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Jakarta Post

'€˜Letnan Oey Thai Lo'€™: A story of Chinese migration without prejudice

In his first attempt at writing a novel, author Robert B

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, August 31, 2015

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'€˜Letnan Oey Thai Lo'€™: A story of Chinese migration without prejudice

In his first attempt at writing a novel, author Robert B. Widjaja not only collects the scattered memories of one of his ancestors but also brings to life the dreams of first generation Chinese migrants at the turn of the 18th century.

The newly launched novel, Letnan Oey Thai Lo, comes from a compilation of bedtime stories that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Partly fiction, the story of the author'€™s ancestor is not only a source of inspiration for the extended family but also a historical record of the peaceful assimilation of Chinese migrants in the early 19th century.

The author, intellectual entrepreneur Robert B. Widjaja, brought to life the memory of his great-great grandfather Lt. Oey Thai Lo, the son of a deprived barber in Fukien, mainland China, who became a taipan of Batavia, the old name for Jakarta.

Robert, who used his Chinese name Oey Kwie Djien for the novel, found that his family anecdotes were similar to some '€œtrue stories'€ recorded in a novel written by Thio Tjin Boen in 1903 titled The Story of Oeij Se: A Beautiful and Funny Story that Actually Happened in Central Java.

The cofounder of sales and distribution company Tigaraksa Satria dug deeper by having all the ancestral tablets translated and researched for more references at the National Archives and, of course, Google, until he came to a conclusion that all the stories were about the same person.

The lack of hard evidence and severed ties to possible relatives in mainland China allowed Robert to use his imagination to weave all the pieces of information he found into a romantic, insightful novel.

The novel tells the story of a young Oey Yi Bu who left behind his wife and two children in Fukien province for Batavia and later moved to Pekalongan, Central Java, where he worked at a grocery store.

Yi Bu then married the daughter of a family of Chinese descent who had lived in Java for a few centuries, the Peranakan Cina, and later moved to Brebes, East Java, where he owned his own tobacco distribution business.

His good business ethics and readiness to help the unprivileged and farmers earned him the new name Oey Thai Lo '€” meaning great, respected man '€” bestowed by the Brebes regent at the time.

Luck was also at play, which made Thai Lo among the few rich men in Batavia.

There are different versions of this part of the story. From the story Robert heard from his parents and grandmother, Thai Lo got his fortune as he stumbled upon a chest full of banknotes.

Alive: A scene from the theatrical visualization of Robert B. Widjaja'€™s debut novel Letnan Oey Thai Lo.
Alive: A scene from the theatrical visualization of Robert B. Widjaja'€™s debut novel Letnan Oey Thai Lo.

In the 1903 novel, it is said that Thai Lo met a kid playing with a kite made from banknotes while on his way home to Pekalongan. Not realizing the value of the paper, the child allowed Thai Lo to buy the kite and a stack of banknotes from his house. Thai Lo was said to have brought home five million gulden of banknotes after paying the kid 14 cents.

'€œAt that time banknotes did not exist yet,'€ said Robert at the launch of the novel at Galeri Indonesia Kaya, Grand Indonesia shopping mall, on Tuesday.

He made up a more logical version with some supporting facts.

When British troops led by Sir Stamford Raffles entered Batavia to end the Dutch occupation, governor general Jan Willem Janssens stole the promissory notes in denominations of the land used to build a highway across Java.

The promissory notes were said to be lost while Janssens was on the run.

For his novel, Robert changed the banknotes into the high-valued promissory notes.

With the new wealth, Thai Lo moved to Batavia to expand his business and bought a mansion on Jl. Toko Tiga, West Jakarta, at an auction and paid in gold.

The book launch was accompanied by the theatrical visualization of some interesting parts of the novel, including the awarding of Yi Bu'€™s new name, the house auction and the dilemma his wife faced when she had to find a concubine to bring a legitimate heir to the family.

The drama was coordinated by versatile artist Remy Sylado, also the editor of the book.

'€œI'€™m always interested in fiction with a historical backdrop. This novel is not only a memento of the family crest, but also a record of smooth assimilation between Chinese migrants with locals at that time before the Dutch launched their divide-and-conquer politics,'€ said Remy.

Thai Lo'€™s only daughter, according to the story, was married to the son of the Brebes regent.

While writing the book, Robert collected information about the family of the great aunt they had not heard of for centuries.

'€œI was in conversation with [businessperson] Poppy Dharsono and she said that her son has a Chinese ancestor in the family tree on his father'€™s side,'€ he recalled.

Robert later embarked on his own investigation into the family of photographer Firman Ichsan which led him to the descendant of the Brebes regent.

For the book launch, they invited Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) commissioner Fauzi Ichsan to represent the descendants of the great aunt.

Surrounded by family, relatives and friends, including actress Niniek L. Karim and economist Mari Elka Pangestu, Robert said he took up the challenge of writing the novel for over a year from 2013 to prove that he could write fun reading material that was completely different to his previous books Arsitektur Sebuah Model Manajemen (The Architecture of Management Model) and A Market-Driven Corporate Strategy: A Holistic Solution for Future Challenges and Opportunity.

'€œThe other reason is that I want people to know about intermarriage and peaceful assimilation in the past unlike in the present time,'€ he said.

Robert is currently finishing a sequel to the novel based on the story of Thai Lo'€™s son Oey Tambahsia, the so-called Playboy van Batavia, whose life ended in the gallows in the area now known as Fatahillah Square in Kota, West Jakarta.

In here together: Author Robert B. Widjaja (from right to left) poses with wife, long-time friend actress Niniek L. Karim and book editor Remy Sylado at the book launch event in Jakarta.
In here together: Author Robert B. Widjaja (from right to left) poses with wife, long-time friend actress Niniek L. Karim and book editor Remy Sylado at the book launch event in Jakarta.

'€” Photos by JP/Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak

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