14/06/2026

theSunday Special III ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2026

Lost and found again One story has endured particularly well in her family memory. Lee’s mother, Lock Soon Gim (known simply as Kim, from the Chinese word for gold) once became disoriented while collecting durian , unable to find her way back despite being not far from the nearest road. “She called for our dog, Kai Xian, meaning Triumph, which then led her out to safety,” said Lee. It is the kind of story that sounds like it belongs in a children’s book, and perhaps that is precisely why it has been retold so many times. Kim passed away in 2020. But before she did, the orchard gave her one of its best surprises. Among the trees was one that bore durian with golden coloured flesh. She named it “ Kim durian” , after herself. When it first fruited in 2011, she discovered it was a Musang King tree. “An aunt had brought the sapling from Kuala Lumpur,” said Lee. “At the time, the vendor called it ‘Pisang Emas’ but the Agricultural Department named it ‘Kunyit’ , or ‘Raja Kunyit’.” Kim, whose name was misspelt on her own birth certificate, had inadvertently named a tree after herself, and that tree turned out to be one of the most prized varieties in the country. Keeping the land alive The orchard is not merely a repository of memories. It is a working concern, and the family has adapted it over the years. Newer Musang King trees have been introduced using grafted saplings, chosen for their commercial value. Rubber trees were cleared to make way for durian , opening new ground. Like many traditional orchard families in Balik Pulau, the Lees observe customs tied to the harvest cycle. Ancestor or Tuk Nenek prayers are held at home, while prayers to Datuk Kong – regarded as the guardian spirit of the land – are conducted outdoors before the durian season begins, an expression of hope for a good yield. Today, much of the orchard is leased to durian traders, although the family retains a portion. Each fruiting season, family members still return to pick from their trees and revisit the land where their childhoods unfolded. The orchard has recently drawn the attention of American author Thomas Fuller, who was in Penang researching a book on durian and visited as part of his work. For the Lee family, the orchard was never just about the durian . It is a place where a tree was once named after a girl, where a dog led a mother out of the woods, and where a tree that bore golden-fleshed fruit turned out to be a “king”. Some things, it seems, take root for good. My mother named the tree ‘Janny’, after me. I loved that tree very much even though the quality of the fruit wasn’t that good. Its flesh was pale.” “

Lee at the family’s 14-acre durian orchard where she grew up. – PIC COURTESY OF JANNY LEE

King of Fruits orchard where every tree has an identity

Three generations of the Lee family have tended their durian grove in Balik Pulau and the trees carry stories as rich as their fruit

Lor, Lin Fengjiao and others alongside rambutan, mangosteen, cempedak , nangka and custard apple. Despite growing up in what is decidedly a traditional orchard family, all four children bear English names, chosen by an aunt. Patrick is the eldest, followed by Janny, Albert and Antrus. Patrick has since turned the orchard bounty into a cottage craft, with his durian cake business being the subject of a feature on the preceding page. The trees, however, were named in a language all their own. One is called Jiu Chee (small seed), a variety the family later identified as Capri – with pale, thick and creamy flesh. Another is known as the Clothesline tree, named for a neighbour who once strung laundry to dry beneath its branches. Each name is a small biography, a way of marking time that does not rely on a calendar. Durian season was never a quiet time. Lee recounted making as many as 10 trips a day into the orchard to collect fallen fruit, a childhood rhythm that was both chore and adventure.

BY T.C. KHOR newsdesk@thesundaily.com

T HERE was a durian tree in a Penang orchard that was named after a little girl, grew alongside her for three decades and was eventually cut down as the pale flesh of its fruits never quite fetched a good price. But it was never really about money at all. “My mother named the tree ‘Janny’, after me,” said Janny Lee, now a reporter with a Chinese daily. “I loved that tree very much even though the quality of the fruit wasn’t that good. Its flesh was pale. Anyway, the tree was cut down in 2000 when it was about 30 years old.” She says it matter-of-factly, the way people do when a loss has long since settled into something warmer. A garden of names Lee is the second of four siblings who grew up on the family’s 14-acre orchard in Batu Itam, a working grove that today holds more than 200 durian trees – Musang King, Black Thorn, Hor

Lee and Fuller at the Batu Itam orchard. – T.C. KHOR/THESUN