Sydney Bacon Palmer

Last updated
Palmer in 1947 Sydney Bacon Palmer2.png
Palmer in 1947

Sydney Bacon Palmer (1890 - 9 March 1954) was the first chairman of the Malaysian Estates Staff Provident Fund. He also held various roles in the Selangor Turf Club and the Rotary Club of Taiping, and was an advocate for the propagation of the use of natural rubber. He was also a member of the State Council of Perak, a Federal Councillor, president of the United Planting Association of Malaya and an unofficial member of the Malayan Union Advisory Council. He served on various Malayan committees and boards.

Contents

Early life

Palmer was born in 1890. He was the third son of R.W. Palmer of Swafield, Norfolk. [1] He travelled to Asia in the late 1900s and arrived in British Malaya in 1910. [2]

Career

Palmer began work as an assistant manager at the Henrietta Estate in Kedah in 1911. He opposed the enforcing of restrictions on British planters in Malaya by the colonial government, as he believed that such restrictions would hinder the growth and profitability of the rubber industry. He later became the director of several local estate interests and founded a firm of visiting agents. He was nominated to represent the planting community in the Perak State Council from 1932 to 1942. [3] He was made an unnofficial member of the Federated Malay States Federal Council on 10 May 1935. [4] He served as the president of the United Planting Association of Malaya from 1935 to 1936, in 1938, from 1940 to 1942, and from 1946 to 1948. He served as an unofficial member of the Malayan Union Advisory Council from 1946 to 1947, as well as a member on the Federal Legislative Council from 1948 to 1949. He became the first chairman of the Malaysian Estates Staff Provident Fund, which was established in 1947. He was conferred the CBE in 1949. He sent his letter of resignation as the chairman of the Malaysian Estates Staff Provident Fund to the fund's Board of Trustees on 16 March 1949, and was succeeded by Hadley Humphrey Facer in April. [3]

In 1931, he was elected as president to the Taiping Turf Club. [2] From 1936 to 1939, he served as the charter president of the Rotary Club of Taiping. [3]

Personal life and death

He owned several horses prior to World War II. Several of his horses were owned in partnership with Charles Vyner Brooke, then White Rajah of the Raj of Sarawak. Although he supported measures to improve horse racing in Singapore, he strongly opposed the legalisation of bookmaking in Singapore. [2]

He died in London on 9 March 1954. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federated Malay States</span> British protectorate and part of British Malaya

The Federated Malay States was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula - Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang - established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with two of the former Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay States, formed the Malayan Union. Two years later, the Union became the Federation of Malaya, which achieved independence in 1957, and finally Malaysia in 1963 with the inclusion of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tan Cheng Lock</span> Malaysian politician, 1st President of the Malaysian Chinese Association

Tun Sir Tan Cheng Lock KBE, SMN, DPMJ, JP was a Malaysian Peranakan businessman and a key public figure who devoted his life to fighting for the rights and the social welfare of the Chinese community in Malaya. Tan was also the founder and the first president of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA), which advocated his cause for the Malayan Chinese population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiping, Perak</span> Town and district capital in Perak, Malaysia

Taiping is a town located in Larut, Matang and Selama District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located approximately 48 km (30 mi) northwest of Ipoh, the capital of Perak, and 78 km (48 mi) southeast of George Town, Penang. With a population of 245,182, it is the second largest town in Perak after Ipoh, the state capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wong Peng Soon</span> Malaysian-Singaporean badminton player

Wong Peng Soon, was a Malayan/Singaporean badminton player who reigned as a top player in Malaya from the 1930s to the 1950s when it was a single nation. Noted for his smooth but powerful strokes and graceful footwork, he won the singles title seven times in Singapore and eight times in Malaya during this period, as well as being the top player in the All England, the Danish Open, the Indian and Philippines championships to name a few.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chung Thye Phin</span>

Chung Thye PhinMSC, JP was a Chinese Malayan business magnate, planter, miner, bureaucrat, and philanthropist who served as the last Kapitan Cina of Perak and Malaya. He was reported to be the richest man in Penang.

This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1946, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans. Malaya remained under British Military Administration until the establishment of the Malayan Union on 1 April.

Lim Koon Teck(Chinese: 林坤德) was a barrister-at-law, industrialist and politician in the Malaya and Singapore. He was the first Asian in the Straits Settlements to be appointed to the Colonial Legal Service. He was a magistrate at Penang and Crown Counsel, Singapore. After resigning government service, he joined the Lee Rubber Company. He was interested in introducing new construction methods, like lightweight concrete, to bring down building costs and was interested in helping to solve Singapore's housing shortage. These directed his commercial and political activities.

Dato' Sir Ernest Emmanuel Clough Thuraisingham or E.E.C. Thuraisingham was the first local Member (Minister) for Education in the Communities Liaison Committee formed to build communal fraternity in British-ruled Malaya, from 1951–1955. He is also the first Asian chairman of the Selangor Turf Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lim Swee Aun</span> Malaysian politician

Tan Sri Dr. Lim Swee Aun was a Malaysian Chinese politician from the Malaysian Chinese Association, and a Cabinet member.

Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt, or more commonly R. O. Winstedt, was an English Orientalist and colonial administrator with expertise in British Malaya.

Chung Kok Ming, also known as Chung Ah Ming, was a Malaysian Chinese Perak State councillor and the only Asian committee member of the Perak Turf Club for many years. He represented Perak State in soccer, hockey, cricket and tennis.

Chung Thye Yong, also known as Chung Ah Yong, was a Malaysian philanthropist, tin miner, rubber planter, rugby player and racehorse owner of the 19th century.

The Taiping Clubs were sports and recreation clubs that existed in the city of Taiping, Malaysia, during the 1880s. At the time, the city saw significant growth in European as well as Chinese, Indian, Arab, and Indonesian communities, and thus the need for such clubs arose. The following is a non-exhaustive list of these establishments.

Leong Sin Nam, alias Leong Sin, Leung Sin, Leong Sin Hee, was a Malaysian businessman. He migrated and settled in British Malaya in 1898. From humble beginnings, he worked hard to become a wealthy tin mine owner in Perak. He was a businessman, an active community leader and a philanthropist. He was a Chinese revolutionary with similar aspirations as Sun Yat-sen and a strong supporter of the Chinese war efforts during the Sino-Japanese war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heah Joo Seang</span>

Heah Joo Seang was a 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.

King Edward VII School is a premier secondary school for boys located on Jalan Muzium Hulu, in Taiping, Malaysia. Formerly known as Central School, it is one of the oldest schools in Malaysia. The school is widely known as by its initials "KE7". The students are known as Edwardians or Tigers and, as alumni, Old Edwardians.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Yok Lin</span>

Low Yok Lin (1894–1976) was a Malaysian businessman and philanthropist.

References

  1. "SILVER WEDDING". The Straits Budget. Singapore. 16 May 1940. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "PRESIDENT OF TWO TURF CLUBS". The Straits Times . Singapore. 27 July 1947. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Rajarao, J.C. (2018). The Malaysian Estates Staff Provident Fund 1947-2017: Malaysia's Oldest Provident Fund, with an Economic, Social and Political. SIRD. pp. 134–148. ISBN   9672464029.
  4. "MR. S.B. Palmer". The Straits Budget. Singapore. 26 September 1935. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  5. "Champion of rubber industry dies at 63". The Straits Times . Singapore. 12 March 1954. Retrieved 22 October 2022.