Dr Abdul Ghani bin Mohammad (2)

At first, we were uncertain of the doctor's name. We had 2 names, but only one personality.

1. The NUS book, To Sail Uncharted Seas (2005) had his name listed as Abdul Ghani on page 113 (under 1930).
2. A Penang document, ''Well-known Personalities'', had his name as Dr Haji Abdullah Ghani bin Mohamad, which is incorrect:
                         
3. A few researchers alerted me to the uncommon name style, that there is no such name as Abdullah Ghani and that it should be Abdul Ghani. 

Dr Haji Abdullah Ghani bin Mohamad

1. Dr Haji Abdullah Ghani bin Mohamad (b.1906- ) was a Senior Health Officer (SHO) in Penang and Province Wellesley. 
2. He was together with Dr Che Lah at a Sultan Sulaiman Club meeting in 1932 
3. Link to Debate at Sultan Sulaiman Club
4. He was 3 years younger than Dr Che Lah bin Md Joonos (b.1903-d.1986).
5. He was a Committee member of the Penang Malay Association (PMA) 

Dr Abdul Ghani

I had a classmate in 1969-1970 named Azizan bt Abdul Ghani and her younger sister was Naemah bt Abdul Ghani. We attended Zainab Primary School 2 in the afternoon at Telipot, Kota Bharu in Kelantan. Azizan was a school prefect while Naemah and I were athletes. Their father, Abdul Ghani, was a medical doctor. I don't have his full name. I am uncertain whether this particular Dr Abdul Ghani originated from Penang and whether he had 2 wives, a Penangite and a Kelantanese. Azizan and Naemah were fair, but they did not resemble each other much. Azizan had deep big round eyes and thick jet black short straight hair and rough body built while Naemah looked more like a Kelantan maiden, dainty and with blood vessels visible at the skin surface of her cheeks and with light wavy hair.

From Rukiah Hanoum Omar Farok (Facebook) 26 March 2011 & 23 May 2012

Rukiah alerted me to a man named Faisal Ghani whom I was informed is the son of Dr Abdul Ghani. At the time I didn't know that this was the Dr Abdul Ghani whom I was searching for; the NUS book had his name written as Abdul Ghani while newspapers reported him as Abdullah Ghani. I had doubts that I had the correct person. I wasn't sure which was the correct name of the doctor. Faisal was a classmate of Rukiah's cousin, Khalid Ariff.

I have tried to contact his son (Faisal) from a number forwarded to me via Facebook but I got no response. I have not managed to contact his family members or descendants at the time of this writing.

Update from Iszham Idris (Facebook), 23 January 2013

The correct name is Dr Haji Abdul Ghani bin Muhammad. Dr Haji Abdul Ghani was known as Tok Cak Tanjung.

His wife is Fatimah. Fatimah's sister is Siti Aminah, whose daughter is Hajjah Zaleha bt Che Long, Iszham's mother. [Dr Haji Abdul Ghani is the husband of Iszham's maternal grandaunt.]

His children are Azizah, Ghazali, Zaitun (Halimah), Abdul Jalil, Muhammad, Fadzilah, Yahya, and Faisal. The first 5 children died young and the last 3 survived to adulthood - Fadzilah, Yahya and Faisal. Fadzilah is a nurse residing in Australia. Yahya and Faisal are residing in Malaysia.

Faisal married and has a daughter.
Iszham's mother is still alive and she remembers Faisal, or his call name Pisol. We await news from both Iszham's mother as well as from Faisal, Dr Haji Abdul Ghani's youngest son.

From me (8 Feb 2013, 4:08 pm): Please note that Faisal on the BOD at CTRM is a different person and not the son of Dr Haji Abdul Ghani. The correct Faisal Abdul Ghani retired from Utusan Malaysia (refer to comments by his daughter below).

What we know so far
Paternal Grandparents
Grandfather: Abdul Muthalib bin Muhammad
Grandmother: Zaharah Nordin

Parents
Father: Muhammad bin Abdul Muthalib
Mother: Siti Zalekha bt Mohd Ayub

Siblings: 7

1. Ihsaniah
2. Syariah
3. Zainal Rashid
4. Ismail
5. Capt Mohamed Noor bin Mohamed, a retired Penang Free School teacher 1964 (m. 1. Aminah (Puteh) Che Din, 2. m. Nacar Abdul Hamid, 3. m. Khairun Che Din)
6. Sulaiman
7. Dr Haji Abdul Ghani (m. Fatimah)

            Children: 8

1. Azizah (deceased young)
2. Ghazali (deceased young)
3. Zaitun (Halimah) (deceased young)
4. Abdul Jalil (deceased young)
5. Muhammad (deceased young)
6. Fadzilah
7. Yahya 
8. Faisal 

Dr Haji Abdul Ghani 

1. Member, Sultan Sulaiman Club Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur 1932
2. Kedah State Surgeon 1958. 
3. Spoke at a ceremony in Alor Star where 11 blood donors received medals 14 Feb 1958
4. Health Officer, Butterworth 1964
5. Chairman of the Penang branch/division of the University of Malaya Graduates' Society 24 March 1964

References
The Straits Times, 15 Feb 1958, p. 9. Kedah Wants More Blood.
The Straits Times, 24 March 1964, p. 5. Penang Grads Pick Officials.
The Straits Times, 7 Nov 1964, p. 10. Doctor's Son Missing Since Wednesday.

Home
His former home was in Babington Avenue, Penang (1964). Dato' Anwar Fazal Mohamed knows the place and will seek details of its sale from the Committee that maintains it today - it is now a dining place.


Tanah Perkuburan Bayan Lepas, Penang
He is interred at Tanah Perkuburan Islam in Bayan Lepas, Penang. The cemetery is close to his village in Bayan Lepas.
http://pasarbasahbl.blogspot.com/2011/02/gotongroyong-perkuburan-bayan-lepas.html

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Update 11 & 23 January 2013

I met Rukiah earlier this year (11 January 2013) at my late mother's house in Penang. She came to pick up my books for Datuk Zubaidah and herself, and for 2 other contributors - Mohd Aiyub Mohd Aziz and Khalid Ariff. I had mentioned "Omar Ariff" to Rukiah because I forgot the correct name (Khalid Ariff). I actually forgot about the piece of information about Faisal and his father, and therefore, I did not ask her about the father and son when I met her. I totally forgot this matter.