The history of the ever-famous Boon Siew Honda started way back in the 1950s. It all started when a 43-year-old man from Penang went on vacation to Japan and set his eyes on the Honda Cub motorcycles – and the rest was history.
He worked as an apprentice car mechanic and washed buses at night
The late Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew arrived in Penang from China in 1929 when he was 13 together with his friends. He never attended school and could only speak Hokkien. He was a teenager with no money and his first job was working as an apprentice car mechanic. However, he struggled because of English car parts names. He worked very hard and washed buses at night to earn more income.
With RM2,000 savings, he bought 11 buses – refurbish and recondition them
He would then save enough money by the time he reached 18 where he then purchased 11 buses with his RM2,000 savings – refurbish and recondition them and sell them for 6 times the price he bought them for. He then used the money that he earned to buy an additional 39 buses.
Unfortunately, World War 2 happened. His money was taken when the Japanese army invaded Malaya. He survived WW2 but he had to rebuild everything from zero again. After WW2, he started selling bicycles, tyres, and motorcycles before moving into bigger vehicles later.
In 1958 he visited Osaka, japan and met Soichiro Honda, the Honda Super Cub’s creator
In the late 1960s, he moved into property development. Later in 1958, he visited Osaka, japan with his friends. He saw the opportunity of introducing motorbikes to the country. Tan Sri Loh met with Soichiro Honda, the Honda Super Cub’s creator. He convinced him to set up a Honda subsidiary in Malaysia. The first Honda showroom was set up at Pitt Street in Penang.
He was then appointed as the sole distributor for Malaysia
Tan Sri Loh was then appointed as the sole distributor for Malaysia and from there, the Boon Siew Honda company was born. The Honda Cub motorbikes became very popular. Back then, people used to call it ‘Cub Zai’ in Cantonese which means Small Cub. Later, it became an informal Malay word called ‘Kapchai’.
Boon Siew Honda was once a market leader in the automotive industry of Malaysia
From then on, Boon Siew Honda grew to become one of the leading companies in Malaysia where it was once a market leader in the automotive industry of Malaysia. Thousands of jobs were created through the industry. Today, his story has become one of the most significant stories for Malaysians.
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