A tribute by Baba Colin Chee

Baba Lee Kip Lee at home. Portrait by Colin Chee.

This tribute to the late Baba Lee Kip Lee, Honorary Life President of The Peranakan Association Singapore, was held back in keeping with the family’s request for privacy.

TPAS would also like to thank our partners and friends, in Singapore and abroad, who kindly withheld public condolence messages.

Uncle Kip made his final journey yesterday, 2 January 2019, following a private wake for family and friends.


At his 62nd birthday concert in August 2018, Baba Dick Lee, Singapore’s entertainer extraordinaire, dedicated a song to his father, Baba Lee Kip Lee. Bunga Sayang, composed in 1994, is a much-loved song with a beautiful melody and lyrics that touch the heart.

In every village by the sea
There stands a tall and ancient tree
That shelters from the sky above
A tree of hope, a tree of love

Playing the piano, Dick sang movingly and plaintively in the tribute to his father.

The first time I heard about Baba Lee Kip Lee was when I read his book Amber Sands – A Boyhood Memoir. He was a good writer. Uncle Kip (as he was fondly known) was born in 1922. Amber Sands vividly describes a bucolic life by the sea on the East Coast of Singapore during the pre-war years and life during the Japanese Occupation. It still is a very good read and has been used in schools as required reading for Literature classes.

Uncle Kip was called to the Lord on 29 December 2018. At 96 years old, he had lived a long and fulfilling life. He ran a successful stevedoring business in Pulau Bukom and retired in the 1990s. During his 14 years as president of TPAS from 1996 to 2010, he brought renewed vigour to our Association.

Membership increased three-fold during his term and he actively ensured funding for TPAS activities by engaging Peranakan and non-Peranakan business leaders to take an interest in TPAS. He started a newsletter for members in 1994, which has since evolved into our award-winning magazine, The Peranakan.

Our choir, The Peranakan Voices, was also formed in 2000 during his term. Long-time choir members fondly remember him as “a learned man with a gentle soul whom we will miss dearly”.

Uncle Kip was a quiet person. He listened and observed more than he spoke and was uncomplaining. But I was told by our Association’s First Vice-President, Baba Alan Koh, that Uncle Kip could also be firm and stern when needed. During his time as president, he was very clear on the role of the Association, on how the General Committee should operate and would not broach any nonsense. With Uncle Kip at the helm, the Association gained a reputation as the go-to resource for all things Peranakan.

After he stepped down in 2010, he was made Honorary Life President by the Association for his many contributions to the community.

Uncle Kip’s love for TPAS and the community did not diminish. After I was elected president last year, Uncle Kip remembered to ask me each time we met, “How is the Association?” I would respond, “Baik, lah, Uncle Kip. We have a good team.” And he would nod, with satisfaction.

Uncle Kip was an advocate for heritage and culture. He and his beloved wife, Elizabeth Tan (dear Aunty Liz, who passed on in 2015) were ardent supporters of our Singapore museums. They donated large collections of antique textiles, photographs, furniture, jewellery and other artefacts to The Peranakan Museum and the Asian Civilisations Museum.

I remember the many sumptuous dinners we had at the Lees’ Bukit Timah home. The editorial committee of The Peranakan magazine would meet there quarterly to discuss and plan each issue of the magazine.

Uncle Kip and Aunty Liz would always make all of us feel welcome. Aunty Liz would lead the banter during dinner. Uncle Kip, sitting to her right, would simply look on lovingly at her, with a gentle smile on his face.

In his golden years, his sons – Dick, John, Peter and Andrew – looked after their father with much love and attentive care. It is Uncle Kip’s spirit of generosity, graciousness and kindness that lives on in his family. All of us who have known him will never forget him.

Rest in peace, Uncle Kip. We will always love you and Aunty Liz.