SIBU: Former banker Chew Peng Ann, who spent almost his entire life doing charity for the poor, the homeless and the aged died at University of Malaya Specialist Centre in Kuala Lumpur at 4pm last Sunday.
He was 91.
He left behind his wife Gertrude Ho Ah Kiaw, sons Robert Chew Swee Hiong, Andrew Chew Swee Chung and Michael Chew Swee Kee, daughters Irene Chew Swee Lian and Maureen Chew Swee Hoon, grandchildren and others to mourn his death.
His body was flown from Kuala Lumpur yesterday and it arrived here at 11am.
A ceremony to remember Peng Ann will be held at his residence at No. 15, Lane 5, Pulau Li Hua Road at 7am this Saturday (Oct 18) before the cortege leaves for the burial at Nirvana Memorial Park an hour later.
For his social contribution, he received three awards — Johan Bintang Sarawak (JBS), Bahtera Bintang Sarawak (BBS) and Ahli Bintang Sarawak (ABS) from the Sarawak Government.
Peng Ann was active socially. Before his death, he was chairman of Sibu Benevolent Society and chairman of the boards of management of Chung Hua Kindergarten, SR Chung Hua and SM Chung Hua.
He was honorary chairman of Chiang Chuan Association of the Hokkien Clan, committee member of Sibu Eng Ann Teng Tua Pek Kong Temple, chartered member of Rotary Club of Sibu, former councillor of Sibu Urban District Council (now Sibu Municipal Council) and committee member of Sibu Society for the Blind.
The legacy of Chew Peng Ann in doing charity began in his family when he followed his father, the late Chew Geok Lin, in seeking food donations for the poor, the lonely and the aged.
The senior Chew was also the founder of Wah Tat Bank that merged with Hong Leong Bank in 2001.
The legacy began after the Second World War when the townsfolk here lived in poverty after suffering starvation and poor health during the Japanese Occupation beginning 1942.
A group of Catholic nuns and locals set up Sibu Benevolent Society a year after the war in 1946 to help the poor and the homeless. The home was opened by British Governor Sir Anthony Abell.
Sibu Benevolent Society converted an abandoned Japanese army barrack in the town’s outskirt to house the homeless.
A nun recalled: “These poor and homeless who were sick were often left to die because people were too poor to help; there was also a lack of medical facilities after the war.”
Chew Geok Lin came into this picture of charity in 1950 when he became the third chairman of Sibu Benevolent Society, and this helped sow the seed of love in Peng Ann — Geok Lin’s eldest son.
Mention an old ice-cream bell to any resident here, and they will tell you the story of the great love that sprouted from Geok Lin.
The senior Chew was concerned for the poor, the sick and the homeless as the community was rebuilding after the war; the people were poor and resources were scarce.
With responsibility on his shoulders as the chairman of the home, Geok Lin came up with an ice-cream bell that cost only a few cents.
He started ringing it on Sundays as he went round for donations to feed and nurse the poor.
Geok Lin walked into grocery stores and the market, and society responded with love.
The townsfolk started sharing and giving, and food like vegetables, fish, meat, fruits and biscuits started filling the baskets every Sunday.
This act of love inspired Peng Ann, and since his younger days, he followed his father in ringing the ice-cream bell.
This bell rung for six decades in Peng Ann’s life.
Peng Ann passed this bell to his eldest son Robert, who together with a group of volunteers, is still ringing the old ice-cream bell in Sibu Central Market.
Robert told The Borneo Post in an earlier interview that the ice-cream bell had indeed gathered love from the 1950s.
“Townsfolk came voluntarily to help whenever they heard this bell ringing on Sunday. Not only vegetable and meat vendors were contributing, housewives who heard the bell ringing would buy food at the market and drop them into our baskets.”
Robert said apart from food donation, the ringing also called in volunteers to help in the home and in the market when they joined him in collecting food on Sunday.
Like the story of the five loaves and two fishes, the moral behind this legacy is that love is never enough until it is shared.
From an ice-cream bell that costs only a few cents, the love it is ringing out still lives on in the legacy of father and son — Geok Lin and Peng Ann — and it lives on in the hearts of the folk here.