Dr Abdul Wahab bin Mohamed Ariff (1919-2006)
LMS 1949 KE VII
Date of birth: 24 December 1919
Place of birth: Georgetown, Penang
Date of demise: 9 March 2006
Place of death: At home in Tanjung Bungah, Penang
Notes from the author:
Please refer to my book, Biography of the Early Malay Doctors 1900-1957 Malaya and Singapore, pages 262-276, for his full biography.
Government Service
- 1950 - entered government service
- 1950-58 - MO Penang, MO Butterworth, MO Perlis (Kangar), MO Kuala Pilah
- 1954 - got rid of gastroenteritis epidemic
- 1953-55 - CMHO Perlis; established Snake Unit in Perlis
- 1955 - his snake venom research was published in BMJ
- 28 Feb 1956 - Straits Echo Times of Malaya published about snake poisoning
- 1955-1957 - CMHO Kuala Pilah (separate male & female hospitals)
- 1957 - CMHO Penang; riots in Penang on New Year's Day
- 1955 - recipient of Queen's Fellowship in Public Health, Child Health, and Midwifery
- 1957 - left Malaya to go to England for MRCPE and DCH
- 5 Jan 1957 - April 1959 - U of London, London Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene, and Rotunda Hospital in Dublin
- Returned to Ministry of Health, Malaya
- April 1959 - April 1960 - CMHO Terengganu
- 15 April 1960 - 1963 - Head of Medical and Health Services in Brunei
- 1963 - Brunei Legislative Council
- 1964 - CMHO Kelantan
- 1967 - CMHO Pahang
- 1968 - CMHO Penang, attended a display, "A History of Medicine in Pictures" (below). Dr Abdul Wahab Mohd Ariff and wife knew Dr MJ Che Lah and wife.
Top photo, from left: Dr Abdul Wahab bin Mohd Ariff (CMHO Penang 1968), man who at rear?, Dr Che Lah bin Md Joonos (holding camera), Datin Intan bte Haji Mustapha (wife of Dr Abdul Wahab) and a nurse/matron at rear.
Bottom photo: Display on "A History of Medicine in Pictures" 1968. Could be at General Hospital Penang. The sign on the wall at left says "Blood Transfusion, Maternal & Child Health," etc. The man in turban could be Dr Lakbir Chall Singh of the Rural Clinic in Penang? Both photos are from the collection of Dr MJ Che Lah.
- 1969 - CMHO Johor
- 1970 - CMHO Kuala Lumpur
- 1970 - 1973(?) - Director of Health Services, Director of Planning and Development at MOH Malaysia
- 1973 - 1974 - Deputy Director-General of Health Malaysia (Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail was 2nd DG)
- 24 December 1974 - Retired at age 55 years
Post Retirement
- 1975 - 1978 - Acting VC UKM, first Professor of Social and Preventive Medicine at UKM, HOD Social and Preventive Medicine (now Community Health)
- 1 June 1975 - May 1978 - second Dean, Faculty of Medicine at UKM
- May 1978 - Retired at age 59 years
Family
- Father - Mohd Ariff bin Ghouse , worked at Finance Dept in Penang Municipal Council, passed away when Abdul Wahab was 18 months old (infant) in 1921.
- Mother - Sharifah Aminah bt Syed Mohamed @ Mak Kechik, housewife, passed away at age 72 in Kelantan in 1964 when Dr Abdul Wahab was CMHO Kelantan.
- Sibs - 3 brothers: Mohamed (family in Penang), Abu Bakar (family in Kuala Lumpur), and Dr Abdul Wahab (youngest, family in Penang). All 3 brothers are deceased.
Unions - married twice
- Sona Baboo: 1 son and 2 daughters: Ahmad Fathil (deceased 1 March 1964), Siti Rohani (deceased in 2013), and Nazli Hanoum.
- Datin Intan bte Haji Mustapha (married 1952, Tanjong Bungah; deceased): 1 son: Dato' Mohzani bin Dr Abdul Wahab. Datin Intan was 83 in 2013, 84 in 2014, 85 in 2015, was 86 in 2016.
Demise
Dr Abdul Wahab passed away at home in Tanjong Bungah on 9 March 2006, aged 86.
Book
The title of Dr Abdul Wahab's book is given on page 199 of my book, Biography of the Early Malay Doctors 1900-1957 Malaya and Singapore.
The title of his book is "Medical Students during the Japanese Invasion of Singapore, 1941-1942," published in 1987.
Book link http://www.amazon.com/students-Japanese-invasion-Singapore-1941-1942/dp/9971849534
MATTERS OF MUSLIM INTEREST.
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942), 13 February 1930, Page 12
Muslim Scholarships
Muslim Students' Aid Society Scholarship
- by Muslim Students' Aid Society of Singapore
- for Muslim boys attending English schools in the colony
- 5 scholarships of $120 per annum
3 for Singapore, 1 for Penang and 1 for Malacca
- need Principal's recommendation
- write to Mr. M. S. Marican, secretary of Society
- office address: No. 4, Raffles Place, Singapore
M. S. E. Angullia Scholarship
- from Wakaf Estate of Mr. M. S. E. Angullia, father of
Mr. A. M. S. Angullia, J.P. of Robinson Road
- awarded alternately to a Muslim boy at Raffles Institution
and at King Edward VII College of Medicine
- for 2 years
Penang Mohamedan and Hindu Endowments Board Scholarships
- from funds of Captain Kling Mosque
- must be permanent residents of Penang
- for poor orphans
A List of scholarships to and from English schools and Colleges
in the Straits Settlements
- issued by Education Department, Government scholarships for Malay boys
- annual
- 3 for Singapore, 10 for Penang, 10 for Malacca
- $6 a month for Singapore and Penang
- $10 a month for Malacca
Published by Prof Ahmad Murad Merican in Melaka Hari Ini:
Penang Free School White Shirts: The National Consciousness of Datuk Dr. Abdul Wahab Ariff
By PROF. Dato’ Dr. Ahmad Murad Merican -Sunday, 29 August 2021 @ 11:30073
