Oey Thai Lo

Letnan Cina Oey Thai Lo ( Also known as Oey Thoa or Oey Se) was a Chinese-Indonesian tycoon and tobacco grower in the early 19th century.[1][2]

Early life

He was born in Hokkien province in 1788 and died in Batavia in 1838. He is the father of Betawi playboy Oey Tamba Sia, grandfather of bureaucrat and landlord Kapitan Cina Oey Giok Koen, and ancestor of the Tigaraksa[3] and Sinteas groups.[4][5][6][7]

The atmosphere of Pekalongan Chinatown

Oey Thai Lo moved to Pekalongan, the Dutch East Indies around 1810.[1][2] According to his descendant Oey Kwie Djien, Oey Thai Lo was a child of a poor barber.[2]

Career

The family story states that Oey Thai Lo found many Dutch debt securities at a house of a farmer. He exchanged the securities for money, which game him the initial capital for the Oey Thai Lo tobacco business.[2]

According to Thio Tjin Boen, Tjerita Oeij Se, Oey Thai Lo moved from Pekalongan to Batavia because of the embarrassment of his daughter's inter-ethnic marriage to an indigenous man, namely the son of the Pekalongan Regent.[8] In Batavia, Oey was known for philanthropy and eventually became friends with Mayor Cina Tan Eng Goan, head of the Chinese community's government in Batavia.[1] Oey provided financial support to the Mayor, who had financial difficulties.[1] Because of his services to Goan and the people of Batavia, Oey Thai Lo was given the position of Chinese Lieutenant in the Kongsi Besar area.[1]

Legacy

Oey married a local Peranakan woman, who gave birth to a daughter and three sons: Oey Holland, Oey Tamba and Oey Macau.[2]

Letnan Oey Thai Lo died around 1838 in Batavia, and gave the supposed wealth of 2 million guilders to his children.[1] One of his children, Barney, was the mastermind of several murders and tried to slander his opponent Lim Soe Keng Sia, Goan's son-in-law.[1] After he was convicted, the young Oey was sentenced to hang by the Dutch East Indies government.[1]

The life story of Letnan Oey Thai Lo and his son Oey Tamba Sia became the basis of many Chinese-Malay literary works, and became part of Betawi folklore.[6]

Through his youngest son, Oey Macau Sia, Letnan Oey Thai Lo is the grandfather of Oey Giok Koen, who served as Kapitan Cina in Tangerang and bought Tigaraksa private land.[7] The Kapitan's family is the owner of Tigaraksa and Sintesa groups.[7][5]

References
  1. Phoa, Kian Sioe (1956). Sedjarahnja Souw Beng Kong: (tangan-kanannja G.G. Jan Pieterszoon Coen), Phoa Beng Gan (achli pengairan dalam tahun 1648), Oey Tamba Sia (hartawan mati ditiang penggantungan) (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Reporter.
  2. Oey, Kwie Djien (2015). Letnan Oey Thai Lo: anak tukang cukur miskin dari Fukien menjadi taipan di Betawi : sebuah novel historis, 1780-1838 (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Tira Pustaka. ISBN 9789794301005.
  3. "Tigaraksa Satria | Corporate website of PT Tigaraksa Satria Tbk". www.tigaraksa.co.id. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  4. "Shinta - widjaja - kamdani - shintakamdani - swk - sintesa - widjajatunggal - sejahtera". sintesagroup.com. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  5. Apa & siapa sejumlah orang Indonesia (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Grafiti Pers. 1984.
  6. Lombard, Denys; Champion, Catherine; Chambert-Loir, Henri (1993). Rêver l'Asie: exotisme et littérature coloniale aux Indes, en Indochine et en Insulinde (in French). Éd. de l'École des hautes études en sciences sociales. ISBN 9782713210020.
  7. Hornaday, Robert; Manajemen, Universitas Gadjah Mada Program Magister (1994). Cases in strategic management. Magister Manajemen, Universitas Gadjah Mada.
  8. Boen, Thio Tjin (1903). Tjerita "Oeij-se": jaitoe satoe tjerita jang amat endah dan loetjoe, jang betoel soedah kedjadian di Djawa Tengah (in Indonesian). Sie Dhian Ho.
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