Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew

The late Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew is a famous Penang tycoon. Born in Fujian Province in China in 1916, he arrived in Penang at the age of 12, in the company of his father. From a young age, he took on various menial jobs, starting as an apprentice to a car mechanic¹. He had no formal education, and could only speak Hokkien, but is imbued with extraordinary diligence and foresight.

At just at age of 18, Boon Siew had saved $2,000, a princely sum which he used to purchase eleven used buses, which he reconditioned and resold for $12,000. This gave him an early start on his path to wealth and riches, but the Second World War came, and with that, his fortune was confiscated by the Japanese occupational forces.

After the war was over, Boon Siew once again on the rise under various ventures including property development and transportation. His big break came when he won the rights to be a Honda subsidiary for Malaysia. It proved to be so successful that by the early 1980s, over half the motorcycles on the road in the country was sold by him.

Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew owned various properties in Penang as well as in other parts of the country, particularly in Langkawi. His town villa in along Northam Road. He also has a beach villa at Shamrock Beach in Batu Ferringhi.

Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew passed away on 16 February, 1996 at the age of 79. His son Kah Kheng predeceased him, when he was found dead at the beach villa in 1987. Another son, Loh Yu Jen, also died after falling from a condominium in 1999² while a daughter died of cancer, also in 1996.

References

List of Penang's Who's Who