Rose Chan

Timeline

1925: Born Chan Wai Chang in Suzhou.

c. 1931 (aged six): Brought from Suzhou to Kuala Lumpur by her adoptive mother.

1937 (aged 12): Enrolled for school for eight months, after which she worked for a button-making shop; shop makes buttons out of coconut shells.

c. 1938 (aged ~13): Worked for a mosquito-net cottage industry.

1941 (aged 16): Married a Chinese Singaporean harbour contractor to become his fourth wife.

1942 (aged 17): Became a cabaret dancer at the Happy World cabaret, after her husband rejected her.

1949 (aged 24): Runner-up at All-Women's Ballroom Dancing Championship in Singapore.

1950 (aged 25): Runner-up in the Miss Singapore beauty contest.

1951 (aged 26): Opened her own show, touring the whole of Malaya.

1952 (aged 27): Turning point of her career when she transformed herself to the "Queen of Striptease".

1954 (aged 29): Introduced her famous python wrestling act, and other circus stunts.

July 1957 (aged 32): Embraced Islam and married second husband, Indonesian Mohamed Nazier Kahar, changing her name to Rosminah binti Abdullah.

1960 (aged 35): Divorced with Mohamed Nazier Kahar.

1962 (aged 37): Married her third husband, Chong Yew Meng.

1965 (aged 40): Divorced her third husband, Chong Yew Meng and later married her fourth husband Jimmy Chew.

1967 (aged 42): Banned from performing in KL, following a police raid on her revue at BB Park.

September 1970 (aged 45): Arrested in Perth for performing indecently in public, but was acquitted; charged again in Perth for prostitution at a massage parlor and fined A$60.

1970s: Received many public complaints for her shows.

1972: (aged 47): Divorced her fourth husband.

1973 (aged 48): Lodged a corruption report in July to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against a cultural officer in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; Malaysian authorities took away her performing licence in the same year.

1976 (aged 51): Retired for good, her last striptease took place in Kuala Lumpur.

1977–79 (aged 51–54): Married her fifth and final husband Low Kim Seng and managed a music band opened a restaurant, and gave curative massage in Seremban, all ending in failure; received a RM3 million offer from an American publishing firm for her autobiography, but the deal fell through when she insisted on US$3 million.

c. 1980 (aged 55): Diagnosed with breast cancer, and given about 18 months to live.

1980s: Opened Galant, a one-stop entertainment shop at Transfer Road, with one-time manager, Lee Kai Hong.

1987 (aged 62):

April: Bed-ridden by cancer at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.

20–24 May: Golden Maid lounge at Burmah Road organised a five-night charity show to raise funds for Chan's medical expenses. Patrons were charged RM10 per head during each of the two daily shows, in which daughter Irene performed.

26 May: Died at her home in Butterworth.