今天我们终于成功地主办第二届“三州府论坛”的国际会议，非常感谢尊贵的槟州首席部长林冠英亲临主持开幕礼，也非常感谢中国驻槟城总领事吴骏阁下光临并作致词，还有各位贵宾及校长老师们，欢迎您们的参与使今天的国际盛会变得更具历史时代意义。今天与我们在一起的还有来自各国的学者及媒体人不下50位，让我们以最热烈的掌声欢迎他们的到来，从而表现出我们槟城人的热情与好客。
说起三州府，也就是“海峡殖民地”是我们马来西亚历史的开端，因为马六甲王朝兴起于1403年，于是就有马六甲海峡的命名，而郑和下西洋则始于1405年到1433年。在这28年间，郑和代表明朝一共前后七次下西洋，其中五次穿梭马六甲海峡。虽然郑和没有开拓殖民地，马六甲王朝也在1511年被葡萄牙取代，但马六甲海峡却因为两个王朝的交流而产生一个又一个美丽的神话和现实的故事。从汉丽宝到汉都亚的传说，为我们的历史增添光彩。
但所有的这一切的发展并没有掩盖马六甲海峡的重要性；反过来也因为马六甲海峡孕育了马六甲王朝的诞生和谱写郑和延续和巩固一带一路的历史篇章，他们的高瞻远瞩似乎在600年前已洞悉在今天马六甲海峡依然是马中的生命线和南中国海最重要的通道。
事实也证明他们的眼光是正确的，但将马六甲海峡的地位提升和变成国际水域成为大英帝国的侵略媒介则是郑和之后的4百余年。
英国是在1786年占有槟榔屿，14年后（1800年）拿下威省；又在19年后（1819年）拿下新加坡。这个时期英国已察觉马六甲海峡的重要性；尤其是需要通过马六甲海峡将来自印度及欧洲国家的产品输入中国和日本。因此当荷兰在1824年将马六甲让出给英国，以换取英国让出在苏门答腊的明古连港时，英国迫不及待接受献议，因为这正是英国梦寐以求的目标之一，目的在于将马六甲海峡牢牢控制在手。比起郑和，英国是另有心机地据为己有，而前者只是以商贸为主，不具军事威胁；后者则将马来亚变成英国的殖民地。
正因为郑和胸无心机，也就让英国人反客为主，于1826年在马六甲海峡建立三座桥头堡，即槟城、马六甲及新加坡，命名为“海峡殖民地”，也就是华人俗称的“三州府”。
“三州府”在后来120年的历史中（1826-1946）也带来了惊天动地的变化。马六甲王朝和郑和也料想不到，英国竟然通过马六甲海峡改写了中国及中国人的历史轨迹，也扭转了东南亚的政治版图。最令中国人深痛绝恶的是英国的官商勾结，源源不断通过马六甲海峡将大批鸦片运入中国，企图将中国人变成东亚病夫。
1839年，身为钦差大臣的林则徐义无反顾地在虎门焚烧充公而来的200余箱鸦片，以展示中国官民反鸦片的决心。
因为这样，英国在1840年炮打广州，是为著名的鸦片战争。紧接着，英国占有了香港。
因此在许多年以后，我们不必惊讶为何槟城、马六甲、新加坡及香港有这么多相似的建筑物和人文气息，这种强行把西方的文化及教育全面地在殖民地推行的政策在后来也塑造了一个东西方文化的交汇点；尤其明显地反映在槟城、新加坡和香港方面。
在1949年，当毛泽东建立中华人民共和国，整个亚洲又起了翻天覆地的变化。
随着岁月的流失和中国的崛起，今天的马六甲海峡又再成为国际的焦点，这一回不再是英国耀武扬威，而是中国收回了香港（1997年）；更为重要的是，中国的高度发展需要用到大量的原油及天然气，也就需要向中东、北非及南美洲进口源源不断的石油。
根据今时今日的统计，每年穿行马六甲海峡的货轮，主要是油糟船不下10万艘，其中有80%是运往中国的油船。如果间中发生意外或破坏，就会严重打击中国的经济成长。
在这方面，中国近年来不遗余力地与马来西亚增进联系，提供技术及金融援助，以使马来西亚与时俱进。其中最令人眼前一亮的是今年初中国向马六甲投下巨资打造皇京港所需的费用高达400亿人民币。这不但强化马六甲海峡的安全，也对东南亚国家有所得益。从整体而言，套用现代的术语来说，这是“一带一路”具体项目的落实。不久之后，“一带一路”将会取代“三州府”的功能而为亚洲和平作出应有的贡献。
在历史人物方面，本届论坛我们选了三位突出的槟城精英，而且是与中国有千丝万缕的关系。
第一位是官不大但名声响亮的辜鸿铭（1857-1928），他是第一位与莱特见面（1786年）并送渔网的辜礼欢的后代，是为第四代，早年赴英留学。他的贡献在于是槟城第一人在中国彰显影响力。
第二位是伍连德医生（1879-1960），他因在辛亥革命前后在中国东北扑灭和控制鼠疫有功，挽救了万千生命，因而成为博鼠斗士。因为在第一届论坛上已探讨了伍连德的贡献，这里不再阐述。
第三位是众所周知的林苍祐医生（1919-2010），他是道地的峇峇，早年受英文教育。在英国毕业医科后，在马中两地活跃于政坛。他最大的贡献是使槟城脱胎换骨。
诸位在两年之后，这个论坛将在马六甲举行，由马来西亚侨生公会主办，预料将会突出陈祯禄的贡献。
继之又再两年轮值中国福州举行，陈嘉庚对马中的贡献将会被肯定。
今次筹备匆匆，未能尽如人意，希望各位见谅。最后祝大家元宵节快乐，月圆人圆！
Today is significant as we are gathered here to commemorate the history of Chinese in the Straits Settlements and put to thoughts three distinguished Penang born leaders who have contributed selflessly to the good of the Chinese community and Penang in particular to what it is today.
My heartfelt appreciation to YAB Lim Guan Eng for honouring us with his presence in officiating this forum and adding pomp.
I am indeed grateful to His Excellency Mr. Wu Jun, the Consul General of China to Penang for his presence. It is with great pleasure that I welcome everyone present to this historic event.
Ladies and gentlemen, join me in putting our hands together for all the scholars and media who have made their journey from abroad in being with us today.
“San Zhou Fu” or Straits Settlements marks the beginning of our history in Malaysia. The Malacca Sultanate emerged in 1403 and then the strait is named as Strait of Malacca. Zheng a descendent from the Ming Dynasty led expeditions to Western Ocean from 1405 to 1433. During his seven voyages to the Western Ocean, he passed through the Strait of Malacca for five times. Zheng did not colonize Malacca but Portuguese conquered Malacca in 1511. The story from the Princess Hang Li Po and the legend of Hang Tuah has made our history more interesting.
The Strait of Malacca is an important shipping route since the Malacca Sultanate, Zheng He’s voyages has strengthened the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Their vision on the importance of Strait of Malacca as a shipping route for China and Malaysia in South China Sea has now been realised.
400 years after Zheng Ho’s expeditions, the British took control of the Strait of Malacca and made the Strait as one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.
British occupied Penang and Province Wellesley in 1786 and 1800 respectively. In 1819, British controlled Singapore. At that time, British noticed the importance of the Strait of Malacca as a shipping route in sending cargo from India and Europe to China and Japan. In view of this, in 1824, the British surrendered Bencoolen Harbour to the Dutch in exchange for the Dutch colony of Malacca in order to take control of the Strait of Malacca. Zheng He’s expeditions were merely on trading purposes but the British ultimate aim was to colonise Malaya.
In 1826, British grouped Singapore, Penang and Malacca and called it as "Straits Settlements" or "San Zhou Fu".
After the formation of Straits Settlements for 120 years (1820-1946), the British used the Strait of Malacca to trade opium in China and their intention was to make Chinese become the “Sick Men of East Asia”.
In 1839, the Imperial Envoy Lim Zexu without hesitation burned more than 200 boxes of opium confiscated to show the displeasure and to deter Chinese officials and people at large form being involved in the trade of opium.
This act was to the British an act of provocation and in 1840 British sent a warship to Canton through the Strait of Malacca and started the "Opium War" in Southern China. China was defeated in the war and forced to open 5 treaty ports for British to bring in more opium to China. In 1842, China was forced to sign the “Nanking Treaty” and surrender Hong Kong to British.
Years on and to this day, it is not surprising to see the many similar infrastructures in Penang, Malacca, Singapore and Hong Kong as they share many commonalities. The British influence brought in western culture and western education to Penang, Singapore and Hong Kong.
After 2nd World War (1945), Asia underwent major changes as Mao Ze Dong established the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
Today, with the emergence of China, Malacca has become the focus of the world again. China has reclaimed Hong Kong in 1997. China needed to import a large quantity of crude oil and natural gas for the development from the Middle East, North Africa and Southern America.
Statistics show that at least 100,000 vessels carrying crude oil pass through the Strait of Malacca annually and about 80% of the crude oil are transported to China. The economic growth of China will be affected if any untoward incident were to happen to the vessels.
As such, China has strengthened the ties with Malaysia by providing technical and financial assistance to Malaysia in order to ensure the safety of the Strait of Malacca. In the beginning of this year, China invested 40 billion RMB to develop a deep sea port in Malacca. The investment will not only ensure the smooth passage of vessels through the Strait of Malacca but it will also benefit other Southeast Asia countries. In modern terms, this is the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative. Soon, “One Belt, One Road” will replace the roles played by “San Zhou Fu” and bring peace to Asia.
Time in memorial, we now would like to bring to mind three outstanding personalities, a true blue Penangite, which will be the focus of this forum.
The first Penangite was Gu Hongming (1857-1928), the 4th generation of Gu Lihuan. Gu Lihuan was the first to receive fishing nets from Raffles in 1786. Gu Hongming studied in UK and was the English Diplomat Secretary of the famous official of Qing Dynasty Zhang Zhidong. Due to his outstanding knowledge in Chinese and Western literature, he translated "Lun Yu", "Zhong Yong" and "Da Xue" into English.
Next in line, we have Dr Wu Lian Teh (1879-1960). During the Revolution of 1911, he successfully fought the plague in North East China and saved thousands of lives.
After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, he returned to Penang till he passing.
Yet another well-known dignitary is in the person of the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu (1919-2010), a peranakan who was educated in an English school. After obtaining his medical degree from UK, he went to Chongqing and served as an army doctor cum private secretary to Chen Cheng (later became Vice President of Taiwan). He returned to Malaya in 1947 and was actively involved in politics. In 1958, he was elected as the president of MCA. He formed United Democratic Party in 1961 and Gerakan in 1968. He was elected as the Chief Minister of Penang after his victory in the election the following year. During his term as Chief Minister for 20 years, he transformed Penang to an advanced industrial park. He contributed greatly to the development of Penang.
Today we remember all these great Chinese leaders for their contribution.
On a separate note, I wish to make known the fact that the biennial Straits Settlement, is organized by the Straits Chinese Association and it is my ardent hope that the baton to host be passed on to Malacca so to highlight the contributions of the lateTun Tan Cheng Lock.
I believe Fuzhou University, China will then organise the biennially “Straits Settlement” Forum and highlight the contributions of Tan Kah Kee in Malaysia and China.
Finally, I wish to extend my humble apologies for any shortcomings and I would like to thank my pro-tem committee for their tireless contribution in ensuring the success of this event. Last but not least, I also take this opportunity to wish each and everyone a happy "Chap Goh Meh".
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