Qualla: The Brick Maker Who Built a Nation's Schools

The Brick Maker Who Built a Nation's Schools: Introduction

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Pangalau, CC BY-SA 4.0. Twelve dollars a month. That was what seventeen-year-old Lim Teck Hoo earned when he arrived in Brunei Town in 1927, a laborer stacking goods at a relative's shop called Chop Leong Soon. He had crossed the sea from Kinmen, a windswept island off the coast of Taiwan, where his mother Tan Poi had raised him and his sister alone after his father died when Lim was nine. She made clothes and shoes to survive; he sold them by day and studied by night. Nothing about those early years suggested that this quiet, determined boy would one day hold the title Pehin Kapitan China -- the Sultan's chosen leader of Brunei's entire Chinese community -- or that his name would appear on the largest Chinese school in the country.

Image: Pangalau | CC BY-SA 4.0

The Brick Maker Who Built a Nation's Schools: From Rubble, Bricks

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. When Allied bombers struck Brunei Town during the Borneo campaign of 1945, much of the waterfront capital was reduced to ruins. Lim Teck Hoo saw opportunity in the wreckage. He founded Soon Lee Brickworks, the first clay brick manufacturer in the sultanate, and imported the first...

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The Brick Maker Who Built a Nation's Schools: A Commercial Empire Across Four Countries

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Lim's business instincts extended far beyond bricks and mortar. In 1962 he founded You Li Hong in Singapore, becoming the Brunei distributor for Yeo's tinned foods and drinks, a brand that became ubiquitous across Southeast Asia. Eight years later he opened a share trading compan...

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The Brick Maker Who Built a Nation's Schools: Forty-Three Years at the Blackboard's Service

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Pangalau, CC BY-SA 4.0. Ask Brunei's Chinese community what Lim Teck Hoo's greatest legacy is, and the answer comes quickly: the schools. For forty-three years he served as chairman of Chung Hwa Middle School in Bandar Seri Begawan, personally funding its expansion from a primary school into a full pres...

Image: Pangalau | CC BY-SA 4.0

The Brick Maker Who Built a Nation's Schools: The Sultan's Kapitan

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. The Brunei Sultanate has a centuries-old tradition of designating Chinese officials to serve as intermediaries between the royal household and the Chinese community. Lim Teck Hoo held the title Pehin Kapitan China Kornia Diraja, conferred on 12 August 1958, making him the Sultan'...

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The Brick Maker Who Built a Nation's Schools: A Legacy That Keeps Giving

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Lim Teck Hoo died on 13 March 1999, leaving behind his wife Datin Ang Moi Tee, five sons, and nine daughters. He is buried at his own memorial park along Jalan Kasat. But the story did not end there. His son Dato Paduka Lim Beng Thai took over the family business, and the entire ...

Image: Unknown author | Public domain