Asthma

This is a very touching blog about a man whose wife suffers from asthma. 

http://abil4fauziah.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html

I think a lot of men marry young beautiful girls and for a reason but when the wife's health fails, he is the first to escape and make a new home elsewhere. But not this man. I don't know him. This is the best that I have read about a man who looked after his wife. I only read the first post and looked at the pictures. I cannot read the other posts as they will break my heart.

This blog was brought to my attention by my eldest daughter today, after she asked me a lot of questions about aerosol and a few about asthma. As a mother I tried to answer all her questions as best I could. I will put her questions through this post later. I want to listen to some songs first. We have makan at 11am in the pantry in my dept. Then I have a class session with the postgraduates at 2pm.

AEROSOLS

1. What is aerosol?
2. What are sources of aerosols?
3. When to spray aerosol (Ridsect, etc)?
4. When is it safe to sleep after spraying?
5. Is it safe to spray on plates and dining utensils?
6. Is it safe to eat from plates which have been sprayed?
7. Is fogging safe?
8. Is it safe to sleep in a room immediately after spraying insecticide/fogging?
9. Are there long term effects of insecticide spraying/aerosols?
10. What are the dangers of spraying insecticide (all sorts)?

Life@70+

Life at age 70 is debilitating for some. My mother died at 72 and my father at 77. So I will use those 2 ages to write this post.

Female aged 72

1. Diabetes and insulin
2. Hypertension (HPT)
3. Thyroidectomy; thyroxine for life
4. Vitamin supplement
5. Always asked if she's doing fine healthwise
6. Very quiet. Didn't say much. Quiet most of the time. Lost in space
7. Would relate her dreams of her late mother coming to visit her and calling her to follow to don't know where. Her mother was in white robes
8. Ate normally but very little; took 1-2 tablespoonful of rice and a bit of fish and soup with vegetables
9. Could not take sour fruits; could take sweet papayas
10. Had full and very good dentition till death; didn't eat sweet, sweet stuff or chocolates, etc
11. Stuck to healthy menu British style.
12. Always felt hot (panas) and often took baths
13. Read books and magazine and knitted, her usual hobbies
14. Purchased blankets to keep her children warm (one for each child). Probably lost touch that this world is getting hotter and we don't need blankets.
15. Still cared for the children and grandchildren when they could take care of themselves and her
16. Could put up with hunger despite being diabetic but died of extreme hunger while travelling 250km without stopping to eat. The driver (my brother) didn't know my mother had heart problems. I didn't tell any of my sibs because it didn't cross my mind. My brother didn't stop for food and my mother never complained that she was hungry (being diabetic). She died 1 week after being on insulin.
17. She never complained of anything, rain or shine - she kept her mouth shut about everything. All her life stories, happiness and sorrows died with her.

Male aged 77

1. Excessive perspiration (hot weather in Penang)
2. Loose teeth, painful to eat hard food; only soft foods
3. Ate well but only a little, not as much as before
4. Drank sufficient water but still sweated a lot; adequately hydrated otherwise
5. Lived quietly like a hermit; some friends have died; didn't go out except for food for himself
6. Prayed at home cos he could not take the overhead bridge; too old to cross at the traffic lights cos the junction was too big and he could not cross the road in time before the lights turned red; too tiring to walk the distance to the mosque where he prayed all this while, while living in Penang since 1976; he lived in Leeds before 1976
7. In 2004, at the time of the Asian tsunami, the same year my mother died; he still liked fishing, his boyhood hobby, lifetime hobby. But it was fortunate that he did not go fishing that fateful day - his fishing rod line got entangled and he couldn't fix it in time to go fishing. Else the tsunami would have taken him alive.
8. Scanned all the old photos and compiled them in his Apple laptop.
9. Created a lot of snapshots of Ayat al-Quran to store in his pendrive
10. Browsed old photos and explained them at every opportunity (can be boring for some)
11. Not interested in world affairs or politics when he was previously in politics
12. Never said anything negative. Liked to tell his life stories, never ending stories.
13. Happy as things were; accepted the fact that he was old and going to die
14. Prepared to die happily since he had no property, no assets and no cash to give away; sifar harta
15. No debts cos he bought everything cash and only when he could afford them
16. Already booked the people to wash and prepare him for burial; also prepaid for his burial plot
17. Happy to leave Earth life and enter Barzakh life
18. Happy to die cos the wife already died 5 years prior
19. Not worried, very calm, knew he was going to die after all
20. Refused hospital treatment whatsoever; did not like hospital at all (he was a medic student anyway).

The rain came and the mozzies are back

It has been raining heavily for the past week. The ground is soft. The mosquitoes are back. There are so many mosquitoes now and they sting so hard, that it gives a terrible itch. One landed on my right arm last night as I was typing. I smacked it to death. Thin lizzy GMO mozzies? Sometimes I wonder if they have escaped from someone's specialty lab. Whose? Who would ever want to breed mosquitoes?

There is a 5-in white worm in my kitten's coup. I cannot classify it yet (forgotten). Probably a 'needleworm' but not a tapeworm. I freed all my kittens for the first time. Born Free! Now I don't know how to clean the coup. Will wait for my 'strong' daughter to return from school and clean the messy coup. She usually cleans everything in the porch, including her motorcycle and her car, and the cats too. Everything gets a wash when she sets to work.

My chilli seedlings have been transferred outside the breeding see-through plastic makeshift bottle-pots. These minyak kelapa sawit bottles are good for making my chilli pots when empty. It was my husband's idea so he needn't have to take me to the nursery to buy new plastic pots. I cut the bottles into 2 pieces and make slits in the bottom, then stick both pieces in the soft soil, one with the neck in the soil, the other with the bottom in the soil. Add soil and the seeds. Wait for the seedlings, now it's time to transfer. They appear to grow well this morning when I peeked through my kitchen door. I have never had success transferring the chilli seedlings but this time they all seemed to make it to the new patch of soil, near the pokok kenanga. My husband has complained that I must get rid of all my other taller plants if I want my chilli plants to survive. I want everything to survive! So now I have a mini jungle in my own backyard. How nice! I don't take chilli; they are for my kids and their father. They munch chillies like I munch baby carrots! What are chillies good for? I remember my Chinese friend BC in Perth, we were discussing about capsasic acid and that it reduces blood cholesterol. I didn't like the idea of researching on capsasic acid - give chilli water to the poor rats!

I'm reflecting on the causes of infant and childhood deaths before Merdeka. Why did they die so young? Some as young as the next day after birth. Some from vomiting and diarrhoea. Some from being knocked down when they tried to cross the road. Some from fever (not specified). I'm just wondering.

I remember writing about the deworming program for Coco's biography. The school boys were also treated for other things, including head lice (kutu rambut). I think kutu is here to stay, even today. Treating one head is not sufficient. Treating many heads and even the whole school is still not the answer; what about those at home? In the pasar? In the kampungs? At the playing fields or playgrounds?

Dust mites are another headache. I have heard quite a bit from families and children - they all scratch. I think so too that the carpets everywhere and especially at schools, prayer spaces, homes, etc, they all have dust mites, which thrive on humans. No wonder asthma is rampant. The rainy season makes it worst as the carpets are damp.

The white ants? They have destroyed my mother's house, my grandfather's house, my house, and just about everyone's house everywhere I have visited. I even have neighbours who threw out their kitchen cabinet! I saw one house long ago, it had white ants tracks from the ground up into the roof. Someone even bought the house! The infestation will heighten now that it is the rainy season, and most houses have a cheap wood for the doors and windows, which swell during the rainy season. This is kayu nyatoh versus the hardwood cengal which only appears in rich homes. I use nyatoh for all my 11 doors and 22 windows. The white ants also ate some of my earlier TEMD manuscripts, photos, notes, etc, practically everything except my bed. You can imagine if they start eating my bed; I will wake up the next day only to find myself on the floor! That's how fast white ants eat dead wood. Can't imagine sleeping on a Flintstone bed with a stone pillow. The Chinese used stone pillows and I wonder whether that helps with blood flow to the brain. 

John Locke

This is about John Locke, the author who sold more than a million kindle downloads in 5 months. He's #8 on the Best-Selling Author list. I have not read any of his books, but the book covers are something ... very attractive to the male eyes!

http://www.donovancreed.com/Blog/tabid/105/ID/35/Kindle-Owners-Welcome.aspx

http://www.donovancreed.com/

Rich

Define 'rich'.

1. Having more money than me
2. Having more money than everyone else
3. Having enough money to make choices
4. Having or acquiring a lot of stuff more than you need
5. Having a lot of money and not doing anything
6. Obsession with money; a great need for money
7. The poorest of men
8. The unhappiest people
9. Not reaching a spot or hitting a spot; going nowhere; a journey man
10. Successful in a sense; unsuccessful in another sense
11. Reading only 1 book a year
12. Hated by lots of other people
13. Unappealing to people
14. Going beyond normal reserves
15. Having an invisible bank

With modifications based on the video by Seth Godin, viewed at Author Learning Center.

Golden kidney-shaped cuff-links and making him pee

What's the story about? This story is about kidney transplant in the US and how one man managed to set up his skills into working up an algorithm to put all the potential recipients online in his own office. There were 4 parties involved - himself, the 200+ hospitals that do kidney transplant, the donors and the patients. His company programmed and enlisted all potential kidney donors and recipients, using only codes for the donors and recipients. They they had 30 donors, 30 recipients who all shared 30 kidneys from others. Whenever a male gets a good kidney, he then no longer needs dialysis and he can now pee. The man who started all these wears golden kidney-shaped cuff-links. Would you dare start this?

It must be a feat that nobody would dare to do it in Malaysia.

Kidney transplant Chain 124

Life@60+

I'm not 60 or 60+ yet but I'll jot down what I have read from other blogs. I suppose people either become happier as they grow older, or they become unhappier. Some have dreams realized, others don't and are still struggling. Some are sick with diseases, others are perfectly healthy, minus the usual wear and tear. Life slows down for many. They are able to cope but slowly. They do make new friends and have a circle of close friends but of one kind only. They don't try to get into any relationships because they know life is ending, or almost nearing an end. If they do get into a relationship, they will feel guilty as they know life will certainly end after all. Some just go on living till life ends. I think most people read and still keep reading, whatever attracts the eyes and whatever the heart fancies. Do they marry at 60+? I don't know. Most are grandfathers and grandmothers. Marriage of grandparents are unheard of. Why? What are the real life & health issues at 60+? I suppose a lot of the body functions start to go downhill. Most will have grey or white hair, wear some glasses, tire quite easily, not want to speak or say much, prefer to keep things to themselves, reflect on the past a lot, wished they could turn back time and re-live a better life, do something better, etc. But does life really end at 60+? No. Life goes on at 60+. Life as usual, and business as usual. Why are people worried or more worried when they are 60+? If you are 60 or 60+, you can answer or tell me, what life feels like at 60 or 60+.

Dreams & Jobs

Life's True Purpose

Life Begins at 60 T-shirt

Life@50+

If you are 50+, then it's time to think what will happen in another 50 years. What you can do now (the next best thing to do) is to write a book, on anything you like. Yes, write anything, even a new language, a dictionary or even an encyclopaedia. Ghostwriting looks good.

This is on Life@50+

Freelance Services Directory

Software for writers

Novalearn

Kunak and the Black Dragon

I had just finished working on Dr Abdul Samad bin Pagak's biography. It took me 2 days to figure out who he was and what he did. Anyway, that's done tonight and I went on to read a thriller. At first I had thought it was a real thing but the end of the page tells it's just fiction. I had believed a Black Dragon really exists. The anticlimax was the statement 'the Black Dragon is Japanese'. At that point I burst into laughter. LOL

I love ships, so this Black Dragon story is good for me.

Try and read it here:

A MEETING WITH THE 'BLACK DRAGON' [Articles + Illustrations]

The Straits Times, 16 November 1952, Page 15

I saw it coming
I saw it berthed
I saw it sailed


THE M.V. KUNAK

I had travelled with my family from Borneo to Collyer Quay in Singapore circa 1967/68/69. When we arrived in Singapore waters, we were required to stay-put till the ship's captain had received the green light from the medical doctor to alight. I was inspected for hair lice, etc. It did take some time before all our health papers were cleared and we were allowed to enter Singapore.

Here's a real ship that I went on and sailed from Jesselton port in Sabah to Collyer Quay in Singapore. This ship couldn't come close to the quay, so it anchored far away from the coast in Singapore. We boarded a small boat to get to Collyer Quay. I was 9/10/11 years old. This is the M.V. Kunak.

This is the M.V. Kunak, an old ocean liner. It was initially owned by the Dutch shipping company, KPM. It was purchased by the Straits Steamship Company in 1960. It was empty when I stepped on board in the late 1960s. I remember this ship coming into Jesselton port to pick me up. It was a great feeling watching this big ship sailing in, to berth at Jesselton port. This must be circa 1967/68/69.

That's all the passengers on M.V. Kunak. There's me somewhere up there on the deck.

That's me with my siblings on M.V. Kunak's gangway. I'm the one holding my skirt down.

Someone walked down the shaky gangway. We were called in. and it was time to sail.

It was goodbye time. I'm the only girl on the deck. My eldest brother is standing next to me. The white man at left was the only other passenger apart from our family. I left my father to continue his work in Sabah while my mother, my siblings and I returned to the Malay Peninsula via Singapore. Then we went to live in Kelantan. I was very ill at this time (with tonsillitis) and I was swallowing antibiotic capsules and vitamin C.

Other links:

http://sabahan.com.my/sejarah-nama-kunak/

A Mother's Loss

I thought to write about how mothers feel when they lose their son(s).

Case 1

I was solo at first, then married, then a mother of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Something happened to #2 and #3; I almost lost my 2 sons. Why? Must be the Grand Plan roll-out. #2 survived his second month and first six months of life under the threat of an almost fatal bout of chickenpox which was contracted one month into maternal confinement. I also contracted chickenpox at the time, and so did #1. We all survived, Alhamdulillah. You wouldn't believe it if I told you that we were living in Perth at the time when we contracted chickenpox. I had never contracted nor seen chickenpox before. This was the first and last and very painful case of chickenpox. I almost went crazy the whole month fighting back to get my little baby boy to live and not die. I would be very devastated today if he had died. I would blame myself endlessly for his 'death'. But he survived. How #2 miraculously survived is a wonder. He still retains the scars of that almost fatal chickenpox (he will be 27 on 13 July 2012). It breaks my heart when he takes protraits and the poxes show up. It is unsightly but what can I do? His mere survival is my joy but the unsightly poxes gives him unhappiness. What can I do about the scars? They must be very deep scars. I have seen worst scars on other bodies.

Case 2
#3 above was born at the Subiaco Women's Hospital after a difficult bout of shoulder dystocia. When he was out he was breathing. Seconds after that, he wasn't, he was dying. Before I passed out, I cried out to the last person out the door to take a look at him cos he was dying. I passed out. The next thing I knew I was in the postnatal ward. My baby son was nowhere to be seen. I cried for I knew my baby son 'had died'. It was a bitter cry for this was the second time I 'had lost a baby son'. I couldn't and I didn't ask and I didn't wash myself. I laid in bed, unmoved by the world around me. 'I had lost my baby son'. I lived like a log for about 3 days, with no sight of my baby son. I didn't know where it was, where he was buried. On the thrird day, they brought a lovely baby to give to 'as a replacement'. I asked the nurse whose baby were they giving me. I asked them who were the baby's parents. I asked them when was the baby born. It took me awhile to accept their answers that that baby they had brought to me is my own baby son. He looks like a Mat Salleh son, so I wasn't too happy and I still thought my own baby son died and they replace that dead baby with this Mat Salleh baby which is not mine. I refused to accept this Mat Salleh baby son. I took a look at its baby hand-band and it had my name but I remember I didn't give birth to a Mat Salleh-looking baby. So I did my Sherlock-Holmes assignment - to find out the identity of the 'new' baby son that the nurses gave me. I asked my husband to follow the baby back to ICU and find out if there were other babies in the ICU, and if there was an Asian-looking baby that is mine. I wanted an Asian-looking baby, not a Mat Salleh-looking baby. I was angry that I was not allowed to wander down to the ICU to check out things for myself. My husband wasn't sure too whether the baby they gave us is truly our or not. We both didn't know what to do. Anyway, my husband still went on to do the Aqiqah for the 'unknown' baby and we took it home and looked after it. We both still have doubts that this may still not be our child. Where is my real son? Where is the real #3? I don't know.

Case 3
Removed.

Case 4
I can't remember the story fully but I will write what I remember. In the days on Islam's rise to become an empire, many young adult males went to war. Some never came back. I can't remember their names off hand. But imagine, how the mothers must have felt when they received news of their deceased sons.

Case 5
Death of sons through air crash. This happened to a good friend of mine. When she wrote about her son's death, I felt like a hard marble stuck in my throat and that marble didn't budge. I could not breathe. She's Penang Chinese, I'm Malacca Peranakan. We both feel the loss, even today. I feel the loss of other mothers' sons, as I had felt such loss while struggling to bring back my 2 sons to life. Even though my 2 sons survived their ordeals, I still feel the loss of sons of other mothers. It must be very painful to lose a son. Now with stop at 5, 3, 2 and 1, I think the loss felt is greater as mothers today have less number of children, and they run a higher risk of losing their son(s). Losing a daughter is different from losing a son.

Case 6
I was reading the pages about the world wars. There was this man who went to war and was in charge of his platoon. When someone in his platoon died, he had to make a note and write home to inform the respective families. Writing down the notes were painful for the officer in-charge but imagine the mothers at home. How did they feel upon receipt of the death news of their young sons? They went away healthy and happy, they sent home a sad news without remains. All news returned as Loss in Action, no private grave, but a mass grave and an expansive graveyard, like at Flanders Field. That's the price we pay for war.

Case 7
Slavery. What is slavery? That is treating humans as animals and lower than animals. Slavery and extreme slavery are evil tools that we have chosen to let the super powers use to treat what we consider as lesser humans. Who is superior who is lesser human? You be the judge and explain yourself. When I watched Roots the movie, I felt disgusted. I stopped watching after the first few episodes. My late father enjoyed the movie and watched all episodes. Bless him. He only liked the main character, not the ill treatment of the slaves. The most notable of the slavery track record was the African slaves mass exodus to North America. When I took US history at California State University in my sophomore years, I got very annoyed about the fates of the African slaves. I hated the conditions mentioned in mu history book. I just hated the entire subject of slavery (all kinds). If you think prostitution is better than slavery, I tell you both are evil means of exploitation. Never give in to prostitution and slavery. Free people from all forms of slavery. When a Black mother loses a son through slavery, she never gets to see her son for good. Is that good or bad? You can ask Mr Obama.

Case 8
Convicts. There are many examples of how super powers traded the convicts as free foreign labour. Imagine you have a beautiful young healthy son, and while your son is happily at work, comes a super power officer and drags him to jail for a crime he did not commit. But super power people are like that. They lack a good mentality of being humane and caring. They use brute force. Then the super power people decide to use the young lad for their own gains. The super power people gathered and shipped the 'convicts' far out to far away lands, so foreign to the 'convicts'. What happens next and at home? Of course the mothers of these falsely wronged lads would be crying their hearts out for want of their only sons, their pride and joy. But do the super power bodies care? No, they are mindless and heartless, worse than a bull. Even a bul opens its 2 eyes to see where it will charge. So the 'convicts' are shipped out for months at sea, only arriving at a foreign port. Worst if they were chained. They were. I looked through some hardcover Orang Putih books, the 'convicts' were in chains. Why? Who's doing wrong actually? The Indian man in loins or the white man in his white uniform and pit hat? Dunia dah nak kiamat?! I think we all need to sit and re-think, about the values in life and how we treat others, those who differ from us, especially in skin colour. If we all had no skin, wouldn't we all have the same coloured flesh? Let's try that. Peel off our skins and dissolve all our body hairs and see if we are any different. Yes, one more thing, pull out our voice-boxes too as that would give away our ethnic type. So now, just bare flesh, no hair, no voice-box, aren't we the same? Yes, we are just the same underneath our skin. And that is what will happen in Akhirat during the Day of Judgement - Allah SWT will leave our body parts to speak for us, not our mouth. We humans are actually no different but yet we treat others like dogs, cats and frogs. So, don't mistreat another person or steal a son from a mother. A mother cries her heart out when she loses herself - she falls down and cries to Allah SWT to have her son back. Don't take anybody's son. Never take a son.

Case 9
The wars today. There are so many wars and battles today. Boys, young men and old men are taken away and made to fight or they are captured, imprisoned, interrogated and in the end terminated by the gunshot to the head or heart. They die a life that is innocent. If they die as innocent beings, who's the culprit? We have read about and heard about all the dirty treatment handed to POWs. Some of the cruels things unimaginable happen to them. Poor souls. Imagine the mothers at home - they cry day and night, wanting their sons back for other useful purposes - till the land, grow food for the family, carry water from the well, harvest the fruits, etc. Give them back their sons. Don't kill the sons for nothing. Their mothers gave birth to them for a reason. Stop killing sons (men for that matter). The best thing we all need to do and have to do is to stop the bulldogs and rotweilers from going to war. They create wars and take the sons while the mothers need the sons. It is wrong to create war today for any reason. Why aren't we stopping the dogs? You know the dogs and you respect the dogs? Dogs need masters, and the masters must be those with sound minds. So now you can decide whether you are a dog or a master. It is better to be a dog master and not a master dog.

Case 10
Drugs, prisons and death row. I often thought about men sent to death row and the final hanging. I lived close to the Henry Gurney School in Banda Hilir when I was a little girl. I was reading about Pudu Jail and some the other jails and when they do hanging - usually after Subuh prayer. It made me sad thinking that after every Subuh prayer, someone was going to be hanged. It is painful to come to terms and know someone was going to be hanged that morning. When I was enjoying my life in San Francisco, I could see Alcatrez prison island from the tram that rolled down at Hyde Park. It felt uneasy thinking of prisoners there but it was defunct at the time, just a tourist stop, but the ugly stories linger. I visited the Tower of London and some other unplaesant prison places during the holidays while waiting to enter graduate school in southern California. I visited some of the prison cells and tried to imagine myself being locked away as the prisoners were in human history. It was nauseating. I went down from the castle to the courtyard where they beheaded prisoners. I had no second thoughts. I told my dad I wanted to return to California. I was out of Britain and flying home to California within days, never wanting to return to Britain. I hate the thought of prisoners being imprisoned in the tower and the final head-chopping thing. Now when they Britons watch Hudud at its best in YouTube, they snarl. Why don't they do the same to British history? Chopping heads is barbaric, isn't it? Hudud is Hukum Allah SWT, so we have to uphold that. I also watched on TV, the beheading of a queen (can't remember which one). It was sad watching a queen being beheaded (reenactment only). When I was doing my PhD in UWA, Perth, I often went to Fremantle for weekend shopping, just to bring the family out and keep boredom under control. We passed by Fremantle prison. The ugly thick mossy walls were enough to turn me off from going nearer to have a close look at what was going on inside. People may be proud of being descendants of prisoners pr POWs but I am sad about prisoners being imprisoned. Nobody should ever be imprisoned. Life and living should always be free, untied and not involving any form of imprisonment.

 

FREE THE SONS

RETURN THE SONS TO THEIR MOTHERS

DON'T TAKE AWAY SONS

SONS BELONG TO THEIR MOMMIES

I DON'T WANT MY SONS TO GO TO WAR, NEVER EVER!

Watch this video

Maxwell Manuscript 24

It is always a 'Jones' or a 'Doctor Jones' when it comes to historical digs and fact-finding. Why does it always have to be a 'Jones'? Why can't it ever be a 'Mat' or even an 'Awe'? Let's see, someone brought up something interesting from a dull place. Someone went to a place up latitude north and unearthed some unexpected treasures near the GMT line. Guess where that place is?

Back in the last century, there were hardly universities in the British Isles. So where did the British get all the information that they amass today? You guess it right. They went out to find information - they wandered south into Asia and South Asia, and Southeast Asia. We Asians always want to go north!

What did our whiteman brothers discover and keep? They obtained useful information which even our own grannies and grandpas never knew. The British 'knowledge explorers' got a lot information about us that we never knew. But we are lucky that someone went north to find our history. So we have almost solved the origins of one doctor's family - that of Tan Sri Dr Raja Ahmad Noordin bin Raja Shahbuddin bin Raja Dagang bin ??? ..... (this bit is still a mystery). 

The place that stores his families' information is up north but was started in the south. The Royal Asiatic Society was founded by Sir William Jones (I told you it is always a Jones in history) in Calcutta, India on 15 January 1784. Here's the link: 

Royal Asiatic Society

60 Queens Gardens, Bayswater, London

Go to Royal Asiatic Society. 

Go to Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society

Maxwell Manuscript 24

The family information is contained in Maxwell Manuscript 24. Who was Maxwell? He was Sir George E. Maxwell. How many manuscripts did he write in a lifetime? And why Manuscript 24? Does that mean there are manuscripts 1-23 that contain the stories before #24? Does that mean there are more manuscripts after #24? When will we have time to complete searching for information? It seems endless, endless, endless,....

Maxwell Manuscript 24 at the Royal Asiatic Society

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/faridah.abdulrashid

A nephew of the late Tan Sri Dr Raja Ahmad Noordin, Raja Adley Paris Ishkandar Shah wrote in Facebook to inform that the number for the Maxwell Manuscript should be 24 and not 25 as printed in the book Biography of TEMD. Please make the necessary correction in the book. TQ - 15 January 2013, FAR

Erratum
Maxwell Manuscript 25 should be corrected to Maxwell Manuscript 24.

Penang Islamic Museum (Syed Al-Attas Mansion)

Link 1: Conservation
Link 2: Brochure
Link 3: Details
--

Masjid Jamek Gelugor

Map of Penang - Locality: Masjid Jamek Gelugor
Powered by Streetdirectory http://www.streetdirectory.com/

Malay Governors of Penang

Penang had British leaders for a long time. Francis Light was the first Superintendent in 1786. After Merdeka, the governors/Yang DiPertua Negeri were Malay men.

PENANG GOVERNORS

1. Raja Tun Uda Al Haj bin Raja Muhammad, Gabenor, 1957
2. Tun Syed Sheh Shahabuddin, Gabenor, 1967
3. Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah, Gabenor, 1969
4. Tun Haji Sardon bin Haji Jubir, Yang DiPertua Negeri, 1975
5. Tun Datuk Dr Haji Awang bin Hassan, Yang DiPertua Negeri, 1981
6. Tun Tan Sri Datuk (Dr) Haji Hamdan  bin Sheikh Tahir, Yang DiPertua Negeri, 1989
7. Tun Dato' Seri Utama (Dr) Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas, Yang DiPertua Negeri, 2001

List taken from: HT Ong. To Heal The Sick, page 188.

Orthopaedic Pioneers

This website contains names of pioneers in orthopaedics:

http://www.medic.ukm.my/sps/department/dep14.html

Other websites:

http://onedaymd.blogspot.com/2012/04/orthopedic-surgeons-national-specialist.html

http://www.medic.ukm.my/laru/OPA.pdf

http://pm10.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html
http://www.moa-home.com/newsletter/BeritaOrtopedikApr07.pdf

Orthopaedic pioneers:

1. Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail (Coco)
2. Prof. Dr Masbah Omar
3. Dr Shamsuddin Osman Cassim / Dr. Samsudin Osman Cassim, B.Sc.Med, M.D, M.S.Orth (UKMalaysia), / Dr Samsudin Osman Cassim (Gleneagles Hospital KL), grandson of Dr Samsudin bin Kassim / Cassim
4. Prof Dr Saw Aik

Tokoh-Tokoh Dalam Sejarah Malaysia

1978 PSM awards

1978 PSM awards from Agong (Tan Sri)

Malaysian Orthopaedic Association (MOA)
http://www.moa-home.com/history.html

KB Today

Today is Nisfu Sya'ban, which means we start fasting in 2 weeks time. I visited Kota Bahru (KB) after lunch, to see KB for the 3rd time this year. I also visited my father's uncle's shop in KB - Jaffar Rawas, as I usually do, days before Ramadan. It is like an unwritten ritual. Jaffar Rawas store sells Quran, dates, air zamzam, etc. Laila Rawas store sells textiles. Let's see, the development in KB this far, on Nisfu Sya'ban 1433 H, 2 weeks before Ramadan.

Bridge from Pasir Hor side (left) to USM side (right).
KB  is straight ahead. Kubang  Kerian is behind the camera side.

KB taxi stand near Tabung Haji (TH). The small shop at the left of the tall TH building is a mobile phone outlet. It sells mobile phone batteries for RM20 each. I bought 4 pieces.

KB taxi stand

An old street with a herbal dealer.

Old street scene.

Roti?

At the end of the old street is the KB Scouts corner

Studio apartments under construction in KB, the former site of Pasar Kain MPKB.

Ansar Garden Hotel and Wan Ali Tailor in KB.

I just noticed that Jaffar Rawas store is beneath PAS HQ. This particular Jaffar Rawas store sells the most number of Quran in Kelantan. I remember buying 30 Quran from this store when I first came to live in Kelantan in September 1983. I still buy a lot of Quran from this store, mostly to give away as wedding gifts. There are some beautiful Quran here. This is a blessed store. There is a fridge in front that has fruit juices - apple juice, pomegranate juice, mango juice, etc. Today I saw 4 types of dates at Jaffar Rawas but I didn't see a particular type that I like - one that is heart-shaped, appears pale yellow and tastes sweeter than sugar. I have to come again.

Jaffar Rawas and Laila Rawas stores in KB.

Pusat Perubatan An-Nisa' (women's hospital). Most Muslim women prefer to come here to give birth as they prefer female doctors to handle them during delivery. I don't know what the cost is.

High rise in KB: on the left is Kota Bharu Trade Centre (KTC), on the right is the new Perdana Hotel (the old buiding that was built in the early 1970s was demolished to build this new one). KTC also houses the Red Warriors bistro.

Another place I visited was Azam Money Changer in KB. I didn't take any photo there as he deals with cash. Today Affandi exchanged RM2,625 and got AUD$800. He and Ibrahim will be leaving for Perth after Aidilfitri. They will be in Perth for 2 weeks, mostly for some transaction. Ibrahim is both Australian as well as Malaysian. (Azam later closed down.)

External links
http://www.mpkb.gov.my/

Diagnosa & MJMS

A long time ago, the USM medical school published a bulletin entitled Diagnosa. At the time I didn't have any idea what the word meant. I knew the word 'diagnosis' but this was 'diagnosa'. I had thought it was a strange disease. For a long time I thought about that strange word - Diagnosa.

I never published in Diagnosa simply because I didn't like the name Diagnosa. After some time Diagnosa was changed to The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences (MJMS). This new name is much better than Diagnosa.

But MJMS is based in our medical school which is far away from all the medical excitement and progress in Klang Valley and all the big cities. I was studying how small publications could ever make it to the global arena. I studied mainly PubMed and some of the other elite universities' databases, mostly in the US as I didn't know most of the universities outside the USA. 

Once I found that online listing and presence was possible for a small journal like the MJMS, I wrote to the Dean; at the time the Dean was Prof. Dr Mafauzy Mohamed. He was my mother's former high school student. Prof. Mafauzy was 50-50 about the idea. So I wrote again and begged him to consider online listing of the TOC in MJMS. We got Bioline International to host our MJMS FOC. It was a slow beginning as many researchers did not know about MJMS, and that it was already online. Access to MJMS was reported back to the medical school by Bioline International.

We also included all our conference abstracts from the annual National Conference on Medical Sciences (NCMS) - usually held every May/June. When I was in charge of the NCMS as its webmaster, I hosted lovely pictures of Kota Bharu too. That became an eye opener and we all got excited. One thing led to another.

Now we have MJMS online at NCBI and the NCMS has its own website somewhere. So, over a period of approximately 15 years from the birth of Diagnosa, we made it to the Internet, of course with the cooperation of many bodies. Bioline International is really great.

This is my PhD student's article published in MJMS and accessible at NCBI: 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3349483/

He is in Facebook. He published 8 articles for his PhD. He also published a book which is available at Amazon.com. He is now an editor of his own university's journal (Medical Journal of Bangladesh), and the best thing is, his journal is also online somewhere; he learned how we did it and he did it for his university. It makes me really happy that even remote places like our medical school in Kelantan has made its presence in the greater global sphere of knowledge.

I have not looked at ISI, SCOPUS, etc. 

We also have a research bulletin which I think should go online. I am an author there but I haven't written anything so far. 

I'm also looking at whether Patient Education materials can be made available online and to a wider audience.

Glossary

IJAMPU = [I = Indonesian; J = Javanese; A = Arabic; M = Malay; P = Persian; U = Urdu]


MADRASAH, MADRASSA, MADRASA

The Madrasa in Asia is a good reference that contains a glossary of IJAMPU words. 

Madrasa in Asia Glossary

Islah means reform

Jamiyah means association

Kyai is a religious teacher

Ma'had is an institute

Maulvi is cleric or divine

Mubaligh is a preacher

Qasida is a poem

Tabligh refers to propagation

Tarbiya is education or training

Tibb is medicine or healing


MAHARAJA/MAHARAJAH, MAHARANI/MAHARANEE - from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharaja

In peninsular Malaysia:
Maharaja was the title of the monarch of the peninsular Malay state of Johor(e) from 1873 to 1885. The Arabic, Muslim title sultan, often considered of higher rank, was re-adopted later and remains in current usage.

The title Bendahara Seri Maharaja was used by the ruler of Pahang (1623– 1853 in personal union with Johor, eventually becoming a fief of the Bendahara family), till on 6 August 1882 Tuanku Ahmad al-Muadzam Shah ibni al-Marhum Tun Ali adopted the title sultan.

In northern Borneo, the title Maharajah of Sabah and Rajah of Gaya and Sandakan was used from 29 December 1877 to 26 August 1881 by Alfred Dent (compare White Rajah).


NAKHODA vs. NAHKHODA vs. NAHKODA
- from Kamus Dewan, Edisi Ketiga, 1998, ms 919; 
- published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamus_Dewan

Nakhoda: 1. pemimpin atau ketua perahu (kapal), juragan; 2. kapten kapal.

Menakhodai: menjadikan nakhoda kpd, mengetuai: kapal yg dinakhodai oleh orang Arab.

Translation:

Nakhoda (synonym juragan) is the leader or head of a perahu (small boat) or a ship's captain.

Menakhodai is to become a leader of a boat or ship's captain.

Primary Care Research

This is the Bibliography database for Primary Care Research in Malaysia. It belongs to the Malaysian Primary Care Research Group.

http://www.mpcrg.org/book/chapter2.html#F

I'm not sure whether this is the same Universiti Malaya group which I wrote to the PI in-charge of the research & database. I wondered what happened to the research project.

Malaiziia

This article contains a Russian article on Malaysia, including its health system in the 1970s.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/M'sia

Another article was on Malajsie

Some feedback from Xlibris

Rey Barnes called at lunch time today to explain the nature of the books and purchases. I will just summarize what I heard from her and what I can make out of the phone call ( there were a lot of echoes so I couldn't hear her properly), and what I have understood so far.

1. She will request Xlibris to expedite publication of one book (the small book) as I have requested the books to be published before or by October 2012; since Malaysian govt institutions (university libraries, etc) cannot make purchase orders after October as the accounts will be closed (October 2012-March 2013). The other book (big book) may need a little bit more time before it can be published, and Xlibris will try to get the second book out too by October 2012. I informed Rey Barnes about Ramadan and also the Hajj season and re our upcoming 13GE.... hectic time.
2. The print copies can be purchased at Xlibris and Amazon.com; anyone can purchase any version. Business as usual.
3. The ebook version is as explained by Rey Barnes in a preceding post. Nobody can download a second time after the initial download (must be prepaid and must download at certain times). The download link is immediately deactivated after one download. The ebook is not searchable before download as the book is not visible to search engines. I have only requested 4 pages of the ebook to be displayed online - cover and TOC. That's all the search engines can see. The search engines cannot search contents of the ebook as the contents won't be uploaded along with the displayed pages.
4. Institutions can request free complimentary copies of the print copies, but not the ebook. The ebook is only for purchasing, not complimentary copy or FOC.
5. Persons can request print copies but Xlibris will decide whether to give complimentary copies or not. If in doubt, Xlibris will contact me and I can decide.
6. All other matters re purchase will be referred to me and I can release or refuse any sale to any person. Of course I don't like to be doing this job.
7. Anyone can write to Xlibris and ask Rey Barnes re my books or if they have further queries.
8. My 2 books (each book has 3 versions) will be available for as long as I live and for 50 years after my death. After that the books will be free for circulation (they will enter into public domain). If I still want the books to be copyrighted for another 50 years, then my children will need to file for copyright once more. If I  live another 50 years, I will be 104!!!! 
9. The books will be printed on demand; Xlibris does not store printed books. When you order a print book, it will print one book just for you. That way, you always get a fresh book, not an old book. Xlibris is a green company which means it tries to cut down on paper and save the trees, keep the ozone layer intact and we get a cooler Earth. Xlibris encourages the ebook. In future, almost all books will be published as ebooks, no print books anymore.
10. Book dealers, book resellers, orang jual buku, etc - can write to Xlibris for discounted price and then resell at whatever price they wish, and make a profit. This is ok with me.
11. Xlibris is also looking at the Malaysian and Singapore buyers: doctors' associations, medical groups, dental groups, organisations, companies, ministries/kementerian, etc who will be interested in the books. Please write to Xlibris and for bulk orders, etc. I will make the ISBN #s for the second book handy when I have them.
12. I will not be selling my own books, so everyone has to buy them online at Xlibris or Amazon.com. 
13. The people at Xlibris said the books are very good. One lady phoned to inform she liked the Preface so much that she couldn't resist to copy a para of it for her Facebook. Of course I allowed it cos I wanted her to be happy. The para was about children's literacy.
14. Rey Barnes also told me to check my email (often)....sebab lambat jawab emel. Of course I cannot check my email when I'm out among the rubber trees!

I hope this post is helpful for everyone. Take care.

Prof Faridah

Ebook

This is the answer from Xlibris to my queries re ebook.

from: Rey Barnes Rey.Barnes [a] xlibris.com
to: faridahar [a] gmail.com
date: Fri, Jun 29, 2012 at 1:43 PM
subject: Book ID 501452

Hello Faridah,

e-Book is the electronic copy of your book. The version that we will provide the buyers will depend on the type of e-book reader they are using. However, there is now a new innovation that one e-book version is already compatible to all readers (Macintosh, Nook, iPad, Adobe Digital, Kindle, etc). We will send them a download link that offers one-time download to make sure that only the person who bought a copy will get the product. After the download process, the link deactivates and they can no longer use it for downloading another copy. They also need to download the material within 5 business days or the link will also deactivate and become useless.

I have posted some links earlier re the present ebook version that operates on all mobile devices.

According to Rey Barnes, libraries today lack space and they would prefer to have the ebook version.

Here are examples of ebooks.
Other examples of ebooks
About ebooks from the Advanced Learning Centre

Puteri Wanang Seri

Who was Wanang Seri? She is sung by Roslan Madun in his song by the same name. Who was she? Who were her parents? Was she the legendary Hang Li Poh who married Sultan Melaka?

Roslan Madun: Puteri Wanang Seri

Roslan Madun: Tebang Tebu

Water, Oil and Gas (WOG)

What is water? Where does water come from? Why do we need water? Can we live without water? We know from the Asian Tsunami 2004 that man can survive for 14 days without water. Is water essential? Where can we find water? Is there no water somewhere? Where? Where are our water resources? Who owns water? Who makes water? Who sells water? Who has no water? Why has water become a commodity? Why is water expensive? Why is water the #3 cause of war, after oil and gold? Why are we rushing for water ownership? Why are we fighting because of water? Why are we killing because of water? Why has water become a source of conflict in almost every nation that exists on Earth? Why? Why? Why? Remember, water, oil and gas all exist as a package in nature - conquering water resources means you automatically get the other 2, oil and gas. Let's look at the triad - water, oil and gas.

Here are some good reads and maps about water, oil and gas:

Thomas Malthus Theory:

http://www.ktersakian.com/2009/08/what-if-malthus-was-right-world-needs.html

Middle East Rainfall 1973:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/middle_east_rainfall_1973.jpg

Middle East Groundwater 1973:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/middle_east_grndwater_1973.jpg

Caspian Sea oil and gas 2001:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/caspian_sea_oil_gas-2001.jpg

Maps of Israel:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/israel.html

Maps of Asia:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/asia.html

Map of Indo-China 1886:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/indo_china_1886.jpg (shows proposed Burma-Siam-China railway)

Maps of Thailand:
- administrative map 2005:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/thailand_admin_2005.jpg (also shows Satun, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat)
- 72 provinces in Thailand 1988:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/thailand_provinces_88.jpg (Pattani is #34)
- shows names of towns:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/thailand_pol_2002.jpg (also part of Burma, including a town called Pegu (Bago) which is much cited in Malay History. There is also the town of Moulmein).
- economy map 1974:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/thailand_1974_econ_activity.jpg (shows mining but there is no gold marked on the map. Where did Thailand obtain all her gold for her palaces and temples?)
- ethnic Thai groups 1974:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/thailand_1974_ethnic_groups.jpg (shows the Malays lives in Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Satun)
- relief map:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/thailand_rel_2002.jpg (also shows railway)

In the old days, if  a doctor needed to travel from Penang to Kota Bharu, Kelantan, he would have to take the train that went up to Thailand, then take another train that came back down to Kelantan. In Kelantan, the train previously stopped at Penambang, then the doctor had to take a ship across Sungai Kelantan, and make it to Kota Bharu. The journey from Penang to Kota Bharu, Kelantan may take many days. This journey appears in the biography of Dr Ali Othman Merican, and his sons, Dr Carleel Merican and Dr Ezanee Merican.


There was no bridge across Sg Kelantan till one was built by the British in 1939 - it was a bridge that collected toll. In 1967, the toll was $2 (RM2) per vehicle; motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians did not have to pay. Buses had to pay. 

Maps of Malaysia:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/malaysia.html
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/malaysia_adm98.jpg
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/malaysia_pol98.jpg (1998)

Map of Malacca 1854:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/malacca_1854.jpg

Malacca has a lot of water problems because geographically, it has a low water-table. This means, you need to dig a well deep enough to get to the water-table. However, it is rather weird that Malacca also suffers from floods! I don't understand the water and irrigation system in Malacca.

In the many reports of typhoid and cholera in the old newspapers, Malacca and Terengganu had major outbreaks in 1964 and 1967 (have to re-check the dates). Terengganu has many rivers.

In a book by Yeoh, she explained that when Singapore (and all of Malaya) used the bucket system, there were some problems with the collection of the buckets (tong tahi). The buckets had to be carried from the latrines, through the living-room to the front, so the Chinese man can collect the nightsoil. That cause diseases somehow (I have no idea how this can happen).

When I lived in Banda Hilir, Malacca, my family had a latrine far away from the house. It used the bucket system and a Chinese man would come and collect the nightsoil. The buckets were stinking and looked really ugly.

Malaysia was really lucky when Dr Raja Ahmad Noordin invented the Jitra Bowl in 1963, a cousin of the Siamese Bowl. In early 1970, my father installed the Jitra Bowl with a flush system for our Banda Hilir house. It was the first time someone did that for a kampung house. As kids, we didn't have to go to the dark latrine outside anymore. It was a great change in hygiene.

Maps of Singapore:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/singapore.html (shows 3 airports 2005)
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/singapore.jpg (shows Keppel Harbour 1973)
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/world_cities/singaporeb.jpg (built-up areas)

When the Japanese war reached Singapore (Battle of Singapore 8-14 February 1942), the first thing that Abdul Majid bin Ismail was assigned to do was to check the water resources in Singapore, for the Japanese army. He had to take water samples at about 8 places, some at the lowlands and others at the highlands. According to Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid (Coco Majid), the water samples at the lowlands were all salty and the ones at the highlands were freshwater. The names of the places are mentioned in his biography. There was a Japanese chemist whom Coco was working for.

There was some water problems experienced by the Japanese army. I don't know the exact nature of that water problem. I don't know if that same water problem is the same water problem that Singapore faces today (67 years post-war). What is the water level in the lowlands of Singapore? Aren't the reservoirs providing sufficient water? Singapore also buys and processes water for Malaysia and then sells it back at a higher price - why? When I went to see Singapore and crossed the Johor Causeway, I saw huge silver water pipes on my side of the train window. It was drizzling so my photos didn't come out good. Anyway. I didn't know it was the Causeway! I had thought it was a big river! I don't remember the Causeway from childhood.

Looking at the map of Singapore, I can see a lot of water bodies formed by lakes and rivers.  I'm just wondering what is the actual water problem - is it lack of freshwater or is it lack of water altogether? Penang is an island and it has no water problems. As I faintly recall, there is Guillemard Dam, one at Bukit Dumbar and another near where we lived in Penang, somewhere near Brown Garden side, facing Bukit Pemancar. Penang also has the best drinkable filtered tap water (no need to boil).

Maps of the Philippines:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/philippines.html
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/islands_oceans_poles/philippines.gif (shows Palawan, presumably home of the Sea Gypsies)

Internet Publishing

We now have a problem because everyone is split over the meaning of Internet privacy. I will select and list here the ones that have the correct interpretation. There are many interpretations. I have written to 5 people, including the publisher for the two books on The Early Malay Doctors. It will certainly delay publishing. I will write the full terms later, as I have a class session now.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5303365_protect-privacy-internet.html

Straits Settlements (SS)

The Straits Settlements (SS) refer to the 3 states which do not have Malay sultans - Penang, Malacca and Singapore. Actually the SS is a misnomer; the 3 states had Malay sultans. Penang was a part of Kedah (old spelling Quedah) and was thus under the Kedah Sultanate. Malacca was under the Malacca Sultanate which was over thrown by the Portuguese. Singapore had Sultan Hussain Muazzam Shah. What happened to them and the 3 sultanates? We have continued with the British system and legacy and even after Merdeka, we have not restored the 3 sultans for the 3 Malay states. I think we should since the lands are still Malay lands, and Malay lands have sultans. India had Indians sultans but lost them. Britain still maintains its white kings and queens. China had Chinese emperors and empresses but lost them. So, we too need to maintain our Malay sultans and sultanahs. 

Back to the SS, what did we have? I went to Penang Museum to see what they had under SS. This is what they have - pinggan-mangkuk kaca warna putih. Fine bone China with SS marked on the back. Have you seen them? What are they for?  They are very pretty.

The British had a lovely time here in Malaya. They dined and lived as if it was paradise, like in the movie Bali High. That is the picture I get when I read about the British people in Malaya. Even the hotels at the time were merely for them, including the swimming pools. Our lives and theirs were totally different and nothing we see today comes close to how the white masters lived here at that time. Our forefathers must have felt so bad.

SS dinnerware, Penang Museum

History of the Camera and Life

I want to bring up the camera as I think this is about the most important invention that records history in pictures.

If you go to museum, etc, you will see old models of cameras. Here are some old camera models: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_camera

We can safely say the camera was invented by the Chinese, picked up by the Europeans, adapted and modified to whatever was usable though impractical. 

If we check old photographs of the 1830s, these were likely photos from the early camera models that worked, and the cameras were big and on a tripod-like structure. The flash used was blinding.

When I had my pictures taken in the early 1960s, the big bulky accordian-like box cameras were still in use by photo studios. I still remember in some cases they used a flash that was like a fan-flower piece and the flash itself was so strong that it could send a child rolling backwards. Many people did not like being photographed because of the blinding flash that was used for indoor photography. But the photographs from these early cameras are sharp and good, they last till today.

Some of the doctors had some of the early cameras. Later on there the SLRs, then the automatic disposable, followed by autofocus, then finally the digital still and now zoom and video cam. Soem doctors preferred to develop their own photographs.  

Most of the early B/W photos are very good are lasting. Nowadays we prefer coloured photos and I am worried they will not last. I looked through my photo collection and the coloured ones and slides may have to go soon. The B/W ones are still clear as if they were taken yesterday (they were taken when I completed my first degrees in 1976).

I have submitted 421 unique photos for the big book. The portraits are the usual ones but there is one portrait that stands out, and that is of Dr Megat Khas when he played the role of Bottom the Weaver in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream for a school play. He wore a dunce cap and looked really sad. The other stunning photos are of the Malay families and Malay ladies. I have never seen a Malay family gathered nicely for a photo and there is a nice one posed by Dr Megat Khas' family in a wooden home. There is one photo where 4 Megat brothers posed  for a photo, dressed in 3-piece and with pointed shoes. You may think such photos exist in European films but this is one with 4 Malay men. You cannot tell that they are Malay men. I particularly like the tea parties that the doctors attended. It seems that life was quite relaxed then and doctors had time to attend tea parties and enjoy the evening. In one photo, the men were dressed in baju Melayu and they looked really handsome. In another photo, the doctors & dentists gathered for dinner and they looked really happy. There is one photo with Dr Latifah Ghows seated very near to the camera and that is about the best photo of her so far. Next to her was a boy/man dressed in baju Melayu and songkok but I have no idea who it was. He looked Malay to me but I cannot make out who it is - could be any of the 12 doctors who are still not written about. There are quite a number of photos where most of the individual are still unidentified since the ones who knew them have all passed away. The faces are in full view but there is no clue to tell who they are. Most of the photos where the people are unidentified are from the 1960s. I don't know them too as I was 7 years old in 1965. I have passed on some of the photos to VI webmaster and to the Nursing Association in KL for assistance with identification. It is very sad that I don't know who are in the photos.

In the 1960s, there was the first Cabinet. That ministers whom I recall are Temenggung Jugah, Tan Sri Sardon Jubir, Aishah Ghani, Ghazali Jawi, Tun Abdul Razak, Tun Hussien Onn, Ghafar Baba, etc. I remember Tun Dr Mahathir from 1974 when he was education minister. I remember most of the Agongs, mostly from the stamps I collected (still at it). I remember Sultanah Bahiyah because she was the prettiest queen on TV. 

I think we were more patriotic as kids in the early 1960s. We celebrated everything that the school taught us, even Poppy Day was a big thing at school and at home. The school uniforms made us feel like responsible kids. Parents also had a different attitude then. It was a different life altogether.

We had P Ramlee movies, B/W only, for a long time but that didn't bother us as nobody had coloured TV then. There was only one channel - RTM. Much later, we had a second channel, RTM2. Then in 1982, after I returned from California, we had TV3, which was in English. Because I had returned from California after being overseas for 6 years, I could not understand the English that TV3 had used at that time. I had a lot of trouble getting used to Malaysian English; when I left Malaysia at 17, I could't even say a sentence of conversational English. It took me many years to become Malaysian again, but now I have become Kelantanese. If I venture outside Kelantan, eg go to KL for Aidilfitri, then it is hard for me to speak standard Bahasa Melayu as I have lost that skill after living in Kelantan since 1983. I can still speak some English but not as much as when I first returned in 1982. I am now learning some basic Arabic. Soon I will lose another language and pick up a new language. I'm also picking up Tagalog, hoping to travel and see Philippines for the first time. I hope to learn Indonesian so I can visit Indonesia for the first time. I have been to Thailand but the life there is very different that I got very scared of the rural life. I particularly like the shops that were selling fabric in Hadyai (if I remember the place). They sell a lot of fried chicken on the way and our bus stopped so we could by some fried chicken. I still don't know the Thai language even though I live about an hour from the Thai border. I have not captured a lot of rural life and clinics as I only had the new digital cameras this year. I was using an entry model digital still camera but I got angry with my CPU one day as a lot of viruses attacked it that I just reformatted and lost all my photos.

For the digital still, I only need a minimum 300dpi for book reproduction but dsc nowadays come at 14 Mpixels and each photo is approx. 5MB, when they were just 100Kb before. So when more photos mean more storage space, I am lost because I have a lot of photos but I cannot keep accumulating photos. At some point, some photos need to go so I have some space. For books on The Early Malay Doctors alone, I use a 13GB external HD plus  lots of cute little pendrives when I work on different computers. I buy a lot of pendrives when I go shopping, some for my kids and the rest for my work. I don't keep any empty pendrive; when I need space, I just delete an entire photo album. Then when I need the photos again, I go out to photoshoot a whole new set of photos. I still believe, the best way to work today is to have a very good camera and a very fast laptop with as much RAM as possible, and the fastest Internet. I don't scan but refer the job to my daughter - she does all the necessary scanning for me. My other daughter takes care of all my phone calls except the ones where the caller speaks English and she doesn't understand a word. She speaks American English but fails to understand the normal English on the phone. My husband takes care of all the calls which I don't hear, fail to answer, fail to understand or when I'm asleep. I don't like handphones at all. I still prefer the old dial-a-number phone. I miss the old days when things were a lot easier to manage. Technological advances are good but I still think we must keep the old things too. The new inventions today break down so often that sometimes I think it is not worth buying a new thing. I still prefer news coming from a person rather than watch TV. I still prefer story-telling rather than watch TV. A lot of things in the old days have personal touch and were so meaningful to life itself. Nowadays, there is lack of soul in life; people don't stop to ponder at all.

Batu Ferringhi beach (beach of Portuguese stones), Penang