A tribute to the Plague Fighter

This is a free-form poem by Khoo Soo Hay in tribute of the Plague Fighter, Dr Wu Lien-Teh. The poem was published online today by Penang Institute as part of their wider coverage on the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The poem is rather long and it is with my apologies if you do see unwanted advertisements added in by Google.

The Plague Fighter - A Brief Retrospect
By Khoo Soo Hay, 8 Mar 2014
Founding Member of the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society, Penang

One hundred and thirty-five years ago on 10th of March 1879, there was born
The eighth son of a Sinning couple by the name of Ng Khee Hock and Lam Choy Fun,
Who named their fourth son Ng Leen Tuck, meaning in Chinese, “Five United Virtues”.
Or in Mandarin, “Wu Lien-Teh", but in Penang Free School registered
As “Gnoh Lean Teik” by the Hokkien School Clerk, Mr Kam Im-Keat,
And when in Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he ended up as Gnoh Lean Tuck.
Whether it was Ng, Gnoh, Wu, Teik, or Tuck, he was an Old Free,
Penang-born on China Street, brought into the world by a Malay bidan,
And like his ten siblings all breast-fed by their mother, no condensed milk then.

In 1886 he entered Penang Free School at the age of seven.
In 1893 through to 1896 under Head Master Mr William Hargreaves,
Gnoh Lean Tuck’s academic achievements won him the Queen Scholarship
And he applied and was admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Under the advice of Mr R.J. Wilkinson, then First Magistrate of Penang.
 Gnoh Lean Tuck embarked on 7th August on the P. & O. boat “Pekin”,
And at Colombo on the 11th, changed to the larger vessel, “Ballarat”.
Before reaching Gibraltar, he decided to rid himself of his queue,
Hallmark of the Chinese world-wide, but in reality
The very symbol of Chinese servitude to the Manchu Emperor.
Remember this was before China became a Republic.

Emmanuel College, founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Midway
Produced John Harvard, (1607-1638) who emigrated to America,
Prospered and founded Harvard University in Cambridge,
Near Boston, Massachusetts in 1636 with a gift of 780 Pounds
And two hundred and sixty books, which in its 378 years
Has been at the forefront of seeking knowledge
And producing Nobel Prize winners.

Wu Lien-Teh spent five and a quarter years in Cambridge
From 1897 to 1902 when he qualified as M.D. well before his time
At the age of twenty-four, and had to wait for another two years or more
Before officially being awarded the coveted Degree.
While at Emmanuel he won two Awards, that of Exhibitioner in Natural Sciences
And also made a Foundation Scholar, both of which carried some financial reward.
From Emmanuel he spent his University Scholarship at St. Mary’s Hospital
At which he was the first Chinese student ever admitted.
While at St. Mary’s he won four prizes, The Special Prize in Clinical Surgery,
And in Medicine, the Kerslake Scholarship in Pathology, all in 1901
Followed by the Cheadle Gold Medal for Clinical Medicine in 1902.
He reported that it was at St. Mary’s Hospital that Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin.

He spent six months as House Physician at Brompton Hospital
For Consumption Disease of the Chest in South West London,
Before accepting the Emmanuel College post-graduate Research Studentship
Which he elected to do at the Institute of Medical Research in Malaya.
Prior to returning to Malaya, he spent eight months in 1903
At the Halle-an-der-Salle institute under Prof Karl Frankel,
And at the Pasteur Institute in Paris under Prof Metchnikoff,
Both of which were well known for their research into bacteriology.

Wu Lien-Teh arrived back in Singapore by ship at the end of September 1903
And was met by Dr. Lim Boon-Keng, the first Queen’s Scholar,
Whose sister-in-law, Ruth Huang became his fiancée,
Their marriage was solemnised at the American Methodist Church
In Singapore in July1905 two years later.
According to Wu Lien-Teh, he was fortunate that he was not required
To convert to Christianity and continued to be a filial son,
Sticking to his Taoist and Confucian family roots.
As for his first family history, it was tragic in a sense, in that
Ruth died quite young in 1937, at 53 years of age.
And his three sons also died prematurely.
The eldest, named Davenport, Chang-Keng, born in 1906 at Love Lane, Penang
Survived long enough to obtain his tertiary education and M.D. in the States
And London, and worked for the Peking Municipality.
However, he died, age thirty-six, of tubercular infection in November 1942 in Peking
His second son, Tommy, Chang-Fu, born in Tientsin, China,
Died of pneumonia complications in 1925 at the age of sixteen.
The third son, Willy, Chang-Ming, born in 1911 died six months after birth
Due to bacillary dysentery in Yamei Kin’s Hospital, Tientsin.

Wu Lien-Teh's second family began with his marriage to Marie, Shu Chiung,
Who was born in Kirin, Manchuria, of Cantonese parentage.
From her he had three daughters and two sons, all of which survived him.
The eldest was Betty, Yu Lin, followed by Ellen, Yu Chen, Fred, Chang-Sheng,
John, Chang-Yu, all of whom were born in China,
And the last, Pearl, Yu Chu was born in Ipoh, Perak,
Whom I used to know when the family lived in Penang.
After his time at the Institute of Medical Research was over,
He started his medical practice at Chulia Street and lived in Green Hall,
Until he was invited to accept the appointment by the Grand Councilor,
Yuan Shi-Kai of China to be the Vice-Director of Imperial Army Medical College in Tientsin.
He left early in May 1908 for Shanghai in the North German Lloyd liner, “Prinzessin Alice”.
Prior to his leaving for Tientsin, Wu Lien-Teh paid a visit to England,
Where he attended a big Anti-Opium Meeting at Queen’s Hall in London,
Where he gave an address which was well-received by the participants.
Before that, while he was in Penang, he carried out anti-opium activities,
Which led to his prosecution by the authorities for possessing, without license,
“An ounce of tincture of opium” and was fined one hundred Straits dollars.

In 1910, he was called to Harbin in Manchuria to end the bubonic plague,
A disease that was claiming thousands of lives, both Chinese and Russian.
How he did it has been well-recorded in his autobiography,
And in the medical history of bacteriology in the world, more than a century ago.
You can read a short summary of Wu Lien-Teh’s life, in an article
Published in the book, “Doctors Extraordinaire” by Ho Tak Ming in August 1983.
All I can say is that in his autobiography, you will not only find his life history
And contribution to medical science, but the amount of history
And important people who lived at that time and their contributions
Should actually be a text book for historians, medical and political.
It is with much regret, in retrospect, that only a century after what this medical man
From Penang Free School had contributed, that at last we are giving him due recognition
Of his life and what he had done for the world, and by reflection for his country,
Malaya then, with the formation of the Dr. Wu Lien-Teh Society of Penang, spearheaded by none other
Than my good friend, an old Free, Dato’ Prof Dr. Anwar Fazal
At its Inaugural Meeting on 14th October 2012 held at the Penang Medical College.
The Society was duly approved by the Registrar of Societies.

Reality mirroring make-belief

Dug deep into my personal archives today and discovered these pictures. Date taken was 19 Oct 1985. My first "assignment" as the unofficial official photographer for the Bukit Mertajam branch of Ban Hin Lee Bank when they presented a sketch for the Talentime show that year at the Long Say Building in Burmah road, Penang. The sketch was all about a foiled kidnapping attempt. The rehearsals had already gone so well that the performers were all confident when they took the stage. Very sleek. Saw See's ping-pong balled ear rings certainly stole the show. When the results were announced later that night, the branch was ecstatic:   the inevitable winners and they received the prize from the Executive Director himself, Jimmy Yeap.

Sadly, this was to be Jimmy Yeap's last appearance at a Ban Hin Lee Bank function. Four days later, he was gunned down in a botched real-life kidnap attempt in Gurney Drive. He was on his way to work and the car was forced to stop by some unknown gunmen. He shot in self-defence, killing one of the gunmen but he was himself fatally shot. Sad and violent end to a brilliant life and career.

How cool is the giant telephone

The villain

Ohhh...those ping-pong balls

Twack!!

Those earrings were made by Foo Sin Lee out of ping-pong balls wrapped in red translucent paper 

Standing, left to right: Quah Lean Hin, H'ng Boon Hock, Ng Kah Hong, Johnny Goh, Yip Wee Choon, Lew Wen Teik, Lee Saw See, Lim Lie Ling and Kasim Hamid. Squatting, left to right: Ng Swee Chong and Wong Chuan On

Possibly Jimmy Yeap's last known picture at a bank function

Mother's day cake

Our son came home yesterday with a surprise. We haven't seen him for six weeks, not since the Movement Control Order started on 18 Mar. But since the restriction order has been kind of relaxed and Penang has since been declared a green state, the road blocks on the approaches to the Penang Bridge have been removed. Life is almost back to a New Normal. So he came home and surprised my wife with a cake for Mother's Day.

Only problem was that I was a bit puzzled by the cake box. This, definitely wasn't a full, round cake. And when we finally flipped open the box cover, my suspicion was confirmed. It was only a wedge, many one of 12 pieces cut from a whole cake. How much is it, I tried to ask my son casually. RM45, he said. Forty-five ringgit? I couldn't believe my ears. Yes, RM45, but it is very rich and three or four persons can eat it.

So I took a closer look at the cake and the box. Well, for one thing, the cake had come from a shop known as Moody Cow. I've heard of it but had never bothered to find out more. Moody Cow, according to my son, is located in Transfer Road and they specialise in baking new combinations of cake.

This one, in particular, blew me away. On a thin layer of chocolate cake at the bottom, there was a thick layer of durian cheese cake, a thin layer of durian followed by another thick layer of the cheese cake. And on top, the orange layer was the big surprise: salted egg cake with chunks of salted egg hidden within. The first mouthful blew my senses away. A complete titillation of the senses. I think for RM45, it was well worth the experience.

Wesak moon

Since about a fortnight ago, it has been raining on most afternoons. And if it wasn't raining, the sky would be full of clouds. Greyish dark clouds. As a result, I haven't had to opportunity to have a clear good sight of the moon and the stars. It is always very fascinating to look at the moon every night to see it slowly waxing or waning. With yesterday being Wesak Day, it would have been a full moon but last night, I had been unable to see it. Not until this morning. I awoke at 5.30am with moonlight streaming through the bedroom window directly onto my face. Very little clouds in the still dark sky, the moon sharply outlined. Still a Wesak moon. Fabulous sight indeed.

Gramophone

An amazing picture, taken in 1910 in Batavia, now known as Jakarta. Curious villagers - both adults and children - crowding round to look and listen incredulously to the gramophone. I can just imagine the quality of the sound. But to them, it would have been magic.

Money laundering

Money laundering
/ˈmʌni ˈlɔːndərɪŋ/
noun

The process of washing your loose change, comprising the notes and coin in your pockets, during the period of the Movement Control Order (Malaysia) or Circuit Breaker (Singapore) or a country-specific Lockdown caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic by passing it through detergent and water. The overall effect of this process returns the money to a totally clean and disinfected state in the most direct way.

"He was so scared of catching the Covid-19 from the traders that he resorted to money laundering every time he returned from the market."

A wacky SS Quah original definition

Radiogram

A few days ago, I came across this image in facebook and it surprised me.

Surprised not because such a record player existed but more because I had totally forgotten that very briefly in my youth - I must have been 16 or 17 years old then - my family had possessed one of this too. It was all too brief, actually, because about a fortnight after my father brought it home from the shop, he returned it. I had not been too enthusiastic with it.

You see, what had happened was that the old PYE radiogram in the house was becoming dated. We had only mono sound while all around us, stereo was fast becoming the norm. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of our radiogram but it consisted of an elegant cubic box measuring about 20 inches on each side.

The black top panel opened up to reveal a Garrard record player inside while the front panel consisted of the speakers - actually, one-and-a-half speakers - on the top half and a radio tuner on the bottom half.

This is the closest image I could find of the front of the Pye radiogram on the Internet. There was a central speaker of course, but there was also a half-speaker on the left side, half-hidden away by the plastic skirting. What could that half-speaker achieve, I did never find out. Anyway, the bottom section consisted of the radio. Two knobs on either side. The outer ring on the left knob was to control the bass and treble while the inner part was the volume control. As for the right knob, the outer ring was to seek out a radio station while the inner part was the fine tuner, very useful when it came to seeking out the radio stations on short wave. The red spindle could be controlled by the right outer ring to move across the radio waves. The number of plastic buttons on the bottom row were to switch on the record player or radio and also choosing the radio bands like medium wave (MV), medium short wave (MSW) and short wave (there were three - SW1, SW2 and SW3). My favourite station was the Radio RRB broadcasting from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base in Butterworth. My friends and I cut our teeth on alternative pop music from this radio station which broadcast on 1445 KHz frequency.

By the time I was in Form Four, I had made it a habit of visiting one of my friends in Logan Road because he owned a stereo high-fidelity system. You know, consisting of separates like a record player, amplifier, spool tape recorder and huge humongous speakers placed across the living hall. I would go there and listen to his records. But I never pestered my father to get one, although I did tell him about my experience. My father had a close friend in the record retail business and he owned a record shop, Wing Hing Records, in Campbell Street. (On the right is an old picture of Campbell Street in the 1960s or 1970s. It was so busy then. A main thoroughfare in George Town. The Wing Hing RECORDS sign can the seen on the left.) So he was not unfamiliar with record players in the market. However, I could never understand when he brought home the record player shown in the first picture. After knowing at the record player which my friend used, I looked suspiciously at the tone arm. You lifted it up and plonked it down on the record. No lever to lower it down gently. Would it spoil the record grooves with such, to me, rough handling? My father must have felt the same too because not too soon afterwards, he returned it to wherever he bought it from. Weeks later, he brought home a Lenco L75 turntable. I was more than satisfied then. He hooked it up to a non-descript amplifier and from there, two huge speakers which he had also purchased from somewhere.

 Meanwhile, this was how the Garrard record player functioned. I'm pretty sure my family owned something very similar but the head shell, unlike this RC121 model in the video, could not be removed. [UPDATE: Just found out that ours was the RC120 model, the one without the detachable head shell.] PS. I had also written about these record players - the Garrard and the Lenco - in an earlier post some six years ago. Read it here.