I spent a week recently in Sabah tracing my roots. James (nga chjai) is my first cousin (our fathers were brothers, Chin Yet Onn and Chin Voo Sang). I have not seen him for more than 50 years. He was the little boy on the extreme right in this Kodak photo taken in 1958. (I am, ai-chjai, 2nd left). Rose is on my right and Steven* is behind me.
In the colour photo here, James and I are seen standing on Ah Kung's land in Kudat, last week (31st March 2010).
The coconut trees behind us were planted by our grand father (Chin Yu) over 100 years ago. He was given the land
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| James Chin |
by the British North Borneo gomen. (999 years, freehold land, undivided shares). It was planted with coconuts and some rubber trees. I can still remember following my grandma on her rounds to collect the latex every morning. Yes, grandma (Wong Siew Yin) was tapping rubber and making
copra (dried coconut) in Kudat in 1951. I was 7 years old.
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| Alice Luke |
I looked up another cousin, Alice Luke, in Penampang. (Our mothers were sisters.) We have not seen one
another for more than 40 years. She lives in a small terrace house and she seems very happy.
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| Agnes Chin |
I also met Agnes Chin in KK. Her father and my father were brothers.
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| Peter Chin |
Peter is the elder brother of Steven, James and Agnes.
