After the meeting with Charles Brooke, Wong traveled in April 1900, for 13 days up the Rejang before deciding on Sibu, as the place for the setting up of his new Foochow settlement.  On 21st January 1901, the first Batch of 72 settlers arrived and made their home at Sungai Merah.  On March 16, the same year, the second batch of 535 Foochow arrived, led by Wong himself.

This day has since been regarded by the Foochows as the "New Foochow Resettlement Day".  In June, the final batch of Foochows arrived and Sibu began to be referred popularly, as the "New Foochow".  It was about this time that Wong Nai Siong was appointed as the "Kang Choo" literally meaning "Port Master" of the Foochow Settlement in Sibu.[i]

Objective of this project is to recall or to make known the remarkable work on Wong Nai Siong about his contribution on early history of Sibu.

Before 1st June 1873, Sibu was known as "Maling", named after the winding portion, "Tanjung Maling", on the other side of Rejang River. Maling was a small village with a few small and simple shophouses consisted of atap roof and wooden walls and floors.  Main population was Malay and Chinese was minority. In 1841 "Sarawak" (the present Kuching - Sarawak Capital) was ruled by 'White Rajah', James Brooke.  On 1st June 1873, the third division was created and the division was named after the native rambutan because of the fact that the division had a lot of native rambutan known as "Buah Sibau" in Iban language.  Native rambutan was small and sour unlike the improved varieties currently sold in the market which are big and sweet with fruit easily removed from the seed.  Prior to 1900, the businessmen in the towns of Sarawak were mostly Kekhs or Ming-nam people of Chinese origin.  Business in those days was mainly barter trade.

(a) to escape from the sufferings of the totalitarian government of the Ching Dynasty

(b) to search for new avenues of livelihood for the poor in his village in China.

Mr. Wong Nai Siong came to Singapore in September 1899. From there, he proceeded to West Malaysia, Sumatra and the Dutch East Indies. For six months he explored the places but failed to find a suitable place for the immigration and settlement of his folks in China. In April 1900, Mr. Wong Nai Siong came to Sarawak and got the approval of the Sarawak Rajah to look for a suitable site for Chinese immigrants.

            So, when Mr. Wong Nai Siong went to see Sir Charles Brooke and explained to him his plan to lead large groups of Foochows to open up Sibu for cultivation, the Rajah immediately agreed. Both parties signed an agreement. Below are the first 4 of the 17 terms of the agreement signed and sealed on 9th July, 1900 in Kuching.

            Memo of Agreement was made in duplicate between the Sarawak Government, hereinafter mentioned as the Government, on the first part and Messrs. Wong Nai Siong and Lek Chiong of Chop Siin Hock Chaw Kang, hereinafter mentioned as the Contractors on the other part.

 2. The Government undertakes to advance the Contractors the sum of thirty dollars (RM 30.00) for each adult and ten dollars (RM 10.00) for each child so introduced, and of these advances two thirds shall be paid to the Contractors in Singapore, and the balance to Kuching on the arrival of the immigrants, there and the Contractors undertake that moiety of the immigrants to be introduced during the first year as mentioned in Paragraph 1 shall be brought to their destination in the Rejang within 4 calendar months from the date they receive the advances in Singapore as above mentioned.

 3. The Contractors undertake to repay all such advances to the Government within six years from the date of this Agreement as follows: Nothing to be paid by the Contractors during the first year, during each of the subsequent years one fifth of the advances to be paid each year, that is to say RM 6.00, for each adult and RM 2.00 for each child in respect to the advances paid on their amount in accordance with Section 2.

4.  The Government undertakes to provide for the passage of the above mentioned immigrants from Singapore to the Rejang, or, in the event of the Contractors bringing these immigrants direct from China to the Rejang basin, the Government will pay the Contractors RM 5.00 for each immigrant as passage money.

Looking at the life of Mr. Wong Nai Siong, he really contributed a lot to the society, as well as in his community and the country. As we discussed on his life, his life can be discussed by divided into 3 portion of time period.

In 1899, Wong decided to relocate new place in Southeast Asia for immigration and resettlement.  September, he traveled to Singapore with family and become editor to "Star Daily News" recommended by Mr. Lim Boon Keng his son-in-law.  In April 1900, he went to Sarawak to investigate, and determined Sibu as resettlement place for the future.  By the end of June, he went to Kuching, discussed with second Rajah of Sarawak, Rajah Charles Brooke on the specific immigration resettlement matters.  In late July, he signed the 17 terms of immigration as the "port master" of Sibu with Rajah Charles Brooke and borrowed $ 30,000 for immigrant resettlement.  On his ways back to Fujian for recruitment via Singapore, he met Sun Yat-sen, and later became follower of Sun in China reformation.  

In 1904, because Wong rejected the sale of opium and build of casino to the reclamation area, he angered Sarawak government, soon Wong expelled by the authorities on the pretext of bad debt. Wong with his family left Sibu in mid-July. 

In 1912 as the dean of Soldier's Funding Board, fund-raised from Southeast Asia Fuchoow's businessmen of 170 million Yuan.  On March 24, 1914 Wong was accused falsely to prison by Yuan Shikai on "encouraged the cultivation of opium" and sentenced to life imprisonment.  After big uproar all over the country and in Southeast Asia, he was bail from prison on July 26.  1916, June, after the dead of Yuan Shikai, he established another newspaper "Shen News".  1918 he published a book in memorial of self 70^th birthday.  In 1923 responded to Sun Yat-sen invitation as Senior adviser to the Fujian Provincial.  1924, March, September 22, died of illness in Ming-Chin.[iii]

In memorial of great contribution of Wong Nai Siong, the descendent had various ways to remembering his tremendous work.  There are statues, busts memorial halls, gardens or parks built in memorial of Wong.  And there is even a school as well as a road was named Wong Nai Siong.  The memorial of Wong Nai Siong can be found both in Min-Chin County in the Fujian Province in China and in Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia.

There are quite a number of book written on Wong Nai Siong, following are the most typical on him.

§         Huang Naishang yu xin Fuzhou (Wong Nai Siong and New Foochow) by Lau Zi Yin, Nanyang Association Singapore, 1979.

§         Huang Naishang yu Nanyang hua ren, (Wong Nai Siong and the Nanyang Chinese: An anthology) by Yeap Chong Leng Singapore,1995.

§         Wong Nai Siong by WNS editorial committee, Fuzhou Association, 2004.

• Guide of important events in Wong Nai Siong life.

 "Sources from Wong Nai Siong Autography: edited and translated by Shelley on 31, March 2006."