User:Chongvictor/Lim Lian Geok

Lim Lian Geok (Chinese simplified script: 林连玉, 19th August 1901 - 18th December 1985) was a teacher, writer, poet, Chinese educationist and social activist in Malaya. He was one of the principal leaders in defending the Chinese vernacular education in Malaysia, as well as a Chinese community leader in the independent movement of Malaya.

Early Years
Lim Lian Geok was born in Yung Chun (永春), in the Fujian (福建) province of China on 19th August 1901. His original name was Lin Cai Ju (林采居). His grandfather was a traditional Chinese school teacher, under whom he learned classical Chinese since 7 years of age. When his grandfather died in 1914 he studied under his father for another 2 years before going to Xiamen (夏门) to work in a Chinese traditional medicine shop in 1916. In 1921 he enrolled in the Education Department of Jimei (集美) College, graduating 3 years later as the top student. He was retained as a lecturer in the same college after his graduation.

He left Jimei and went to Southeast Asia when the Chinese civil war reached Xiamen in 1927. Over the next few years, he taught in various Chinese schools in Indonesia, Malaya and even back in southern China. In 1935 he joined Confucian Private High School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, as the supervisor of the primary school. It was at this time that he changed his name to Lim Lian Geok. He was to teach in the same school until 1961.

Second World War
When the Second World War broke out, Lim Lian Geok volunteered to become an Air Raid Precaution warden. He followed the Allied Commonwealth Army's retreat to Singapore when Malaya fell. He slipped back to Malaya after the fall of Singapore and worked for 6 months as the principal of Qiao Min (侨民) School in Selayang, Selangor, Malaysia. The school was then closed and he worked as a pig farmer in Jeram, Sekinchang, Perak.

Chinese Vernacular Education in Malaya
After the War he returned to teach in Confucian High School. He was one of the founding members of Kuala Lumpur Chinese School Teachers Association, and became the chairman from 1950 - 1960. In 1951 the British colonial government released the Barnes' Education Report, which recommended a unified education system based on Malay and English. As this spelt the demise of Chinese schools, which at that time had a 132 years history, the report was rejected by the Chinese community.