biography
In search of gold
the story of an immigrant - by Shan Ru Hong
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biography
In search of gold the story of an immigrant - by Shan Ru Hong |
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(continued) Chapter 6. The Kinta Mine Workers Union IN 1937 THE PARTY set up a united front against fascism, in accordance with the resolution of the Seventh World Congress of the Third International held in Moscow on July 25. But the secret, underground, nature of the general trades union had to be preserved. On the days like May Day, Women’s Day and Red October, the party asked that we distribute leaflets and put up posters. But this sort of activity would not have reached a larger audience. In 1939, the Sixth Enlarged Meeting criticised the “closed door” approach and advocated a mass line and the use of legal organisations to widen support. But as this policy was not fully explained theoretically, the old methods continued to be used. In Perak, we dropped the “closed door” methods. Huang Bo Sui (1) pioneered the new style of work. There were two to three hundred mines and several scores of dredgers employing workers who, with their families, numbered several tens of thousands (this included those in related employment such as palong builders, drillers, dulang washers and employees of the tin buying traders.) It was decided to organise them with Ipoh as the centre. In the south, the activities were to cover Menglembu, Lahat, Papan, Pusing, Siputeh, Tronoh, Batu Gajah, Kampar, Tapah, and Tanjong Tualang. In the north, the area was Silibin, Kepong, Ampang, Chemor, and Sungei Siput. The workers in Pusing’s Cho Yan mine were targeted to be the main thrust for achieving a breakthrough. Perak’s mine workers lacked organisation and unity; without these they would not be able to break the bonds of slavery. Then there were the rubber workers in Tronoh, Parit, Sungei Siput, Kuala Kangsar, Taiping and Sitiawan. The Party’s urgent task was to organise them into a mutual assistance society (2). The Papan, Pusing and Tronoh branches were to be the core. The 1929 - 1931 economic crisis forced mines and rubber estates to close down. |
| Many workers were forced to beg on
the streets. Business at
the markets went down and society was in turmoil, with much theft and
robbery, in some places involving violence, such as the riot at the Po
Chen Mine. To reduce their worries, the British repatriated many
back to China with promises of “paying for the tickets to go back
home.” The people could not afford coffins for the dead and
door to door collections were made to buy coffins for them.
Labour became cheaper for the colonialists. On the left of the Falim-Papan road was a tailings embankment i.e. a “golden ditch,” a desert created by silt. The British used unemployed workers to fill up mining pools using wheel barrows to lay a foundation for factories for better times. These workers were called the “Royal workers.” They were paid by the day; ten and a half cents each day, about $4.50 per month but at the end of the month the contractor would deduct half of that, the other half to be paid a month later. My father was one of these workers and he would bring back $2.75 at the end of the month. With this we could only afford broken rice broth eaten with tapioca, papaya and salted vegetables. There is a saying that poverty changes one’s thinking. Hungry workers broke into godowns, tied up the Sikh guards, and seized the tin stored there. Papan and Pusing had only 18 policemen, so they did not dare confront the hundreds involved. In 1937 the economy improved and workers gradually got jobs. In 1939 tin and rubber prices started to rise and so did the price of daily use items, but the bosses did not raise wages. The workers continued to eat inferior rice - the cheaper broken rice which, though better than rice sweepings, was nevertheless broken grain. Burmese “fat rice” cost $4.50 per 165 kati bag, slightly more than 20 cents per gantang. The rations for each person per month was about 30 cents for vegetables, 15 cents for pork twice a week, which totalled $2.60 to $2.70 per person Mining was dangerous and poorly paid. Workers were buried alive when there was a landslide or they would be injured by falling earth or rocks. There were no safety measures in place. Heavy work included carrying drums of tin weighing 200 katis (strictly 220 katis) from the mine to the company for weighing; tree trunks weighing 200 katis - which needed two persons to lift, and 7"x12' pipes weighing 300-400 katis - which needed three or four workers to lift. The saying was that the workers had the lallang, and the boss the milk. The workers did not know that only unity and organisation could better their lot. Also the colonial concept of “legality” had a hold over them. Taking into account the past ten years’ experience, we decided to organise in the form of mutual assistance to unite the workers and to raise their class consciousness. We set up a preparatory committee and drafted a programme. Huang Bo Sui called a meeting at the Pusing Young Chinese Club (this was a club which Bo Sui, Chai Ching Liu, and Png Lie Yang had set up). Those who attended were Huang Bo Sui, (Pusing and Siputeh), Hu Tian Bao (3) (Menglembu and Batu Gajah), me (Pusing and Papan), Shen Yuan Xiu (4) (Pusing and Tanjong Tualang), Ai Ke (5) (non-party man representing Tualang and Peng Soon) , Lo Tian Ren (Lahat and Tronoh ), Li Zhong Ming (6) (non-party representing Menglembu and Papan), Liew Yit Fun (Sampoling and Tapah), in all 8 persons. |
| Huang
Bo Siu was elected the chairman of the meeting and Hu
Tian Bao, the recorder. In the committee were Shen Yuan Xiu, Chong Ying Hong, Lo Tian Ren, Li Zhong Ming, Liew Yit Fun (he was dropped after the election because he was not a mine worker), and me. I was elected the chairman of the preparatory committee because I was the Hong Li Mines “buyer” and supervisor and rather known in Pusing, with a bit of influence among the Dong Guan (7) of Pusing and Papan. The discussion resulted in the adoption of the name, “Perak Mine Workers Mutual Assistance Association,” with the objectives of doing charity work, welfare assistance, aid for sickness. Membership was open to all who accepted the constitution and objects and paid subscriptions and contributions to funeral expenses. Parents and wives qualified as members as long as they paid subscriptions. Members who went against the constitution - not paying subscription for a month, not contributing to funeral expenses, failed to attend the funeral of a deceased member or acted against the constitution - would lose their membership. Copies were to be printed and circulated among the mining workers The Papan-Pusing-Tronoh Mine Workers branch held a meeting at which were myself, Lo Tian Ren and Tan Piao Ling. Shen Yuan Xiu, a probationary member from Tualang and a contact of Bo Sui’s, and a sympathiser, Chong Ying Hong (a contact of Shen Yuan Xiu), would meet with Bo Sui separately. Bo Sui would contact Liew Yit Fun, and Hu Tian Bao would contact Li Zhong Ming.. We divided the work as follows:- No 1 propaganda unit. I was the leader, with two sympathisers (one of whom was Kuan Chiang Hai whose alias was Ah Lang who, during the national liberation war, turned traitor and attacked us) and activists, to work among the workers at Pusing, Siputeh and Batu Gajah; No 2 propaganda unit: The leader was Lo Tian Ren with activists to work among mine workers in Lahat and Tronoh; No 3 propaganda unit: The leader Tan Piao Ling with Li Zhong Ming to work in the Papan and Menglembu area; Shen Yuan Xiu ( whose alias in the Party was Ke Fu and who was also known as Liu Bing) was to work with an activist, Huang Nan Xing, among the workers of Tanjong Tualang’s Overseas-Chinese Mining Co (the Chang Chu Mine); Zhong Ying Hong, who had not yet joined the Party and was called by every one Old Chong and took the name Ai Ke when he joined, was to lead activists in propaganda among workers in the Fu He Nan Mining Co. (Hu Ren Fang’s mine) at Peng Soon, Tualang;. Liew Yit Fun, because he was giving private tuition at Tapah, was appointed head of propaganda of the preparatory committee but, not being a mining worker, he was not effective. Later Jang Ju (Jang Chang Ming) was moved from Tapah to do work in |
| Pusing-Tronoh. To strengthen the work along Papan, Pusing and Tronoh it was decided to move Li Bai (Party name “Gai”) from Tapah to Ipoh for secret work among the mine workers and for secret contacts with the members of the trade union. Because the political consciousness of the workers was backward, doing propaganda was not easy. The backward tended towards the neutral and were affected by the Kuomintang version of events. The left centre was constantly changing depending on conditions. But the problem was the weakness of our organisation and working methods. We decided to adopt the method of “Rely on the progressive forces, unite the middle forces, fight for the backward elements.” Meanwhile, as the big powers prepared for war, the price of tin went up. The price increase presented us with a good opportunity for action because the workers did not benefit from it. But they were not united and feared reprisals, like arrests. We concentrated on telling them to unite, to have class unity for making demands. We talked to them after their evening meal or after their bath, in the courtyard on the constitution of the mutual assistance association and the need for unity. The progressives supported the Association’s objects and expressed dissatisfaction with the treatment of the workers but at the same time they blamed the workers for not uniting and pulling together. The backward elements were afraid of reprisals, were afraid the boss would call in the police. They would say, ”You talk about being afraid, I tell you I’m afraid!” And “We don’t want to be banished!” The centre elements were of the type “When the wind blows both sides will collapse.” They swung towards the side that was strong but sometimes they talked sense; when the backward elements complained; they would say, “If you want to complain, complain about your not pulling together!” Delighted, the progressive ones would say , “Correct, if we are one, the police will not dare to come and make arrests.” The backward ones would then dare the middle ones to register as members of the association. When the middle remained silent, they would be sarcastic about “talking and doing nothing.” With such backwardness, talk about “unity is strength” did not help much. We had to stress that the workers needed an organisation to pool their strength. Secondly, we had to rely on the progressives, unite the middle, win over the backward and isolate the diehards, oppose our common enemies - the big bourgeoisie and British imperialism. Thirdly we had to carry out the Party’s tactic of “utilising the open and the legal.” Fourthly, propaganda work must be realistic, reasonable and easily understood. During the discussions some daring ones would say “Asking for a pay rise is reasonable and we can discuss it with the boss.” Some would even say, “No pay rise, we go on strike.” But most would keep silent. We had to tell them that the boss would not pay attention to demands from a few workers but it would be different if all united and made demands; the boss would not bully them. We explained that they needed an association for mutual help. When we had 10,000 or 20,000 members we could talk to the bosses from a position of strength. But some workers were afraid that it would be against the law to organise such an association. |
| They were
afraid of
arrests by the “Royal government.” We explained that the organisation
would be registered and be legal. Once registered it could put up
its signboard like other societies. In 1939, though many workers signed up, our work was delayed by many obstacles. The “old KMT fellows” (as the Kuomintang diehards were politely called) tried to sabotage our work, warning that organising trade unions was working with communists and that those involved faced banishment. The pro-British ones would warn that the British were watching, that any time now they would make arrests. Some workers, listening to these people, asked to have their names removed. We analysed the reactionaries. We divided them into upper and lower strata, stubborn and general, city and town, key and non-key, big and small capitalists. Our job was to isolate the diehards. The hard tasks that faced us caused some to become inactive and pessimistic. It was decided to have a meeting about this. In March or April, 1939 Bai Yi (8) (alias Li Liang, alias Le Xueh Feng ) took over from Bo Sui’s position as secretary of the Perak District Committee and attended that meeting called by the mining workers branch. At the meeting both Bai Yi and Bo Sui addressed the meeting on the international and national situations. Bai Yi spoke of our work also. To strengthen our work Bai Yi transferred Shen Yuan Xiu and Li Zhong Ming to the branches office. There was a branches general office meeting at which were myself, Lo Li Sheng, Tan Piao Ling, Shen Yuan Xiu and Li Zhong Ming. I was elected the secretary of the general bureau; Shen Yuan Xiu ( whose alias was Ke Fu or Liu Bing) the organising member, Li Zhong Ming (alias Ah Xue or Fatty) in charge of propaganda. Others from the branches formed the secretariat committee. Tan Piao Ling, because he was not close to the workers and committed many mistakes of liberalism, was transferred to the secretariat. Although he was very busy, Bai Yi came often to encourage us. I talked with him very often. What I remember particularly are the books he introduced to me, such as Bo Gu’s translation of “The Short History of the Soviet Communists (Bolsheviks)” , Stalin’s “Leninism” and Zhang Zhong Bo’s “Theory and Practice”. But with my low cultural level and my lack of experience I had difficulty in comprehending them and after reading them I had only a very superficial understanding of what the authors were writing about. I reserved questions for Bai Yi to explain and he was very patient with me. Looking back I consider myself lucky to have people like Bo Sui and Bai Yi to show me the way. They were the pivotal figures in my life who helped me choose the road along which to go. With Bai Yi’s leadership we were able to contact more workers. We called for a meeting of the general secretariat. I remained the chairman. Shen Yuan Xiu was the vice-chairman; Zhong Ying Hung, the treasurer; Li Zhong Ming, general affairs; Lo Li Sheng, public relations. We had some prestige in the Pusing-Tronoh area. I was “buyer” and atuk (manager) of the Hong Li Mining Company, Shen Yuan Xiu was once the outstanding student of the Kuong Han School. He was Tualang Hua Qiao Mining Company’s engine man and was influential among students and young mine workers. Zhong Ying Hong, although older than us, was a hardworking committee member. |
| His cultural
level
was good and he was also a fluent speaker. He had the support of the
Tualang-Peng Soon Fu Ho Nan Mine workers as well as workers in the Peng
Soon area. Lo Li Sheng was also an engine technician at the Dong Fa
Mining Company well known and respected in the Papan - Pusing - Siputeh
- Tronoh - Hong Men area. Li Zhong Ming was a watchmaker and
owner of watch shop in Menglembu and active in the publicity section of
the Relief Association. A good speaker, he was welcome in the area.
After he joined working class activities he became engine man at a mine
in Papan and was well respected in the area. Because the police were watching us it was decided Shen, Zhong, Li and I should not be in the registration committee. We were to do secret work while Lo Li Sheng (Lo Tian Ren) would do open work. Uncle Zeng was elected chairman of the registration committee.. I’ve forgotten his full name but we called him Uncle because he was older than us although he was only about 40. He was a kepala at a Siputeh mine and the outstanding personality of Peng Soon. Huang Nan Xing was vice-chairman (from Sayap village in Pusing, he was a provisional member of the Party. He operated the engine at Toalng Hua Qiao Mining Company). Lo Li Sheng was elected public relations member because he was active among the workers. He was a Party cadre, a member of the general secretariat committee and well known in the Papan - Pusing - Tronoh - Hong Men area. Uncle Zeng held him in the highest regard and asked that Lo be his adviser during the registration process. Zeng Yang was elected treasurer (a provisional member of the party, he was an engine man at a mine in Siputeh). Guan Jiang Hai was general affairs secretary (An engine man at Pei Cheng Mines at Papan. He was known as Ah Lang during the anti-British war but turned traitor and attacked us). Lo Li Sheng, under his cover of being the public relations officer of the preparatory committee, helped Uncle in the work of registration. After the meeting Zeng and Lo went to Ipoh to see Ye Tai Lai the interpreter at the Chinese Mines Inspectorate. Ye was a Zeng Cheng i.e. a Zeng Long man and a member of the Hong Men Association where he was Uncle’s disciple. Lo Li Sheng was also a Zeng Cheng man and very well known at the Association. Ye Tai Lai would be able to tell them the best way of getting registered. Ye Tai Lai advised that the name “Perak Mining Workers Mutual Aid Association” should be changed to “Kinta Mining Workers Association, Perak ” The term ”mutual aid” was disliked; and “Kinta” was better because the association would be confined to Kinta. The preparatory committee accepted his advice. A few days later Uncle Zeng and Lo went to see Ye Tai Lai again and he advised that they see Zhang Wei Rong, interpreter at the Chinese Affairs Office. He said that “His Excellency” was away and that they would have to wait for his return. Months passed by without news. Comrade Bai Yi was convinced that this was a delaying tactic by the British and decided to call for action to face the bosses and put forward the demand for better pay. He had experience of awakening the working people to their rights but we had none in organising them in presenting demands. So no one said a word after he had spoken. We started counting. Liu Bing had contact with eight mines at Pusing, Siputeh, Tronoh and Tanjong Tualang. I had six at Pusing, Papan, Lahat. |
| Lo Li Sheng
had one each at Siputeh, Tanjong Tualang
and Lahat. Li Zhong Ming one each at Papan, Menglembu. Uncle Zeng
had one at Siputeh. Hu Tian Bo (district committee member at Batu
Gajah) had a contact in the accounts department at a mine where Old
Zeng worked as “Matin.” Zhong Wei Hong had one contact at
Tualang. Du Long Shan at Changkat Tin dredge at Tanjong Tualang had
brought Rashid Maidin (9), a chargeman, into the Party. At Puluh
Atap, Malim Nawar, there was a Party branch, led by me; members were
Cai Zi Ming, Liu Han Hui, “Old One Eye”. Then there was Mering Tin
along the road to Tanjong Tualang where I was the contact with a
sympathiser, Zeng Huang. A labour contractor at Tronoh was
an uncle of one of our comrades Qi Liang and made it possible for
Comrade Zhang Zhu to be sent to organise the workers After the calculations were done, Liu Bing said we had contacts in 20 mining companies and three or four dredges. “One thousand supporters”, I added. Li Jing Ming said in all we had 40 to 50 mining companies in eight locations and 6 dredges. Bai Yi was very pleased and said we were successful in gaining the support of 40 to 60 per cent of the work force. There followed a discussion of earnings where everybody wanted to have a say. . I reported on the pay structure of my mine where most earned $20 a month. Women workers were not provided quarters and made about $12 a month. “Yelo” workers were older, about 40 to 50 years of age, and mostly Chinese. They were provided living quarters but they had to feed themselves. They earned about 40 cents a day and were paid by the contractor. The Tamil workers, numbering 30, were paid at lower rates, a total of $360 a month by the contractor. The contractor was paid 3 cents per “yelo” and he paid the worker 2.5 cents or even less at 2 cents. Even the engine men (the technicians) were paid via the contractor. Monthly pay was: for chief hands $45, experienced hands $20 and apprentices $10. The total profit for the contractor was $95 Staff expenditure (including the atuk or manager), head workman, his assistant and 2nd assistant, “buyer”, cashier, in all 6 persons totalled $250. Salaries and wages came to $2,500 a month and, if we included the tools and materials used, the boss spent $3000 a month. Using an 8 inch pipe, and if tin fetched $45 a picul, the palong would get him $7000 giving a profit of $4,000 a month. Bai Yi thought that if we used the Hong Li Mining Company as an example it would not be excessive to demand an increase from 3 to 5 cents for pay and from 2 to 3 cents for food. Lo Tuan Ren (Lo Li Sheng) thought it was all right but it would be hard to get workmen to come forward and get exposed. I said that the stall holders at the market also sympathised with the workers. They often said to me “Buyer-boy, when are you going to increase pay, now that the tin price is good?” I would reply, ”That’s for the boss. Why don’t you tell the boss?” They would hit back with, “It’s better you do it, he’s your uncle!” Bai Yi spoke of the experience of the struggle for better pay in the building trade in Singapore and the need for different approaches to different types of bosses. |
| We decided
that what was important was a
breakthrough, even though the demand might not be fully met. An open
letter to the bosses was drafted and copies made. I hurried back to my mine and called a meeting of activists. It was decided to give the letters to “buyers”, cashiers and atuk with a request that they forward them to the bosses. Of the 20 mines we chose the more enlightened ones. Feng Xiang and Zeng Yu (Pusing’s Relief Association chairman) had always shown a more enlightened attitude. They could provide the breakthrough we needed.. On receiving the letter, Feng Xiang’s No 1, No 2, No 3, and No 4 mine bosses said they were willing to co-operate with the trade union. Similarly Zeng Yu mine also said they would co-operate. Uncle Zeng, who was a contractor, spoke to his boss who at once agreed to the increases of 3 cents in pay and 2 cents for food. . At Tanjong Tualang’s Changkat Tin the contractor also agreed to discuss terms. At Papan, another boss agreed to pay rises. At Pulu Atap, Malim Nawar, where I was responsible, the negotiations were with the contractors who were polite but dithered on the question of pay increases, pleading that workers should not go on strike. But they too finally agreed. Workers were also successful in Tanjong Tualang’s Hua Qiao Mining Company. Xi Feng Xiang’s four mines agreed, then followed the Hong Li and Hong Xing Companies. When the Fu He Nan mines got flooded, they too agreed to the terms. News of our successes quickly spread and soon we had other bosses agreeing to talks. Although the workers did not get much, the successes were encouraging to us greenhorns. But not all owners were co-operative and there were some, stubborn to the end. As I was the “buyer”, I gave the letter to my uncle. A stingy fellow, his reaction was one of anger. “We bring in the money and you throw it away! You talk on behalf of others! I’ll give you two hard slaps to teach you!” I had not expected this outburst. I asked him to calm down and argued that 5 cents for 100 workers only came to $5 and that was not much. He listened quietly, and finally said, “You go ahead and arrange things but make sure you don’t go beyond your calculations!” I was elated. But uncle trusted me less. He employed a man to buy materials and another to supervise mining work. I wasn’t upset by this reduction in my powers. Instead, I felt that I was coming closer to my real mission in life. Striking while the iron was hot, I also asked that there be better pay at another mine, “Pei Cheng” at Papan, of which he was a partner. He asked to me to speak to his “7th Uncle” who was the major partner. But he played a delaying tactic with me. In the meantime, I had asked provisional member Guan Jiang Hai to persuade the workers at “Pei Cheng” to take action, but the workers there were all Dong Guan men, and as Jiang Hai could not speak their dialect he made little headway. At Mering Tin, along the Tualang Road - for which I was responsible - Zeng Ah Huang, a member of the struggle committee had to escape with the help of the workers when the bosses called in the police. Zhong Ying Hong under the leadership of Bai Yi was |
| responsible
for the Foo He Nan mine at Peng Soon. The demands were met
with threats from the boss. The workers were in high spirits. Some of the extreme elements even asked to flood the mines of the stubborn bosses.. Zhong Ying Hong thought that this rashness would not work and suggested giving a time limit after which the workers would go on strike. This was agreed to. However, boss Hu Ren Fang was stubborn and asked the police to arrest Zhong Ying Hong. But he went into hiding in a village in Peng Soon with the help of the workers. Three days later the Fu He Nan Mines were flooded. At Lahat Dong Fa Mines, Lo Li Sheng was elected to speak for the workers. He gave the head labourer the letter to hand to the boss whose reaction was to threaten to have those “playing communist” arrested and banished. The boss, Lau Pak Khuan (10), a KMT diehard and an illiterate had originally come from Guangdung to work at a mine. Seeing his skills in beating up people his own boss had hired him to bully the “piglets.”(11) “Piglets” were workers whose passage money was advanced by “piglet traders” who charged the workers $100 per month, to be paid back over three years, after which the “piglet” was free to seek employment elsewhere. Lau Pak Khuan was hired to see to it that no one gained his freedom. Those who tried to escape were beaten and forced to drink kerosene. Lau Pak Khuan made money and was offered a mining area which he could not afford to work so he sweet talked some dulang washers to become “partners” in his Dong Fa mining company. He started with a 6 inch pump and the results were poor. The dulang washers withdrew from the loss making venture. Shortly after, he struck a lode and the mine yielded 10 piculs. Lau Pak Khuan became a rich man. The workers made no headway with this ruffian. Except where we found stubborn bosses, most of our demands were met. We were happy with the success of the legal work. At the beginning of 1940, if I remember correctly, Uncle Zeng, with the help of Ye Tai Lai, was able to meet “His Excellency”. His interpreter helped us obtain registration of the Kinta Mining Workers’ Trade Union. “His Excellency” imposed the condition that the inaugural meeting should be held only after 45 days. We were all elated. At that time we young people were looked down upon by the middle classes; even the working people regarded us as trouble makers. But after the initial successes at more than 10 mines and 2 dredges our prestige soared. There were rumours that we were very capable communists from China. We were invited by the workers to eat with them at the mine. We accepted and after the meal we talked to them. We now learnt the importance of open, legal work. It brought us to the attention of the masses and to become known. We chose a place in Pusing for the address of the Kinta Mining Workers Trade Union. Gu Tan Yu was made secretary in charge of office to help register members and we quickly reached several thousand members. The first half of 1940 saw membership go over 10,000. Together with “supplementary members” (parents and wives) we now had about 30,000. The government would not allow us to open branches but allowed us to open offices in various places. Two offices were manned by Zhang Zhu and Dan Piao Ling respectively. Liu Bing and Lo Li Sheng were appointed “donation officers” to do |
| monthly
collections at the mines
but this was a cover for them to conduct affairs of the party at the
mines and to dissolve the General Office and Activists Group. At the end of 1940 or the beginning of 1941 the formal inauguration of the trade union was held at Pusing. Bai Yi decided that he and Ah Long would take charge of the preparatory work (Chen Yong had been arrested during the September 1 incident, broke down, but came back to the organisation. Lai Te appointed him the Party representative at the 4th Regiment). For security reasons Bai Yi and Ah Long lived at different places. We established a secret command headquarters. I was commander, with Shen Yuan Xiu as second in command. We organised 10 groups of marshals each comprising 5 members to maintain order at meetings and to prevent outsiders creating trouble. We sent out invitation cards to Ye Tai Lai and Zhang Wei Rong as well as to the Chinese consul at Kuala Lumpur. We also asked Tan Kah Kee to come. At the opening a brass band of 20 played conducted by Cai Ching Liu. Workers came from Pusing, Papan, Lahat , Menglembu, Silibin, Kepong, Chemor, Siputeh, Tronoh, Batu Gajah, Tanjong Tualang, and Malim Nawar. They had tea, coffee and tim sum at the expense of the Association (their contribution was 10 cents each) at tea houses and coffee shops where sympathetic owners charged half price More than 10,000 came to the opening. The Chinese consul came but not one government official attended. The ceremony started at 10 o’clock. The consul made a speech (for which he was afterwards reprimanded by the consulate). He was followed by Li Zhong Ming who made a report about the formation of the union. He spoke of the uprightness, of the suffering people of China and condemned the KMT government for the “Wannan Incident” and called for unity against the Japanese. At this stage the consul left the meeting. Later, on a consideration we thought this criticism of Chiang Kai Shek was out of place and did not suit the open legal work. Besides, this association was a local body; the Chinese consul and Tan Kah Kee should not have been invited. At that time when we emerged from our shells, Lai Te, Huang Bo Sui, Huang Cheng were in the leadership and, whether they liked it or not, had to go along with the direction of broad development of the mass line. By July 1941 the union grew to some 30 - 40,000 strong. The party grew to more than 100 members (inclusive of provisional members). The union not only protected the rights of the workers but also helped them in welfare, showing solicitude. And what was never done before the union bought a lorry to act as a hearse car to help in funeral ceremonies, Before that the workers had to go begging for money to buy coffin for the deceased. Formerly when a worker lost his job he had nowhere to go but now he could lodge at the union which would find work for him. Financial help was also available from the assistance association. The union was now able to talk to the bosses and have them follow government regulations and provide for compensation for injury at work. The union also conducted evening classes to help eradicate illiteracy. The young organised youth clubs to provide for cultural activities. The union also conducted flower sales to help the relief association raise funds for China refugees and wounded soldiers. |
| The general
trades union that we had before was secret and underground
and was dissolved and replaced by the Relief Association whose main
object was to advance the interests of the workers, asking bosses to
give them workers insurance, and aid for injuries and for
funerals. This association was made up of the more conscious and
more determined among the workers and by July 1941 had about 5000
members. Subscription was 10 cents a month which gave us about $500 a
month to finance relief work and also to help with Party funds. In the thirties the working class had a tough time. Accidents happened in which workers were buried alive. I remember in 1930, I think it was at the Tong Fat mine, where in an accident more than a hundred workers were buried alive. Now with the Relief Association things improved for the workers. The Relief Association also raised funds for the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army and the Hainan Feng Bai Ju guerrillas With the development of the union our cadre force, especially on the women’s side, became increasingly inadequate. On the eve of the formation of the Union the Party had sent us some women cadres who were highly educated. They proved to be good, sharing the food and the living and working conditions of the women workers. They taught them to read. There was Hu Xue Bing at Tronoh who, besides running evening literacy classes, also taught singing, dancing and acting. Ying Ming Qin also opened night classes at Kampar, Rui Ai and Xue Rong Ze at Pusing, Siputeh and Ipoh organised women among mining and tobacco workers and organised entertainment and theatre for them. Their work led to an increase in our active women workers. This was the training that our women had and it helped them withstand the hardship of arrest and imprisonment. All our cadres learnt how to improve themselves and dedicate themselves to the movement. All this provided a good foundation for the anti Japanese guerrilla warfare which was to come. Notes_____ (1) Huang Bo Sui. See Notes at the end of this book (2) Later registered as the Perak Kinta Mining Workers Trade Union (3) Hu Tian Bao. See Notes at the end of this book (4) Shen Yuan Xiu. See Notes at the end of this book (5) Ai Ke. See notes at the end of this book (6) Li Zhong Ming. See Notes at the end of this book (7) A county of Guangdong province (8) Bai Yi. See Notes at end of this book (9) Later one of the leaders of the Malayan Communist Party who signed the peace treaty with the Malaysian and Thai governments in 1989 |
| (10)
He was to become a founder and leader of
the MCA. (11) Piglets were workers tricked in Hong Kong into coming to this country by “piglet traders” and ending up as workers without pay.936, the two fascist states, Germany and Italy, supported fascist Franco’s armed opposition to the Popular Front Government of Spain. On July 7, 1937 the Japanese created the Marco Polo Bridge incident to invade China and in December occupied Nanking. In October 1938, Japan occupied Wuhan and Guangzhou. (to be continued) Go to the top |
| DATES January 1,
1982 Clocks are advanced one hour to be in line with Sabah;
we switch to the metric system. |
| ______ INDEX Point to the article that you want to read, and CLICK In Search of Gold Khor Seow Hooi Letters from Pulau Tikus M K Rajakumar Malayan Democratic Socialism MNP & Dato Onn Ng Kim Heoh Strange Irons Visiting Tanjong |
| _____________________ The Penang File Issue 63 |