Penang Free School (PFS), located at Green Lane in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is the oldest English-medium school in Southeast Asia. Founded in 1816, its academic achievements lead to its inclusion in the Malaysian Ministry of Education's Cluster School and High Performance School systems.
Lim Boon Keng was a Peranakan physician who advocated social and educational reforms in Singapore in the early 20th-century. He also served as president of Xiamen University in China between 1921 and 1937.
Kapitan China Chung Keng Quee was the founder and administrator of modern Taiping in Perak, Malaysia. Appointed "Capitan China" by the British in 1877, he was a millionaire philanthropist and known as an innovator in the mining of tin. He was involved in many other industries including farming, pawnbroking and logging. He was respected by both Chinese and European communities in the early colonial settlement. His survival in the chaotic era owes much to his standing as leader of the Hai San, a Chinese secret society in British Malaya during the time of the Larut Wars (1862–73). a position he is said to have held till early 1884 although in all probability he continued to remain a leading member. The old fort at Teluk Batu was built by him to safeguard the mine that he opened there. He was a member of the Commission for the Pacification of Larut and sat as one of six members of the Advisory Perak State Council appointed by the British. Commenting on the role of the Perak Council, Richard James Wilkinson wrote,
"It is for the reader, in the light of subsequent events, to judge how far the Councillors were right or wrong, and to see for himself who really did the pioneer work of building up the prosperity of Perak. In the published accounts of British rule in Malaya, sufficient prominence has not always been given to the efforts of these early pioneers; the reaper, intent on his own work, is apt to forget the man who sowed. These Council Minutes are the record of the work of the sowers. A study of that record will show how much the State owes to Sir Hugh Low and to his fellow-Councillors, especially Raja Dris, Sir William Maxwell, and the Chinese towkays, Ah Kwi [Chung Keng Quee] and Ah Yam."
Robert Kho-Seng Lim, also known as Bobby Li, was a Singaporean medical doctor.
Tan Kim Ching, also known as Tan Kim Cheng, was a Chinese politician and businessman. He was the eldest of the three sons of Tan Tock Seng, the founder and financier of Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He was consul for Japan, Thailand and Russia, and was a member of the Royal Court of Siam. He was one of Singapore's leading Chinese merchants and was one of its richest men in Singapore at that time. He was also the first Asian member of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. After his father, Tan Tock Seng's death, he became the Kapitan Cina of the Straits Chinese community. He is believed to have been the head of the Triad in Malaya.
Chung Ling High School is a secondary school in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. It was initially established in 1917 as a primary school, and later became a junior high school in 1923, becoming the oldest extant Chinese high school in Malaysia. Following the merger of The Chinese High School in Singapore in 2005, Chung Ling High School became the oldest surviving Chinese high school in Southeast Asia.
Gan Eng Seng was a Chinese businessman and philanthropist who was one of the early pioneers of Singapore. He is known for his generosity to many charitable causes in Malaya and Singapore during the British colonial era. Some of his most recognised contributions were the setting up of Gan Eng Seng School, the Thong Chai Medical Institution, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and the Ee Hoe Hean Club.
Wu Lien-teh was a Malayan physician renowned for his work in public health, particularly the Manchurian plague of 1910–11. He is the inventor of the Wu mask, which is the forerunner of today's N95 respirator.
Cheah Tek Soon was a 19th-century Penang businessman, and headman of the Hokkien in Penang, after whom Tek Soon Street was named. He was an active member of the Penang community and the bandstand that was erected near the Town Hall before the Japanese Occupation was his gift to the city.
Tye Kee Yoon was a Vice Consul of Qing Dynasty China in Penang, one of the founders and 'Five Great Sponsors,' of the Kek Lok Si owned property in Perak, and was proprietor of a business named Chop Hen Choong Toong. He arrived at Penang, a penniless coolie from China, in 1873, but by December 1907, had risen to the prominent position of diplomat. Success and recognition followed that appointment. He became a Revenue Farmer, and succeeded in obtaining the Gambling Farm for Taiping (Perak), the following year. In 1910 he was appointed to the Committee of the District Hospital, Penang. Disaster soon followed success beginning with the death of his wife, Khoo Lye Neoh on Sunday 6 April 1913 and later that year, on Friday 14 November, of his daughter, the wife of Khoo Chye Hean.
Heah Joo Seang was an Malayan politician, business leader, rubber magnate, philanthropist and especially a supporter of education. Malaysia, as it has since become, only existed after Joo Seang's death. His contributions span three distinct periods in the country's history: the British Malaya period, the Malayan Union period, and the Federation of Malaya period.
The Rubber Trade Association of Penang (槟城树胶公会), one of the oldest surviving rubber trade associations in the country, represents the interests of members of the rubber trade in the state. It is also known as the Penang Rubber Trade Association.
Lim Beng Hong OBE, who preferred to be, and was most often, referred to as Mrs. B. H. Oon, was the first woman to be called to the Malayan Bar 1927. She was also the first ethically Chinese woman to hold a degree from University College London, the first Malayan woman to be called to the English Bar (1926), and the first woman representative on the Federation of Malaya Legislative Council (1948). According to press reports at the time, Lim Beng Hong and her brother Lim Khye Seng made English legal history when, in 1926, they became the first brother and sister to be called to the bar on the same night. History was made again when they were both called to the bar in Penang, on the same day.
Cheah Tek Thye (Xie Detai| J.P., was a 19th-century Penang businessman, banker, and lawmaker and a principal headman of the "Cheah" clan.
The Queen Victoria Memorial in George Town, Penang is a monument to Queen Victoria, begun after her death, located at the Penang Chinese Recreation Club. Penang's Victoria Memorial takes the form of a large piece of land known as "Victoria Green," and a statue at the edge of Victoria Green at the junction of Burmah Road and Pangkor Road, the establishment of each being years apart from the other. The grounds were purchased and set up in 1903 and the statue unveiled in 1930, nearly three decades later.
Emily or Emma Sadka was an Iraqi-Singaporean historian and researcher specialising in the Political History of the Malayan region, which she taught at the University of Malaya (Singapore) and in Australian universities.
Cheah Cheang Lim was born in Taiping, Perak, Malaysia. Brought up by his father, Cheah Boon Hean, who was in the trading business, he grew up to become a businessman and miner. He was introduced to the tin mining industries of the time by his uncle Foo Choo Choon, the 'Tin King', who hired him as his attorney. Later, Cheah Cheang Lim was appointed to manage his affairs. Eventually, he started his own company. He also invested in rubber estates but his main interest remained in the tin business.
