Oen Giok Khouw

Oen Giok Khouw
Born 1874
Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Died

1927 (aged 52–53)


Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

Occupation Landowner, philanthropist
Spouse(s) Lim Sha Nio
Family Luitenant Khouw Tian Sek (grandfather)
Luitenant Khouw Tjeng Kie (father)
Majoor Khouw Kim An (cousin)
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Khouw.

Khouw Oen Giok Sia (1874 – 1927), later more popularly known as Oen Giok Khouw or O. G. Khouw, was a prominent philanthropist and landowner in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia).[1] He gained notoriety for acquiring Dutch citizenship, thus breaking down the race barriers of colonial society.[2] Today, he is best remembered for his extravagant mausoleum in Petamburan, Jakarta.[3]

Born in Batavia (now Jakarta), he was a scion of the Khouw family of Tamboen, part of the baba bangsawan, or Chinese gentry, of colonial Java.[1] His grandfather, Khouw Tian Sek, was one of the largest landowners in Java, and held the titular dignity of Luitenant der Chinezen, or 'Lieutenant of the Chinese', a government position that came with political and legal jurisdiction over the Chinese community in the colony.[4][5] O. G. Khouw's father, Khouw Tjeng Kie, and uncles, Khouw Tjeng Tjoan and Khouw Tjeng Po, were also Luitenants-titulair der Chinezen.[6] As a descendant of Chinese officers, Khouw was born with the courtesy title of 'Sia'.[7] Many of his cousins, including Khouw Yauw Kie, Kapitein der Chinezen, and most notably, Khouw Kim An, Majoor der Chinezen, would later acquire ever higher appointments in the colonial administration.[4][6]

O. G. Khouw was part of the first generation of Indonesians to receive a thoroughly western upbringing and education.[1] Although he grew up in Batavia, Khouw spent most of his later life in fin-de-siècle Europe, primarily between Switzerland and the South of France.[1] Although married to Lim Sha Nio, he did not have any children.[1]

During his lifetime, he was well known as a generous patron and benefactor of many charitable causes, both in Indonesia and Europe.[1] In 1901, together with Phoa Keng Hek and other community leaders, he helped establish Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan, a Chinese educational and cultural organization, and served as its inaugural Vice-President.[8] (His cousin, Majoor Khouw Kim An, would later marry Phoa Keng Hek's daughter.[6]) Khouw was also head of the hospitaalfonds 'Jang Seng Ie', which later grew to become Husada Hospital.[1] After the outbreak of World War I, Khouw – already living in Europe – donated f. 40,000 for the Dutch Red Cross in 1915.[9][10]

Together with Mas Asmioen and Oey Tiang Hok, he shocked Dutch colonial society by becoming naturalized citizens of the Netherlands in 1908. In so doing, they bypassed the racial caste system of colonial Indonesia.[2]

He died in 1927 at the spa town of Bad Ragaz in Switzerland.[1][11] His ashes were transferred from Europe to Indonesia on board the SS Prins der Nederlanden.[12][13] His mausoleum in Petamburan, Jakarta, was constructed in the Art Deco style by an Italian company at a cost of f 500,000.[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Setyautama, Sam (2008). Tokoh-tokoh etnis Tionghoa di Indonesia. Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia. p. 128. ISBN 9799101255.
  2. 1 2 "Masoek Bangsa Wolanda". Pembrita Betawi. 14 January 1908. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 Bendon, Olive. "Melihat dari Dekat Mausoleum O. G. Khouw". Kompasiana. Kompasiana. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 Wright, Arnold (1909). Twentieth Century Impressions of Netherlands India: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources. Lloyd's Greater Britain Pub. Co.
  5. ↑ "Javasche courant". Familiebericht (Batavia). Landsdrukkerij. 22 November 1843. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Erkelens, Monique (2013). The decline of the Chinese Council of Batavia: the Loss of Prestige and Authority of the Traditional Elite amongst the Chinese Community from the End of the Nineteenth Century until 1942. Leiden University.
  7. ↑ Sedjarahnja: Souw Beng Kong, Phoa Beng Gan, Oey Tamba Sia. Djakarta: Reporter. 1956.
  8. ↑ Nio, Joe Lan (1940). Riwajat 40 Taon Dari Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan Batavia (1900-1939). Batavia: Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan.
  9. ↑ "Algemeen Handelsblad". Roode Kruis (Amsterdam). P. den Hengst en Zoon [etc.] 6 April 1915.
  10. ↑ "De Tijd : godsdienstig-staatkundig dagblad". BELANGRIJKE GIFT ('s-Hertogenbosch). Gebr. Verhoeven. 7 April 1915.
  11. ↑ "De Telegraaf". O. G. Khouw (Amsterdam). Dagblad De Telegraaf. 4 July 1927.
  12. ↑ "Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië". O. G. Khouw (Batavia). NV Mij tot Expl. van Dagbladen. 8 September 1927.
  13. ↑ "Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië". Advertentie (Batavia). NV Mij tot Expl. van Dagbladen. 14 September 1927.
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