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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Short description|Malaysian ichthyologist}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Chin (surname)|Chin]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = [[Malay styles and titles|''Yang Berbahagia'']] Datuk
| name = Chin Phui Kong
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of Kinabalu|PGDK]] ADK BSK
| image = Chin Phui Kong (Datuk).png
| image_upright =
| landscape = 
| caption =
| native_name = 陈培光
| native_name_lang = zh
| pronunciation =
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{birth year|1923}}
| birth_place = [[Sandakan]], [[North Borneo|British North Borneo]]
|

| nationality = [[Malaysians|Malaysian]]
| other_names =
| education = BSc [[Marine Biology]]
| alma_mater = [[Xiamen University]]
| occupation = {{hlist
|[[Ichthyologist]]
|senior civil servant
|author
|[[secret agent]]
}}
| years_active = 1950–1978
| known_for = Ichthyology and author
| notable_works = {{ublist
|''The fresh-water fishes of North Borneo'' (1962) {{Smaller|(Co-author with [[Robert F. Inger]])}}
|''Marine food fishes and fisheries of Sabah'' (1998)
}}
| style = {{hlist
|Non-fiction
|scientific
|[[textbooks]]
}}
| office = Director of the Department of Fisheries Sabah
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| spouse = 
| partner = 
| children = 3
| parents = 
| mother = 
| father = 
| relatives =
| family =
| callsign =
| awards =
| website = 
| module = {{Infobox military person
|embed = yes
|embed_title = Military career
|allegiance = [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]]
|branch = {{ublist
|{{flagicon image|Flag of the Royal Indian Army.svg}} [[British Indian Army]]
|[[Special Operations Executive]]
}}
|unit = [[Force 136]]
|serviceyears = 1944–1946
|rank = [[First Lieutenant]]
|battles = [[World War II]]
* [[Japanese Invasion of Malaya]]
|battles_label=
|website =
}}
| module2 =
| module3 =
| module4 =
| module5 =
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| signature =
| signature_size =
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| footnotes =
}}

Datuk '''Chin Phui Kong''' was a [[Malaysia]]n world-renowned [[ichthyologist]], retired civil servant, author, and [[World War II]] [[secret agent]] and veteran.

== Taxon named in his honor ==
*''[[Betta chini]]'',
*''[[Osteochilus chini]]'' and
*''[[Neogastromyzon]] chini''
are among the [[freshwater fish]] named after him.

== Early life ==
Chin was born in [[Sandakan]], [[North Borneo|British North Borneo]] (now known as Sabah; part of Malaysia), in 1923. He attended Chung Hwa primary school in Sandakan before being sent by his family to [[Guangzhou]], China, for secondary school in 1941. He is stranded in China for a few years after World War II breaks out.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Ker|first=Richard|date=21 December 2015|title=Taiwan Honours Sabahan World War II Heroes|url=http://www.northborneohistory.com/taiwan-honours-sabahan-world-war-ii-heroes/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-23|website=North Borneo Historical Society|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301054249/http://www.northborneohistory.com:80/taiwan-honours-sabahan-world-war-ii-heroes/ |archive-date=2016-03-01 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Sario|first=Ruben|date=18 December 2015|title=Taiwan honours Sabahan war heroes|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/18/taiwan-honours-war-heroes-three-sabahans-earn-recognition-for-their-bravery|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-24|website=The Star|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218074023/http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/18/taiwan-honours-war-heroes-three-sabahans-earn-recognition-for-their-bravery/ |archive-date=2015-12-18 }}</ref>

== World War II ==

=== Commando training ===
The British approached Chin and other [[British Malaya|Malayan]] and [[Borneo]]an students who were stranded in China in 1944 because of their trilingual ability; [[Malay language|Malay]], English, and [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]. They are recruited to a joint Sino-British [[task force]], and Chin willingly enlists because he had no other choice at the time. Unaware of the nature of the task force to which he was assigned, the students were dispatched to India or Ceylon (now known as [[Sri Lanka]]) to receive [[Commandos (United Kingdom)|commando]] training from the [[British military]]. Chin was trained as a commando at the Eastern Warfare School in [[Poona]], India, before being sent to Ceylon for jungle training. Chin was then commissioned as a [[Second lieutenant]] in the [[British Indian Army]] and assigned to [[Force 136]]'s Dragon Six unit before receiving parachute and demolition training in India.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=29 December 2005|title=CHIN Phui Kong (Datuk) 陈培光(拿督) – Oral History Interviews – Record Details (Accession Number 003006) – Reel/Disc 2 of 2|url=https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/oral_history_interviews/record-details/1b919460-1161-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-23|website=[[National Archives of Singapore]]|language=zh|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023182154/https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/oral_history_interviews/record-details/1b919460-1161-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad |archive-date=2021-10-23 }}</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== Malaya ===
Chin was assigned to a group of five Force 136 agents in June 1945, including two other Borneoans, Ho Su Shen (father of Datuk Ho Jia Lit, [[Liberal Democratic Party (Malaysia)|Liberal Democratic Party]] deputy secretary-general) and Liang Shi Ming. Their mission is to parachute into [[Perak]] to assist and train [[Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army]] (MPAJA) guerillas, as well as to prepare Malaya for British forces to arrive.{{Efn|Possibly for British operations like [[Operation Zipper]], which aims to retake Malaya and Singapore from the Japanese Imperial Army.|name=a|group=note}} On 12 June 1945, he and four other agents boarded a bomber plane from [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] for 12 hours before jumping into [[Bidor]], Perak. Chin recalled seeing a smoke signal before jumping out of the plane in an audio interview with the [[National Archives of Singapore]] in 2005. The team then walked for two hours before arriving at the MPAJA camp. [[Chin Peng]] is the commander of the camp where Chin arrived.<ref name=":1" />

Chin was tasked with interacting with [[Orang Asli]] from the Sakai tribe in addition to training MPAJA guerillas. He spent three months in the jungle before the Japanese surrendered on 2 September 1945. He took part in the [[Ipoh]] victory parade before reporting to Force 136 in [[Kuala Lumpur]] for his next mission. Force 136 was disbanded in 1946, and Chin was honourably [[Military discharge|discharged]] from military service with the rank of [[First lieutenant]] at the same time.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />

== Ichthyology ==
Several months after World War II ended, Chin return to China to continue his study. He was working as a government official in [[Fuzhou]] for a month before been accepted to further his study in Bachelor of Science in [[Marine biology]] at Amoy University (now known as [[Xiamen University]]). Chin returned to Malaya in 1950 and applied to work for the British colonial fisheries department, where he remained until his retirement in 1978. He is the Director of the Department of Fisheries Sabah, which is the highest position he holds.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Introduction|url=https://fishdept.sabah.gov.my/?q=en/content/introduction|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-27|website=Department of Fisheries Sabah|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114215924/http://www.fishdept.sabah.gov.my:80/?q=en/content/introduction |archive-date=2014-11-14 }}</ref> He is well-known in the field of [[Ichthyology]], having written multiple books and co-authored several others. To recognise his contributions to the field, he was awarded a [[Datuk]]ship,{{Efn|In several European countries, this is comparable to [[knight]]hood.|name=b|group=note}} and several fish species were named after him (e.g. ''Betta chini'', ''Osteochilus chini'' and ''Neogastromyzon chini'').<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Scharpf|first=Christopher|last2=Lazara|first2=Kenneth J.|date=22 September 2018|title=Order CYPRINIFORMES: Family CYPRINIDAE: Subfamily LABEONINAE|url=http://etyfish.org/cypriniformes7/|url-status=live|archive-date=2021-05-06|access-date=2021-10-24|website=The ETYFish Project}}</ref>

His book is regarded as a national treasure, and his work was included as a text book for higher education institutions in Malaysia by then-Prime Minister [[Mahathir Mohamad|Mahathir Mohamed]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Thien|first=David|date=19 March 2016|title=S’pore, Taiwan honour Sabah commandos|url=http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/read/1948/s-pore-taiwan-honour-sabah-commandos/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-24|website=Daily Express|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531142819/http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/read/1948/s-pore-taiwan-honour-sabah-commandos/ |archive-date=2021-05-31 }}</ref> His journals has also been published by the [[International Development Research Centre]] and the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Allsopp|first=W. H. L.|date=1981|title=Technical Consultation on Shrimp By-Catch Utilization|url=https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/bitstream/handle/10625/21473/IDL-21473.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|journal=Fish By-Catch... Bonus From The Sea|publisher=International Development Research Centre|publication-place=Ottawa|volume=198e|pages=135–136|isbn=0-88936-336-6}}</ref>

==Taxon described by him==
*See [[:Category:Taxa named by Chin Phui-Kong]]

== Later work ==
Chin was actively involved in writing about ichthyology after retiring from the government, and he was also involved in nature and history programmes.<ref name=":2" /> He was also elected for three terms as president of The Sabah Society, a non-profit organisation that preserves historical records about Sabah.<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 September 2017|title=Oldest NGO to host lecture on Sabah Chinese experience|url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2017/09/03/oldest-ngo-to-host-lecture-on-sabah-chinese-experience/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-27|website=Borneo Post Online|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902232145/http://www.theborneopost.com/2017/09/03/oldest-ngo-to-host-lecture-on-sabah-chinese-experience/ |archive-date=2017-09-02 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Past Presidents|url=https://thesabahsociety.com/about-us/past-presidents-exco/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-27|website=The Sabah Society|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805050314/https://thesabahsociety.com/about-us/past-presidents-exco/ |archive-date=2020-08-05 }}</ref>

== Honours ==

=== Honours of Malaysia ===

* {{Flag|Sabah}} :<ref name=":3" />
** [[File:MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - PGDK.svg|50px]] Knight Commanders of the [[Order of Kinabalu]] (PGDK) – '''Datuk'''
** [[File:MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - ASDK-ADK-BSK-BK.svg|50px]] Member of the Order of Kinabalu (ADK)
** [[File:MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - ASDK-ADK-BSK-BK.svg|50px]] Grand Star of the Order of Kinabalu (BSK)

=== International honours ===

* {{Flagicon image|Flag of the Republic of China.svg}} [[Taiwan]]:<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|date=22 November 2015|title=World War II Veterans Medal Awards|url=https://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/the-borneo-post-sabah/20151122/283068413220188|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-27|website=The Borneo Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027183220/https://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/the-borneo-post-sabah/20151122/283068413220188 |archive-date=2021-10-27 }}</ref><ref name=":5" />
** [[File:China War Memorial Medal ribbon.png|48x48px]] [[China War Memorial Medal]]
** Honorable certificate
* {{Flagicon image|Flag of the United Kingdom.svg}} United Kingdom:
** [[File:Ribbon - Pacific Star.png|49x49px]] [[Pacific Star]]<ref name=":2" />

== Works ==
Chin is the author or co-author of several [[textbook]]s and [[scientific journal]]s. Among his works are:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chin, Phui Kong 1923–: Overview|url=http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n97905754/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-28|website=worldcat.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027183220/http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n97905754/ |archive-date=2021-10-27 }}</ref>

=== Books ===
* ''New species of fresh-water catfishes from North Borneo'' (1959). Co-author with [[Robert F. Inger]].
* ''The fresh-water fishes of North Borneo'' (1962). Co-author with Robert F. Inger.
* ''Prawn otter trawl fishery in Sabah, Malaysia'' (1967)
* ''Some aspects of oyster culture in Sabah'' (1975)
* ''Oyster culture development in Sabah'' (1977)
* ''The prawn fisheries of Sabah, Malaysia'' (1978). Co-author with Arthur C. Simpson.
* ''Marine food fishes and fisheries of Sabah'' (1998)
* ''My field trip to Ulu Kinabatangan, North Borneo, with Robert Inger'' (2010)

=== Articles/Journal ===
* A study on the fisheries development planning systems of Malaysia
* Some aspects of oyster culture in Sabah
* Technical Consultation on Shrimp By-Catch Use

== Notes ==
{{Notelist|group=note}}
*

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu]]
[[Category:Special Operations Executive personnel]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]

Chin Phui Kong - Revision history

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