Kee family to hold first gathering in Tawau

TAWAU: The first gathering of the Kee family, a namesake synonymous with Tawau, will be held at the Tawau community hall on October 4.
The Kee family are des­cendants of Chinese national Kee Kim Swee who embraced Islam with the name Kee Abdullah and became the first civil servant (tax collector) in Tawau in 1894.
One year later, Kee was given the responsibility to develop the Tanjung area, the present site of Tawau town.
Many descendants of Kee rose to prominence including Sabah State Secretary Datuk K.Y. Mustafa and Assistant Finance Minister Datuk Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titinga.
Tawau district chief O.K.K. Kee Mohd Ayub Kee Abu Bakar was Kee’s great grandson. His father Kee Abu Bakar was Tawau’s first district chief.
The Kee clan reunion chairman Kee Hamid Kee Sulaiman said the event during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations was aimed at giving members of the Kee family an opportunity to unite and make up for lost time.
He was hopeful that descendants of the clan would attend the occasion. Bernama