Dr Mustapha bin Osman

I received a message in Geni.com dated 13 August 2012 but I only read it tonight. The message was from Iszham Idris, whose granduncles were brothers Mohd Arshad bin Osman and Dr Mustapha bin Osman.

Iszham Idris also provided a family photo of Dr Mustapha bin Osman, which he obtained from his aunt, Aishah bt Mohd Arshad. I downloaded the photo from BOX tonight. It had Dr Mustapha bin Osman, his wife and daughter, posing outside a brick building, in the sunshine. The photo was taken in London. No other information was provided; the photo was undated and the occasion unknown.

Dr Mustapha bin Osman graduated from Hong Kong University in 1924. Dr Mustapha returned to Malaya in 1931. I would guess the photo was taken after 1924 and circa 1931, before WWII (1941). He served in the Japanese administration during the Japanese occupation in Malaya. Nothing is mentioned about his family (wife and children) during the war. Only his siblings were mentioned - they held posts in the Japanese administration during the war. He was in charge of the Lady Templer Hospital in Kuala Lumpur in 1952. It is not known how many times he returned to London.

His date of marriage is unknown but I had guessed a date from other sources. If he got married circa 1924, then the daughter would be at least 6 years old in the photo, but she looked older than age 6. If he got married circa 1931, then the daughter would be approx. 10 years old at the break of WWII (1941).

His daughter was already a big girl in the photo, probably around 10-12 years old. It is not known where and when his daughter was born, so it is difficult to date the photo. The photo was probably between 1935 and WWII (1941). That's my best guess.

Search 72

SEARCH 72

18 November 2006

Saturday, 18 November 2006, 10:41 pm. 26 Syawal 1427 Hijrah.

See Search 59 concerning the early medical students from Kedah. This write-up concerns Dr. Mustapha bin Osman.

In Search 59, En. Mohd. Fadli Ghani had provided names of the early medical students from Kedah. According to him, the file SUK Kedah/K3467/1355 dated 1936 recorded the names of 7 medical students from Kedah in Singapore. They were Che Salma Ismail, Omar Din, Abu Bakar (Tan Sri Dr.), Hamid Ismail, Hussein Ahmad, Sutan Zaian and a non-Malay, NP Surathee.

A separate file SUK Kedah 3080/57 dated 16 November 1938 recorded another Malay doctor's name, Dr. Mustafa Osman, a government pathologist. Dr. Mustafa was the sibling of Mohd. Shariff Osman ex-Chief Minister of Kedah (mantan Menteri Besar Kedah), Datuk Shuib Awang Osman (mantan SUK Kedah) and Tan Sri Khalid Awang (Malaysia's Ambassador to Egypt).

Dr. Yeoh Poh Hong e-mailed me on 6 September 2006 with the subject Dr. Mustapha Osman. According to Dr. Poh Hong, he saw the website on early Malay doctors and thought I would be interested in an article to be published to mark the 150th Anniversary of the District Grand Lodge of the Eastern Archipelago.

Dr. Mustapha Osman (Born 1900 in Kedah; graduated from HKU; retired 1955)

• Dr. Mustapha Osman was born in Kedah in 1900
• He studied at the Penang Free School
• He wanted to pursue law in England but WW1 disrupted his aspirations
• Instead, he went to Hong Kong University (HKU) to take up medicine
• When did he undertake the medicine course at the first degree level?
• He graduated and worked as house surgeon and house physician
• When did he serve as houseman?
• When did he undertake postgraduate studies?
• He then undertook graduate studies in the University of Edinburgh and Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
• He obtained his postgraduate diploma and got married in 1929-1930
• He returned to Hong Kong and joined as teaching staff of the Hong Kong University and taught Pathology and Bacteriology
• He returned to Malaysia in 1931 and became a Government Pathologist in Kedah
• He was appointed Surgeon General in Kedah in 1948 even since during the Japanese Occupation
• He was the first Asian to be appointed by the Colonial Government
• He was appointed Pathologist to the Penang General Hospital and lived in Penang
• He was duly rewarded by both the Sultan of Kedah and the Governor of Penang where he had served
• He retired in 1955
• He was appointed Assistant DGM of the District in 1961
• He obtained a CBE in 1961
• The Hong Kong University honoured him with Doctorate of Laws in 1961
• He was described as a man of distinction
• The world knew him as a doctor of medicine, a teacher, and administrator
• He was honored for his work by 3 sovereigns and his universities
• He was always exemplary in conduct
• He was courteous but witty
  
  

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Acknowledgement

En. Fadli Ghani

Pengarah Akademi Kajian Kota, Kuala Lumpur

Dr. Yeoh Poh Hong

E-mail: pohhongyeoh@yahoo.com

SUK Kedah for these files:

SUK Kedah/K3467/1355 dated 1936

SUK Kedah 3080/57 dated 16 November 1938

Dr. Mustafa Osman

Born in Kedah in 1900

Studied medicine in Hong Kong

Government pathologist

Sibling of Mohd. Shariff Osman (mantan Menteri Besar Kedah), Datuk Shuib Awang Osman (mantan SUK Kedah) and Tan Sri Khalid Awang (Malaysia's Ambassador to Egypt).

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Telehealth Research Group
http://www.medic.usm.my/rnd/telehealth
School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Dr AA Cameron

Dr Angus Alexander Cameron (11 February 1909 - 2 June 1986)

Dr Mustapha bin Osman was going on long leave as reported on 2 April 1952. In 1952, Dr Mustapha bin Osman became the Governor of the new Lady Templer Tuberculosis Hospital in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.

Dr AA Cameron who was the Deputy State Medical and Health Officer (SMHO), Perak was transferred to Kedah as State Surgeon to relieve Dr Mustapha.

Dr GA Mott relieved Dr Cameron in Ipoh.

Who was Dr AA Cameron?

Dr AA Cameron's obituary at NCBI NLM NIH:
British Medical Journal vol 293 16 August 1986 page 456 Obituary.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1341291/pdf/bmjcred00247-0053.pdf

Lady Templer

In 1926 Gerald Templer married Edith Margery Davie; they had a daughter and a son. She was known as Lady Templer.

Family photo of Lady Templer (below).

Lady Templer with daughter Jane (18) and son Miles (6), 1944.

Duke of York's Military School Grand Day 1950 (pic below).

Lady Templer is seated in front row, 6th from left

In Malaya, the Lady Templer Tuberculosis Hospital was built in 1952 and was named in her honour. In 1952, Dr Mustapha bin Osman (an early Malay doctor) became the Governor of the new Lady Templer Tuberculosis Hospital in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. [TEMD Research]

The Duchess of Kent in October 1952 was Princess Marina of Greece and  Denmark.
More pictures of Duchess of Kent

The Lady Templer Tuberculosis Hospital was closed down for other development.

71. Privatisation of Lady Templer Hospital site (Jiwa Unik Sdn Bhd - Tan Sri Halim Saad, Bidari Tan Sri Mohamed, Tan Sri Teong Teck Leng).
http://www.rockybru.com.my/2008/08/some-pictures-and-message-about-sons.html

Dr Che Lah was an early Malay doctor. He served as the State Medical and Health Officer (SMHO) in Malacca in 1953. In 1953, Dr Che Lah bin Md Joonos accompanied Lady Templer when she visited the Malacca General Hospital. [TEMD Research]

Lady Templer at left. Photo from Tulip bt Che Lah. [TEMD Research]

[TEMD Research]

Lady Templer also initiated aid for the deaf (Kenya or India photo below).

Dr Mustapa bin Osman

 INTRODUCTION

(Dr) Mustapha bin Osman was born in Kedah in 1900.

He studied at Penang Free School in Georgetown, Penang.[1][2] This was the initial site before the school moved to a new site in Green Lane (now Jalan Masjid Negeri). The old school was renamed Hutchings School which became Penang Museum today. A new Hutchings School was built nearby to the Penang Museum.

Penang Free School was first opened in Georgetown in 1816

The new Hutchings School near the Penang Museum in Georgetown.

Penang Free School in Green Lane was opened in 1925

He wanted to study Law in England but World War I (WWI) made it impractical and dangerous. The State Government of Kedah sent him to further his education in Hong Kong instead.

It is not known at the time of this writing, how he travelled to Hong Kong, but a few routes are possible:

(i) By ship which plied the South China Sea between Tanah Melayu and the Chinese lands. He probably left from either Penang/Kedah port, Port Swettenham/Port Kelang (now Port Klang) or Keppel Harbour in Singapore.

(ii) He probably took the overland route from Penang to Kedah and onward into Thailand, across to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and finally to Hong Kong.

(iii) He could have taken the train from Penang/Kedah to Thailand, then gone further down to Kelantan, and left for Hong Kong from Kota Bharu since there were steamers plying Sungai Kelantan.

It is not known how long each journey/route took, be it by ship or overland route.

Mustapha entered the University of Hong Kong [3] in 1917 to study medicine. Dr Mustapha Osman graduated seven years later in 1924, prior to the Canton-Hong Kong strike of 1925-26.

--
Footnotes


[1] The idea of a school in Penang for local residents was borne by Reverend Sparke Hutchings of the St George's Anglican Church. The proposal for Penang Free School (PFS) was submitted to the Governor of the Prince of Wales Island (now Penang) in 1815. There are two premises for PFS – a previous one in Georgetown and another which is still in use in Green Lane. The PFS was first set up at a premise in Georgetown on 21 October 1816, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the demise of Captain Sir Francis Light. When the initial PFS became overcrowded, a new PFS was needed. A 30-acre site in Green Lane (now Jalan Masjid Negeri) was made the new premise for the second PFS. Construction of the new PFS began in 1924 and was completed in 1925. The second PFS in Green Lane was opened on 9 January 1925 by Ralph Scott, Resident Councillor of Penang. When the second PFS was built, the initial PFS was renamed to Hutchings School after its founder. A part of the Hutchings School building was bombed during the Second World War. The remaining Hutchings School building houses the Penang State Museum today.

[2] The term free does not mean without school fees. The term free here means it is open to all locals.

[3] Established in 1911 from the former Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, founded by the London Missionary Society in 1887, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong was the only faculty that was open. In December 1916, the University of Hong Kong held its first congregation, with 23 graduates and 5 honorary graduates. – Wikipedia, University of Hong Kong. Accessed on 13 October 2010.

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He became the first Malay Pathologist when he obtained his postgraduate diploma in 1925. He became the first Malay Professor of Pathology when he obtained his MD degree in 1930.

He was already working in Kedah when the Japanese attacked Penang island and Kedah. The Japanese attacked Kedah at Singgora on 8 December 1941.

Associate Professor Dr Mohd Isa Othman’s publication (translation by Haji Hashim bin Samin), The Second World War and the Japanese Invasion of Kedah had mentioned Dr Mustapha Osman along with his brother, Sheriff Osman, as they became part of the Japanese Administration in Kedah.

Of the administrative bureaus during the Japanese Occupation, Tunku Badlishah headed the Shumuin (Religion) Bureau while Syed Alwi was Assistant and Syed Shariff Osman was Secretary.

Professor Dr Mustapha bin Osman (Pathologist & Head of Shumuin Bureau

[Need a portrait of Syed Alwi bin Syed Sheikh] (Assistant of Shumuin Bureau)

Haji Mohammad Sheriff bin Awang Osman/En Shariff Osman (Secretary of Shumuin Bureau)

Another bureau, Somu-bu (Public Administration) had six subdivisions - Kanbo (Judicial Secretariat), Shomuka (Public Affairs), Kanri-ka (Administration), Bunkyo-ka (Education), Shiho-ka (Judiciary) and Konsei-ka (Welfare). These bureau was headed by Nakagawa Yamakami and seven Japanese officials along with En Shariff Osman, Momose, Ismail Marican, and Dr Mustapha Osman.” - Associate Professor Dr Mohd Isa Othman (translation by Haji Hashim bin Samin), The Second World War and the Japanese Invasion of Kedah, page 3. Accessed at Perbadanan Perpustakaan Awam Kedah website http://mykedah2.com/e_10heritage/e103_3_p3.htm. Retrieved 4 April 2011

The Japanese Military Administration appointed him as the Surgeon General[4] during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya (1941-5).

--
Footnote

[4] The Surgeon General is an old term for the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO).

--

He was bestowed the Honorary Doctorate of Laws (HonLLD) by the University of Hong Kong in 1961. At the award ceremony in 1961, his background and achievements were mentioned as follows:

“Dr. Osman is one of our distinguished Malayan graduates. Born at the turn of the century in Penang, he entered the University in 1917, and obtained his medical degree seven years later. For one, whose forebears, a generation removed, engaged in piracy in the Strait of Malacca, it was inevitable, perhaps, that he should prove to be a bold and fearless undergraduate whose passage was marked by a certain degree of turbulence. […] Of this honorary graduand, Your Excellency, one of our professors years ago once exclaimed in despair, "Osman, why don't you go back to Malaya and plant paddy?" He went back to do far more than that, and it is with pride and affection that we have invited him here today to receive an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws.” – Honorary Degrees Congregation, University of Hong Kong, 1961. http://www3.hku.hk/hongrads/index.php/archive/graduate_detail/105. Accessed on 4 April 2011.


The University of Hong Kong had published a book, Growing with Hong Kong (2002) which mentioned him as follows:

“Many medical graduates returned to Malaya. Chinese doctors found it difficult to secure government appointments and most went into private practice in Penang, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. They enjoyed certain advantages over locally trained doctors who held licentiates rather than degrees, but positive discrimination in favour of Malays kept most Chinese doctors out of senior positions. Mustapha bin Osman (MBBS 1924, MD 1930, HonLLD 1961) was one of the few non-Chinese medical graduates from Malaya. After graduation he worked as assistant to the professor of pathology before taking up the post of Government Pathologist in Kedah state in 1930. He became Chief Medical Officer of Kedah in 1949, a member of the Federal Legislative Council of Malaya, and a member of the Council of State and Executive Council of Kedah state.”(Growing with Hong Kong 2002:50).


Dr Mustapha was the sibling of Mohd Shariff bin Osman (former Chief Minister of Kedah), Datuk Shuib Awang bin Osman (former Secretary of Kedah State Government [5]) and Tan Sri Khalid Awang bin Osman (Malaysian Ambassador to Egypt).

Dr Mustapha passed away in Penang in 1975.

--
Footnote
[5] Mantan SUK Kedah. SUK = Setiausaha Kerajaan.

--

Interview

I visited Prof Syed Mohsin at home on Sunday, 23 October 2011. We were talking about Boon Siew and Honda when our conversation suddenly moved to "Dr Mustapha bin Osman". I informed Prof Syed Mohsin that I was looking for someone who would know what happened to Dr Mustapha as I needed his biography/story for TEMD. Prof Syed Mohsin had this to say (refer to my post on Arabs in Penang:
http://theearlymalaydoctors.blogspot.com/2011/10/arabs-in-penang.html):

Syed Omar 
Syed Omar is retired, receives pension and lives in Kuala Lumpur. He was the former Accountant-General. He married the younger sister of Syed Razak, former Menteri Besar Kedah (ex-MB Kedah).

Syed Razak 
Syed Razak is related to Dr Mustapha bin Osman, an early Malay doctor (TEMD). His younger sister married to Syed Omar.

Another discussion, another lead ...
I talked to my husband to ask where else I should look for information on Dr Mustapha bin Osman. My husband said to try and ask USM doctors who are from Kedah. They may have heard of him or know about him. He gave me 2 names - Professor Zulkifli Ahmad (Community Medicine/DY Dean Dental R&D) and Dr Zainol Harun (former hospital director, General Hospital Alor Setar).

I calculated our USM doctors to be roughly my age, and born circa 1955. In 1955, Dr Mustapha would be 55, i.e., retirement age. When he retired he worked as a pathologist in Penang. So I need to know which of our USM doctors worked in Alor Setar (General Hospital Alor Setar) or Penang (General Hospital Penang) prior to 1955. Dr Che Lah (born 1903) would still be working in Pahang (his last place of work and only retired to Penang in 1958). My colleagues would be just be about to enter formal school - they wouldn't know him. My colleagues completed their medical studies locally/overseas circa 1980 before they did housemanship locally; Dr Mustapha had died in 1975. So my colleagues too would not know about Dr Mustapha.

Next search ...
I have to ask someone a lot older than myself and my colleagues. I will need to ask someone who was born in the 1940s and who had met him or knew him, either in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Kedah or Penang. Someone born in the early 1940s would be in their early 70s in 2011. Where do I find them to ask them about Dr Mustapha bin Osman?

Link to Keluarga Awang Osman blog:
http://keluargaawangosman.blogspot.com/2012/06/allahyarham-dr-mustapha-bin-osman.html

University of Hong Kong, Medical Faculty - History & Milestones

The University of Hong Kong (UHK) Medical Faculty was the first tertiary learning centre on Hong Kong island. It was initially set up in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society. It was renamed Hong Kong College of Medicine in 1907. An early philanthropist for its early building was an Indian named Moddy. The medical college was located close to Taipingshan, a residential area. Taipingshan soon attracted the Chinese populace and became densely populated to the point that it led to the outbreak of plague. Plague was thus the topic of study and research at the medical college, which also had a good animal house and stables for sound scientific research. 

To date, the medical college has dealt with some of the most difficult diseases and outbreaks in Hong Kong, including SARS and H1N1.

There are many interesting things to read about UHK medical history. A look through its pages to learn of its milestones is worth the effort. The move to create a medical museum and historical society are the envy of many medical schools today.

UHK also has a useful publication (see below) about its history that mentions Dr Mustapha bin Osman, an early Malay doctor from Kedah.

"Growing with Hong Kong: HKU and its Graduates - The First 90 Years"
http://www.hku.hk/impact/ 

Hong Kong University Press, 2002 - 352 pages

Other UHK Links:
http://www.hku.hk/about/u_glance.html
http://www.hku.hk/facmed/01us_history.htm
http://www.hku.hk/facmed/alumni/ul.html
http://designyoutrust.com/2016/02/hong-kong-in-the-1950s-captured-by-a-teenager/

11. Dr Mustapha bin Osman (1900-1975)

Dr Mustapha bin Osman (1900-1975)
MBBS 1924 UHK

Date of birth: 19 January 1900
Place of birth: Kedah, British Malaya
Date of demise: 1975
Place of demise: Penang
Place of burial: (known to his relatives)

Author's notes:
Unable to contact his surviving family members before book was published.
Managed to contact some of his relatives, Iszham Idris and Sam Rsad in Facebook.
Managed to obtain brief biography from the Academy of Medicine Malaysia (AMM).
Unable to contact Kedah State Government
No update from colleagues and the Malaysian public

What I have on his family background based on his relative Sam Rsad's discussion in Facebook (12 Dec 2013):

PKAOM = Persatuan Kerabat Awang Osman Malaysia
- registered
- to continue to document the family's lineage
- to promote cooperation in commerce and industry
- website: http://pkaomalaysia.com/v4/
- AJK PKAOM

==============================
In Facebook 2013: 3 men

Iszham Idris AO
https://www.facebook.com/iszham.idris
- AJK PKAOM pusat
- in-charge of AO Family Tree
- contact person for Dr Mustapha bin Osman
- his cousin is Sam Rsad AO (Hj Samsuddin bin Mohd Arshad)

Sam Rsad AO
https://www.facebook.com/sam.rsad
- his real name is Hj Samsuddin bin Mohd Arshad bin Darus bin Awang Osman bin Mohd Arshad
- ITM (Dip in Public Admin) 1982
- lives in Ipoh, Perak
- married to Rosenah Ahmad (she is also in FB)
- his father: Tuan Hj Md Arshad bin Darus AO, circa 1946.
- he is the nephew (anak saudara) of Dr Mustapha Awang Osman.
- contact: Hj Samsuddin bin Mohd Arshad (FB Sam Rsad AO).
  https://www.facebook.com/sam.rsad
- I joined his FB on 5 December 2013
- his father is Tuan Hj Mohd Arshad bin Darus (eldest son of Darus)
- his father completed his Cambridge School Cert at Form 5 at Penang Free School
- his grandfather is Darus bin Awang Osman (Tok Darus)
- his grandfather was in the police force
- his grandmother is Che Kiah bt Mohd Tahir
- his cousin is Iszham Idris AO

YDP Dato Daud Daros AO
https://www.facebook.com/datodauddaros
- he is in FB

=====================
In History: 7 men
- based on Sam Rsad's FB

Awang Osman bin Mohd Arshad
- Buku Salasilah Keluarga Awang Osman v2.0
- http://www.keluargaawangosman.blogspot.com/
- there is a portrait of him in FB
- Awang Osman is abbreviated AO; all the family members use this AO initial as suffix.
- AO was the stepson (anak angkat) of Sultan Kedah Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin
- When the British pawned Penang and established Penang Free School (PFS), AO was sent as an administrator to the Kedah House, where sons of royalties and Malay elites boarded while studying at PFS. They were princes from the northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak.
- AO steered his children to succeed in education, especially in English
- AO had 18 children:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
- AO's sons served in the civil service and politics. They were involved from the fight for the Malayan independence to international banking. They brought pride to the family and nation:
  1. The first Malay surgeon was Dr Mustapha bin Awang Osman.
  2. HE Tan Sri Dato' Abdul Khalid bin Awang Osman was Asst. (now Deputy) Minister of Agriculture and the first Chairman of LUTH (Lembaga Urusan Tabung Haji).
  3. Sir Dato Sheriff bin Awang Osman was the Chief Minister of Kedah.
  4. Dato Sri Shuib bin Awang Osman was the Kedah State Secretary.
- there is a website: blogspot.awangosman
- AO is the great-grandfather of Sam Rsad and Iszham Idris

Prof Dr Mustapha bin Awang Osman
- he was the first Malay surgeon
- his surname is Awang Osman but Awang is missing in his official records
- he is listed as Dr Mustapha bin Osman
- he is Dr Mustapha AO in family trees
- There is a photo of him in FB

HE Tan Sri Dato' Abdul Khalid bin Awang Osman
- he was the Asst. (now Deputy) Minister of Agriculture
- he was the first Chairman of LUTH
- there is a photo of him in FB

Sir Dato Sheriff bin Awang Osman
- he was the Chief Minister of Kedah
- there is a photo of him in FB

Dato Sri Shuib bin Awang Osman
- he was the Kedah State Secretary

Darus bin Awang Osman (Tok Darus)
- he was in the police force
- he married 3 wives:
  1. Siti Aishah AO
  2. Aminah bt AO (born Said)
  3. Rokiah (Che Kiah) bt AO (born Mohd Tahir)
- he has 10 children:
  1. Awang Ahmad b. Darus
  2. Daud b. Darus
  3. Md Arshad b. Darus
  4. Yaacob b. Darus
  5. Bakar b. Darus
  6. Mahmood b. Darus
  7. Zainab bt Darus
  8. Ismail b. Darus
  9. Fatimah Zalleha bt Zakaria (born Darus)
  10. Jaafar b. Darus
- there is a photo of him in FB

Tuan Hj Mohd Arshad bin Darus
- eldest son of Darus bin Awang Osman
- completed his Cambridge School Cert at Form 5 at Penang Free School
- he wanted to be an engineer and wanted to go to London by ship
- he went to Singapore without informing his father
- his father suspected he would be in Singapore and sent a warrant for his arrest
- he was arrested in Singapore by the Singapore Police and sent home to Penang
- he did not become an engineer after all
- there is a portrait of him (c.1946) in FB
- he is the nephew of Dr Mustapha bin Osman
- he suddenly fell ill after sahur in Ramadan, 3 days before Raya
- he was brought to Hospital Kangar for treatment
- however, he died after 2 days in hospital
- his cause of death was due to a blood clot (thrombosis) in a vessel to his head