Kee Kim Swee facts for kids
Kapitan China Kee Kim Swee (also known as Kee Abdullah after he became a Muslim) was a very important Chinese leader in Tawau, Sabah. He was from the Hainanese people, a group of Chinese who came to live in Southeast Asia.
In 1894, the British North Borneo (Chartered) Company, which governed the area, chose him to be the first customs examiner and revenue collector in Tawau. This meant he helped collect money for the government. Just a year later, the British trusted him to help develop Tawau. He became the first Pengulu or Orang Kaya (OKK) in Tawau. These titles meant he was a respected local leader. Under Kee Kim Swee's guidance, Tawau grew into a modern town and an important place for business in the early 1900s.
After he passed away, his son, OKK Kee Abu Bakar, took over his role as Penghulu.
Kee Kim Swee's Early Life and Work
Kee Abdullah, born Kee Kim Swee, was born in 1863. We don't know much about his birth mother. He had a stepmother named Kipas, who was a Dusun Tidong woman from Brunei.
When he was 20 years old, in 1883, Kee Kim Swee was already a respected agent for the Company in Brunei. The Sultan of Brunei, Abdul Momin, appointed him as Datuk Temenggung for the Chinese community. This was a special title that showed he was a leader for the Chinese people living there.
In 1885, something dangerous happened. While on a trading trip with his father to Sandakan, their boat, called a Tongkang, overturned in Marudu Bay. Sadly, his father, who was also Hainanese, died in the accident. He was buried in a Chinese cemetery in Kudat, Sabah. Kee Kim Swee survived and was rescued by people from a nearby village. He stayed with a Suluk man named Dato Husin until he got better.
In 1894, the British North Borneo Chartered Company hired Kee Kim Swee to work in Tawau. His job was to check goods coming into the area and collect taxes. One of his tasks was to collect a "poll tax" of one dollar from each resident. This was a tax paid by every person. Kee Kim Swee was special because he could speak Arabic and also read and write Jawi, which is an old Malay writing system using Arabic letters. This skill helped him connect the local people and the Chinese groups with the government. Because of this, people often asked for his advice and for him to speak on their behalf.
Kee Kim Swee's Family Life
Kee Kim Swee became a Muslim when he married Jumaatiah Ame Maidin, a girl from Mindanao who was of Sulu Parang Tapol descent. After converting, he changed his name to Kee Abdullah. He and Jumaatiah had many children together.
He also had an earlier marriage with a Chinese woman from Kudat. They had three children. His two sons from this marriage later went back to China. His daughter changed her last name to "Chin" when she got married.
