Wee Kheng Chiang


Wee Kheng Chiang was a Malaysian Chinese businessman of Hokkien descent with ancestry from Kinmen island. He was the founder of United Overseas Bank, formerly known as United Chinese Bank, and the father of Wee Cho Yaw.

Early life

Wee was born to Kinmen Hokkiens on 22 July 1890 in Kuching, Sarawak, a British established puppet colony. He was the family's second-to-eldest son. His father was Wee Tee Yah, and his mother was Song Kim Keow, a local born widow. The younger Wee attended Saint Thomas Secondary School, and spoke Hokkien and English fluently.

Career

In 1924, Wee established the Bian Chiang Bank in Kuching, Malaysia.
He became the Treasurer of the Kuching-based Chinese General Chamber of Commerce upon its inception in 1930, before being promoted to President. In addition, Wee was the Hokkien Association 's President.
In 1931, he was elected as Chairman of the Sarawak Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He resigned from the post in 1946.
On 6 August 1935, he established the United Chinese Bank with six other partners. The bank is now known as the United Overseas Bank.
Wee staffed his bank with ethnic Hokkiens to serve his Hokkien clients.

Personal life

The Kapitan Cina Ong Tiang Swee, who was then Kuching's wealthiest person, was impressed by Wee, and decided to let him marry his eldest daughter, Ong Siew Eng. Wee was then given the role of manager of the Sarawak Chinese Bank, which Ong owned. Wee soon got to know more prominent businesspeople and other important figures; he shortly started a string of businesses, including farming and goods importing and exporting.
He was married twice and had fifteen children. Wee's second wife is the mother of Wee Cho Yaw, chairman of Singapore's United Overseas Bank.

Death and legacy

In 1978, Wee died in his Kuching residence. His fourth son, Wee Cho Yaw, was subsequently appointed to head United Overseas Bank. Jalan Datuk Wee Kheng Chiang, a road in downtown Kuching, is named after him.

Awards

Wee Kheng Chiang was posthumously hailed as the "uncrowned king of Sarawak" in Queen of the Head Hunters by Rajah Vyner Brooke's spouse, Sylvia Brooke. Ranee Sylvia Brooke also used this sobriquet, in her 1939 book The Three White Rajahs.
In 1941, Wee was presented with the Commander of the Star of Sarawak by the Third White Rajah of Sarawak. In 1964, he was awarded the Panglima Negara Bintang Sarawak by the first Governor of Sarawak.

Affiliations