The Penang Chinese Town Hall was established in 1881.Re-examination of the “Chinese nationalism” and Categorization of the Chinese in Malaya: The Case of the Chinese in Penang, 1890s-1910s by SHINOZAKI Kaori, Ph.D. student, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences University of Tokyo kaoris@pd.jaring.my presented at The Penang Story – International Conference 2002, 18-21 April 2002, The City Bayview Hotel, Penang, Malaysia (Organisers: The Penang Heritage Trust & STAR Publications)

Chung Keng Quee Kapitan China Chung Keng Quee (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chhang Kín-kui, 182713 December1901) was the founder and administrator of modern Taiping in Perak, Malaysia. Appointed "Capitan China" by the British in 1877, he was a millionaire philanthropist ...

was the single largest individual donor towards the founding of the town hall and was a prominent president serving from 1881 to 1883. The main donors for the inauguration of the Penang Chinese Town Hall were the British Colonial Office (10,000 yuan), the Fukien Association (2,000 yuan), Ch'ao-chou Prefecture (1,800 yuan), Ch'iu Lineage Association (1,000 yuan), Hsieh Lineage Association (800 yuan), Cheng Ssu-wen (the fancy name of

) (600 yuan), and the Yang Clan of Ying-yuan kung (500 yuan). Two hundred and seventeen more donors contributed between 480 yuan to 10 yuan; a total of about 26,000 yuan was collected. In June 1905, Chinese merchants 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 ...

gathered in the Penang Chinese Town Hall, in support of the boycott on American goods, joining Singapore and China in putting pressure on the American government to improve its immigration policy towards the Chinese. In the election of the office bearer on 9 September 1906, Leong Lok Hing was made General President,

Foo Choo Choon Foo Choo Choon ( (Man with little wang); 30 July 1860 – 27 March 1921), a Hakka tin miner, revenue farmer and businessman from Penang and Perak was, in his time, said to have been the richest Chinaman in the world.Chinese Business Enterprise ...

, Cheah Meng Chi,

Chung Thye Phin Kapitan China Chiew Yuen Lam (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Chhang Thai-phìn''); 28 September 1879 – 1935) was a wealthy Malayan tin miner and rubber planter. Chinese Business in Southeast Asia: Contesting Cultural Explanations by Edmund Terence Go ...

and Lim Kek Chuan were made President, and Ng See Sin, Oon Boon Tan, Khaw Joo Tok, Quah Beng, Ong Hun Chong, Koh Leap Teng and Gnoh Lean Tuck were elected Vice President. On 22 June 2008 Penang Chinese Town Hall chairman, Tan Sri Lim Gait Tong said it was relevant to set up a special committee to establish the actual date it was founded because their records showed conflicting years in which the organisation was set up. He said that although the organisation's constitution stated that it was established in 1875, certain members had claimed that it was set up in 1881 and 1883.When was Town Hall founded? By : Lee Keng Fatt published on 23 June 2008 in the New Straits Times

References

{{reflist, 2 Buildings and structures in Penang Government buildings completed in 1881 1881 establishments in the British Empire