Prof Datuk Dr Wazir Jahan Karim

From the book, Straits Muslims: Diasporas of the Northern Passage of the Straits of Malacca, edited by Wazir Jahan Karim (Straits G.T., 2009).


Page 33 shows Dr Abdul Karim's wedding photo (circa 1930s-1940s with a Taj Mahal as prop). The wedding was held at a house in Larut Road (where is this?).

Page 36 shows a photo of Bismillah Begum Munawar.

Prof Datuk Dr Wazir Jahan Karim is the daughter of a famous dentist, Dr Abdul Karim bin Nawab Din.

Dr Abdul Karim married Bismillah Begum bt Munawar, the granddaughter of the famous writer, philosopher and Penang Mufti, Dr Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar. He was also the first person to translate the Quran into English at Oxford University.

Book - Straits Muslims

Page  42 has a photo of a younger Dato' Mushir Ariff with his wife, Dato' Zubaidah Ariff, photographed in Penang in 1956 (courtesy of Dato' Zubaidah Ariff). Dato' Mushir Ariff is the eldest son of Sir Dr Kamil Mohamed Ariff, a famous Penang doctor who was knighted, the only doctor knighted in the history of Penang and Malaysia. Dato' Mushir Ariff also headed the inquiry into the Bank Bumiputra saga in 1974 (I was in Form 4 at TKC).

Page 43 has a family photo of the Ariffs with their children, parents and in-laws (courtesy of Dato' Zubaidah Ariff).

Page 59 shows the 1935 Annual Dinner held at King Edward's College, University of Malaya in Singapore. Present in the photo were dentist Dr Mohamad bin Taib, Khamsiah bt Ali, Latifah Bee Ghows and Dr Mohamed Din. The caption states that Dr Abdul Karim bin Nawab Din was the first Malayan to obtain the F.R.C.D.S. from the University of Manchester.

Page 60 is the same photo used for TEMD. Only three people can be identified - Dr Mohamed Said, Dr Megat Khas and Dr Abdul Karim bin Nawab Din. The others could be our Malay doctors but their names are unknown.

Page 61 shows dental graduates of KE VII College, Singapore in 1936. Present (possibly) were  Dr Nuruddin Salleh and Dr Abdul Karim bin Nawab Din.