星期二特写 | 星洲头家3 连瀛洲
You say this epoch has given me the stage I say if you look far beyond, trees are even more splendid Lien Ying Chow Leung Yun Chee Tay Koh Yat Tan Lark Sye Episode 1 - Lien Ying Chow 1 Raffles Place is strategically located in the Central Business District Once the tallest building in Singapore, it embodies the pride of a towkay (boss) who wanted nothing less than the best He built his business right from scratch It didn't go from zero to a hundred just like that, right? He had foresight He had strategies and confidence He could visualize what we couldn't The founder of this skyscraper... was a village boy who came from China a century ago Lien Ying Chow was born in Dabu Village, Shantou in 1906 His grandfather was a village chief As his parents died early, he became an orphan when he was only 10 years old He started off as an apprentice in Hong Kong At the age of 14, he travelled by sea to Singapore... with only HK$0.50 in his pocket Upon arrival, he started working in Kian Thye...
as a ship chandler the following day It didn't take long for his boss to notice his eagerness to work hard He rose to become Assistant Manager a few years later... while working hard to master English In 1929, Lien Ying Chow founded his company, Wah Hin & Co. He became a boss at the age of 23 Wah Hin's main imports were food stuff and provisions Even though the world economy was in the Great Depression, Wah Hin supplied provisions to the British military in both Malaya and Singapore...
and saw its business grow by leaps and bounds It took only a few years for Lien Ying Chow to become... a prominent and wealthy businessman in Singapore Lien was elected the youngest president... of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the age of 34 When World War II broke out, Lien took part in the Overseas Chinese Mobilization Council of Singapore... led by Tan Kah Kee Together they mobilized local Chinese to take part in...
the resistance against Japanese aggression and fund-raising campaigns Just before the Japanese invasion of Singapore, Lien and his friends fled Singapore by sea at the nick of time He came to know many prominent political and business leaders... when he was in Chongqing, China in 1942 He was appointed by Chiang Kai-Shek of the Nationalists... as Special Commissioner to London, Lien also set up his first bank in Chongqing In Chongqing, he saw the opportunity... because people were fleeing from this part of the world The overseas Chinese congregated in Chongqing They needed to encash it, and send money to people back home After WWII, Lien returned to Singapore He founded the Overseas Union Bank (OUB), which was inaugurated in 1949 He leased a vacant space in Meyer Chambers, Raffles Place To Lien, moving into Raffles Place was an event of great significance They felt that Raffles Place... was meant for big international business houses and banks, and not for local banks and businesses But on my part, I felt that what foreigners could do, we Singaporeans could do also Lien Ying Chow was determined to acquire...
a row of properties along Robinson Road OUB was located next to The Robinsons They was a row of seven shophouses then Whenever any of them was put on sale, he would offer to acquire it The Robinsons Fire at Raffles Place in 1972... resulted in great losses to human lives But to Lien, it helped realize his 30 years' dream of land acquisition I saw the fire I thought our building would be finished But we were very lucky, you know If the wind blew to Meyer Chambers, we would be finished But God helped us The wind suddenly blew to the other wide We were just lucky Lien Ying Chow had it his way and began to expand his business from then on With Raffles Place as the focal point, OUB expanded its business Branches were set up at prominent places in Singapore, thus making OUB a brand name known all over the island You know, if you have a bank, you must have branches You have to have branches before you can have more deposits - most important is the deposits By the time OUB celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1974, it already had 24 branches in Singapore OUB was also one of the earliest local banks to have overseas operations It set up branches in Malaya in 1958... followed by many more in major cities in Asia, Europe and America By 1990s, OUB had 65 branches all over the world Lien's soaring business... was like a tall building soaring to the sky On 8 August, 1988, the 62-storey OUB Centre was declared opened... by the then Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew At the same time, Lien presented to the country... a bronze sculpture entitled Progress and Advancement He was 82 years old He said he was very happy PM Lee Kuan Yew came to officiate the opening That was his life-long wish He said he wanted to build the tallest building in Singapore Loh Hoon Sun joined Lien's OUB as Controller,Finance in 1977 He later assisted Lien to set up his securities firm A bank was not supposed to go into the securities business But during the Pan-Electric crisis, many securities firms went under as a result So the Singapore government issued a licence each...
to the four major local banks The banks made a lot of money from securities To him, securities firms are just too risky to run Many of them went under He told me not to employ too many people - about 20 brokers would do I told him that 20 wasn't enough There must be enough people before a securities firm can be run profitably Not when there aren't enough brokers "Okay, I'll let you have 40 brokers" Being ambitious, Lien was also working on a new landmark - the tallest hotel along Orchard Road Mandarin Orchard has stood tall in Orchard Road for half a century It is a true-blue local hotel, and another iconic establishment of Lien Ying Chow When the hotel was officially opened in 1973, it was not only a milestone in Singapore history, but also the holder of many firsts Way back in the mid-sixties when Singapore had just gained independence, Lien saw the opportunity in the hotel and tourism industry It was the government which wanted... Singapore to be a tourism centre Going by the reports from the government, there was a yearly 40% increase of tourists over the last four years We knew that Singapore needed a good and grand hotel... in the coming years As Lien expected, Mandarin Orchard Hotel was the industry pioneer It has groomed many talents for the hotel industry 73-year-old Richard Yeo had been with Mandarin Orchard for almost 20 years He was once Head of F&B, having 600 staff members under him I think this building itself is iconic, with "Top of the M" revolving restaurant, the first one in Asia It was very busy and almost full-house every night Dr Lien's vision of his hotel is... very luxurious - one of a kind in the world This is a gentleman who doesn't talk much But he can tell you... when to do the right thing and when not to Mandarin Orchard was very good at branding A Hainan Chicken Rice set was rather costly, but it had always been well known both domestically and globally Our Hainan Chicken Rice has become famous ever since 1972, having a long queue of patrons almost every day Mr Lien would tell people with pride that the chicken in his Hainan Chicken Rice...
came from the chickens bred in a farm with very stringent requirements from us He felt very proud about it Mr Lien was generally good to his staff We were very happy with the bonuses he gave us every year We addressed him as either Papa Lien or Big Boss In the restaurant serving Chinese food, most of the older employees would address him as "Lao Ye" (Big Boss) He would say this to them, "Do try to do your best. You will succeed when you've been around long enough" Today's Mandarin Orchard Hotel has a new owner The hotel is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, but will be rebranded as a flagship Hilton property come next year Mandarin Orchard will henceforth be consigned to history But to some older employees, it would be difficult to erase the imprint of a bygone era That calendar model is very iconic We would select all the models, and they were all real staff members They were not models A lot of people would be asking for the calendar even before it was out "So where's my this year's calendar?" That gave us a lot of satisfaction Chew Lee Ching, MD of a communications agency, used to work at the basement of The Mandarin in 1970s Churning out advertisements and campaigns... in Overseas Union Advertising, a unit under Overseas Union Enterprise, she used to have frequent contact with Lien Ying Chow If you tell him this cannot be done, he will ask you why Why can't it be done? He can give you reasons why it can be done He will sort of try to convince you... that actually, it's a different way of looking at it Lien Ying Chow had those rare advantages many other bosses didn't Between 1966 and 1969, he was Singapore's High Commissioner to Malaysia, during which he networked widely with politicians and businessmen The hotel lobby and ballrooms… became premium venues for many major activities, graced by many VVIPs from Singapore and all over the world Mandarin in those days was a very happening place There was always something going on You could tell from the number of cars pulling up before the entrance... with all the diplomatic flags So you knew there was a VVIP coming I remember going with him as a young adult to functions I would lose him because... he'd be working the room, giving out his business cards He met many more people than I did...
because he was so energetic And he was in his eighties Come Lunar New Year, Lien Ying Chow would open the door of his villa... to his company's senior employees, often more than 1,000 people He was very good to his employees He provided them with many opportunities On the first day of the lunar month, he would hold a lunch party in his house... inviting his staff and their spouses That gave us the opportunity to know one another I remember when I was new to the Group and I went there, Mrs Lien would make an attempt to talk to the people who were knew, and make them feel comfortable That's something I appreciated There were thousands of people. You'd get lost It was part of really thanking, I guess, the staff..
and helping the staff feel like part of the family Some of the old-timers would have such fond memories of those days... that they were working in the bank or in the hotel We had to turn up, of course... and play host As a kid, of course, you just enjoyed the food... because it was catered by The Mandarin Located at Clementi Road, Ngee Ann Polytechnic... has produced over 160,000 graduates over the last 50 years Ngee Ann was built when Lien Ying Chow... was heading Ngee Ann Kongsi With little education to his credit, Lien established Ngee Ann College with a dream to build a university In 1963, Ngee Ann College was launched at Teochew Building...
with 116 students enrolled A few years later, Ngee Ann College was transformed into a technical college... in tandem with the Ministry of Education's policy to promote technical skills In 1968, Ngee Ann Kongsi donated a plot of land in Clementi... to be the campus of the new Ngee Ann Technical College This college was renamed Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 1980s He was always very supportive of Ngee Ann College Even as Ngee Ann Polytechnic, he continued to support it generously Quite a few scholarships and bursaries still bear his name By virtue of the authority bestowed on me, I confer upon Lien Ying Chow the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters At the age of 86 in 1992, Lien Ying Chow was conferred NUS Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters He had since been addressed as Dr Lien It was an honour which acknowledged...
his financial support for university education... and added a tinge of glory to his twilight years Nevertheless, something just happened which he didn't expect In 2001, as the Singapore government... embarked on the consolidation and liberalization of the banking industry, OUB became a target of hostile takeover by the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) OUB ended up accepting the takeover offer from the United Overseas Bank (UOB) The two banks merged That sudden change was a heavy blow to Lien Ying Chow He was already 95 years old in 2001 He became a little frail Of course, when something like that happened, it did affect him Of course, the family was very... I guess, sad that... something like that happened But this is the reality of the business world It was he who founded the Overseas Union Bank It was natural for him to feel let down Of course, I felt very sad too I was with OUB for 14 years and now, it was defunct Many of our colleagues in OUB... shared the same feeling But we felt that the government policy, the market and businesses had to evolve It was beyond our control In the eyes of Loh Hoon Sun, Lien Ying Chow was a boss who had empathy and compassion On every Christmas, he would ask his chauffeur...
to deliver a box of chocolate to my house Every Christmas So after I left OUB, I thought he would cease the practice as I hadn't done much for him But he continued to gift me a box of chocolate every year, even though I'd left OUB He cherishes personal relationships In 2004, Lien Ying Chow passed on He was 98 years old In the same year before he passed on, I carried on the tradition of visiting him on Lunar New Year He held my hand very tightly At his age, he did have lapses of memory When he could remember and recognize me, he would express his anguish He would hold my right hand tightly and bid me goodbye The main enterprises Lien Ying Chow founded have changed names and ownership 48% of Lien's assets was set aside for the establishment of the Lien Foundation His grandson, Laurence Lien, joined the Board of Directors of Lien Foundation in 2001 He has since expanded the businesses of the foundation Business people in those days were not just interested in making money, they were all community leaders They did things for society, for their clans, their own kind... because when they came, they came with nothing Who helped them? The people who came before them Otherwise, they'd be nothing So when you succeed, the expectation is that you'll help You'll pass it on On 29 December, 2008, Nanyang Technological University... renamed part of its Nanyang Drive to Lien Ying Chow Drive In honour of the selfless contributions made by Dr Lien, and the Lien family to its institution, Ngee Ann Polytechnic named its library the Lien Ying Chow Library... and set up Lien Ying Chow Gallery I think for all good entrepreneurs, there is always that element of courage, that drive and that willingness...
to say, "OK, let's pursue this. It's worth pursuing" So, it's that conviction which I think he had He also loved his family, his children and grandchildren His grandchildren, the third generation, are now managing the legacy he left behind - his estates and the Lien Foundation The Foundation came about in 1980s It's been over 40 years now That's the legacy he wanted to give even after he passed on... because he wanted the family to continue that giving We see it as a legacy that he wants to continue We are just stewards of that legacy Subtitles: H Yap, Mediacorp Pte Ltd
2021-07-15 14:06
