'Rags to riches': PKR MP shares tribute to late grandfather

 

PKR’s Sim Tze Zin paid a heartfelt tribute to his late grandfather, a Chinese immigrant who personified the rags-to-riches success story through sheer perseverance during tumultuous times in Malaya.

In a social media post, the Bayan Baru MP shared that his grandfather, who passed away recently at the age of 93, was born into abject poverty in British Malaya in 1930 to a family that had fled famine and civil war in China a decade earlier.

“Like many early Straits Chinese, he had to struggle for survival, enduring the Japanese Occupation while working multiple jobs to support his eventual family of nine children,” Sim said.

Starting as a rattan maker, Sim’s grandfather assisted his father before opening his shop at No 350 along Penang Road in the 1950s.

When that business declined, he transitioned to selling pewter souvenirs which were a hit with foreign troops stationed on the island during the Vietnam War.

By the 1980s, as Penang’s tourism took off, Sim’s grandfather’s enterprise had evolved into a general souvenir shop catering to visitors.

“With hard work, he single-handedly raised nine children. He stressed on education.

“His children are all well-educated. My father and uncle succeeded his business. Some uncles made it to university to become an accountant, doctor, and engineer,” he added.

The PKR MP fondly recalled visiting the shop as a child and his grandfather treating him to Kopi O poured onto a plate at a neighbouring coffee shop.

“I learned many things from him. The most important thing was: Work hard, talk less,” he said.

He likened his grandfather’s passing to the end of an era - when hardy Chinese immigrants overcame immense adversity and hardship through tenacity to build decent lives and legacies in Penang.

“They were the people who worked hard and built up Penang. The epitome of rags to riches success stories,” Sim said.

“Rest in peace, grandpa.” - Mkini