University Utara Visits YLCO Museum To Research Peranakans In Perak

(l/r) 6th from left Agnes Chew followed by Linda Tan, Oh Teik Soo, Ignatius Chew, Jason Chai, Yeoh Lam Swee, Pauline Chew and Faizul Awang

A group of students together with their program adviser from UUM (University Utara Malaysia, Sintok paid a visit to YLCO Museum with the objective of documenting and promoting the cultural heritage of the Chinese Peranakan community in Perak. They were joined by local heritage guide Jason Chai as part of the production team.

According to Jason it is well documented that Penang, Melaka and Singapore have an abundance of Baba Nyonya cultures. But is there a similar culture in Perak is what the team from UUM expects to find out.

Ignatius Chew the curator of YLCO museum with team members Yeoh Lam Swee and Linda Tan who were later interviewed as part of the documentary search.

Ignatius doing a presentation about YLCO Museum

Ignatius Chew gave a presentation overview of  the YLCO (Yeoh, Lim, Chew and Oh) Museum which is a family museum. All their grandmothers were Nyonya’s who married migrant Chinese Towkays. Their first generation girls was brought up strictly in the Nyonya traditions of dress, speech and cuisine. By the 2^nd generation was more relaxed with the tradition.

The nyonya grandmothers married migrant Chinese Towkays....

...the first generation girls was brought up strictly in the nyonya traditions 

Yeoh Lam Swee is a 4^rd generation Yeoh and a cousin to Oscar winning actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh. Swee admitted by his time the tradition had diluted leaving only the food culture remaining as a dominant feature of nyona culture.

Yeoh Lam Swee during his time the tradition was more relaxed

Similarly for Linda Tan who married into the Oh family. Her grandmother was a nyonya Chang Ah Nooi@Azizah who married  Raja Ariff Shah of the Perak Royal family. They had three children.

Linda Tan explaining family connection .....

Linda's grandmother Chang Ah Nooi@Azizah married Raja Ariff Shah of the Perak Royal family, Azizah and family.

Their daughter DYMM Raja Muzwin married the 33rd Sultan of Perak Sultan Idris Iskandar Shah II. Subsequently DYMM Raja Zarith Sofiah, the daughter of Sultan Idris and Raja Muzwin married DYMM Sultan Ibrahim currently the King of Malaysia

Linda said her grandma was an exceptional cook and all her children and grandchildren loved her cooking. Her specialty was her Kaya (coconut jam) which looked an orange cake. When cooked the aroma would fill the surrounding neighbourhood and neighbours would ask for a slice of the golden orange Kaya.

Ignatius in preparing for the UUM students realised the presence of nyonya ladies in their family lives and going forward would prepare a place for them in the museum in the near future.   

(l/p) Oh Cheng Keat and wives Yeoh Kim Liang and  Yeoh Chai Hong. (r/p) elder and young Wong Kwai Hoe 2nd w/o Yeoh Chin Kee, boy not identified

As the crew toured through the museum they were shown photos of the stately mansions of years gone by,  the dresses of the time when were all dressed in the Kebaya but sadly is lacking nowadays. Ignatius was glad for the visit by UUM for in the course of preparation discovered another in-law  by which they are related through intermarriage.

Datin Janet Yeoh (6th from right in white) presents a painting of Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh to YLCO museum

The team from UUM took home a copy of Ipoh Echo each ... 

(l/p) UUM learns about the library at Perak Academy (r/p) and Ipoh World's artefacts 

...services found at 1 Jalan Lasam 

At the end of the 4 hour interview the crew were showed the sights of 1 Jalan Lasam which houses other services such as Ipoh World which preserves Ipohs history and heritage, Perak Academy and Ipoh Echo the local publication for Ipoh besides YLCO museum.

JAG