All my ancestors came from Guangdong, China and were among the large group of Chinese who migrated in search of a better life. The reason for this ‘mass migration’ was because the British North Borneo Company purchased the rights to colonise North Borneo (Sabah) from the sultans who owned it.
The British North Borneo Company realized that the terrain was too hostile, so they decided to tell the people from some states and provinces near the area that the land was theirs to claim. Some people, like my maternal great great grandfather and my paternal great great great grandfather (who were coincidentally brothers) were lucky enough to be able to claim huge quantities of land by riding on horses to mark their ‘territory’. Others, like my other maternal great great grandfather, who were not as fortunate had to work as coolies, or labourers on the farms.
Later on, the Japanese started to invade China, so many people, including my paternal great great grandmother, my paternal great grandmother and my other paternal great grandfather, came by ship to North Borneo as well. Unfortunately, my paternal great great grandmother died from starvation while on the ship. My paternal great grandmother landed on North Borneo by herself, since her mother had passed away. She managed to survive by herself and later got married with my paternal great grandfather.
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My grandfather was born in 1943 during WWII and his family was constantly hiding from Japanese bomber planes and soldiers. At the same time, my maternal great grandmother and all the girls in her family had to hide in the jungle behind their house, when they heard that the Japanese soldiers were coming to check the house. This happened a few times and they had to hide in the jungle until their father said it was safe for them to come out.
After the war, life gradually began to resume to normal, but my maternal great grandparents now had to work harder than they ever had before just to make a living. She now had to raise chickens, pigs and also planted a large variety of fruits and vegetables to sell at the market. She also learnt cloth-making and hairdressing.
The year after WWII (1946), my maternal grandmother was born. She was the eldest of her four siblings (2 girls and 2 boys). She studied in Kudat (her hometown), got a scholarship to study in Kota Kinabalu (KK) for five years, taught at a school for one year, got a British sponsored scholarship to the University of Otago in New Zealand for four years, then she became a teacher until her retirement.
My paternal grandmother was born 6 years after WWII (1951). She was the eldest of her six siblings (3 girls and 3 boys). She went to St Francis Convent in Malaysia and later became an accountant.
My father and mother were married in Malaysia in 2002 and moved to Melbourne in 2008. I was born the next year (2009).
