Wikipedia

Loh Boon Siew

Tan SriLoh Boon Siew(Chinese:Lạc văn tú;pinyin:Luò Wénxiù;Jyutping:Lok3 Man4 Sau3;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Lo̍h Bûn-siù;1915 – 1995) also known by locals as “Mr Honda”, was aPenangitetycoonand the first sole distributor ofHondamotorcyclesinMalaysia.[1]

Yang BerbahagiaTan Sri
Loh Boon Siew
PSMKMN
Lạc văn tú
Born1915
Hui'an County,Fu gian,Republic of China(nowChina)
Died16 February 1995(1995-02-16)(aged 79–80)
Malaysia
Loh Boon Siew
Chinese name
Traditional ChineseLạc văn tú
Hanyu PinyinLuò Wénxiù
JyutpingLok3 Man4 Sau3
HokkienPOJLo̍h Bûn-siù
Tâi-lôLo̍h Bûn-siù

Early life

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Loh Boon Siew was born inHui'an County,Fu gian,China.He spent his childhood collecting pig dung (used as fuel) to make a living. At the age of 12, he arrived inPenangfrom China with five friends, among them Loh Poh Heng and Loh Say Bee. He had no formal education and could only speak in his mother tongue ofHokkien.He worked as an apprentice car mechanic upon his arrival.

Business

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At age 18, Boon Siew purchased 11 buses using his $2,000 in savings. He reconditioned the buses and sold them for $12,000. Next, he used the money he earned to buy another 39 buses. In 1942, during World War II, his money was confiscated by the invading Japanese army. AfterWorld War II,he started selling bicycles, tires andmotorcycle accessories,and soon he expanded his business toused cars,transports and buses.

In the 1950s, Boon Siew went into property development with his friends Say Bee and Poh Heng by building residential villas in Taman Saw Kit in Penang. His work is continued by his Boon Siew Group.

Boon Siew arranged to meet with Mr.Soichiro Honda,theHonda Super Cub's creator, and quickly convinced him to set up a Honda subsidiary in Malaysia.

The first Malaysian Honda showroom was set up on Pitt Street in Penang, very near the home of Boon Siew. The Japanese Honda Motor Co Ltd soon appointed Boon Siew the sole distributor for Honda motorbikes in the country, as the first 50 units of Honda 4-stroke Cub were being imported into Malaysia.

A factory was built in Penang to assemble the Honda Cub and the Honda motorcycle assembled in Malaysia was renamed theBoon Siew Honda.The Honda Cub became the bestselling motorcycle in Malaysia and Boon Siew was recognized as the first person to bring the Honda Cub motorcycles intoSoutheast Asia.The popular Cantonese wordCub tử(transcribed as "kapchai" in informal Malay), which means "small (Honda) Cub" and is now a generic for smallunderbonemotorcycles in Malaysia, originates from the Honda Cub.

Boon Siew also played a role in the brief merger betweenKwong Wah Yit PohandThe Star (Malaysia)in 1974, and helped with the establishment of theLam Wah Ee Hospitaland the Penang Old Folks Home.

He died at the age of 79 on 16 February 1995.[1]To memorialize his contributions to the automotive industry, a road calledJalan Loh Boon Siewwas named after him inGeorge Town,Penang.

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ab"The tycoon who kidnappers shun".The Star (Malaysia).14 August 2016.
  2. ^abc"Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia).
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