You have probably seen the old portrait of a Kapitan in Qing mandarin robes. We guessed he was one of Perak's tin Kapitans. We were wrong: he is Kapitan Yap Ah Loy of Kuala Lumpur. But Perak had mandarin Kapitans of its own. Chung Keng Quee, Foo Choo Choon and Leong Fee wore Qing ranks, many of them paid for with donations from a price list printed in the newspaper. Here is how to read the robe, and what the titles cost.

You may have driven down his name this morning. Lau Pak Khuan started at the bottom of a Perak tin mine, pushing a cart of ore, and rose to own about 20 mines, lead Perak's biggest Chinese associations, survive a grenade attack and become the first Chinese made Dato' Seri by the Sultan of Perak. Today a road and a roundabout in Ipoh Garden carry his name, and our founder sat down for coffee with his son.