Scout also led me to spend my time there, carrying out my patrol (or team) activities there.

While his politics were contentious, Ramanathan has surely left his mark as a school principal with many of his former students posting fond memories of him on the Internet.

In fact, he was also credited for his pioneering efforts to set up a university in Penang.

The idea of a university in Penang was first mooted by him in 1959 in the State Assembly and later crystalised when he was nominated chairman of the Penang University Project committee.

The Universiti Sains Malaysia opened in 1969 and is today one of the leading tertiary institutions of learning in Malaysia.

Ramanathan will certainly be remembered for his contributions as a mayor, politician, teacher, unionist and educationist.