Reviews & Press : : IPOH When tin was king

Ipoh Echo, Monday, December 21, 2009

Getting to know the 'Who's Who' of Ipoh's Past

Dr Ho Tak Ming, a prolific researcher who has previously written a book titled ‘Doctors Extraordinaire and Generations: The Story of Batu Gajah’, has produced another prodigious work on Ipoh Town.

Titled ‘Ipoh When Tin Was King’ it has a message at the beginning by Dato’ Seri Dr Abdullah Fadzil Che Wan, the seventeenth holder of the Dato’ Panglima Kinta title.

The first chapter, The Lords of Kinta delves into the family that owned most of the land around Ipoh in the late 1800’s. This was the tenth Dato’ Panglima Kinta, Mohammed Yusuff, who was the son of the eighth Dato’ Panglima Kinta, Ngah Abdul Lassam and the nephew to the ninth Dato’ Panglima Kinta, Zainal Abidin.

The narrative then moves to the Beginnings of Ipoh and all the illustrious personalities that walked its streets be they the ‘Coolies, Towkays, Petition Writers and Lawyers or even Millionaires and Chetties’.

The book also gives insights into the people behind the road names such as Foo Choo Choon, Chung Thye Phin and Lee Kwee Foh. Even Mui Tsai and Nonyas, Wives and Concubines, Fossickers and Ghari-wallahs are made mention of in the book.

There is even a whole chapter about the founder of the Ho Yan Hor herbal drink, Ho Kai Cheong who sold leong char at 10 cents a glass in the early fifties till current times where his one product has spawned a public listed company manufacturing 300 pharmaceutical products that is Hovid Berhad helmed by his son David Ho.

In short the publication of this book promises a wealth of information for all Ipoh residents, currently residing here or once upon a time. The information is so comprehensive you might even discover you are related to one of the names in the book.