Sim Keng Koen, Kapitein der Chinezen (died in 1906) was a Chinese-Indonesian bureaucrat and the patriarch of the influential

Lauw-Sim-Zecha family The Lauw-Sim-Zecha family is an Indonesian family of the 'Cabang Atas' or the Chinese gentry of the Dutch East Indies (colonial Indonesia). They came to prominence at the start of the nineteenth century as '' Pachters'' (revenue farmers), '' Lan ...

, part of the '

Cabang Atas The Cabang Atas (''Van Ophuijsen Spelling System'': Tjabang Atas) — literally 'highest branch' in Indonesian — was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of colonial Indonesia. They were the families and descendants of the Chinese ...

' gentry of 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 ...

(now Indonesia). He was married to Louisa Zecha, the '' Indo-Bohemian'' widow of Sim's former employer, Lauw Tek Lok, Luitenant der Chinezen of Bekasi. Sim began his career as the private secretary of ''Luitenant'' Lauw Tek Lok, one of the preeminent Chinese-Indonesian magnates of the second half of the nineteenth century. After leaving Lauw's employ, Sim was appointed '' Luitenant der Chinezen'' of the Kong Koan (Chinese Council) of Batavia in 1880. This was a senior civil government post in the Dutch colonial bureaucracy. He was further elevated to the rank of Kapitein in 1887, and was discharged with honour in 1889. Together with his wife, Louisa Zecha, Sim settled down in

Sukabumi , nickname = id, Kota Santri en, City of Learners , image_map = Map of West Java highlighting Sukabumi City.svg , map_caption = Location within West Java , mapsize = , pushpin_map = Ind ...

, a

hill station A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...

in the

Preanger Parahyangan ( su, ᮕᮛᮠᮡᮀᮠᮔ᮪; Bantenese: Priangan; Dutch: Preanger) is a cultural and mountainous region in West Java province on the Indonesian island of Java. Covering a little less than one sixth of Java, it is the heartl ...

highlands of West Java. In 1892, he was appointed as the first ''Hoofd der Chinezen'' of Sukabumi with the rank of ''Kapitein-titulair der Chinezen''. The sociologist

Mely G. Tan Mely Tan Giok Lan (born 11 June 1930), professionally known as Mely G. Tan, is a Chinese Indonesian sociologist. Tan obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of Indonesia, later receiving a scholarship to study at Cornell University. A ...

calls Sim the most prominent of all of Sukabumi's Chinese headmen, in large part thanks to the high profile of his Eurasian wife. In the course of a violent uprising in Tamboen in the late nineteenth century, and in the absence of any Dutch military response, Sim accompanied Zecha to meet with the insurgents in order to negotiate a surrender. They succeeded in this aim without military intervention. The Kapitein's influence in Sukabumi was such that the local Chinese community celebrated

Cap Go Meh The Lantern Festival ( zh, t=元宵節, s=元宵节, first=t, hp=Yuánxiāo jié), also called Shangyuan Festival ( zh, t=上元節, s=上元节, first=t, hp=Shàngyuán jié), is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth d ...

a few days later so as to coincide with Sim's birthday festivities. He requested an honourable discharge from the colonial authorities due to old age, which was granted, in 1899. He died in 1906. That same year, he was succeeded as Hoofd der Chinezen of Sukabumi by his step-nephew, Lauw Tjeng Kie, in which capacity, however, he bore the lower title of ''Luitenant der Chinezen'' of Sukabumi (the office having been downgraded in rank from captaincy to a lieutenantcy upon Sim's retirement). Kapitein Sim Keng Koen is the step-great-grandfather of the hotelier Adrian Lauw-Zecha, the founder of Aman Resorts, and the grandfather of the ballerina

Che Engku Chesterina Che Engku Chesterina (born Chesterina Sim-Zecha in 1943) is a former Indonesian ballerina who became a Malaysian royal after marrying Tunku Tan Sri Abdullah, a prince of Negeri Sembilan and founder of Melewar Group. Che Engku Chesterina was born i ...

, a princess by marriage of

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...

in Malaysia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sim, Keng Koen Indonesian people of Chinese descent Lauw-Sim-Zecha family Kapitan Cina Cabang Atas People from Jakarta People from Sukabumi Indonesian landlords