8 January 2022
KOTA KINABALU – Surnames are important and a strong part in the Chinese culture and community. In spite of so many trials and tribulations faced by the Chinese community, its identity has survived and even prospered because of their surname, said Datuk Yong Teck Lee.
He said when we meet someone, the first part of the introduction is the surname. We start by introducing our surnames first before other conversation.
By knowing the surname, it is a habit to immediately link him or her to other persons of the same surname who is a family member, a close association and try to see if they are related to each other, he added.
“Of course, if that stranger is of the same surname as us, we also express kinship, that we are all the same family and so on. Surnames also strengthen our sense of belonging.
He recollected that in Indonesia, before their reforms in the 20 years ago, ethnic Chinese were not allowed to use their Chinese names. Chinese newspapers and schools and Chinese festivals were not allowed.
“Of course, those restrictions have gone. But I still remember, when I was a student in England, in the 1970s, one of my classmates is called Suhaili, a name that sounded like Malay. But he explained that his family choose the name Suhaili because their surname is Su (Soo). His Chinese name is Su Ah Lee. So, you see, Chinese people have creative ways to keep their identity.
Yong said in his understanding, very few other communities have such strong attachment to their surnames. Perhaps, in old Europe, some old surnames have a special link to their heritage.
“In Sabah, some native communities have established their family genealogy or family trees by tracing their patriarch, whose family name has become the equivalent of a surname.
“In fact, many descendants of Chinese and mixed racial families, use the surname of their ancestors to link up with their ancestral families and ancestral home. One now famous family is the Lo (罗) family whose ancestral home is at Loong Gang (龙岗) near Shenzhen.
“An American family of surname Lo went back to Loong Gang a few years ago and met their relatives from all over the world, including Malaysia. This family are not only American citizens. They are Afro-Americans, they have black complexion, curly hair, speak only English, and grow up entirely in America. Yet, they call themselves Chinese because they are descendants of a Chinese man surnamed Lo.
In the same way, a very senior native leader, who has now passed away, had told me how impressed he was when he went back to his ancestral village of surname Lee (李), he was welcomed as a senior VIP by the local District Officer, with lion dances, long lines of people queuing up to greet him and so on, more elaborate than he ever got in Sabah, he said.
“The examples of the American Lo and native Lee, to me, are insightful because they are essentially Afro-Americans and native in their way of life, in their language and culture. But they also, at the same time, proudly identify their Chinese ancestral roots. This dual recognition of one’s identity, I believe, is the way forward for a prosperous, harmonious one world.
“Some of us might not know that two of the past Kota Kinabalu Mayors are surnamed Yong. One, as we all know is Datuk Yeo Boon Hai. The other one is Datuk Ilyas Ibrahim, who is proud of his Yong ancestry,” Yong said.
Yong, a nominated assemblyman and former Sabah Chief Minister, was speaking at the Foo Association 4th Installation dinner.
He also took the opportunity to recall a most distinguished Sabahan surnamed Foo, Datuk Stephen Foo Kiat Shin, a good friend of his, a most loyal Sabahan who has served Sabah very well as a top government public servant. He said he is sad as he recalled him because he has passed away last year.
Yong attributed the late Datuk Stephen Foo as not only famous but highly respected in the community and country. The late Datuk Foo is one of the most respected Sabahans not only by the Foo clan and lawyers but all Sabahans. Yong is sure that the Foo clan and the Chinese community are proud of him and will remember him well.
Yong also expressed his heartiest congratulations to the Foo clan association under the able leadership of Kapitan Foo Hoe Weng for successfully building up the Foo association and looking after the welfare of the members and for upholding the good name of the Foo clan. Foo have led the Foo clan association ever since its inception 7 years ago.
He (Yong) also hope the Foo clan association will continue their excellent job in the many years to come and grow to greater heights.