Oey Giok Koen

Oey Giok Koen, Kapitein der Chinezen (died in 1912) was a Chinese-Indonesian public figure, bureaucrat and Landheer, best known for his role as Kapitein der Chinezen of Tangerang and Meester Cornelis, and as one of the richest landowners in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia).[1][2][3] As Kapitein, he headed the local Chinese civil administration in Tangerang and Meester Cornelis as part of the Dutch colonial system of 'indirect rule'.[4] In 1893, he bought the particuliere landen or private domains of Tigaraksa and Pondok Kosambi.[5]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Oey.
Kapitein Oey Giok Koen
Oey Giok Koen, Kapitein der Chinezen of Tangerang and Meester Cornelis
Kapitein der Chinezen of Meester Cornelis
In office
1894–1899
Preceded byKapitein Oey Ek Kiam
Kapitein der Chinezen of Tangerang
In office
1899–1907
Preceded byKapitein Oey Khe Tay
Succeeded byKapitein Oey Djie San
ConstituencyTangerang
Personal details
BornBatavia, Dutch East Indies
Died1912
Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Cause of deathstroke
SpouseOng Dortjie Nio
RelationsOey Thai Lo, Luitenant der Chinezen (grandfather)
Oey Tamba Sia (uncle)
Nie Boen Tjeng, Kapitein der Chinezen (grandfather-in-law)
ChildrenOey Kim Tjang Sia (son)
Oey Kim Goan Sia (son)
ParentOey Makouw Sia (father)
OccupationKapitein der Chinezen, Landheer

Life

Born in Batavia into one of the colony's richest families, Oey was the son of Oey Makouw Sia, and was through his father a grandson of Oey Thai Lo, Luitenant der Chinezen, and a nephew of the murderous playboy Oey Tamba Sia.[1][3][6] As a descendant of a Chinese officer, he bore the title ‘Sia’ from birth.[6] He married Ong Dortjie Nio, who came from one of the oldest families of the ‘Cabang Atas’ aristocracy. Oey's father-in-law was the landlord Ong Boen Seng, while his mother-in-law, Nie Koen Nio, was the daughter of Nie Boen Tjeng, Kapitein der Chinezen in Batavia, and a descendant of Kapitein Nie Hoe Kong, who was in office at the time of the Chinese Massacre of Batavia in 1740.[6]

In 1884, Oey was raised to the rank of Luitenant der Chinezen of Kebajoran in the afdeeling, or region, of Meester Cornelis, Batavia.[1][2] In 1894, Luitenant Oey Giok Koen was appointed to the post of Kapitein der Chinezen of Meester Cornelis in succession to Kapitein Oey Ek Kiam (no relation; in office as Luitenant since 1879, and as Kapitein from 1883 until discharged in 1893).[4] In 1899, Kapitein Oey Giok Koen was transferred to the Chinese captaincy of Tangerang, where his predecessor, Kapitein Oey Khe Tay had died in office in 1897.[4] While the latter was no blood relation, the new Kapitein's wife was a niece of the deceased Kapitein's wife, Nie Kim Nio.[6] Kapitein Oey Giok Koen remained in office until he requested, and was granted, an honourable discharge in 1907.[4] He was succeeded by his predecessor's son (and his wife's cousin), Kapitein Oey Djie San.[4]

Oey pursued activities that were in keeping with his rank as a Chinese officer and landowner, and became a respected community leader.[1][4] In 1892, the then Luitenant Oey Giok Koen was elected president of Tjoe Hoe Tee Beng, a Confucian cultural and funeral organisation, in succession to the society's founding president, Ong Kim San.[7] In the lead-up to the establishment of the influential Confucian organisation Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan (THHK) in 1900, Kapitein Oey Giok Koen was offered the presidency of the new society by its founders.[8][9] The Kapitein refused due to his existing responsibilities towards Tjoe Hoe Tee Beng, but accepted a seat on THHK's executive board.[4][8][9]

Tomb of Kapitein Oey Giok Koen

Oey was one of the wealthiest men in the Dutch East Indies due to his family inheritance, but – as pointed out by Arnold Wright – also thanks to the Kapitein's 'thriftiness'.[1] In February 1893, Kapitein Oey Giok Koen expanded his landholdings by purchasing the particuliere landen of Tigaraksa and Pondok Kosambi from his brother-in-law, Ong Hok Tiang.[5] The domains were initially owned by the Kapitein's father-in-law, Ong Boen Seng.[10] Despite coming from a Peranakan lineage of long standing in the Indies, Oey also maintained interests in his ancestral China, where he was appointed in 1908, for instance, as director of the Fukien Railway Company in Amoy, Fujian.[11][4]

Kapitein Oey Giok Koen had a stroke and died suddenly in 1912.[12][13] He left behind an estate worth 9 million gulden, all of which went to his two minor sons, Oey Kim Tjang Sia and Oey Kim Goan Sia with the exception of a million-gulden bequest for his daughter, Oey Hok Nio.[12][13][3][6] Kapitein Oey Giok Koen's descendants through his two sons remain to his day among Indonesia's oldest and wealthiest families as owners of two related, Indonesian conglomerates, Tigaraksa Satria, Tbk and Sintesa Group.[3][14]

See also

References
  1. Wright, Arnold; Breakspear, Oliver T. (1909). Twentieth Century Impressions of Netherlands India: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources. London: Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  2. Franke, Wolfgang (1988). Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia: Java (2 pts.). Singapore: South Seas Soc. ISBN 978-9971-936-16-7. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  3. Wibisono, Thomas (1994). "Tigaraksa Group: Usaha Generasi Kelima Oey Ta Lo". Informasi (in Indonesian). Yayasan Management Informasi. 14 (173–178). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  4. Lohanda, Mona (1996). The Kapitan Cina of Batavia, 1837-1942: A History of Chinese Establishment in Colonial Society. Jakarta: Djambatan. ISBN 978-979-428-257-1. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  5. "Bataviaasch handelsblad". www.delpher.nl (in Dutch). W. Bruining. 25 February 1893. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  6. Haryono, Steve (2017). Perkawinan Strategis: Hubungan Keluarga Antara Opsir-opsir Tionghoa Dan 'Cabang Atas' Di Jawa Pada Abad Ke-19 Dan 20. Utrecht: Steve Haryono. ISBN 978-90-90-30249-2. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  7. "Bataviaasch handelsblad". Ingezonden Stukken (in Dutch). W. Bruining. 21 November 1892. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  8. Setiono, Benny G. (2008). Tionghoa Dalam Pusaran Politik (in Indonesian). Jakarta: TransMedia. ISBN 978-979-799-052-7. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  9. Gonassis, Sugiaman; Kristan (2020). Sejarah Agama Khonghucu Indonesia (Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan): Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan (in Indonesian). Jakarta: kristan.me. ISBN 978-623-285-116-0. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  10. Seng, Guo-Quan (2018). "The Gender Politics of Confucian Family Law: Contracts, Credit, and Creole Chinese Bilateral Kinship in Dutch Colonial Java (1850s–1900)". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 60 (2): 390–414. doi:10.1017/S0010417518000099. ISSN 0010-4175.
  11. "De locomotief". Een benoming (in Dutch). De Groot, Kolff & Co. 7 August 1908. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  12. "De expres". Millioenen-Erfenis (in Dutch). De Eerste Bandoengsche Publicatie Maatschappij. 24 April 1912. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  13. "Haagsche courant". Een Sterfgeval (in Dutch). A. Sijthoff jr. 22 May 1912. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  14. "Shinta Widjaja Kamdani: Kisah Kepemimpinan CEO Sintesa Group : Elle Indonesia". elle.co.id. Elle Indonesia. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
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