Lim Teck Hoo

Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Datu Temanggong Dato Paduka Lim Teck Hoo DPMB
林德浦
Born	Lim Teck Hoo 1910 Lieyu, Kinmen, Republic of China
Died	13 March 1999 (aged 88–89) Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Resting place	Lim Teck Hoo Memorial Park
Occupation	Businessman
Organizations	Lim Teck Hoo Holdings Bee Seng Shipping
Spouse	Ang Moi Tee ​ (m. 1934)​
Children	14
Honours	See here
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	林德浦
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lín Dépǔ Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lîm Tek-phó͘

Lim Teck Hoo^[1] (Chinese: 林德浦; pinyin: Lín Dépǔ; 1910 – 13 March 1999) was a Bruneian businessman and philanthropist of Chinese descent who became a nobility in the country's aristocracy.^[2] He was involved in the rebuilding of the country's capital after the Second World War, and the founder of several organisations including Lim Tech Hoo Holdings and Bee Seng Shipping.

Early life

In 1910, Lim Teck Hoo was born. His father was a farmer in Kinmen, Taiwan, where it became his hometown. Tan Poi was his mother and raised him and his sister. Following the loss of his father, he had a difficult upbringing and was unable to pay for school. At the age of seventeen, he traveled to Brunei with the assistance of some relatives, where he was employed as a labourer in a relative's Chop Leong Soon store in Brunei Town.^[3]

He returned to the Sultanate with his wife, mother, and daughter in 1938. Together with two relatives, he launched a supply shop joint venture in 1938. It was in the center of Brunei Town and he named it Chop Bee Seng. His company flourished after that, and he soon became the only owner. Rubber, pepper, palm sugar, raw tobacco, and important staple foods for the community were his principal commodities.^[3]

Career

Lim had an agreement with the military attaché during the Japanese occupation in 1945 for the provision of regional delicacies (kuih muih) and hand-rolled tobacco cigarettes. He relocated his family to Sinarubai after Brunei Town was heavily bombed by the Allied Forces, which included Australian and New Zealand army personnel operating under British colonial rule. He relocated his family to Kampong Saba in Kampong Ayer following the Japanese army's withdrawal, although he kept running his Brunei Town food shop.^[3]

Lim acted quickly to capitalise on the shipping of bakau (Rhizophora apiculata) to Hong Kong, where there was a fuel shortage and bakau was used by the locals for cooking, following the surrender of the Japanese. This firm only ceased operations when firewood was replaced by gas and electricity. He purchased enormous rubber plantations spanning thousands of acres in Temburong and Limbang during the Korean War, when the price of rubber skyrocketed four or five times, making a fortune by exporting rubber to Singapore.^[3]

Even though the his family is no longer active in the rubber trade, the old rubber estates are now valued real estate for acquisition and development. He entered the construction and building materials industry after Brunei Town was rebuilt following the bombing. He established Soon Lee Brickworks, Brunei's first clay brick manufacturer. The plant is still in operation as of 2008, and is now known as Hup Soon Brickworks Ceramic. He brought in the first cargo of cement from Taiwan so that Bandar Seri Begawan could be rebuilt following the bombing. Additionally, he established Bee Seng Shipping in 1958, becoming Brunei's first local shipping company.^[4] He also took an active part in the community activities provided by Tiong Hua.^[3]

Lim and a few others initiated the establishment of the Tengyun Hall Construction Committee in 1953 as a result of the government's confiscation of land. He was named head of the Construction Committee, and as soon as the committee was formed, its members started a significant fund-raising initiative. Tengyun Temple was reconstructed in 1958, utilising land granted by Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III, finished in 1960 and inaugurated by the British resident Sir Dennis Charles White, and later given the official name Tengyun Hall thanks to the donations from the population.^[5]

Lim, who brought in knowledge from Taiwan, began farming in 1968. He produced a range of cash crops for the local market with the assistance of more than a hundred Taiwanese farmers. Additionally, he helped the State Store dehusk the padi that the nearby farmers in Sengkurong supplied. He acquired six boats for these uses, monopolised the import of "Fortune" cement from the Philippines in 1972, and participated in the construction of Muara Port, Brunei International Airport (BIA), and the Brunei LNG (BLNG) facility in Lumut.^[3]

He entered the quarry industry, situated at Km 5, Jalan Tutong (present day Taman Damuan). The quarry was moved at Km 8, Kampong Madewa, in 1975. He started building homes along Jalan Padang after realising there was a lack of suitable accommodation. The older homes he had constructed were razed in 1988 to provide room for towering flats that the Bruneian government was rented out. Lim went back to Taiwan to make investments in 1975. He was one of the founders of World Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation and was chosen in 1988 to serve as chairman of the bank's subsidiary, Overseas Chinese Trust Group.^[3]

In the evening of 21 March 1996, Fujian residents of all ages were called to a meeting by Lim to discuss the formation of the Brunei Fujian Association. He argued that the younger generation should be responsible for the preparatory work, while the older residents should play the role of support and consultation.^[6]

As the head of the Chinese community in Brunei, it was his responsibility to make sure they followed the rules and laws of the nation and made contributions to the advancement of the Sultanate. He was tasked with carrying out study and investigation into issues pertaining to these topics in order to provide advice to the Sultan. He established Lim Teck Hoo Holdings on 6 December 1994, and named his kids and grandkids as the board of directors.^[3]

Philanthropy

Lim was chosen to serve on the Chung Hwa Middle School, Bandar Seri Begawan (CHMS, BSB)'s board of directors in 1954. Financial restraints were introduced at the school, in 1970 when the government withdrew its financial support for the institution.^[7] After Lim and other board members, and the Tiong Hwa Community offered to support the school with a monthly gift, the problem was resolved. After overseeing the institution for more than 40 years, he retired as chairman in 1996.^[8] On 6 January 2008, the Pehin Temenggung Dato Lim Teck Hoo Building was finished and dedicated in his honour.^[9][10] The school added extra classrooms during his leadership to serve students in pre-school through pre-university, becoming the largest Chinese school in Brunei.^[3]

As of 2016, the Lim family has been upholding the ancestral custom of supporting Chinese education and culture throughout the nation by funding Chinese chess associations and schools for the past 20 years.^[11] Chinese schools have received yearly gifts from Lim Teck Hoo Holdings totaling B$80,000.^[12] Following on the family's footsteps, Lim's children had donated $50,000 to eight Chinese schools in the Sultanate and an additional $2,000 to the Brunei Chinese Chess Association on 20 October 2016.^[11] His family has also done so in 2018,^[13] and 2022.^[14]

Apart from Lim's concern for Brunei's public affairs, he also made gifts to several ancestral temples in Lieyu. He also established the Lim Teck Hoo Scholarships, which support local kids in their community in their academics.^[5] The Lin Depu Cup Asia-Pacific Primary School Mathematics Olympiad was also established.^[15]

Death

Lim passed away on Saturday, 13 March 1999. At the time of his death, he left behind a wife, five sons and nine daughters. He is buried at his own personal memorial park along Jalan Kasat, Kampong Kasat.^[3] Following his death, his son, Dato Paduka Lim Beng Thai, took over the company's business operations, carrying on his father's profession, and holding a significant position in Brunei's local and international commercial sector, with the help of his sisters and brothers working together.^[16] Chinese Ambassador Wang Haitao attended the late-nobleman's qingming ceremony on 6 April 2022.^[17]

Personal life

Lim is married to Datin Ang Moi Tee.^[3] Together they gave birth to Lim Beng Thai,^[18] Lim Beng Cheng, Lim Ming Kiat, and Lim Ming Siong.^[11]

Honours

Lim was bestowed the manteri title of Yang Dimuliakan (The Exalted One) Pehin Datu Temanggong on 11 May 1996, promoted from title of Pehin Kapitan China Kornia Diraja in August 1958.^[3][2] Pehin Lim Cheng Choo claims that the Brunei Royalty has a tradition of designating three Chinese officials, mentioning Lim Teck Hoo, who portrays Kapitan Cina, and Hong Kok Tin, who is Pehin Bendahara, as the other two.^[1] He has earned the following honours;^[8][19]

• Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei Second Class (DPMB; 15 July 1989) – Dato Paduka;^[20] Third Class (SMB; 15 July 1982)
• Omar Ali Saifuddin Medal (POAS; 23 September 1961)^[21]
• Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Medal (PHBS; 1968)
• Meritorious Service Medal (PJK; 23 May 1998)

References