For most of the older generation who remember the time of the British Occupation, most of them don’t have much to say about their former colonial masters. But for those of you who missed the previous Monday’s Star Metro, there were two articles highlighting the kindness of the former British landowner and his estate manager in the highly publicized Kg. Buah Pala case. Here with apologies to the Star (and i hope they don’t mind), I have reproduced the two articles for the benefit of those who did not read it or are outside Malaysia.
Legacy of a landowner
WHILE little is known about estate owner David Brown, the name raised much curiosity at the height of the Kampung Buah Pala land dispute (dubbed the Tamil High Chapparal after a 1970s television series).
This piece of prime property belonged to the Brown family and is located in Bukit Gelugor, Penang.
The residents there are descendants of Tamil workers employed by David. They claim the land was a gift to their ancestors and is held on a housing trust for them.
But they lost their case to the new landowner and a developer in a series of court battles, and today is the day when the demolition of the houses is set to take place to make way for a proposed apartment project.
In her 1935 paper A Hundred Years of the Brown Family 1750 - 1850, H.M. Brown, a descendent of David, wrote that the latter was the son of a gardener who resided in the United Kingdom from 1740 to 1750.
The paper documenting a brief history of the Brown family ended up in Penang in the mid-1990s and a copy was obtained by MetroNorth courtesy of author and historian Khoo Salma Nasution.
David was married to Janet Stuart, a daughter in a well-to-do family, in 1775. He owned several small properties in his county, mostly foreclosed mortgages.
A law graduate from Edinburgh University, he impressed his Berwickshire farming relations with his business acumen and organising powers, so much so that in January 1800, before he was 21, they sent him to Penang with the Power of Attorney and £300 to invest there on their behalf.
The journey was also to collect money from the estate of his uncle, Alexander Stuart, who had died in Penang some two or three years earlier.
His trading and money-lending business flourished and he is believed to have fathered two children, Sophie and George Wilson, with a Nyonya named Ennui. He is believed to have fathered nine children in the then Malaya.
David built Gelugor House in 1812 and took up residence there the following year. He died on Sept 12, 1825, at the age of 49 years, after staying on the island for 25 years.
For seven years after his father’s death, George lived in Gelugor.
The nutmeg plantation laid out by his father did not come into bear at that time, and he remained a relatively poor man. The lavish entertaining of his friends, in which he indulged, helped to keep him so.
At his death in 1832, on a voyage home to England, his affairs were said to “have been left in confusion”. He is believed to have died deeply in debt.
David and his descendants, being the largest landowners during British rule, have donated land for the building of schools and religious houses in the community.
In recognition, a memorial of David was erected at the corner of Anson Road and Perak Road.
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Watts lived up to Brown’s generous ways
THE Brown family owned several large plots of land in the Straits Settlement.
Besides Kampung Buah Pala, the Brown estate included plots in Sungai Nibong and Sungai Ara.
The Sungai Ara land, measuring close to 404ha, was managed by the late H.R. Watts, a manager employed by Brown, who later became a majority shareholder of the Sungai Ara Estate.
“My father was his carpenter who also helped build roads in the former rubber, durian, rambutan and cocoa plantation.
“Because Watts valued my father’s contribution, we were compensated with a triple-storey shoplot.
“The land was offered to me in 1985 by Watt’s daughter, Ann Barton at RM10 per sq ft. I asked for a 50% reduction, and instead of selling it to me at half price, she sold it at a token of 50 sen per sq ft” the former Sungai Ara Resident’s Association chairman said, adding that the building was now worth more than RM900,000.
“I believe some 90 houses and shoplots were part of compensation given to early residents of Sungai Ara, when Watts entered into joint ventures with developers to develop the land.
Another resident, Tan Boon Hoe, said his father worked as a clerk for Watts in 1936.
“I believe Watts did not intend to develop the estate, but the then Chief Minister Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, persuaded him to do so because the state was building a free trade zone and intended to develop the Bayan Lepas area.
“Watts made sure the labourers of the estate received proper compensation and negotiated with the developer to provide double-storey terrace units for them.
“He told the developer ‘if you want to build on my land, make sure the squatters are well taken care off’,” said Tan.
M. Nagamal, 85, was among those who received the units.
“The land was sold to me for RM8,000, very cheap. He even allowed me to pay in monthly instalments.
“Watts and his wife could speak Tamil and allowed their daughter to play with the labourers’ children.
“They treated us very well and even helped pay for school fees, school uniforms and medical bills when our children were sick,” she said.
Sungai Ara resident Khor Ewe Chye, 70, said he was forever indebted to Watts.
