Loke Yew
| Loke Yew | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 陆佑 |
| Born |
Wong Loke Yew 9 October 1845 Heshan, Guangdong, China |
| Died | 24 February 1917 (aged 71) Kuala Lumpur, Malaya |
| Cause of death | Malaria |
| Resting place | Hawthornden Estate 3°11′0″N 101°45′0″E / 3.18333°N 101.75000°E |
| Known for | Pioneer of Kuala Lumpur |
| Spouse(s) | Leung Suet (1st wife) Leung Jun (2nd wife) Lim Shuk Kwei (3rd wife;d. 1914) Lim Cheng Kim (4th wife; b. 1895, d. 1981) |
| Children |
Sons Loke Wan Piu Loke Wan Chok Loke Wan Chiew Loke Hon Chow Alan Loke Wan Wye Loke Wan Yat Loke Wan Tho Daughters Loke Yuen Hing Juliann Loke Yuen Ying Loke Yuen Theng (Mrs Choo Kok Leong) Loke Yuen Peng (Lady Percy McNiece) |
| Relatives |
Notable grandchildren Ruby Loke Yuen Kin Professor Charlie Loke Yung Wai Choo Mei Leen Notable great grandchildren Nancy Kwan Kington Loo |
| Loke Yew | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 陸佑 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 陆佑 | ||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 黃如佑 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 黄如佑 | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lù Yòu |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Huáng Rúyòu |
Loke Yew (simplified Chinese: 陆佑; traditional Chinese: 陸佑; pinyin: Lù Yòu), born Wong Loke Yew, CMG, LL.D. (1845–1917) was a Chinese-born, of Cantonese descent, business magnate. He was a famous businessman and philanthropist in British Malaya. He was regarded as the richest man in British Malaya during his time and played a significant role in the growth of Kuala Lumpur and was also one of the founding fathers of Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur.
Loke was born of humble parentage in Dongjiang village, Heshan district, Guangdong province, China, in 1845. He was the only son in a family of four children, and spent his childhood working as a farm hand before he decided to set sail to Malaya to seek his fortune. He was only 13 years old then. The young Wong dropped his surname Wong upon arriving in Singapore, and changed his middle name to 陸(Lù) and adopted it as his surname as he thought the new name sounded more auspicious. His relatives recommended him for his first job at Kwong Man General Store, a provision shop in Market Street and earned $20 a month. The young Loke scrimped and managed to save $99 after 4 years of hard work. With the money, he started his own provision store called Tong Hing Loong. His business gradually grew and Loke left his staff in charge of the store while he travelled to northern Malaya, particularly Perak to explore the tin mining business.
The ambitious young man took great risks in his new venture in Perak, and lost nearly $60,000 in his first four years. But he persisted in keeping the business going until he found a rich tin deposit in Kelian Bahru in Perak. His tin-mining business suddenly took an upswing, and Loke then went on to acquire and own many more tin mines, and rubber and coconut plantations in Perak. He also ventured into supplying provisions to British troops during the Perak War, running a pawnbroking business, and even obtained monopoly for liquor sales, gambling licences and other privileges from the colonial government.
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