Sir Song Ong Siang () was a lawyer and active citizen of the British Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements. He was an ethnic

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 ...

as well as a third generation

Peranakan The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, ...

Baba (Peranakan term for ''man'') Chinese with ancestry from Zhangzhou in

Minnan region Minnan, Banlam or Minnan Golden Triangle (), refers to the coastal region in Southern Fujian Province, China, which includes the prefecture-level cities of Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. The region accounts for 40 percent of the GDP of Fujian Pr ...

, and the first ever Asian in Singapore to be knighted. Song was noted for his contributions to the development of the Singapore civil society, and was held in esteem throughout the Colony.

Background

Song was born in Singapore to Song Hoot Kiam (), the founder of the Straits Chinese Church (now

Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church The Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church (Chinese: 布连拾街长老会磐石堂) is located on Prinsep Street within Singapore's central business district. It is approximately 350 metres from Rochor MRT station. The church, previously known as ...

) and Ms Phan Fung Lean, a wife from Elder Song's second marriage. He was the eldest son from Song Hoot Kiam's second marriage – the youngest of the three sons of borne from Elder Song's two marriages. As a youth, Song studied at The

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...

and briefly at Christian Brothers' School (now St. Joseph's institution). He was a brilliant student, and won the Guthrie Scholarship at the age of 12 – a record he held for five years. The young Song was disqualified from the honor of being the first Queen's Scholar - the honor went to Dr

Lim Boon Keng Lim Boon Keng (; 18 October 1869 – 1 January 1957) was a Peranakan physician who advocated social and educational reforms in Singapore in the early 20th-century. He also served as the president of Xiamen University in China between 1921 and ...

- as he was under-aged at the time of the award. He was eventually awarded the Scholarship in 1888, becoming the only Chinese Queen's Scholar to read law in England. He was an outstanding scholar at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

and

Downing College Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. In 1893, Song was called to the Bar, entering legal practice upon returning to Singapore. In that same year he set up the legal firm, ''Aitken and Ong Siang'' at the age of 22. Song was also a shareholder and trustee of the Anglo - Chinese Boarding School in 1904. In 1907 he married Helen Yeo () in a military wedding – the first of its kind for a Chinese in Singapore. Song was a devout

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. When the elder Song died in 1900, he succeeded his father as church elder, actively involved in the development of the Church choir and the church magazine. He was also a volunteer preacher, and served as Chairman of The Chinese Christian Association, formed in 1889 by the Elder Song. Song played an active role in community service, and deeply concerned with the welfare of the Straits Chinese and female education. As he was effectively bilingual in Malay and English, he produced the first Romanized Malay-language newspaper, ''Bintang Timor'' in 1894. The paper only ran for less than a year due to lack of support. Three years later, Song and Dr Lim Boon Keng began the ''Straits Chinese Magazine'', an English language newspaper which enjoyed popular support by the community for 11 years. They were later joined by Dr Wu Lien-teh as a fellow editor. He also founded the Singapore Chinese Girls' School together with Lim and other prominent Straits Chinese gentlemen, in July 1899 on Hill Street. The school taught Romanised Malay, Chinese, Arithmetic, Geography, Music and Sewing to equip young girls for their future roles as wives and mothers. Song continued to contribute to the society by founding the Chinese Philomathic Society, and Straits Chinese British Association, and the Hullett Memorial Library in his alma mater The

together with Lim in 1923. He also became the first Chinese Captain in the Chinese Volunteer Corps in Singapore.
His notable work to the society earned him a place as a Nominated Member of the Singapore's Legislative Council in 1919 and again serving as Member from 1924-1927. For his outstanding work in the Colony, Song was conferred the O.B.E. in 1927, and the K.B.E. in 1936 by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. Above all the contributions made, it was his monumental work on writing and publishing the 600-page book, '' One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore'' in 1923 that earned him a significant recognition in the annals of Singapore history. It remains an invaluable work of reference on Singapore history today. Song died in 1941.

References

Bibliography

* Cook, John Angus Bethune (1907) ''Sunny Singapore : an account of the place and its people, with a sketch of the results of missionary work''. London : E. Stock. * Clammer, J. R. (1980). ''Straits Chinese Society: Studies in the sociology of Baba communities of Malaysia and Singapore''. Singapore: Singapore University Press. * Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church (1993) ''Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church: 150 Years of Faithfulness, 1843-1993''. Singapore: The Church. * Song Ong Siang (1923) ''One Hundred Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore''.London : J. Murray. * 'Singapore days of old : a special commemorative history of Singapore' published on the ''Singapore Tatler'' 10th anniversary issue (1992). Hong Kong: Illustrated Magazine. * Wright, A., & Cartwright, H. A. (eds.)(1908) ''Twentieth century impressions of British Malay: its history, people, commerce, industries and resources''. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Pub.

External links

Singapore Chinese Girls' School, "Our History"

Mr Song Ong Siang; his life and work

One Hundred Year's History of the Chinese in Singapore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Ong Siang Singaporean people of Hokkien descent Peranakan people in Singapore Singaporean Presbyterians 20th-century Singaporean lawyers Queen's Scholars (British Malaya and Singapore) Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Raffles Institution alumni 1941 deaths 1871 births 19th-century Singaporean lawyers