Leong Fee (; Hakka

Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Pha̍k-fa-sṳ () is an orthography similar to Pe̍h-ōe-jī and used to write Hakka, a variety of Chinese. Hakka is a whole branch of Chinese, and Hakka dialects are not necessarily mutually intelligible with each other, considering the large geo ...

: Liòng Fî) is the

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

name for Liang Pi Joo (1857–1912), a worker from

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

in China who emigrated to Malaya in 1876.

Career

He arrived in

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

and, half a year later, moved to

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

where he began to make his fortune in tin. He was a tin miner, businessman, a visiting Justice for Kinta (1892), the first Chinese Member of the

Federal Legislative Council The Federal Legislative Council (also known simply as the Legislative Council) was the legislative body of the Federation of Malaya and the predecessor of the Malaysian Parliament. It was formed in 1948 after the abolition of the Malayan Union an ...

(1909) a Penang state senator, a member of the Perak State Council, a Chinese Vice-Consul to Penang (1902 to 1908) and a philanthropist. He was a member of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.Virtual Malaysia, The official ePortal of Tourism Malaysia
In 1902 he opened a mine in Tambun. Renowned Malaysian businessman Leong Sin Nam once worked in his tin mine. One year later Tambun held the world record for tin production.

Leong Fee Mansion

Built on Leith Street around the 1900s as a personal residence, it now belongs to the Christian Brothers and has been leased to an art school, Akademi Seni Equator.John Glines
/ref>

Hakka Chinese Tin Miners Club

Leong Fee founded the club in Ipoh in 1893. His son, Leong Yin Khean alias Liang En-Chuen, continued to sponsor the lodge after his father's death in 1912 and eventually sold the house cheaply to the club. He was a member of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.

Personal life

He married the daughter of millionaire-philanthropist Hsieh Yung-kuan, the Chinese Vice-Consul to Penang before him.The Official Website of Tourism Penang by The Penang Tourism Action Council

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leong Fee 1857 births 1911 deaths Businesspeople from Meizhou Malaysian businesspeople People from Meixian District Malaysian politicians of Hakka descent Chinese emigrants to British Malaya People from British Malaya