Azeeza Begam Habib Noohu

Habib Noh's desendants

Her father's name takes after the famous Muslim saint of Singapore, Syed Noh @ Habib Noh who is buried at Makam Habib Noh. Azeeza Begam is a descendant of Habib Noh. Link1. Link2.

I first heard of Habib Noh from a distant relative, Azeeza Begam Habib Noohu, when my family gave her a lift to her home in Penang some time in 1982/83. Her house was by the roadside with the front door facing and opening to the road. It was a quaint house with dark green painted walls and it looked a bit "Chinese" and unusual for a family home. She lived there with her mother. I never met her parents.
Both Azeeza Begam and I worked together at the same hospital in Kubang Kerian. This was the newly built Hospital USM (HUSM). It was officially opened in November 1984. Azeeza Begam was in administration as the registrar (pendaftar) and I was a lecturer, doing both administration and academic work. As we both had a lot of work to do in early HUSM, we hardly met while working at the same hospital.

Azeeza Begam and I are of the same age (born 1958). Azeeza Begam feels more connected to me than I am to her. She seeks me more than I seek her.

Azeeza was the woman who had her first C-section after me, using the same surgical instruments which were not properly sterilised after my surgery at HUSM in late April 1984. We both survived the ordeal.

Both Azeeza Begam and I had our first child (daughters) in April 1984, less than 24 hours apart. It was at this time while in our respective hospital beds in HUSM that her mother and relatives came to visit her and I met them for the first time. Our hospital beds were separated by the aisle and green curtains. We could speak to each other while laying in bed.

When I visited her office this morning, the girls there told she had taken early retirement. I was upset as we had not met for so long. I asked the girl (Aishah) for Azeeza's hp#. I called Azeeza during Friday prayer and she came with her daughter to meet me at USM Canselori. It was very nice to meet a relative again after all these years.

It was the first time I met her daughter as I could not get up from my bed to see her daughter in 1984, after surgery back then. I must say that she has a beautiful daughter, with similar first name as my eldest daughter. Her daughter is a mass comm graduate.

I met Azeeza Begam at the USM Canselori in Penang on 11 January 2013. She said a lot of things but I haven't had the time to learn of the details nor digest them fully.

According to Azeeza Begam, "your mother's people" were descended and related to Habib Noh, the famous Muslim saint who died in Singapore. 

I still have some doubts about this. To me, Al-Habshi people are related to my late father's lineage, and not my mother. My late mother's paternal lineage was from Hyderabad in the Deccan plateau, southern central India. According to Azeeza Bagem, Intan's mother and Azeeza's mother were cousins and their parents were siblings and descended from Habib Noh. So, I am right with my doubts. Intan is my uncle's wife. Uncle Din (Kamaruddin bin Dr Che Lah) is my mother's half-brother from the same father. So I am not related to the famed Habib Noh but my uncle's wife and her son are.

Aishah Shahira and Azeeza Begam (right)