The grand membership certificate of the Ghee Hin Kongsi, the first secret society in Singapore, is part of the William Stirling Collection. William George Stirling was the Assistant Protector of Chinese in Singapore from 1921 to 1931. The Chinese characters at the top of the certificate spell out ‘Ghee Hin Kongsi’ which literally translates to ‘the rise of righteousness’. However, the certificate as shown was not usually carried around by members but was left at home. Instead, members carried around an abridged version of the certificate.
