GEORGE TOWN: The ornate grave of a powerful woman who lived in the 1800s has caught the attention of heritage conservators after her descendants publicised purported attempts to exhume her remains and destroy the grave to make way for development.

       Nestled amidst low-density homes beneath a large, lofty tree, the grave of Foo Teng Nyong (estimated 1816 to 1874) lies off Jalan Bunga Telang in Fettes Park on a piece of land measuring roughly 0.25ha.

       Her descendants, including a great-grandson, revealed on social media on Tuesday (March 1) that the present landowners had contacted them and requested that they exhume her grave to make way for development.

       A descendant revealed that he received emails and calls and was told to be present for the exhumation which would purportedly have been carried out between Feb 22 and 25.

       The descendant expressed worry for his ancestor's grave, adding that his relatives are spread across Hong Kong, Canada, the United States and other parts of the world.

       The Star sent a team to check on the grave on Wednesday (March 2) and found that the grave was intact and the land showed no sign of any sort of intended earthworks.

       The land is at the border of the Tanjung Bungah and Kebun Bunga state constituencies.

       When contacted, both Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Zairil Khir Johari and Kebun Bunga assemblyman Jason Ong Khan Lee confirmed that neither of them were notified of any sort of development applications in the area.

       By law, local assemblymen must be notified to give feedback on any development applications in their constituencies.

       Teng Nyong was the third wife of Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee, who played a pivotal role in the growth of Penang and Perak in the 1800s.

       Keng Kwee left such an impact on Penang's economy, public healthcare, education and social welfare that two streets were named after him: Keng Kwee Street, where tourists today enjoy Penang Teochew Cendol, and Ah Quee Street which is the site of several iconic murals of the heritage enclave.

       Teng Nyong gave birth to 11 sons and daughters, one of whom was Chung Thye Phin, who became a tycoon and philanthropist in George Town and Ipoh, Perak.

       She is also recorded as the aunt of Foo Choo Choon, who at one time earned the moniker Tin Mining King of Malaya.