YLCO (Yeoh, Lim,Chew & Oh) Families: Visit To Eden Estate (1) , The WWII Sanctuary Of The Chew And Yeoh Family's

Gathering with cyclists before entering. L/r: Fon Yeoh, Ignatius Chew, cyclist, Chee Pui, Chooi Min, Agnes Chew, Pauline Chew and Nurul Nazwa the daughter who own the sundry shop. At back is the entrance to Eden

Eden Estate is an estate 550 acres wide located at the foothill of Tapah approximately 15Km on Jalan Pahang otherwise known as the old road leading to Cameron Highlands.

During WWII it was used as a refuge where the families of the Yeoh and Chews stayed until the end of the war.

the entrance to Eden (Michelle Yeoh estate) is immediate opposite the sundry shop

I had heard several accounts from the family of their stay at Eden. It was not until I heard the account by Toh Siew Eng, a distant Chew relative who stayed with the family before the war and actually saw Yeoh Khuan Joo at Eden, that I requested Chee Pui to obtain permission to visit Eden.

On Saturday 8 November Ignatius Chew, Pauline Chew, Agnes Chew, Yeoh Chee Pui, Yeoh Pang Yao, Yeoh Chooi Min and Fon Yeoh made a trip to Eden Estate.

The entrance to Eden is located 15Km from the Tapah toll booth. At this point is a Kedai Runcit (sundry shop) Norlian Abdul Hasan. Immediate opposite the shop is the entrance to Eden or as Nurul Nazwa the daughter of Norlian called it Michelle Yeoh estate because her parents told her about the connection.

Let me share what Toh Siew Eng and Yeoh Kian Hian said about Eden before entering.

Toh Eng Siew said ..’during the Japanese occupation Chew Boon Juan took refuge first at Kg Kepayang then later moved Teluk Anson until their long house at Tapah on the Cameron Highlands road was completed.

Yeoh Kian Hian said..”prior to occupying Eden Estate, we took refuge for a short time in Kampong Kepayang, a one street township 5 miles south of Ipoh. One day, my father Ghim Khoon drove back from Ipoh after an errand trip. There was a bullet hole through the roof of his car, an MG 4 door saloon if I remember. The Japs had strafed Ipoh streets when fortunately my father was not in the car”.

The first sight upon entering the gate ..the workshop .....

..for a 500 acre estate ...it looked well maintained .....

..durian orchard ...

..family poachers

..the new bridge across the river .....

..rocky river ....

..that replaced this concrete bridge ...

Could this be the site where the long houses were located...

Toh Siew Eng said …At Eden the Orang Asli house she recalled seeing Chew Boon Juan and wife and also Yeoh Kuan Joo and wife there. The location was nice and had a nice stream nearby. The children, Yeoh and Chew used to catch fish with OA children. To us kids it was like camping.

Yeoh Kian Hian said… At the start of the Japanese invasion, Ipoh was bombed like other cities. To escape the bombing, the family took refuge in Eden Estate, on the 12th mile Tapah-Cameron Highlands Road. It was a 400 acre rubber estate belonging if I am not mistaken to my maternal grandfather Oh Cheng Keat. We lived in a cluster of sheds near a fast flowing river.

Toh Siew Eng … I stayed with 7th aunty (Chew Gaik Looi). We ate what the Senoi provided for us usually fish. Her memories of war days were the Senoi (orang asli) decorated their faces with flowers. The women wore skirts but not tops. There were cars kept in the jungles but their doors and roofs were stripped and leaving only the shell.

Yeoh Kian Hian… I was 5, my older brothers had the time of their life swimming and fishing. Sakais carried baskets of durian and babutai (petai) to sell at a few cents a basket. All was peaceful until one day Japanese soldiers came. Some Malays gave us away. Luckily, they did not do more to us than confiscate one of our cars hidden in the jungle.

'Walking upstream...to an area where I remembered my parents showed me where the long huts were around in 1958'....said by Ignatius Chew

pretty trees all in a row ......

..all the photos give a wide expanse of the estate ...

Chee Pui used this AAW1633 4WD Isuzu once until it was passed to Tony. She called it her 'Freedom Machine'

..back out of the gate and Eden Estate

Other comments:

Told by Yeoh Kean Ooi….Eden Estate in later years was bought over by brother Kian Teik. He grew durians. Between Kian Teik and Kean Hin, they were growing different things there. Choo Hoon or Lam Wah may be able to shed more history.

Told by Mike Yeoh s/o Kean Hin …..My dad told me All went to stay 10 miles from Tapah to Cameron Highlands road until after the war. Because of sentimental reason we bought the whole area of 560 acres and named it TAMAN EDEN. Today it is still owned by YKT's family.

Told by Yeoh Saw Kin….During the Japanese Occupation the Chew and Yeoh’s went to Cameron Highlands and stayed among the Orang Asli. Four sisters were pregnant at the same time. My mother with me, Chew Choon Wah’s wife with Honey Chew, Chew Gaik Cheng with Saw Lian and Gaik See with Mimi Ang. The first to be born was Mimi delivered by an Orang Asli woman followed by me, Saw Lian and Honey. All babies were born in 1942.

Toh Siew Eng … At the end of the war I followed 2 elderly couples and came out first. The couples said the long houses was cold so they then stayed at the big Lim house in Tapah.