Tan Sri The Malay language has a complex system of styles, titles and honorifics which are used extensively in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the southern Philippines. Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and several provinces in Indonesia regul ...

Loh Boon Siew (; 1915 – 1995) also known by locals as “Mr Honda”, was a Penangite

tycoon A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and the first sole distributor of

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

s in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Early life

Loh Boon Siew was born in

Hui'an County () is a county under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Quanzhou, Fujian, People's Republic of China. It is situated in the middle of the Fujian coast, between Quanzhou and Meizhou Bay. The county has a population of 921,794, as o ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

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 ...

. He spent his childhood collecting pig dung (used as fuel) to make a living. At the age of 12, he arrived in

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

from China with five friends, among them Loh Poh Heng and Loh Say Bee. He had no formal education and could only speak in his mother tongue of

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...

. He worked as an apprentice car mechanic upon his arrival.

Business

At age 18, Boon Siew purchased 11 buses using his $2,000 in savings. He reconditioned the buses and sold them for $12,000. Next, he used the money he earned to buy another 39 buses. In 1942, during World War II, his money was confiscated by the invading Japanese army. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he started selling bicycles, tires and

motorcycle accessories Motorcycle accessories are features and accessories selected by a motorcycle owner to enhance safety, performance, or comfort, and may include anything from mobile electronics to sidecars and trailers. An accessory may be added at the factory by t ...

, and soon he expanded his business to

used car A used car, a pre-owned vehicle, or a secondhand car, is a vehicle that has previously had one or more retail owners. Used cars are sold through a variety of outlets, including franchise and independent car dealers, rental car companies, buy ...

s, transports and buses. In the 1950s, Boon Siew went into property development with his friends Say Bee and Poh Heng by building residential villas in Taman Saw Kit in Penang. His work is continued by his Boon Siew Group. Boon Siew arranged to meet with Mr.

Soichiro Honda was a Japanese engineer and industrialist. In 1948, he established Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and oversaw its expansion from a wooden shack manufacturing bicycle motors to a multinational automobile and motorcycle manufacturer. Early years Honda w ...

, the

Honda Super Cub The Honda Super Cub or Honda Cub is a Honda underbone motorcycle with a four-stroke single-cylinder engine ranging in displacement from . In continuous manufacture since 1958 with production surpassing 60 million in 2008, 87 million in 2014, an ...

's creator, and quickly convinced him to set up a Honda subsidiary in Malaysia. The first Malaysian Honda showroom was set up on Pitt Street in Penang, very near the home of Boon Siew. The Japanese Honda Motor Co Ltd soon appointed Boon Siew the sole distributor for Honda motorbikes in the country, as the first 50 units of Honda 4-stroke Cub were being imported into Malaysia. A factory was built in Penang to assemble the Honda Cub and the Honda motorcycle assembled in Malaysia was renamed the ''Boon Siew Honda''. The Honda Cub became the bestselling motorcycle in Malaysia and Boon Siew was recognized as the first person to bring the Honda Cub motorcycles into

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. The popular Cantonese word ''

Cub 仔 A cub is the young of certain large predatory animals such as big cats or bears; analogous to a domestic puppy or kitten. Cub or CUB may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Cub'', a 1915 American silent film * ''Cub'' (film), a 2014 ...

'' (transcribed as "kapchai" in informal Malay), which means "small (Honda) Cub" and is now a generic for small

underbone An underbone is a type of motorcycle that uses structural tube framing with an overlay of plastic or non-structural body panels and contrasts with monocoque or unibody designs where pressed steel serves both as the vehicle's structure and bodyw ...

motorcycles in Malaysia, originates from the Honda Cub. Boon Siew also played a role in the brief merger between

Kwong Wah Yit Poh ''Kwong Wah Yit Poh'' or ''Kwong Wah Daily'' () is a Malaysian Chinese daily that was founded on 20 December 1910 by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The idea of publishing the ''Kwang Hwa Pao'' or 'Glorious Chinese Newspaper' was originally conceived when Dr ...

and

The Star (Malaysia) ''The Star'' () is an English-language newspaper in Malaysia. Based in Petaling Jaya, it was established in 1971 as a regional newspaper in Penang. It is the largest paid English newspaper in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the A ...

in 1974, and helped with the establishment of the

Lam Wah Ee Hospital Lam Wah Ee Hospital () is a non-profit hospital in George Town within the Malaysian state of Penang. The 700-bed tertiary acute care hospital is accredited by the Malaysian Society for Quality in Health. It was established as a provider of tr ...

and the Penang Old Folks Home. He died at the age of 79 on 16 February 1995. To memorialize his contributions to the automotive industry, a road called ''Jalan Loh Boon Siew'' was named after him in George Town,

Honours

* : **

Officer of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...

(KMN) (1967) **

Companion of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on ...

(JSM) (1976) **

Commander of the

(PSM) - Tan Sri (1988)

References

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1915 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Malaysian businesspeople Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Naturalised citizens of Malaysia Officers of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Companions of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Chinese emigrants to Malaysia