A missing story

In November last year, I was invited to write a very short article about Dr Wu Lien-Teh for the MINDS digital newsletter. The guidelines I was required to follow were to have: a brief background of him, his school days in Penang Free School, his work and success in China during the plague, his profound idea on Mask, and the Wu Lien Teh house and any other important exhibits of his.

Well, the newsletter has just been released but the Wu Lien-Teh story is missing. Edged out by other stories. I'm not questioning the decision of the newsletter editorial board but apparently, Dr Wu Lien-Teh is still not important enough in the minds of many informed Malaysians. It's a pity but it shows there's more that needs to be done.

Since it wasn't used, I might as well reproduce it here even if it serves nothing more than to record my contribution. But what's important is that it serves to summarise all of Wu Lien-Teh's life into approximately 600 words.

Remembering Dr Wu Lien-Teh

More than 60 years have passed since the death of Dr Wu Lien-Teh (伍连德) in Penang on 21 January 1960. There is little doubt that Wu Lien-Teh was a Malaysian hero but to me, he towered above all other Malaysians. 

At the height of his remarkable career, he travelled widely to give lectures to medical specialists and researchers. He chaired an international medical conference attended by eminent scientists who came from the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France, Germany and the rest of Europe to learn from him. 

As the first president of the China Medical Association (1916-1920), he is recognised as the man who modernised the practice of medicine in China. Such was his world-wide stature that in 1935, he became the first person from the Straits Settlements and British Malaya to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Wu Lien-Teh would not have been so respected if he had not travelled to the Chinese port of Harbin in 1910 to investigate an unknown disease that was killing all its victims. He proved that the carcass of the tarabagan, a rodent renowned for its fur, was responsible for spreading the pneumonic plague. Ultimately, this pandemic claimed some 60,000 lives in China before he brought it under control.

Along the way, he developed a prototype gauze and cotton surgical mask which he insisted his staff wear as protection. This bulky mask is acknowledged to have evolved into today’s N95 mask and it continues to safeguard millions of lives around the world.

Despite his fame and busy schedule, Wu Lien-Teh never forgot his humble roots. During his travels, he usually stopped in Penang and included visits to his alma mater, Penang Free School, where he was School Captain in 1894. 

Winning the coveted Queen’s Scholarship enabled him to study at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. As a qualified medical practitioner, he opened a dispensary in Penang for a few years before accepting a position in China. After he returned from there in 1939, he chose Ipoh to resume work as a medical doctor. Finally retiring in 1960, he died in Penang at the age of 80.

The good doctor is remembered through two roads named after him in Penang and one in Ipoh. There is also a bust of Wu Lien-Teh in the grounds of the Penang Institute in George Town, which is a present from the Harbin Medical University. 

Since 1928, Penang Free School has had a sports house named after him. In 2012, The Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society was established in Penang to celebrate the life of the man who fought the Manchurian plague, modernised medicine in China and set the standard for generations of doctors to follow. 

Mesta

A friend gave us a small basket of mesta today. He had just returned from Pahang and had bought these fruit from the farmers there. Very thoughtful of him indeed. It's the first time I have seen the mesta, a variety of the common mangosteen which is more prevalent in Penang and most parts of the peninsula. Unlike the almost spherical common mangosteen, the distal end of the mesta is more pointed. Inside, the flesh is similarly segmented, very firm and almost identical to the mangosteen.

Ten Thousand Prosperities (萬興利) - Part 8

The release of my book, Ten Thousand Prosperities, for sale to the public is quite imminent, which necessitates my writing today's blog post. It all depends on my publisher and I hear that there are already pre-launch orders coming in from Singapore. On my part, I'd like to show here the front and back of the book jacket. [LATEST: Mail orders are now available from my publisher's website. Price per book is RM65. For the moment, delivery within Malaysia is free of charge until further notice. Global shipping is also possible but please check from the website.]

The jacket, with its meticulous line drawing of the original Ban Hin Lee Bank building in Beach Street, was visualised and created by Peta Yeap, a fourth-generation descendant of bank founder Yeap Chor Ee and the daughter of Stephen Yeap Leong Huat who was the deputy chairman during the merger process with Southern Bank. Peta is presently based in New York and is a designer at Karim Rashid, Inc. 

The back cover contains a short synopsis on the book and also includes three comments from Andrew Sheng, Anwar Fazal and Ooi Kee Beng. The summarised comments from Andrew Sheng and Anwar Fazal were taken from the Introduction and Foreword which they had written separately for the book.

Andrew Sheng was previously from Bank Negara Malaysia and is presently a distinguished fellow of the Asia Global Institute, University of Hong Kong. Anwar Fazal is a well-known social activist and currently the chairman of Think City which is deeply involved with heritage programmes in George Town. Meanwhile, Ooi Kee Beng is the executive director of Penang Institute, the state government's think tank

Penang in Cheng Ho's sights

A flashback to what I wrote in Let the Aisles Proclaim some five years ago. At the beginning of the second chapter where I was touching briefly on Penang's early history, I wrote:

Long before Captain Francis Light established Penang as a trading post and settlement for the East India Company, the island was already known to seafarers from the East and West who had sailed through the Straits of Malacca. 

The first geographical reference to the island of Penang was made by China’s most celebrated explorer, Admiral Cheng Ho, who had documented his various expeditions between 1405 and 1433 from China to Africa during the reign of the Yong-Lo and Hsuan-Te Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Cheng Ho’s surviving documents were later compiled into the 17th Century historical nautical map, The Nautical Charts of Cheng Ho.

During the research for the book, I had come across a portion of this nautical chart and was deciding whether or not to include it in the book. At the last moment, I felt that historical though the chart might be, it was only very remotely connected to the history of Penang Free School. So I left the chart out entirely although I still did make reference to it.

What's interesting about this chart is that Penang island is shown as a prominent landmark. It is that L-shaped island that is marked with the characters 梹榔嶼 or pin lang yu, meaning "palm island." In my opinion, there is uncertainty whether or not Cheng Ho had physically stepped onto the island but a local legend has it that his left footprint - actually, a large impression in the rock that looks like a giant footprint but that's what legends are made of - appears on a rock at the Sam Poh Tong, a seaside temple in Batu Maung village on the south-eastern part of Penang island. During my schooldays, there was also talk of a corresponding right footprint of his somewhere in Sumatra but I find no mention of this on the Internet. 

There were several named islands on the chart but I shall leave it to others to interpret their names. Not for me to do so. 

Regarding the footprint at the Sam Poh Tong, here is an image and a comment from the TripAdvisor website, but do note that they were written in November 2017 and not that quite recent:

This old Chinese Temple was built after a giant-sized footprint was found on a rock at Batu Maung, Penang. In my younger days I remembered the footprint was on a rock by the sea at this fishing village but with so much development around this area, the fishing village had disappeared and taken over by condominiums and houses. Besides the mushrooming accommodation in its place, there is also the newly constructed flyover and traffic is a real mess after Friday prayers at the mosque nearby.

In the old days devotees offered their prayers at a makeshift altar using joss sticks and a simple urn on the rock but in its place a shrine with a deity of Cheng Ho has been erected and this is where the footprint is displayed now. There was also a seafood restaurant on stilts in the middle of the bay and the hot seller was their famous satay grilled with peanut sauce. I was told by the caretaker at the temple that this eatery had been relocated to Teluk Kumbar several years ago.

Now the refurbished Temple has a pretty landscaped garden but still has the charm of the scenic view of the blue sea, horizon and fishing boats. The new addition is the second bridge which enhances it and makes it more picturesque. The sad thing is that the quaint fishing village has been taken over by various fish wholesale dealers on a plot adjacent to the temple grounds. They appear to dominate the place with sorting of fish and the grounds are stacked up with unsightly huge cooler boxes to contain their catch.

The lotus moon

Photo taken on 24 July 2021 at 10.07pm from my vantage point in Bukit Mertajam. Moon was at 99.4 percent illumination but beginning to wane. The night sky being so much clearer tonight, the moon can be seen in greater definition. It's no imagination but very faint tinges of red and blue can be ascertained on the moon's surface if observed carefully.

Lotus moon: that's another name to describe the full moon seen on the 15th day of the Chinese lunar calendar. It is associated with the day that the Lord Buddha gave his first discourse after achieving enlightenment.

It is said that about 2,610 years ago on the full moon day of May, Gautam, the Sakyan prince turned ascetic, became enlightened as the omniscient Lord Buddha under the Bodhi tree in Bodhigaya, India, after six years of striving in the thick forest of northern India. After spending 49 days at Bodhigaya in bliss and contemplation of his discovery of the path to Enlightenment, he set foot on the 50th day on his journey to start his teaching. 

From Bodhigaya, the Lord Buddha walked barefooted for about 250km to meet his five fellow ascetics - Kondañña, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa, and Mahānāma - who once attended to him when he was on self-mortification. However, they had abandoned him after he gave up that austere practice. The five ascetics were at Samath, Isipatana, the Deer sanctuary of Benares, which is the present-day Veranasi in India. 

I

It was on the full moon day of July when the Lord Buddha arrived there several days later. The sun was about to set and the full moon just emerged from the horizon. Here on Earth, only five humans were present at that moment to listen to his first discourse but innumerable numbers of higher beings - brahmas and devas - were also present, unseen to human eyes, all awaiting earnestly to hear him expound the great Dharma. 

To commemorate the occasion of the first discourse, setting in motion the Turning of the Dharma Wheel, today marks the day when monks and lay devotees celebrate the auspicious day. Since that first teaching, Theravadin monks (see note below) have fixed this full moon day as the day to enter their annual Vassa (rains retreat) for a three-month period, spending the time meditating in the monastery without any long-distance travel.

(The above story was adapted from a whatsapp posting received today.)

[Note: In case people disputes me, a Theravadin is a follower of Theravada Buddhism.]

The buck moon

 

We are inching towards the 15th day of the Chinese sixth lunar month tomorrow. But tonight, the moon is already at 99.4 percent illumination. The above picture was taken at 10.01pm. It's an almost perfectly round orb in the sky. Plus, an added bonus of seeing some very subtle red and blue tinges on the surface because, contrary to popular belief, the moon is not in various shades of grey. Actually, there are tinges of blue and red in the shadowy areas. Look closely and be amazed! They are there!

Bolide over Penang?

Two days ago, a friend and former colleague at JobStreet.com posted a message to our whatsapp chatgroup saying that at about 5.15am, he heard a loud boom from his condominium on the island which rattled his windows. But there wasn't any lightning at all. 

A few hours later, I received a short note from another whatsapp chatgroup which said that the morning's loud bang heard over Penang could have been caused by a bolide (large meteor) that entered and exploded in the atmosphere. Others speculated that it could be rubbish jettisoned from the passing International Space Station. The Astronomical Society of Penang was attempting to gather more information from various sources about the loud explosion. 

I don't have any extra information about this interesting matter - and there's nothing reported in the mainstream media so far - but my friend did mention to us later than his surveilance camera in his condominium unit had captured both the flash of light at 4.59:48am as the bolide exploded and subsequently at 5.02:13am, the sonic boom that shook him awake. That there was a 145-second interval between the flash of light and the sonic boom, he estimated the incident to have occurred about 50.2 kilometers from his home in Tanjong Bungah.

(This video clip was provided by Ted Targosz)

Ten Thousand Prosperities (萬興利) - Part 7

Compare the original (left) with the reprint (right) and see the difference. Note: I've intentionally blurred out part
of the right image but I assure you that they are as clear as the first two paragraphs. I hope to show the whole back
cover in detail sometime in the future.

I returned from a trip to the Phoenix Press printing plant a few hours ago. Had to make a special trip there at the Prai industrial zone to pick up my 10 copies of the reprinted book jacket for Ten Thousand Prosperities, the story of Ban Hin Lee Bank. 

The reason, you see, was that the printer had mucked up the first print of the jacket. Although the same shown to us followed the specifications laid down by the designer, the final product came out wrong: the size of the bank logo was wrong, the logo itself was skewed towards the left and white was used as the colour of the narration on the back of the jacket. Against a light grey background, the narration was too light to be read properly, if at all.

So we made representations to the printer's owner. How could the finished product turn out so different from the sample? At first, the plant manager denied that the specifications were not followed but his denials were over-ruled by the owner. 

Whether or not he liked it, he had to print the book jackets for us again. And it was completed a few days ago. It could have been done sooner if not for the imposition of the second Movement Control Order last month.

Now starts the rather difficult task deciding how to exchange the original book jackets with the reprint. The problem is that the book had been factory sealed. To replace the jackets will mean having to remove the plastic seal for almost 1,000 copies. I doubt we would want to do this ourselves. Anyway, a decision will have to be taken soon before the publisher releases it for sale in the bookstores. In the meantime, the next milestone will be the launch.

The Classical Collection

Back in the mid-1990s, I collected the monthly issues of The Classical Collection from the bookstands but stopped at the 45th issue as there was no indication when the series would end. The magazines were very informative as each issue dealt with the life histories of the classical music composers. Accompanying each issue would be a compact disc that showcased the composer's music, played by lesser known second or third-tier orchestras which were good enough, actually. 

One doesn't need listening to world-renowned orchestras to appreciate classical music. Many second and third-tier orchestras also do an exemplary job if one gives them a listening ear. Thus, if they are the National Symphony Orchestra (from Canada) or the Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubjlana or Slovak Philharmonic playing well on these compact discs, never mind the point that they are not a first-tier orchestra like the Berlin Philharmonic or the London Symphony Orchestra. Just sit back and enjoy their music output. 

The image below shows all my 45 copies, including an extra Christmas issue. All came with corresponding compact discs. I learnt later that eventually, 108 issues were produced. Almost all the composers were featured multiple times. A list of the compact discs appears here. 

Rurouni Kenshin

I never thought that I could be so taken in by Japanese movies but I've been spending the last few days viewing the series of Rurouni Kenshin films at home. 

Netflix has made the first and fourth Rurouni Kenshin films -- Origins and The Final -- available for home viewing but I've also learnt that there are two more floating out there in cyberspace going by the names of Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends. 

And as a bonus, there'll be a fifth instalment, The Beginning, due for release at the end of this month. Looking forward to it. [LATEST: Netflix has started streaming The Beginning from today, 30 July 2021.]

Origins was released in 2012 and was followed by Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends in 2014. Both The Final and The Beginning are released in 2021, although their filming was completed two years ago. The Rurouni Kenshin films are adapted from a best-selling Japanese manga series of the same title by Nobuhiro Watsuki.   

Talking with Tan

I'm still rearranging my personal chess archives, otherwise known as my storeroom. Happened to come across this November 1995 issue of Chess Life, published by the United States Chess Federation, which featured Tan Chin Nam on its cover. Probably a first for a Malaysian chess player, amateur or otherwise, to frontpage a foreign chess publication but then, with former Chess Life editor Larry Parr behind the story it was bound to happen one day, and this was it.

The magazine commented that while most of Tan's largesse was evidenced on the Pacific Rim, he "played a large part in securing sponsorship for the US Amateur Team playoff at the Harbor View Marina and Yacht Club in Baltimore in 1993."

A transcript of the interview that Parr had conducted follows below. By then, he had moved his residency to the SuCasa Hotel Apartments in Kuala Lumpur where he was employed to ghost write Dato' Tan's autobiography.

TALKING WITH TAN, by Larry Parr

IF DATO' TAN CHIN NAM is not the world's wealthiest businessman, he is probably its wealthiest chessman. An enthusiastic and dangerous amateur player, this 70-year-old mega-developer keeps a chessboard and men at the ready in his private office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Visitors are expected to play on the set with the man whom business newspapers dub the "property grandmaster" and chess journalists the "Maecenas of Malaysian chess."

But life was not always so prosperous.

Dropping out of school at age 13 and working as a street hawker and clerk, this financial giant avers that he "was once a poor man myself." Among his earlier business efforts was the famous Ipoh Gardens housing project which earned him the nickname of "Mr. Low Cost."

Although officially retired from Tan & Tan and IGB Corporation, the two major components of the Tan Group of companies, Dato' Tan is still, in the view of many business reporters, the man who calls the major shots. For example, this vigorous old Lion King divided power among his children between Tan & Tan and IGB, and then quoted the Chinese proverb, "You can't have two tigers on one hill."

As far as chess is concerned, Dato' Tan started out by playing the Chinese variant at a good club level, first becoming involved in Western chess about 1973 when a previous Malaysian federation got deregistered by the government. He proved important in establishing the current Malaysian Chess Federation.

But let Dato' Tan speak for himself about why he became enmeshed in Caissa's coils and about what he regards as his most important contributions:

Larry Parr: What attracts you to chess?

Dato' Tan Chin Nam: I'm fascinated by the game. I eat, talk and dream chess – though the dreams are sometimes nightmares. For example, how many FIDE officials will stand and watch a game for four hours with corns on their feet? I do.

Chess can be rewarding. I now think that I can become a better player. Chess teaches you never to say, "l should have won the game." That's like saying you shouldn't three putt. I'm stupid to make a mistake or not to anticipate a move by the opponent. There are no "should-haves" in chess. The failures are the result only of one's stupidity.

For youngsters, chess teaches discipline, patience, systematic analytical thinking, and the humility that only comes from getting beaten. In fact, I like to lose. If I win, then there is no more competition for me; any player that I beat is out of my book. To remain in my "club," you must beat me.

Parr: Speaking of "nightmares," what do you find most aggravating about being involved in chess?

Dato' Tan: That's easy to answer. Like doctors, chess players never say thank you and never say sorry. When I started organizing chess events, some of the local players rated at 2200 wanted appearance fees! ln a way the sheer nerve of these people made me feel happy even when it was also annoying.

Parr:  Malaysia has held a number of high profile international competitions, including the 1990 Karpov-Timman candidates' final. What about sponsoring the Kamsky-Karpov match for the FIDE "world championship?"

Dato' Tan: No. It would be hard for the Malaysian Chess Federation to do this when local players would be raging against any potential sponsor. Before we can host grand tournaments and matches, we need a home-grown grandmaster and some more IMs. The point behind the 12-tournament rating series is to create a large new pool of Malaysian players, several of whom might then become grandmasters.

Our best prospect right now is Mas Hafizulhilmi Agus Rahman, a 15-year-old Malay schoolboy who has just scored 50 percent in the qualifying Zonal for our region. It was a tremendous result for him and for our country. Eduard Gufeld thinks very highly of the boy.

Parr: By one estimate, you have donated about $2 million to chess. Why?

Dato' Tan: Some people are born stupid. Just think how I could have invested those funds! But I already answered this question earlier. It is because I like chess and wish to be involved, and I'm proud of some of the things that I've done.

Parr: What are your outstanding contributions to chess?

Dato' Tan: Chess people best know me for helping to finance and find a venue for the 1984 USSR vs. the World Match, but I've done other things that have had a greater long-term value.

What Kerry Packer did for cricket, I have tried to do for chess. Around 1986 I fought very hard to rate rapid chess, which has contributed significantly to chess development and media interest in Asia. I also initiated the Asian Presidents' Conference which is held every two years at Olympiads. Campomanes has made it a regular feature in order to keep up communications among all of the Asian federations. Another innovation was my starting the Asian Team Championship in 1974 and the Asian Cities Championship in 1979. Both of these competitions have helped the Asian federations to come together in cooperation.

Parr: One last question. Do you take authentic pleasure from playing a lovely game of chess from start to finish?

Dato' Tan: I think I would. But I have yet to play such a game and can't tell you for sure.

Note: I would have liked to change all the American English spellings into proper international English but then decided to leave them alone to reflect the original idiosyncratic flavour of the American culture.

My old chess columns

After about a month of going through the old The Star newspapers in my storeroom, I have unearthed more than enough issues to compile my chess stories into a YouTube video. I tried to fit all 640 videos within the 9:53 minutes of music but it's impossible. The visuals spilled over for about 50 seconds with no accompanying sound. These old newspaper pages spread over a period of 20 years from January 1992 till March 2012. Unfortunately, those old clippings prior to 1992 are no longer with me: totally misplaced, I believe. 

The other plague expert

There is an excellent news item in The Star newspaper today on Dr Ng Cheong Yew who was a nephew of plague fighter Dr Wu Lien-Teh. As Dr Wu's protege in China, Dr Ng was also deeply involved in the fight against the plague as chief assistant to his uncle. According to this news story, Dr Ng held some leading roles with the Chinese Government. By 1937, he was already considered an expert on plague. At the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese conflict that year, he was appointed director of the China Red Cross in Hong Kong. He was also director of China's transport and supplies department. There's not much reference to Ng Cheong Yew in Plague Fighter, where he was indexed as Wu Chang-Yao, but Dr Wu acknowledged that Ng was his "gifted nephew."

It was also mentioned in the story that Dr Ng studied at Penang Free School without mentioning much details. In reality, Ng Cheong Yew was the Head Prefect in 1916 and was instrumental in convincing the headmaster, Ralph Henry Pinhorn, that the School's Centenary that year must be celebrated. It was an occasion that almost did not take place as Europe was in the midst of World War One. As the editor of the Penang Free School Magazine, he coordinated the publication of the historical Centenary issue. 

The news story in The Star appears at the bottom of Page 5. Here is the transcript in case it proves difficult to read from the image above:

Author researching lesser known Malayan plague expert (by Ivan Loh)

IPOH: When we talk about plague, Penang born epidemiologist Dr Wu Lien-Teh's name always comes to mind.

However, there is yet another expert on the plague from these shores who has been forgotten over the years: Dr Ng Cheong Yew. 

Dr Ng, also known as Dr Ng Chong Yew or Dr CY Wu, was a nephew of Dr Wu's, who like the latter, had also travelled extensively across continents on the League of Nations' Travelling Fellowship.

Chan Sue Meng, founder and chief executive officer of Sue Meng Heritage Sdn Bhd, said Dr Ng also had as high and illustrious a profile as Dr Wu, going around the world on work with the latter.

"He had earlier spent time in China, initially as Dr Wu's protégé.

"He had visited all key ports and health centres and also engaged in discussions with Chinese ministers in various cities," she said.

Chan said Dr Ng also held some leading roles with the Chinese Government, and by 1937, was described as an expert on plague.

"At the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese conflict, he was appointed director of the China Red Cross in Hong Kong and was also director of China's transport and supplies department then.

"He was a prominent and influential figure and was followed and frequently quoted by the media," she added.

Chari said she became interested to learn more about Dr Ng after chancing upon an old newspaper announcement of his engagement to Wong Siong Bing, the daughter of Dr Wong I Ek.

She has been gathering information on Dr Wong, a core supporter of Chinese revolutionist Dr Sun Yat Sen in Perak, for her second book on Dr Sun's journey here and found Dr Ng's name.

"Born in Penang in 1899, Dr Ng is the son of Dr Wu's third brother, Ng Lean Fatt. He also went to Penang Free School," she said, adding that Dr Ng also practiced as a doctor here (note: Wu and Ng refers to the same Chinese surname).

"He went to a medical school in Hong Kong University, before furthering his studies in England and the United States.

"He was a prolific writer, editor, actor (Shakespearean plays), sportsman, researcher into anthropology and authored a book about China through the lens of a Malayan.

Like Dr Wu, Dr Ng was regarded as a 'credit to Malaya'," she said.

She said Dr Ng was also described by the media as a leading member of the Perak Chinese community. 

"He had contributed to many social causes in Perak, served in various committees and philanthropic bodies, including the Kinta Sanitary Board, Town Planning Committee and Tanjung Rambutan Central Mental Hospital," she said.

Chan said she sourced much of the information on Dr Ng from old newspapers.

"I have also reached out to the descendants of Dr Wong but not many have information about Dr Ng.

"It is an ongoing research. I’ve been researching Dr Ng periodically for about 12 months as he goes by several monikers," she said.

"I’m still sorting out my findings about his contributions outside Malaya and in China," said Chan, who is the author of Road to Revolution: Dr Sun Yat Sen and His Comrades in Ipoh.

Not levelling off

On the 13th anniversary of George Town being recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site, this is the updated chart of Penang's Covid-19 deaths. One month of the movement control order in the country does not seem to be making any difference in bringing down the numbers, not least in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Negri Sembilan. In Penang, the numbers of infection look like holding steady and yesterday, the federal government said the state could go into Phase 2 of the movement control order, which means that more types of business activities can resume, such as hair salons (but no big deal for me presently because my hair is still short enough). However, it is the mortality rate of the Covid-19 patients that continue to concern me because they keep rising. It stands now at 125 cumulative deaths as at 07 July 2021.

Penang-born who fought plague

Another material from my personal archives. This is one of those rare non-chess newspaper clippings that I had kept over the years. This time, the subject matter was Dr Wu Lien-Teh who in 1911 had fought and eradicated the dreaded plague in northern China. The writer, Foong Thim Leng, had well-covered much of the known areas of Wu's life in China and Malaya. I'm sure the Dr Wu Lien-Teh Society would be much interested in this story which came out 10 years before the society was founded. 

Penang-born who fought plague by Foong Thim Leng (The Star, March 29, 2002) 

IPOH: Dr Wu Lien-teh was a distinguished scientist and Cambridge-trained Chinese physician who fought the pneumonic plague in Manchuria in 1910-11 which claimed 60,000 deaths and threatened China.

 "The successful ending o[ this major plague epidemic covering a distance of 3,200km from the north-western border of Siberia to Peking, within a short period of four months, brought him international fame and marked the beginning of almost 30 years of devoted humanitarian service to China," says his eldest daughter, Dr Wu Yu-lin.

 Yu-lin, who resides in Singapore, is the author of the book Memories of Dr Wu Lien-teh - Plague Fighter.

 Wu Lien-the, whose father was a successful goldsmith in Penang, was born on the island in 1879 and studied at the Penang Free School.

He won the only Queen's Scholarship of 1896 and was the first Chinese admitted to Cambridge University for medical studies.

After obtaining First Class Honours in Natural Sciences, he proceeded to St Mary's Hospital, London, and won virtually all the available scholarships and prizes.

He did post-graduate studies under eminent scientists in Europe – research in malaria at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine under Ronald Ross, and in bacteriology, in Halle, Germany, under Karl Fraenkel and at the Institute Pasteur in Paris under Ellie Metchnikoff.

At 24, he completed his M.D. degree requirements two years ahead of time.

On his return to the Straits Settlement in 1903, there were no posts in the Colonial Medical Service for non-British specialists so he joined the newly established Institute of Medical Research in Kuala Lumpur for one year, researching into beri-beri, then a killer disease.

He went into private practice in Penang from 1904 to 1907 and also became actively involved in campaigns against opium addiction.

He founded and became the president and Physician-in-Chief of the Penang Anti-Opium Association and organised the first ever Anti-Opium Conference of the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States, in Ipoh.

"His anti-opium campaign aroused considerable agitation amongst the powerful forces involved in the highly lucrative opium trade," says Yu-lin.

"When warnings from these quarters went unheeded and promises of bounteous 'compensation' were spurned, a search warrant was issued on Dr Wu's dispensary in Penang in 1907, followed by his prosecution for illegal possession of a 'deleterious drug' – one ounce of tincture of opium that he had purchased from a British lady practitioner three years earlier, in case he needed it to treat opium patients."

The Director of Public Prosecution claimed that it was a "test case", as Dr Wu technically required a licence to possess the one ounce of opium, which he did not have.

Dr Wu was duly convicted and ordered to pay a fine of one hundred dollars. The case attracted wide publicity abroad.

His appeal to the Supreme Court of Malaya was rejected.

Shortly after, he received two unexpected letters, one from London inviting him to attend an Anti-Opium Conference at the Queen's Hall that same year, and the other from the then Grand Councillor Yuan Shih-kai of the Chinese Government in Peking, offering him the post of Vice Director of the Imperial Army Medical College in Tientsin. He accepted both invitations.

On Dec 19, 1910, Dr Wu was directed by the Foreign Office, Peking, to travel to Harbin to investigate a mysterious disease that was killing victims by the hundreds.

Little did he realise that his mission would assume such proportions as the eradication of a terrifying continental pneumonic plague epidemic extending from the far west and north of Manchuria, through the capital itself to the provinces of Chihli and Shantung, and finally reaching as far south as Nanking and Shanghai.

"Dr Wu acted virtually as Commander-in-Chief of the huge anti-plague organisation and gave orders to doctors, police, military and civil officials alike,” said Yu-lin.

The most dramatic action taken was when he boldly asked for imperial sanction to cremate more than 3,000 corpses that had been lying unburied on the frozen ground. It proved to be the turning point of the epidemic.

In 1912, the Manchuria Plague Prevention Service was established with headquarters in Harbin, and it was on this foundation that Dr Wu began to modernise China's medical services and medical education.

He was instrumental in founding the Chinese Medical Association (1915), establishing the Central Epidemic Bureau in Peking (1919), and organising the National Quarantine Service.

He represented the Chinese Government at various international conferences held in and outside China.

In 1930 he was appointed Chief Technical Expert of the Ministry of Health to advise the government on important health matters.

He also embarked on work for the League of Nations and became a world authority of plague.

In 1937, Japan overran much of China after occupying Manchuria in 1931. With the retreat of the nationalists, Dr Wu decided to return to Penang. He was then 58.

That year he set up medical practice in Ipoh and quickly adjusted to living a new life in relative obscurity after a 30-year illustrious career.

After the Second World War, he declined invitations to participate in politics.

To encourage the young to share his love for reading, Dr Wu tirelessly collected donations to start the Perak Library (now The Tun Razak Library) in Ipoh, a free lending public library.

In his own medical practice at 12 Brewster Road (now Jalan Sultan Idris Shah), long queues were a common sight, and he was known as the doctor who gave free consultation and treatment to the poor.

He practised medicine until the age of 80, when he bought a new house in Penang for his retirement.

He died on Jan 21, 1960, aged 81, barely one week after moving into his new home.

The Times of London on Jan 27, 1960, wrote that "by his death, the world of medicine has lost a heroic and almost legendary figure".

A road named after Dr Wu can be found in Ipoh Garden South, a middle-class residential area in

Ipoh located between Hock l.ee Park and Ipoh Garden East. Along the road are two rows of double-storey terrace and semi-detached houses. The Kinta City Shopping Centre is located nearby.

Spelt by the City Council as Jalan Wu Lean Teh, it is one of the roads motorists would pass while taking a detour to their homes, the restaurants or the entertainment outlets in Ipoh Garden East and other residential areas in the vicinity in order to avoid the traffic jam at Jalan Tasek.

In Penang, a private road named Taman Wu Lien Teh is located near the Penang Free School. Dr Wu's romanised name, Gnoh Lean Tuck, appears third on the Penang Free School's plaque in honour of Queen's Scholars.

Kenneth Rogoff

Here's a story that I found in my archives: an article from the Starbizweek section of The Star newspaper of 01 August 2009. The subject of the story was Kenneth Rogoff. The first moment I saw this page in the newspaper, I recognised the name immediately. Any chess player of my era would. Rogoff was an American chess grandmaster in the 1970s who would later become an economist known around the world. Thean Lee Cheng did a very good job writing this story.

Kenneth Rogoff: Harvard economics professor 

“We’re just not going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months. We’re going to see a whopper, we’re going to see a big one, one of the big investment banks or big banks.”

-        Prof Kenneth Rogoff, Financial Times, Aug 20, 2008

LESS than one month after he made the above remark in a Singapore conference organised by RAM Holdings Bhd, investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed on Sept 15 and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were nationalised on Sept 10. And Harvard economics professor Kenneth Rogoff who predicted the fallout in the financial sector, went into hiding for two weeks.

Britain's Financial Times calls him a crisis nerd. He calls himself "a conservative economist."

Rogoff did not realise the impact his views had around the world until he was mid-flight to Sweden via London. He happened to glance at the headlines of The Guardian a fellow passenger was reading.

"I was shocked and nervous when I saw the headlines. I kept replaying the statements I made in Singapore. Could the press have misquoted me? It seemed so extreme when you see yourself on the newspapers. I asked myself, what is going on? Did I say something I did not mean to say?

"l was not trying to make headlines although I know how to do it. It was just a straight discussion."

His remark generated “400 emails from political leaders, famous investors and crazy religious people all over the world."

"l was scared. I hid. I didn't want to be hounded and I didn't want to go on TV and be asked which bank I mean."

That was one year ago. Last week on July 20, during the first year anniversary of his remarks, Rogoff was in Kuala Lumpur for the first time, in another seminar organised by RAM.

The fear is replaced by a glint of mischief in his eye, mixed with amusement. He laughs and jokes about that incident which sent him into hiding for two weeks.

"I research financial crisis. I don't predict, or cause a crisis."

Rogoff enjoys his work tremendously today, not because of how things have turned out in the global financial landscape. But 15 years ago, when he was doing theoretical work, he would not have said that, he says.

"There are different aspects of economics. In my most basic research, you can go for months as a time filling in the details. Every two to three years, you have the Eureka! moments which you live for, and a model crystalises. That is one element."

Today, he writes, teaches, speak publicly and is consulted all over the world.

"l enjoy people and I enjoy teaching policies. I learn so much from policy makers because they understand their problems so deeply."

Rogoff is in the midst of co-writing a book about the economy This Time Is Different with Carmen M. Reinhart.

Rogoff comes across as consistently controversial. He dropped out of high school at 16 to play chess, which he had earlier found difficult to grasp. His father, a radiology professor had given him a chess set at six but it was a game he did not take to until he was in his teens.

When he finally learned the game, he mastered it to eventually become "the most promising young

American since (Bobby) Fischer roamed the Manhattan Chess Club in sneakers."

When he quit school to make a living out of chess, his parents were dubious. "l did not do it for the adventure. My parents, being true liberals, insisted on living in the city where their children could have a genuine American inner city high school experience. It was a good place to learn how to deal with all kinds of people but I was not learning anything else. But that was not the reason I dropped out. I was already a top chess player and rising very fast. I really enjoyed the game," he says.

At a time when he was touted to be the top player in the United States, living off his prize money, he quit chess to go back to college. He dropped out of graduate school because he lacked direction in life only to later become among the top student in the field.

Today, Rogoff is one of several economists with a large following around the world. He writes, speaks publicly and is consulted for his views.

Ironically, Rogoff did not embrace economics easily until he started his first job with the Federal Reserve.

The choice of studying economics was itself not a conscious decision. While playing chess in Greece, he had, at 17, befriended John Geanakoplos (now Yale economics professor). But the real evangelist was Jeremy Bulow (now Stanford economics professor) who had a huge influence on his decision. The three were to become roommates in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate school.

But Rogoff continued to be torn between being a professional chess player and research economist. He repeated his high school experience when he dropped out of MIT after one semester. One year later, he returned to MIT and was glad they took him back. He also counts himself very fortunate that Yale accepted him when he decided to return to college despite dropping out at 16.

"It was only during my first job at the Federal Reserve that I embraced economics and took a professional view of the whole thing.

"I'm not someone who instantly picks up on everything, but I am patient and persistent. It takes me a long time to get a grasp of things. Maybe that's why I am able to explain things clearly because I need a lot of time to really understand something myself.

"Most of my classmates went to universities to join the academia. If you are a top student, you don't go into the International Monetary Fund (like I did). But my research was different. My first academic paper was Why countries should have an independent central bank."

Until today, his ties with chess continue to feature. Rogoff still gets letters from some of the top 30 players seeking advice on how to quit chess. "l cannot play chess now because if I play, I become an addict. I'm always asked why I quit and how I quit.

"l quit because I wanted to do something more with my life. I feel now I have done that. It was not easy for me to say that 15 years ago when I was doing theoretical work.

"The second reason I quit was because I was unhappy with my social life. I like girls and chess tournaments are rather male-oriented. The third reason was I did not want to travel so much.

"But when I went into theoretical work, there were not many women in that field and I travelled all the time. I then realised it was me, and not chess."

Rogoff wants his life to be inspiring, to count for something. On what motivates him, he says it is important to do things which he finds interesting and enjoyable.

“To be creative and successful, you have to enjoy what you are doing. If you do not find the work you do interesting it is difficult to make it interesting for someone else.

"There are all sorts of duties which are not interesting, but which have to be done. There will be false starts and I'll be depressed for months, but if I were to flee from one thing to another, I will not find anything. So I try to be responsible. I try to think of ideas or define ideas which are helpful."

Because he spends so much time working and travelling, he says he needs to exercise and meditate for relaxation. "l learned this when I was playing chess. You have to have stamina for so many days and hours. You have to train and until today, although I don’t play chess anymore, I continue to train.”