in ever loving memory of

Sue Yong, a descendant of Qing Dynasty’s poet Zheng Banqiao and of the 19th generation of our Zheng family ancestry, was born into a wealthy family in Fuzhou’s Gutian in 1917. He first sailed to Malaya in 1937 and returned to China in 1941 to marry the 17-year-old Swee Mei. Sadly, their first child died at infancy in 1943. Sue Yong then sailed back together with Swee Mei in 1947 to settle down in Sepang, Malaya. Life was hard as pig farmers there, with Swee Mei suffering several miscarriages. They lived in poverty and under constant fear of the communist insurgents which Malaya was fighting at this time. As the pig farm was located far away from home, their livelihood was severely affected by the many curfews imposed by the security forces. When another daughter was born in 1957, like so many other Sepang residents then, they had no choice but to give the child up for adoption by the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, Seremban. The child passed on three months after adoption. In 1958, they relocated to Yong Peng, living initially in a small-rented room, where Sue Yong toiled as a labourer and timber logger whilst Swee Mei stood by Sue Yong throughout and cared for the seven children. In 1983, after obtaining the Malaysian government’s permission, they finally revisited their ancestral village, Yong An, Gutian to pay their respects to their departed parents, and to collect and bury their relics next to one another. Despite adversity and indigence, Sue Yong always prioritised their children’s education, and would do anything for them. Alas due to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, Sue Yong went missing following a walk in Yong Peng on 23 May 2000. Swee Mei passed away 10 years ago today. Though we are not rich, our lives have been enriched by them. We, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren pay tribute to this remarkable couple and are eternally grateful to them. They will always remain in our hearts forever.

Never forgotten and forever missed, loved and remembered by