Early Years, Marriage and Family
When Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew reviewed Dr. Wee Kim Wee's candidacy for President, he was struck by the simplicity of Dr. Wee’s resumé. It was a simple description of how Dr. Wee saw himself, and read:
“I was born… on 4th November 1915. I was the fourth and youngest in the family… My father was Wee Choong Lay. My mother was Chua Hay Luan alias Tak Poh. My father worked as a clerk on a ship in charge of cargoes… He was blind at a fairly early age… after an unsuccessful operation. With this tragedy the family was forced through circumstances to move… into a house… for a token rental of $3 a month. The house had no electricity or piped water… At 8 years old (in 1923) I was admitted into Pearl’s Hill School. From there I went to Outram School and thence to Raffles Institution. In 1929 I passed my Std VII and was due to be promoted to a “Junior” class.”
From his humble beginnings, Dr. Wee would reach excellence and happiness in many aspects of life: career, community, athletics, and above all, family. Shortly after transitioning from school to his early career at The Straits Times, Dr. Wee would meet his wife, Koh Siok Hong, whom he married on 12 April 1936. It was their shared heritage that brought Dr. and Mrs. Wee together; their relationship traces its origins to an arrangement between his mother and her grandmother, who met playing cherki, a peranakan card game.
Dr Wee's Wedding Anniversary Card to Mrs Wee
Painting of Two Doves
Peranakan Shoes Of Mrs Wee & Wedding Slippers Of Dr Wee
Snuff Bottles Painted By Zhang Zhen Lo
