Khoo Thean Poh

Khoo Thean Poh alias Khoo Poh was born in Penang in 1833 and was the eighth son of Khoo Guek Chio a merchant, landowner and a leader of the Khoo clan. His ancestral origin can be traced to Sandu Xin’an (Sin Aun) Village, Hai Cheng district, Zhangzhou prefecture, Fujian province.

In the 1860s, Thean Poh was actively involved in the pepper trade with Northern Sumatra, particularly the western coast of Aceh. Together with several partners he formed a company that operated seven sailing ships, schooners, barques, and brigs. In order to manage his business Thean Poh established a close relationship with Teuku Imam, the Raja of Tenom and Teuku Yit, a prominent Acehnese trader. Besides, he also had one of his daughters married to Syed Mohamed Alatas, a wealthy Acehnese merchant of Arab descent. Having formed such alliances with the Acehnese, Thean Poh was able to secure a monopoly of the pepper trade which the European found hard to break. Thean Poh was also a partner of the Boon Tek & Co. which operated as ship chandlers, general store keepers, and general commission agents.

Owing to the wars between the Acehnese and the Dutch and the restriction placed by the Dutch government on the export of pepper, Thean Poh sold all his ships and retired from the pepper trading business in the late 1870s. Later he became actively involved in the opium farm business. Together with his nephew, Khoo Hun Yeang and a few Chinese towkays, he gained control of opium farms in Penang, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

With his success in business, Thean Poh rose to become an important social figure and assumed leadership positions in Chinese organizations. He became the vice-president or Gee-ko of Kien Tek Tong, the most powerful Hokkien hui or “secret society” in Penang. In 1867, he and his elder brother, Khoo Thean Teik, formed an alliance with the Red Flag, an Indo-Malay “secret society”, mobilized thousands of coolies and started the Penang Riots, the worst in nineteenth century British colonies, in order to regain control of the opium farm in Penang. As a result, he was arrested and deported to Kedah. He was later allowed to return to Penang when the British authorities found that he was a natural-born British subject who was not liable to deportation.

Despite the British criminal charges against him, Thean Poh assisted the British to resolve the Nisero Incident in Aceh. In 1884, he accompanied Sir William Maxwell, the Resident Councilor of Penang, to negotiate with the Acehnese chiefs for the relief of the 26 crew of the Nisero, who were detained when their schooner was wrecked on the west coast of Sumatra near Tenom. Being an associate of the Acehnese chiefs, Thean Poh successfully obtained the release of the crew.

In 1895, he became the secretary of the Chinese Town Hall and Kong Hock Keong as well as acting secretary of Lam Wah Hospital. Thean Poh also donated generously to cemeteries and temples in Penang for their renovation and restoration. In January 1919, Thean Poh passed away at the age of 86 and leaving behind four sons, five daughters, and many grandchildren, and great grandchildren.