Goh Siew Tin (1854 - 16 January 1909), alias Goh Tat Pang, was a prominent Chinese merchant. He was the first president of the

Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI; ) is a business chamber in Singapore. The chamber was originally created to protect and promote the commercial interest of the Chinese community in Singapore but it also played a r ...

, and was known as the founder of

Batu Pahat The Batu Pahat District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies southeast of Muar, southwest of Kluang, northwest of Pontian, south of Segamat and Tangkak District. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram. Geography ...

, Johor.

Biography

Goh was born in 1854 to Goh Siew Swee, who owned the firm chop Ban Ann, which engaged in the sawmill and tin mining industry, and imported and exported local products between Singapore, the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, and the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

. Following his father's death in 1892, Goh overtook the business, renaming it as chop Ann Ho, and traded largely with Java. In 1898, Goh was appointed as a committee member of the

Singapore Po Leung Kuk The Singapore Po Leung Kuk ( zh, s=保良局) was an institution in Singapore for women and girls who were victims of forced prostitution. The Po Leung Kuk was established by the Chinese Protectorate in 1888, after a similar institution, Po Leung Ku ...

. In 1906, he and several fellow prominent members of the Chinese community in Singapore founded the General Chinese Trade Affairs Association (later known as

), becoming the Association's first president, the vice-president in 1907, and the president again in 1908. In 1906, he founded

Tao Nan School Tao Nan School (abbreviation: TNS; Chinese: ), is a co-educational primary school in Singapore. One of the six Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan schools, along with Ai Tong School, Chongfu Primary School, Kong Hwa School, Nan Chiau Primary School and ...

, and first chairman of the founding school board. He once dispatched headmaster Ma Zhengxiang to lead a group of students in

Nanjing Jinan School Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Goh was also known as the founder of

, Johor.

Personal life

Goh died on 16 January 1909. His funeral was held on 3 March, and his remains were removed from his shop and brought to

Tanjong Pagar Wharf Tanjong Public Limited Company is a Malaysian powere generation, entertainment, and real estate conglomerate. It was founded as Tanjong Tin Dredging Ltd on 2 January 1926 in England. The company subsequently changed its name to Tanjong PLC in 1 ...

to be brought to China. On the day of the funeral, all of the shops that traded in Javanese produce were closed. Students of the Tao Nan School attended his funeral. Following his death, his business came under the management of his son, Goh Eng Loon.

References

{{Reflist 1854 births 1909 deaths People from British Singapore