Dear Nyonyas and Babas
A Love Letter
This is my love letter to you dear members of The Peranakan Association Singapore and friends.
It is my last letter as President of the association as I step aside from duty and passion to resume a chapter that I had closed four years ago knowing I would return to it.
No Goodbyes
We don’t have to say goodbye.
Before blossoms leave their boughs
You know new life has sprout.
It is parting with a smile.
The white sails are raised aloft
Like lanterns in the sky.
Photo Credit: Colin Chee. April 2010. Cherry blossoms carpet the grounds and coat the fickle spring skies of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden.
These lines formed in my mind while I was sifting through images of delicate cherry blossoms recently. I photographed these when visiting Kyoto some 12 years ago with my wife Linda.
The air was so softly scented, to the point of fragility, and the trees were densely laden with blooms of intoxicating beauty. Our senses were completely enveloped.
It was hard to leave Kyoto then, yet part we did.
I felt the same hesitancy during my struggle to identify and persuade the right successor for the role of president. It had to be someone who believed in the association’s vision and values. There was no way we could leave without first ensuring the ship was left in good hands.
Yet leave I must, along with Nyonya Gwen Ong, our former Events Head, and Nyonya Sylvia Peh, former Accounts Advisor for Events. Both served, faithfully, with me for four years, as have many of those who have chosen to remain to support my successor. Bless them!
The Course Has Been Set
Gwen comforted me: “We have raised the sails and set the course.” Linda was assuring: “There will be others who share the same level of passion. Let them bring new energy to carry on.”
Fortunately, many of our members, supporters and friends who wrote to me understood my reasons for stepping aside – to let in new perspectives, to re-energize the team, and for me to spend more time with my family. They were affirmative and encouraging. I am humbled and touched.
Best of all, many of them welcomed and embraced the idea of a Nyonya to now lead the association.
History in the Making
Yesterday, 12 June 2022, at our virtual Annual General Meeting, Nyonya Genevieve Peggy Jeffs, was elected the first female president of The Peranakan Association Singapore in its 122-year history. It is a momentous occasion.
She was our First Vice President from 2020 to 2022.
A lifelong philanthropist, Peggy has raised funds for the underprivileged and less fortunate in Singapore and London. Her contributions to the Red Cross were recognised when she received in 2019 the Singapore Red Cross’s Outstanding Service Award from its Patron, President Halimah Yacob.
She is a direct descendant of one of the foremost late 19th and early 20th century Peranakans in Medan, Indonesia – Baba Tjong A Fie – a Kapitan Cina and a very wealthy planter and merchant in Dutch Indonesia. Her impeccable lineage includes spirited grandmother Nyonya Queeny Chang who wrote the evocative memoir, Memories of a Nyonya.
Besides Peggy, 13 other members for the 2022-24 General Committee (GC) were elected, by proxy, by 104 members of the Peranakan Association. We received 117 proxies. Unfortunately, 13 had to be invalidated for various reasons.
The new GC members in the new term are Edmond Wong (who has served in previous GCs), Anne Than, and Stella Clare Wee.
The experienced hands staying on in GC include Raymond Wong, Yip Wai Kuan, Tony Tan, Ronney Tan, Bryan Tan, Philip Yeo, Ngiam May Ling, Josephine Tan, Theresa Tan, and Elizabeth Ng.
A Tribute
A well-oiled team is always the sum of its parts, both internal and external. Without them, my GCs from 2018 to 2022 would not have been able to accomplish much.
This is my tribute to them.
I am truly grateful to my wonderful, loyal and experienced teammates who have decided to stay on to ensure the continuity of our mission and to the newcomers. Together, I am confident that the refreshed GC will keep the culture alive through re-imagination and reinvention.
I also appreciate our choir, The Peranakan Voices (TPV), who, while silent for two years, will surely rise to the occasion now that we can start to gather. Led longest by Baba Francis Chia, they have served steadfastly for 22 years. For so long, they showcased on stage the verve and joy of being Peranakan.
Our choir members include Angeline Kong, Adrian Kang, Agnes Ng, Anne Chia, Anthony Lee, Chan Eng Thai, Charles Chan, David Ang, Irene Ooi, Irene Poh, Irene Tai, Jessie Lee, Lionel Chia, Mabel Long, Patrick Ng, Peggy Lee, Rosy Ang, Ruby Ng, Shia Ai Lee, Shirley Kua, Sylvia Poh, Veronica Ong, and the late Peggy Chua and Mabel Lee, and other performers who were with TPV in the early years of the choir. Kamsiah Manyak Manyak!
Another group we owe much to is our Magazine Editorial Committee, led by Nyonya Linda Chee for much of the time. The team has created a publication that is very well loved and treasured by members while serving as a beautiful and faithful record of Peranakan culture.
Thank you very very much, Emeric Lau, Elisabeth Chan, Benedict Khoo, Ngiam May Ling, Bryan Tan, Joanne Tan De Zilva, Ronney Tan, Billy Tay, Anastasia Zenia, and designers John Lee and Joanne Low.
And I cannot exclude mentioning our loyal advertisers, and many writers, subject experts and illustrators in Singapore and around the world who have generously contributed their cultural writings, musings and illustrations. It would be remiss of me if I did. You are too many to name. You know who you are. You are all in The Peranakan’s advertisements and by-lines! Kamsiah Kamsiah!
Our deep appreciation also to all our working partners – Gunong Sayang Association, Peranakan Indian (Chitty Melaka) Association Singapore, The Peranakan Museum, NUS Baba House Museum, National Heritage Board, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, National Arts Council, Heritage Conservation Centre, People’s Association, National Library Board, Genome Institute of Singapore, Genealogy Society Singapore, and our counterpart Peranakan associations in Southeast Asia and Australia.
Our heartfelt thanks, too, to all our Friends (donors) who have always had our backs, giving generously when we needed them to, and who wish to remain anonymous. You have helped us to stay in the black.
A hearty Kamsiah! to all our volunteers and members who have always stepped forward whenever we needed them to help us share and spread the culture. My apologies if sometimes we are not able to be at the venues with you to also help other than our event coordinators.
A very special thanks to Nyonya Ngiam May Ling, our Legal Advisor in GC, who would sanitise my monthly letters, and Linda who would curb my ramblings, before they are posted at the end of each month. I must not forget our Communications Head Nyonya Theresa Tan who has ensured they go out in time. I am glad my monthly letters since June 2018 have taken on a life of their own besides updating readers.
To my dear dear wife, Linda, who said she would be to me what Aunty Liz was to Uncle Kip when I first took on the responsibility of helming The Peranakan Association, a big hug. She is the steel in me and the one who has quietly toiled on through many many evenings to pull our beloved magazine together as its Editor for a good 14 years. Muaks!
And, of course, to my children Olivia, Keith and Min for I have missed catching up with them more times than I need to, and especially my grandsons Micah and Levi, who have had to plead with me sometimes to play with them instead of being at the desktop.
And last, but not least, to my Lord, who is my ever-present help and counsellor.
Until we meet again, as surely our paths will cross, please keep safe, be at peace and be kind. Linda and I wish you all and your loved ones much joy and good health.
Photo Credit: Linda Chee. Immediate Past President Colin Chee handing over the mantle to President Peggy Jeffs.
And to our new GC led by Genevieve Peggy Jeffs (call her Peggy, lah), an abundance of God’s blessings!
Blessings
Colin Chee
President, 2020 – 2022
The Peranakan Association Singapore
Reimagine & Reinvent