Star : An extraordinary man of charity
YF Yap
15 February 2002
An extraordinary man of charity
By CHRISTINA KOH
IPOH: The late Datuk Seri Lau Pak Khuan spent much of his life
contributing to the welfare of the Chinese community, but his youngest
son Hanson Lau Wing Hong, 48, best remembers his father as a man of
principle.
“My father was not an extraordinary man just because they named a
street after him in Ipoh Garden. For half a century, he had done a lot
for society by donating to charities and other good causes.
Lau...founding member of the MCA.
“His contributions were immense and, at the same time, difficult to
recall. He always preferred to keep quiet (about his donations) and
avoided publicity,” he said.
Jalan Datuk Lau Pak Khuan is the main road in Ipoh Garden and starts
at Perak Stadium and the city’s Fire and Rescue Department and
continues on through the roundabout opposite the KFC outlet.
Along the road are grocery stores, a bakery, four seafood restaurants,
two vegetarian restaurants and no less than four banks and two
financial institutions.
Also straddling the roadside is a post office, Esso petrol station,
Fatimah Hospital, and further on, Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic
Church before the road merges with Jalan Keliling.
Jalan Datuk Lau Pak Khuan passes through a middle upper-class
residential neighbourhood which includes a number of prominent
bungalows.
Lau, a founding member of MCA and Perak MCA’s first chairman, was the
first Chinese to be conferred the “Datuk Seri” title by Sultan Idris
Shah in 1966, said Hanson.
Born in China in 1894, Lau was 17 when he came to Malaya on board a
Chinese junk in search of a better life.
“On arrival, he saw and experienced the hardship of his countrymen. He
made a promise to himself that if ever he made it, he would do all he
could for their welfare.
Being a Hakka, Lau had to work as a labourer, and his first job was as
a tin-mine pushcart boy.
He was eventually made a supervisor after years of hard work, and
ended up managing 20 of his own tin mines.
Hanson recalled how, during the 1940s, his father made friends with
figures such as Tan Cheng Lock and Leong Yew Koh.
During a discussion, they talked about the formation of a welfare
organisation known as Malayan Chinese Association.
In 1949, Lau became Perak MCA’s first chairman, and acted as a trustee
for the national party during its formation.
It was at this time that Malaya faced a growing threat from the
communists and this led to the declaration of Emergency.
During a Perak MCA meeting in Ipoh in 1949, Lau narrowly escaped death
when a communist terrorist threw a grenade into their midst, injuring
national MCA leader Tan Cheng Lock and other party leaders.
“My father, who was presiding at the meeting, saw a black object
landing on their table and threw himself to the ground just in time,”
said Hanson.
He had another close call when a grenade exploded and flung shrapnel
into his right arm during the funeral of the mother of a Chinese
community leader in Ipoh just after Christmas that same year.
ROAD OF PROMINENCE...Hanson posing beside the road sign which carries
the name of his father, the late Datuk Seri Lau Pak Khuan.
During the Emergency, Lau helped organise Kinta Valley Home Guard and
worked to rally the population against the terrorists.
It was then that he interacted with high colonial officials such as
Sir Henry Gurney and Sir Gerald Templer.
In 1951, Lau was awarded the title Officer of the British Empire by
King George V for public service.
He regularly entertained British diplomats and Sultans at his mansion
in Jalan Datuk during the 1950s and 1960s. The mansion became a
private club in 1991.
Lau left the MCA in 1956 as he was unhappy with certain decisions made
by Tan Cheng Lock.
He served as president of Chinese Chamber of Commerce for 33 years,
Perak Chinese Assembly Hall for a similar period, Perak Kwantung
Association for 30 years and Perak Chinese Mining Association for 25
years.
“He was president of the associations for so many years as no one
wanted to challenge him. They had such faith in him to lead the
community,” said Hanson.
Lau was awarded the “Datuk” title in 1963 and “Datuk Seri” three years
later by then Sultan of Perak Sultan Idris Shah.
He went on to become founding director of Chung Khiaw Bank Ltd and
Overseas Union Bank Ltd in Singapore, and helped raise funds for
Nanyang University in Singapore.
He was a personal friend of Sun Yat Sen and President Chiang Kai Shek.
He was instrumental in the construction of a new Chinese Chamber of
Commerce building whose main hall was named after him.
He died of old age at 77 in 1971, leaving behind nine children – three
girls and six boys.
“I remember him as some one who was never ordinary. Whenever he spoke,
there is a sense of command in his voice. When he spoke in public, he
had a way of getting the audience to listen and respect him.
“He believed everything he had was from the people, and this was why
he worked so hard to give something back,” said Hanson.
**************From Uncle Yap**************
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