While there have been sympathetic responses to my appeals to restore the tomb of Foo Teng Nyong and protect and save the tomb of Capitan Chung Thye Phin, there are others who have responded otherwise, making snide remarks that descendants who sold off the land and enjoyed the profits should not now complain or stop the developer from getting on with their work. The latter people of course, work with assumptions and no evidence or facts. So I am going to provide some facts to support my argument that no descendant sold off any of the land.
Here are actual facts
1. Tomb of Foo Teng Nyong (and also that of Chung Thye Phin) are part of a larger parcel of land purchased for the purpose of housing the graves of Chung Keng Quee, his wives and descendants, purchased under a title in 1881. In 1901, at the time of his death in December 1901, the Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle referred to this as Chung Keng Quee's Mount Erskine Plantation.
2. This parcel of land stretched from one part of Mount Erskine where is found the tomb of Chung Keng Quee, all the way into the middle of Fettes Park at Jalan Bunga Telang where is found the tomb of Foo Teng Nyong, while the tomb of Chung Thye Phin lies somewhere in the middle or border of those two areas.
3. The land is a very small part of the assets held together by a trust under the will of Chung Keng Quee 1894, clause 11 of which provided for the totality of that trust to remain intact until the last grandson of Chung Keng Quee turned 21 -- that means no assets can be sold off or disposed until that time.
4. The will, and clause 11 have been challenged but the case was thrown out in December 1913 when the judge W. W. Fisher reaffirmed the validity of the will and its clauses, including clause 11 which was to keep the entirety of the trust intact till the last grandson of Chung Keng Quee turned 21.
5. When people do not pay their quit rent or assessment, government sends them notices to pay. I believe the notices are usually in red.
6. On 11 December 1941, the Japanese started bombing Penang, there was tremendous damage. Official and unofficial documents and records were destroyed. Later when the Japanese invaded Penang, even more destruction of records took place. Until today there are those who are unable to get copies of their ancestors birth, marriage, death or citizenship records.
7. Grave land is the cheapest. Its cost and assessment and quit rent, the lowest. Had trustees received any red notice to pay what would have peanuts, would they not have paid? It would not be surprising if they had not received any notices if the records were gone. In time, everyone probably forgot.
8. In 1953 Straits Budget (S'pore) reports Chin Brother's launch of the development of Fettes Park (where the tomb of Chung Thye Phin borders, and where the remains of the tomb of Foo Teng Nyong lies).
9. In 1956, also in the Straits Budget, there is a Lever Brother Baby Contest Winners ad, one of the winners is a woman living in Fettes Park! So the place is not only built up by then but also occupied.
10. April 1956, last grandson of Chung Keng Quee turns 21. Only NOW, under the law, after that last grandson turned 21, can any part of the estate be sold off by the trustees (not any single member of the family, but the trustees), but by this time (April 1956) the land is not only in the hands of others, but fully developed and occupied.
11. You ask, "How come the land fell into a private owner's hand or to a developer?" I cannot answer. I can only say that under the law, NO ONE could have sold the land when it first fell into the hands of others. NO ONE. Not descendants. Not the trustees. Because of clause 11 of the will of Chung Keng Quee dated 1894, reaffirmed in the 1913 judgement of W. W. Fisher! NO ONE. You say, "Descendants who sold off the land and profited by it should not now complain about graves on the land being destroyed and just let the developer get on with their work." I say NO DESCENDANT sold off the grave land. No one. No descendant profited from the sale of any grave land. No one.
If this convinces you even a little bit, if it moves you even a little bit, I ask that you please write to government to do the following:
1. Government to require developer restore the tomb as government required of another developer when the Hotel Metropole (Northam Road) was destroyed.
2. Government require developer to retrieved the remains of Foo Teng Nyong they caused to be removed and interred in Batu Gantong, to be reinterred in the restored tomb.
3. Government to gazette tomb and land of Foo Teng Nyong tomb a heritage site.
4. Government to immediately take action to put up signages at the site of the tomb of Chung Thye Phin, and to fence up and padlock the site.
5. Government to gazette the land and tomb of Capitan Chung Thye Phin a heritage site.
Please add your voice to mine. Please ask others to do the same. I have been on man trying to save and protect the tomb of Foo Teng Nyong since March this year. My one voice has failed. Perhaps many will succeed where one has failed. You can write to government here:
Governor of Penang: Ahmad Fuzi bin Hj Abdul Razak
https://www.facebook.com/tytpenang8
Chief Minister of Penang: Chow Kon Yeow
https://www.facebook.com/ChowKonYeow
[https://twitter.com/chowkonyeow](https://twitter.com/chowkonyeow)
chowkonyeow@penang.gov.my
State Assemblyman [ADUN] for Tanjong Bunga: Zairil Khir Johari
https://www.facebook.com/ZairilKJ
[https://twitter.com/zairilkj](https://twitter.com/zairilkj)
zairil@penang.gov.my
State Assemblyman [ADUN] for Kebun Bunga: Ong Khan Lee
https://www.facebook.com/JasonOngKhanLee
[https://twitter.com/Jason_okl](https://twitter.com/Jason_okl)
ongkhanlee@penang.gov.my
Exec. Councillor for Tourism, Arts and Creative Economy: Yeoh Soon Hin
https://www.facebook.com/yeoh.soonhin.1
[https://twitter.com/hin_yeoh](https://twitter.com/hin_yeoh)
yeohsoonhin@penang.gov.my
And here is the link to show you what Penang government can do when it chooses https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/2898?fbclid=IwAR0CcSmyKnDtiWXWftJ0DjZmQgUScvm-bsSR1IRYQ3uT-3dK9oaRTNuFHns
Restoration is not new nor is it unique to Penang or Malaysia https://www.foodandwine.com/news/carlton-tavern-london-pub-rebuilt-illegal-demolition?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article&fbclid=IwAR0wRpd_pV2Exc1VvBt20PlEJSN1O0FrOZQY0SyJRqa5wu7XYQ3A78b9UyA
Please help. Please help today. Go to those sites or email addresses and copy and paste a request from you for
1. Government to require developer restore the tomb as government required of another developer when the Hotel Metropole (Northam Road) was destroyed.
2. Government require developer to retrieved the remains of Foo Teng Nyong they caused to be removed and interred in Batu Gantong, to be reinterred in the restored tomb.
3. Government to gazette tomb and land of Foo Teng Nyong tomb a heritage site.
4. Government to immediately take action to put ip signages at the site of the tomb of Chung Thye Phin, and to fence up and padlock the site.
5. Government to gazette the land and tomb of Capitan Chung Thye Phin a heritage site.
Thank you
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