Ships (steamers)

This is a good website for ships: Rob Ossian's Pirate Cove!

Speaking of ships, The Ancient Mariner (Capt Muhammad Yusoff bin Haji Ahmad) springs to mind. He is deceased. Inna lillahi wainna ilaihi rojiuun. It was from his blog (The Ancient Mariner) that I came across Tan Sri Dr Mohamed Said bin Mohamed, an early Malay doctor (in TEMD) who became the first elected MB for Negeri Sembilan. There is a useful saying by Jimmy Dean at his blog (The Ancient Mariner):


I cannot change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination - Jimmy Dean


Some of the early Malay doctors had to inspect ships (steamers) which plied the region. Some ships/steamers came from China and stopped over at Singapore before proceeding onward to India. Other ships/steamers went the reverse direction. They were inspected for rats, for possible carriers of the plague infective organism, Yersinia pestis. Necessary fumigation was common.


One steamer that is connected with TEMD was the Sealda. I can't find a photo of it. I guess the Sealda could be like the ship in a photo that Museum Kelantan gave me.  It could be like the ocean liner that I boarded from Kota Kinabalu to Collier Quay in Singapore, circa 1968 - the journey took 3 days of nonstop sailing, and we had to pull anchor far from the Singapore coastline and take a small boat to Collier Quay. I guess it could also be like the ships used as "kapal haji" (Hajj ships). It could be like any of the large ships that anchored off the Penang coast near Pulau Jerejak which can be seen and heard on New Year's Eve as they blow their horns to welcome the new year. There are many possibilities as to what the Sealda could have looked like. It should not look like the Cutty Sark at Greenwich nor the Portuguese galleon, Flor de la Mar (Flower of the Sea; passion flower), which attacked Malacca in 1511. I'm not taking sides when it comes to Malacca History (will blog on this).

The Cutty Sark in Greenwich, UK; August 1980. Recaptured 13 June 2010

Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), from Who is Who in Malaysia and Singapore 1971-1972

Steamship on Sungai Kelantan (Kelantan River). This was before the Sultan Yahya Petra bridge was built, circa 1939. When Dr Ali O Merican came to Kota Bharu via Thailand, he had to take a ferry across Sungai Kelantan to reach Kota Bharu by boat. The river then was wide and deep, unlike now (according to Museum Kelantan staff). Photograph courtesy of Museum Kelantan.

The Kunak steamship that I took from Kota Kinabalu to Collier Quay, Singapore; 1968

Ships in Penang harbour (far bkgr) as seen from the minaret of Masjid Kapitan Keling, Georgetown, Penang. I obtained permission and climbed to the top of the minaret to get this view. I maybe the first woman to get to enter and climb the minaret to the top (I was told women are not allowed in this minaret but I climbed with my husband and the mosque tour guide, a male). Being claustrophobic, I did not take many photos. I was scared to come down after taking photos! Our tour guide said the pink buildings at centre left were bombed during WWII as the Japanese planes had thought the lancas and bullock carts contained ammunition; they were actually carrying washed linen as the buildings were dhoby shops (kedai dobi). Ghat Lebuh Acheh is somewhere at right mid-ground.

5. Dr Mohamed Ibrahim bin Shaik Ismail (1892-1962)

Dr Mohamed Ibrahim bin Shaik Ismail (1892-1962)
LMS 1916 KE VII
Graduated in August 1916 from the King Edward VII Medical School, Singapore

Date of birth: 9 September 1892
Place of birth: Singapore
Date of death: died during Hajj in 1962 . ... to check Hajj schedule for May 1962
Place of death: Madinah, Saudi Arabia
Place of burial: Makkah, Saudi Arabia


Analysis of Singapore's first Malay doctor

1. Both Dr H. S. Moonshi and Dr S. I. M. Ibrahim graduated in medicine in Singapore in 1916.
2. However, Dr H. S. Moonshi graduated in March 1916 while Dr S. I. M. Ibrhaim graduated in August 1916.
3. Dr H. S. Moonshi was born in Surat, India and came to live to Singapore, graduating as the first Muslim doctor. He opened the first Muslim clinic. However, he cannot be considered as Singapore's first Malay doctor for he was not born in Singapore.
4. Dr S. I. M. Ibrahim was born on 9 September 1892 in Singapore. His father was an archivist with the German Embassy when it first opened in Singapore in 1892. His mother was a noble Bugis lady descended from Dang Anum. His mother was the 4th generation of Dang Anum.
5. Since Dr S. I. M. Ibrahim was born in Singapore, he qualifies as Singapore's first Malay doctor (born, raised, schooled and educated in Singapore). He had worked a few months/years in Kajang and also in London, but worked mainly in Singapore, till his untimely death during the May 1962 Hajj season. He died in Madinah but was laid to rest in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
6. Historian, J. M. Gullick had cited Dr Abdul Samad bin Pagak as the 'first Malay doctor' in Singapore when Dr Abdul Samad was involved in Singapore politics in 1921. He noted that Dr Abdul Samad had graduated from the KE VII but did not hold any political posts. However, this information on Dr Abdul Samad as a graduated doctor turns out to be inaccurate. Abdul Samad was born in 1902 and probably just a newly registered medical student in 1921, and not yet a doctor. He was only 19 in 1921, and not a graduated doctor, not 'Dr Abdul Samad' yet.
7. A check with Prof Edmund J. D. Lee's book, To Sail Uncharted Seas (2005) provided evidence that Dr Abdul Samad graduated in 1928, i.e. 12 years after Dr S. I. M. Ibrahim had practised medicine in Singapore.
8. Dr Abdul Samad's full name is Dr Abdul Samat bin Haji Pagak as appeared in a newspaper article that listed visitors to the Asylum; his name was the last entry of 32 names. He was of Bugis descent.
9. In a newspaper article re a Singapore election campaign, it had Dr Abdul Samad's portrait and his birthplace. Dr Abdul Samad was born in Malaya, however, the locale in Malaya was unspecified. If he was born in Singapore, he would have stated Singapore as his birthplace. So he was not born in Singapore but in a state in Malaya. Where? Which state? Why didn't he state Johor or any state? Why did he state Malaya? Had he obtained Singapore citizenship and therefore the state where he was born did not matter? Did he move to Singapore as a child or after he graduated as a doctor? Why was he involved in politics when he entered medical school?
10. I have eliminated both Dr H. S. Moonshi and Dr Abdul Samad as described above.
11. In conclusion, Dr S. I. M. Ibrahim is Singapore's first Malay doctor.

Author's Log:

1. 26 Jan 2011 - Searched for 'Prof Ahmad Ibrahim' at www.geni.com and identified 2 contacts - granddaughter and great granddaughter. I left a message on Geni.com - gave great granddaughter link to TEMD blog and request to join Facebook. I left a second message on Geni.com - gave granddaughter link to TEMD blog.
2. 27 Jan 2011 - Managed to obtain family contact and details from a 3rd contact (also informed him of TEMD blog). No photos yet (need to scan first)
3. 28 Jan 2011 - Received a portrait of Dr Mohamed Ibrahim from his great grandson, younger son of the eldest grandson. Prepared first draft and e-mailed to his eldest grandson. Waiting for responses & feedback from his eldest grandson and the respective families.

Newspaper articles

MOSLEM ASSOCIATION.
The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942), 11 August 1921, Page 7

The Hajj ship, Sealda

The Hajj conference at the E&O Hotel in Penang was interesting. The secretariat had circulated all papers submitted by the invited speakers. One paper had mentioned the Hajj ship Sealda was in use in 1923. The source was from an Indonesian archive.

Hajj Pilgrimage

He went for Hajj pilgrimage in 1935 and 1962.

He went to for Hajj in 1962 and competed the Hajj in 1962.

But he died in Madinah but in buried in Makkah.

Seen here are his relatives.

Seen here with relatives.

Al-Mahtabah Sharayah