KOTA KINABALU: As the lunar new year comes around again, many in the Sabah east coast town of Sandakan fondly recall an amateur lion dance troupe, led by a big-hearted man, known by all as “mountain boar dog”.
Performing in hand-me-down lion dance heads and costumes, this ragtag group of men were welcomed into the homes of Sandakan’s wealthiest families in the 1970s and 1980s.
The leader used to equip his troupe by visiting the various associations around Sandakan and asking if he could have the old lion heads, drums, cymbals and any other equipment that they were going to replace.
The amateur standard of the group was painfully obvious, recalls Sandakan native Chan Chew Lun, owner of Sabah publishing firm, Natural History Publications.
He saw them many times and tells FMT about one particular performance by the group which included a demonstration of self-taught martial arts.
“In one lively dance involving fake swords, the leader was struck and suffered a wounded finger. There was quite a lot of blood and initially he appeared stunned, but he kept going.
“Afterwards everyone heard him yelling Cantonese curses. It was like a scene out of a comedy.”
They were popular with wealthy local families who knew that the contents of all the “ang pow” packets handed to them would be passed on to the Chinese schools around Sandakan.
“Somehow the presence of his makeshift troupe made the Chinese New Year festivities more colourful. Since they were self-trained, they knew how to start the performance but often wouldn’t know how to stop, so they would just eventually slow down and stumble to a halt,” remembers Chan with a smile.
It was only recently, while researching his own family history, that he began recalling stories of “mountain boar dog” and began a little research.
Chan eventually discovered that the legendary troupe leader’s real name was Lee Koon Fook and he was born in Sandakan in 1933, the youngest of seven siblings. He died in 2006 at the age of 73.
But how he got the “mountain boar dog” name still remains a mystery.
Although Lee did not have any fixed work apart from selling newspapers and doing odd jobs, he was always quick to come to the aid of victims of fires or floods and was renowned for arranging the funerals of those who died without any family.
Many in Sandakan also remember how Lee was willing to put his life on the line to save others from danger. Chan describes one incident that could have ended much worse than it did.
“It was sometime in 1972, I was with a friend having lunch at an upstairs coffee shop in downtown Sandakan when we suddenly heard a dreadful commotion downstairs with people screaming.”
Chan and his friend looked down and saw a man running amok with a knife. He had already stabbed the local primary school principal in the neck and there was blood everywhere.
Onlookers were running for safety and shopkeepers were slamming their shutters down.
As Chan took in the terrible scene, he saw a slight figure brandishing a stool approach the knifeman, who was running around looking for more victims. It was the mountain boar dog coming to the rescue.
“Lee bravely distracted the crazy guy to stop him hurting anyone else until the police came and arrested him,” Chan says.
Though small in stature, Lee is remembered by those who knew him as a big man.
What is indisputable is that he had a really big heart.
Chan tells FMT, “Lee serves as a reminder that we are always in a position to help others no matter who we are.” - FMT
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