Sungei Merah Tales : My Grand Aunt, Grandfather's only sister

My grand aunt, the half sister of my grandfather was born around 1900's. Great grandmother, who was "bought" by Great Grandfather in China after he became a widower in Sarawak.

Great Grandfather had gone back to Minqing to find a good wife, in the Foochow way. He had a list of qualities he needed for a wife. His first wife had given him three sons and no daughters.

According to our family stories he was given a few choices to look at. But he had taken an interest in a special sale. A hard up, destitute man was in debt and he needed to sell his small feet wife for a few silver dollars to settle his debt.

My pretty Goo Poh, front, left and her classmates.

My great grandfather was told that this woman was not long married to the gambler and she had come from a good and scholarly family, soft spoken, with gentle hands and manners.

I suppose my great grandfather had taken a liking to what he was told. Thus a Nanyang returnee was brought to the home of the gambler to pick up his "purchase", if he agreed to the sale.

This was our our Tui Mah (Great Grandmother) came to Sibu and to our family.

She gave birth to our Goo Poh, my mother's best friend.

Goo Poh was soft spoken, educated and a teacher all her life. She was married to a Chiu, the first cousin of Dr. Chiu Nai Ding. Although she went to China for a few years she came back after the war, a widow as Grand Uncle Chiu passed away in China.

After the War, Mrs. Hoover gave her a job as a kindergarten teacher. She raised all three of her children on that small salary. They lived in a small flat on the first floor of the 50th Methodist Anniversary Building in the Methodist Primary School Compound.

She was the counsellor, confidant, friend, dearest relative to three generations of our Tiong Clan. Every one respected and loved her.

The much renovated building is still there but my dear Goo Poh passed away in the 1990's.

She left a big vaccuum in our lives when she passed away.