Newspapers of the World

How many newspapers are there in this world? Many. What newspapers do university libraries subscribe to? Many. Which newspapers are free? No idea.

Adelaide University Library - newspapers listing

Straits Times Suspended 14 February 1942 issue; resumed 7 September 1945 issue

British Library - full-text, word-searchable, newspapers listing; many not available for online reading outside the British Library reading room in London

Nineteenth Century Serials Edition (NCSE) 

Digitised newspapers in Singapore

Maritime History of Port Nelson, New Zealand

I was searching for when photos were first captured and printed in Malaya and Singapore. I came across another unexpected website that had ships arriving at Port Nelson, South Island in NZ as chronicled by the Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle. The Nelson Examiner was first published on the 12th of March, 1842. The images of 1850s-1860s were wood engravings. The B/W photos were from after 1870s. Communication was by telegraph. Steamers plied between Australian and NZ ports. Ships from London sailed via Suez to India to Melbourne to Port Nelson.

Search Results for Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=CL1.NENZC

Pastpapers NZ

Photographers in Early Malaya and Singapore

There were many photos taken in Malaya and Singapore by a few photographers. I have managed to trace them by names on picture postcards (ppc) in books and from discussions in Facebook. Muzium Kelantan also contacted me to request for help to locate 2 names which we didn't know who they were. I think all the names I have seen so far have appeared either in museums and also at the link below. Some families and their relatives today may know more. The photographers' names appeared in many ways, sometimes only the last name (surname) and other times, abbreviated first and second names and the full surname.

Photographers in early Malaya and Singapore from the Janus Photograph Collection:
http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0115%2FBAM

These photographers were:

1. GR Lambert - 1879, he covered early photos of the harbour and ships in Siam, Penang and Singapore.
2. Charles J Kleingrothe - during British East India Company in Sumatra. I remember writing about the origin of the word Kleingrothe (keling roti).
3. August E Kaulfuss (1896-1909) - he took photographs of Jack Fenner in Perak (see Insun Sony Mustapha Fenner in Facebook). He usually wrote his name as Kaulfuss or A. Kaulfuss.
4. Leonard Wray (1852-1942)
5. William Langham-Carter (1869-1940) - he maybe the person Muzium Kelantan was trying to search when I went to Muzium Kelantan long ago. It was probably him who left 2 British photo albums with the Sultan of Kelantan before he returned to Britain. There is also a professor at the Dept of English, University of Hong Kong who is looking for his ancestor named Carter but he said his ancestor did not go far south as Malaya.

Previous related post:
http://theearlymalaydoctors.blogspot.com/search/label/Charles%20J%20Kleingrothe

People who have served BAM:

1. Hugh Bryson (died 1977), Secretary 1952-1967
2. GR Lambert, official photographer to the King of Siam, 1879; Lambert and Co. 1879-1918
3. Alexander Koch, assistant photographer, Lambert and Co 1883-1884; later as manager
4. HT Jensen 1908-1910 - his photo is in 'Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya.'
5. H Nugent Buckeridge managed Lambert and Co 1914-1917; became independent commercial photographer in Singapore-WWII
6. Charles J Kleingrothe
7. August E Kaulfuss
8. Leonard Wray (1852-1942) entered Perak Civil Service 1881
9. William Langham-Carter (1869-1940); cadet in Straits Settlement 1890; held several posts in Province Wellesley 1895-1897 and 1907-1913; Singapore 1898-1906; British Adviser in Kelantan 1913-1916; Singapore judge 1916-1922; Resident-Councillor in Malacca 1922-1925; retired 1925.

Cambridge University Library RCS Photographers Index

Metropolitan Postcard Club of New York City, Metro Postcard Publishers

Google or Babylon Image Search Results by photographer:

GR Lambert photos (1,670,000)
GR Lambert was active in 1875-1919 (till WWI)

Charles J Kleingrothe photos (1,170)
Charles J Kleingrothe was active in Sumatra

August E Kaulfuss photos (3,000)
August E Kaulfuss was a German naval officer, then photographer in Germany. Came to Penang in 1883. Set up firm in 1886 in Penang, Worked for Sultan Kedah till 1909.
August E Kaulfuss coloured picture postcard of Park & Residency, Taiping

Leonard Wray photos (356,000)
Leonard Wray's photo of gifts from Sultan Perak to Prince of Wales
Leonard Wray in RCS Photographers Index

William Langham-Carter photos (59,600)

William Kerr worked in the Customs Department, Kelantan in 1914. In 1920 he was the Supervisor of Customs. He received/left 2 photo albums to William Langham-Carter, which were then handed to the Sultan of Kelantan. The albums were dated 1915. It showed a British doctor's carriage.

Hugh Bryson photos (280,000)

Alexander Koch photos (3,710,000)

HT Jensen photos (1,030,000)

H Nugent Buckeridge photos (831)
H Nugent Buckeridge was a photographer & artist in Singapore 1914-1940

Frank Swettenham and Maps of the Straits Settlements

Frank Swettenham

I have an old photo of a white man (possibly a young Frank Swettenham) and there was some tulisan Jawi at the bottom which I can't read. Did Frank Swettenham have a moustache? Will search and upload when I find it again.

Frank Swettenham's publications:
http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/rcs_photographers/entry.php?id=439


Maps of the Straits Settlements (SS)

http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poyntz/India/images/StraitsSettlements.JPG

Bhadralok

This post is about Bhadralok or gentlemen. You can read about it at Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhadralok
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bengal

In many Asian and European communities, there are clearly defined human classes which don't seem to go away, even with human rights and Islam where all humans are accepted as equal. I have just learned of the Bhadralok today. Not only that, there is Babu, Mirza, Raja, Nawab, etc. When I wrote my books involving some of these name prefixes, I didn't know there was meaning attached to these name prefixes. They are more than names and indicate the class position within a society, in this case, the Bengal society.

The British came to the Bengal region after the collapse of the Mughal Empire. The existing southern Indian empire also expanded northward into the Bengal region. Sure enough, it was chaotic and there were tripartite clashes. Of course people took sides. Those who sided with the British were the middle class as well as the upper middle class and the ruling elite families. So the terms above were used to describe their affinity or closeness to the ruling British regime at the time. I take it that names without these prefixes were those of the common folk of the lower classes at that time? I don't think so we attach class meanings to these prefixes nowadays? I maybe wrong.

Historical maps of India 1893:
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~poyntz/India/maps.html

Deutsche Botschaft Singapur

Deutsche Botschaft Singapur or German Institutions in Singapore. I was looking for the German Embassy in Singapore and tried searching for "Deutsche ..." and got the German Embassy in Singapore.

This link gives a list of German contacts in Singapore:
http://www.singapur.diplo.de/Vertretung/singapur/en/Deutsche__Institutionen__in__Gastland.html

This link explains about legalization of documents and access to documents:
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/Laenderinformationen/01-Laender/Konsularisches/UrkundenverkehrAllgemeines_node.html

This link describes the work of the German missions:
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/AAmt/Auslandsvertretungen/Uebersicht_node.html

German Political Archive:
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/cae/servlet/contentblob/372558/publicationFile/162068/Faltblatt.pdf

The language division:
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/AAmt/Abteilungen/Sprachendienst_node.html

The German Club in Singapore 1856:
http://discover-germany.sg/

History of the German Embassy in Singapore:
http://www.singapur.diplo.de/Vertretung/singapur/en/02/seite__history__german__embassy.html

Contact & email:
https://singapur.diplo.de/Vertretung/singapur/en/Kontakt.html

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
#12-00 Singapore Land Tower
50 Raffles Place
Singapore 048623
T: (+65) 6533 6002
F: (+65) 6533 1132

Meet Affandi

Affandi is the man who came to marry me at my mother's house in Penang. My family was delighted when he arrived at the front gate that wedding night. I was in the bridal chamber when my sister came running to me and asked, "Is he the one with a powdered face as white as a monkey?!" LOL. Yes, I remember that. Affandi had no idea that his face was painted so white! I asked him many years after we got married why he painted his face white that night when he came to marry me. Affandi explained he had never won powder before and on that wedding night the people around him said he should apply some facial powder. And they applied the chalk white Chinese powder, which is sold as a hard cake. But the funny thing is they applied so much powder that he did look funny. We had to remove some of his thick white facial powder so that he looked proper for the wedding. Sometimes it tickles me that men also have to apply powder on their face on their wedding day. That's Malay style I think.

Affandi has been supporting me and my research on The Early Malay Doctors since its beginning up till now. Sometimes he did the interviewing and asking while I listened and tried to understand. He is bestowed with a good voice. He also has very good memory and I only need to ask him what somebody said and he will blurt and regurgitate what he heard or understood. So I have never used a digital tape recorder for my research on The Early Malay Doctors and I don't have any regrets. Affandi still has the video recording of the interview with Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail. We haven't converted it to MP3.  That will be the next phase in this research, insyaAllah - to document all evidence in some portable form electronically. It will take a lot of planning before I will do the necessary archiving and distribution to interested parties.

Haji Affandi bin Haji Hussien, speech-language pathologist & Head of Audiology and Speech Pathology Unit, Hospital USM, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. Contact **affandi@kb.usm.my** and in Facebook.

Affandi has served USM since 1981. His 55th birthday is on 20 January 2013. InsyaAllah, we will have nasi briyani for his birthday lunch in my department. 

Affandi attended school in Pahang. He attended the St Thomas Primary School in Kuantan, Pahang. Affandi grew up in the hands of his step-mother since age 6. He helped his step-mother to sell nasi lemak since age 6. He woke up early in the morning to cook rice and prepare sambal ikan bilis, cut the cucumber and boiled the eggs. Then he packed the rice, and placed all in a basket, and went to sell them at the police barrack in Bukit Galing, Kuantan in Pahang. The money obtained from the sales of nasi lemak was given to his step-mother. With so much duties to do for his siblings and the food selling to do, Affandi left school at age 15 (Form 3). He never went back to school but went to work as a bilal at Masjid Pasir Mas, under the tutelage of an Arab-Malay Imam, Haji Othman, from whom he studied the Quran verbally. He had good memory and can recite the Quran very well. At that stage, he had never learnt the Jawi script in the Quran but he could recite any verse as taught by Haji Othman. Later Haji Othman died and Affandi was left alone without a Quran teacher to guide his recitations. He went to work for another Imam, this time under the tutelage of Haji Loh Lubok Tapah, within Pasir Mas. Since Affandi had no money to pay Haji Loh, he went about cleaning the living quarters of the pondok at Lubok Tapah instead so he could stay on and learn from Haji Loh and the other students at the pondok. Then he left to work as a janitor at the government office (MPKB) in Kota Bharu. There he learnt of the many government servants and the nature of their jobs. He made a few friends, some of whom have remained his friends till today. He then went to work as a piling assistant in the rural areas, planting telephone and electricity poles (tiang letrik) in the rural areas, so these areas could have electricity as well as telephone connection. Then he went to work as a clerk at a school in Batu Uban, within Pasir Mas. He helped the teachers to fill in forms for higher studies. Then he applied for a job at USM in Penang. He became a clerk at the USM main library in Penang in 1981. Then he met me in June 1982 and we got married on 25 June 1983. Affandi came to live in my mother's house in Penang after we married. Of course my mother pampered him and fed him all the lovely food of a continental menu. It was the first time that Affandi ever tasted toast, butter and jam at breakfast. He liked jam so we always buy a bottle of strawberry jam for him and make sure there is toast, butter and jam for him at breakfast. That's what I call over pampering. When Affandi married me, he decided to continue his studies to match my status (I had my MSc). He continued to do his MCE/SPM and HSC by postal studies. I also enrolled him for driving lessons in Penang so he could take over driving my car, and for good. I stopped driving since I got married to him. It should not mean that I don't know how to drive. But I don't drive like crazy as in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!! 

Affandi and I moved to Kubang Kerian in Kelantan, in September 1983, less than 3 months after we married. In Kelantan, I was able to meet Affandi's family for the first time. I never met the family before we married. It was then that I knew there was a lot I had to do for his siblings. We went to get some food, clothing and school items for the kids. Their food cupboard at home was always bare. In the early 1980s, the Malaysian economy was bad and salaries were small. Affandi earned $200 a month, and always sent his salaries home but it was not sufficient to make ends meet. The younger siblings were stark naked. The family was often without food. Rent was $50/month at the time. The living conditions were appalling - the roof leaked so badly that one night's shower was enough to awaken everyone except the little ones who just slept through, drenched! I held on to my prayers and helped out as much as I could to get his family back on their feet, fed and feel human. While some of the boys wanted to leave school, we managed to encourage all the siblings to continue school. Alhamdulillah, everyone completed school at Form 5. Affandi tended to the form-filling chore which he was good at, and some of the boys managed to obtain scholarships and got good jobs. Affandi and I can only thank Allah SWT for saving his family and pulling them out of abject poverty. Now I understand what poverty really means. Syukur, Alhamdulillah.

When I went to do my PhD in Australia, I brought Affandi along so he could pick up on English, both written and spoken. It was his first time being overseas and seeing big white people with strange enough behaviours. He managed to enroll at TAFE College in New South Wales. He also managed to enroll for studies at Sturt College in Perth. He also enrolled for various studies at TAFE College in Perth. Altogether, he has certificates in medical records, hospital administration, etc. He also managed to enroll for Quran reading at Marion Mosque in Adelaide and at Perth Mosque when we lived in Perth. The Turkish Imam Salem at Marion Mosque taught him how to read Jawi script in the Quran. The Egyptian Imam Muhammad at Perth Mosque taught him Tajwid for Quran reading & recitation. So over the 4 years we lived in Australia, Affandi learned to read the Quran Jawi script and recitation. He also went to Makkah and there was an Imam there (could be a malaikat) in Masjidil Haram who listened to his Quran recitation and corrected him. Affandi managed to complete (khatam) his Quran reading/recitation each time he went to Makkah and Madinah. He has mastered Quran reading and recitation so well, that is it a blessing for him to be able to recite some long Surah in his night prayers (Qiamullail). He has never stopped reciting the Quran nor performing the Qiamullail. In his spare time, Affandi reads the Quran, fasts and prays. He has a large collection of Quran and Islamic books. He also inherited my father's Islamic books. He also returns to visit some pondoks and the orphanages in Kota Bharu, mainly to help out the poor kids since he understands them better than most people do. He will speak to the caretakers and I get second-hand information from him if there is anything we must do to help. 

When I went to do my first Sabbatical Leave at Royal Perth Hospital, I brought along my family. From Perth, Affandi applied for a place at UKM to do a degree in speech pathology. UKM accepted him and I cut short my Sabbatical Leave and we flew back to Kelantan, so that Affandi could go to study at UKM. Since Affandi was "over age" to obtain any scholarship for his studies at UKM, we decided to use our savings. Affandi was on "no pay leave" when he did his degree at UKM for 4 years. We were already living in our own house and both of us paid our dues to the government. But since Affandi had no pay during his time at UKM, I received an eviction order from the government. It was a big blow to me. I had to quickly decide what to do because Affandi was far away and I was on my own in Kelantan, and with 5 small kids in tow - one baby was on bottle milk, two toddlers were preschoolers and 2 kids were in primary school. I had no choice but to pay Affandi's half of the dues to the government. Altogether, I paid approximately $2,000 monthly till Affandi graduated and got back his pay. We were lucky as during that difficult period I was promoted and had a little bit extra money to pay for his education and our house. He was commuting monthly by bus between KL and KB. We decided to get a car (a Wira) so he could car pool and travel to clinics for his practical clinical sessions at the various places as assigned by his teachers at UKM. I had my last child when Affandi was in his final year. Affandi completed his degree in 2000. We then went on our first Hajj together via Tabung Haji. We made it! Alhamdulillah.

Affandi has a Chinese father and a Malay-Chinese mother. His Chinese surname is Wong. Nee how ma? How pu how? His mother's village is Kg Gajah Mati in Jalan Gajah Mati, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, near the Baptist Church. His father's village was a Chinese concentration camp made by the British to protect their Chinese citizens from the Japanese slayings during WWII. The camp was located in Kuala Balah, midway between Gua Musang and Jeli. The family then relocated to Jalan Hamzah in the post-war, becoming one of the wealthiest Chinese family in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. That's history. But fate has it and Affandi's father turned to Islam at age 21 while in the British police force based in Kota Bharu. Conversion to Islam was not allowed during that time. So his father kept it a secret. It was only made known at the time of his marriage. Then the family went to live in an old palace at Nilam Puri. The rest is history.

I asked Affandi a few times what he wanted to be when he was a little boy. Affandi said he had always wanted to become a doctor!! Even though he did not become a doctor, Affandi's work today draws him close to patients who need his service. Affandi is blessed with a soft spot in his heart when he attends to his patients. He reads the Quran and prays Solat Dhuha before he sees his patients. He is calm when he attends to them. He knows that Allah SWT sees and helps him in his work. He has to remind his patients to read the Quran and also pray. I am surprised to come to know that most patients do not pray. I am happy that Affandi is doing well today, coming from a difficult childhood. Subhanallah, Walhamdulillah, Walaa ila ha-ilallah, Wallahuakbar.

Affandi was born in a house by Sungai Kelantan.
View Rumah tepi sungai in a larger map.

Penang Wooden Homes

Early Malay houses in Penang were tiny wooden homes on stilts, a little bit bigger than the Orang Asli huts. Today, they have a brick base and a wooden upper floor. Sometimes the lower floor is walled to create additional space for the family. These homes no longer use atap nipah and most homes use corrugated Addex sheets or some fire-proof roofing materials. The exterior is painted with black oil and the brick is painted chalk white. In the dark, only the painted white bases are seen.

While house owners pay a premium for living in comfortable concrete homes, many Malay people still prefer wooden homes as they are airy and ventilation is better. However, with today's climatic changes and the atmosphere warming up globally, even these wooden homes are affected. It is now very hot in the wooden homes and impossible to live in without fans or air-conditioning. That's how bad the weather has worsened and affected Malay life in these wooden homes. I have not measured the temperatures inside these wooden homes but it was very hot when I was at home in Penang. Sometimes I wonder whether it is the hot weather that has affected the Malay people and caused the rise in kidney problems among the Malays and the rising statistics of those who died of renal complications. There is an urgent need to keep these homes as cool as they were once before despite increasing global temperatures.

I'm not sure what we can do but I think we have less big trees today than before. We have more cars and thus more pollution today than before. We also have more acid rain today than before, which kills the grass and ground cover, and drains the topsoil of nutrients, so nothing much can grow on poor topsoil. There are concrete pavements everywhere and no more dusty foot paths with just grass as before. There are less bushes than before and thick concrete fences fill almost all homes instead. There is more cement in the garden than lawn nowadays. All these make the wooden homes hotter inside and unbearable at noon and at night when heat is trapped in the homes. I have heard inhabitants complained but there is nobody to lend a helping hand or give some answers to the wooden home owners. Instead, we continue to build concrete skyscraper homes. Who needs these sky-high concrete homes? Haven't we given thought to the plights of the wooden home owners? Should we give wooden home owners the onus of "no taxes to be paid" since they are helping to keep the living spaces green and livable? We can raise the tax for concrete homes instead so we drive the message home and stud the dry brains with some good thoughts.

That's me beside my car at my late mother's wooden home. My late grandfather's semi-wooden home is in the background.

Siantan

I have always wondered what the word "siantan" meant. I've heard it many times but I never knew what it meant. Today, I found the word at a botanical blog and it points to the ixora plant. To the Malay people, it is called siantan or tudung periuk, and the related Malay ballad is Seri Siantan or Sri Siantan.

Siantan or tudung periuk (Ixora). Photos were taken at the USM Herbal Garden, Health Campus, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan.

When I wrote my books on the early Malay doctors, and covered the origins of Bugis people, I had thought that Siantan was an island, and therefore the people from "that island" were referred to as Orang Siantan. Just my imagination, because I don't know this Malay language that well to make sense of that word. Well, at least now I know what "siantan" is. A synonym is tudung periuk, and I wonder why. The Malay language is mysterious, and many Malay words have a hidden meaning.

A storm lasting nine days and nine nights stalled their journey and they found refuge among the Indonesian islands. Arong Abdul Rasul and his entourage anchored at Pulau Siantan, Kepulauan Anambas in Indonesia, which became their new home. They established a village, planted paddy and erected mosques. It was recorded by a scribe, Haji Jaafar, that the famous Bugis Daing warrior brothers came to the Riau Archipelago at about this time.
Three generations of Arong Abdul Rasul remained at Pulau Siantan – himself, his son Arong Muda and Arong Muda’s son Daing Abdul Latiff. The fates of the other two brothers, Arong Mustafa and Arong Marang, are unknown at the time of writing.Dr Abdul Latiff’s great-great-great grandfather was Arong Muda (Pulau Siantan),[1] who had three children, two sons and a daughter – Daing Abu, Daing Abdul Latiff and Daing Mahaya.Dr Abdul Latiff’s great-great grandfather was Daing Abdul Latiff (Pulau Siantan),[2] who had nine children, eight sons and a daughter – Omar, Maimon, Jumaat, Abdul Rahim, Haji Abdul Karim, Haji Tahir, Khamis, Haji Mohamed Kassim[3] and Haji Mohd Ali.

---

[1] Also styled Arong Muda Pulau Siantan, to mean Arong Muda of Pulau Siantan where he resided.[2] Also styled Daing Abdul Latiff Pulau Siantan, to mean Daing Abdul Latiff of Pulau Siantan where he resided.[3] It is possible that Haji Jaafar could have been the son of Haji Mohamed Kassim.

I know from the old days, ladies would wear the red ixora florets in their buns and when the petals dried out, one by one they fell to the ground. Of course men could trace the ladies' trail by following the fallen ixora florets.

I remember sucking the nectar from the red, pink and yellow ixora florets. There's also the Malaysian Ixora vehicle (van). I wonder why we never used Seri Siantan for our Ixora vehicles.

I have tried planting ixora but it always died. Almost all Malay homes plant this ixora plant except my house. I have to learn how to grow this plant so that my home can also be grouped as a Malay home. Trying my best for 30 years now!! LOL.

External links:
Siantan, tudung periuk or ixora: http://adrydaud.blogspot.com/2010/05/bunga-part-ii.html
Bugis kings in Riau-Lingga-Johor: http://www.rmkhalid.com/2011_01_02_archive.html

Raden Ahmad of Pattani (2)

This is my second post on Raden Ahmad of Pattani.

I had received a phone call from Ustaz Wan Mohd Hazim bin Wan Abdullah bin Raden Ahmad on Saturday, 12 January 2013 at approximately 9.59 am when I was in Penang. The phone reception was unclear but I can provide this information for the time being.

Ustaz Wan Mohd Hazim wanted to know who was the wife/who were the wives of Raden Ahmad.

Ustaz Wan Mohd Hazim is the grandson of Raden Ahmad as mentioned by Haji Wan Abdullah Saghir. Ustaz Wan Mohd Hazim lives at Kg Sg Palah in Kota Kubang Labu and teaches at SMK Sg Pinang. The area is called Pasir Pekan. He said since Pattani is chaotic (huru-hara), he can't go there to do business.

I couldn't hear him well so I can't write more.

Ustaz Wan Mohd Hazim can be contacted at 09-7181-575 in Kelantan.

External links:
http://toknusantara.blogspot.com/2011/06/sunan-ampel-raden-ahmad-rahmatullah.html

Hashimah Hussien

This is Affandi's youngest sister. She is married to a Motorola engineer based in Penang. She has 5 kids, the eldest is working as a pharmacist in Ipoh. The others are doctors-to-be. All her kids studied at the religious schools and memorise the Quran (hafiz & hafizah).

Hashimah

Xlibris Videos

Here are some Xlibris videos & tutorials on YouTube:

Top 5 submission mistakes
Publishing videos

What I have learned from the videos:

1. Some stories/books are good to make videos for them
2. There are very few good videos that are captivating
3. Some objects/elements/silhouettes are used repeatedly in many different videos
4. Commonly used pic/silhouettes are girl leaving home, lovers running uphill, lovers running down a street, a little girl walks in the fog holding hands with an adult, girl in prayer, leaves moving as the wind blows on trees and sun's rays coming through to reach the ground, the universe, starburst, stardust, the stars, etc
5. The video portrays a real human whereas the book cover depicts a cartoon; which is true?
6. Some videos have very good graphics & photos
7. Some subtitles/text are blur and were difficult to read fast
8. Some fonts are not popular and it was difficult to make out the words
9. Professional narrations have good diction and American English is used. They are lively and nice to listen to
10. Sometimes the title seems to portray a white man's story but the photos are of black people; which is correct?
11. Most authors spoke in a sad voice or tone; I got very upset after listening to them. Some choked towards the end of their narrations. Didn't they audition first?
12. A few authors sat in the same brown leather chair. Was it a studio or the authors' homes?
13. Most authors are elderly
14. There are some good and useful titles for university students to read
15. There were many stories of the past, memories of pain and suffering, memories of death of a loved one, memories of adoption, memories of child abuse, etc
16. Nobody wrote about kings except there was one about a lost kingdom which featured, probably the US war on Afghanistan or Iraq.
17. The illustrations & photo quality are quite poor for some videos. Is it the original photo quality used or was it done on purpose to create a scene of the past?
18. The last slide shows where to buy the book online; sometimes the lines are read
19. Video clips are either 30 sec or 60 sec, with or without narration. Narration is either the author's voice or that of a professional narrator

My concerns:

1. If I decide to make a video for each of my books, will my videos resemble any of the present videos? Will any element from past videos be used in my video clips? What background music is suitable for each of my books? Are these background music copyrighted or are they from public domain and free to use? How do I select the music I want?
2. What impact will videos have on potential buyers? Will potential buyers buy after all?
3. Is there a possibility of making a great impressive expensive video but getting no sales?

BookWhirl.com

Dean Archers of BookWhirl.com phoned me while I was in Penang. The phone connection was poor so I asked him to email me too. He gave a few links and I checked them out this morning.

http://www.bookwhirl.com/Testimonials.php
http://www.bookwhirl.com/Services/Book-Marketing/Email-Advertisement-Campaign-Service.php

This is what I found out so far:

1. The email ad for a book as prepared by BookWhirl is very attractive and I like it
2. The colours used for the email ad makes a book stand out
3. The text brief describing the book contents is good
4. The marketing aim is targeted as specified by the author
5. Most authors are happy about the email ad campaigns prepared for them
6. The cost looks ok: USD799 for 500,000 email recipients (the one I signed up with Xlibris was for 100 email recipients only)

However, I have a few concerns. My concerns are:

1. There were no reports of the past years sales of a book advertised via email ad campaigns
2. I don't know how many universities worldwide teach history that have interest in Asia
3. I don't know if foreign professors even know Malaya/Malaysia/Singapore, to even suggest using my books for class use
4. I can subscribe to 500,000 email recipients, but the actual number of interested universities may only be >50%. So I lose 50% on email campaign alone.

I have other concerns. My concerns are:

1. Books today are heavily advertised for markets and sales
2. I can subscribe to so many markets and sales campaigns but what is one that is a definite one that will create good sales?
3. There seems to be a lot of ways to market books (email ad campaign, video clip, TV, radio, magazines, catalogues, book fairs, etc)
4. What combinations of marketing books are good for a particular book? I can't be subscribing to all marketing modes just to make sales work for my books.
5. A lot of emphasis is now placed on cross-cultural experiences and exchange

London Book Fair1  London Book Fair2

Arabic Book Fair1  Arabic Book Fair2  Arabic Book Fair3

How a book is printed

Tan Sri Haji Dato' Dr Abu Talib bin Abdul Latif

Faiz Hazwani wrote in Facebook:

"This book is very memorable and inspiring. My late grandfather is Tan Sri Haji Dato’ Dr Abu Talib bin Abdul Latif, DG of MOH, u can contact Khairun Nur Mohd Arif for his full biodata."

Tan Sri Haji Dato' Dr Abu Talib bin Abdul Latif is mentioned in the book Research on the Early Malay Doctors 1900-1957 Malaya and Singapore, on page 269, Appendix 1, item 18 in Table 3. However, I have written his name as Abdul Talib bin Abdul Latiff, MBBS 1957. 

I also have him listed in Appendix 6, item 5 on page 278. Here he is listed as YBhg Tan Sri Haji Dato' Dr Abu Talib bin Abdul Latif. His name and details were provided by the Ministry of Health (MoH). He was the 5th DG of Health from 23 October 1980. 

No retirement date was given. The next DG started on 4 April 1983. He could have retired before this date. He could have been responsible for the MoH under the 4th Malaysia Plan.

I hope to obtain more information on him so that I can prepare a more detailed biography and reference the details just as I have done for the other biographies in the main book, Biography of the Early Malay Doctors 1900-1957 Malaya and Singapore.

Consumer Association of Penang (CAP)

CAP moved to the Green Lane premise which was actually once owned by Dato' Mushir Ariff & family. I don't think Sir Kamil Ariff lived here because in Datuk Zubaidah's book there was a different picture of Sir Kamil's residence during WWII.

CAP building in Penang

Aunty Chom

Kg Sg Gelugor, Penang 1730s

A coastal Malay village

Kg Sg Gelugor is a Malay coastal village. It existed when my maternal great-grandfather Shaik Ahmad came to live in Glugor. His youngest son Cpt S. A. Mohd Noor was born in Glugor in 1890.

In an old photo of Dr Che Lah, on the rear is written "Kg Sg Gelugor 1952". His children were visiting his eldest and only sister, Mak Besar (Aunty Besar) bt Md Joonos in 1952, before his eldest daughter Tulip went overseas to Kirkby College. The group photos showed Mak Besar's children and his children in front of the house, while Dr Che Lah was up on the verandah in casual clothes - kain pelekat and white Pagoda T-singlet.

Dr Che Lah (up on the verandah), his eldest sister (second left) and his children at Kg Sg Gelugor 1953

Aunty Chom
Kg Sg Gelugor resident
A descendant of Habib Noh

There are 3 sisters - Aunty Latifah, Aunty Chom and Aunty Intan. The 3 sisters are related to Azeeza Begam Habib Noohu, and all are descendants of the Muslim saint Habib Noh Alhabshi who is buried at Makam Habib Noh in Singapore.

Aunty Chom is Kalsom bt Shaik Emam. She is the elder sister of Aunty Intan, Kamaruddin's wife.

We went to visit Aunty Chom at Kg Sg Gelugor. She lived in a double-storey bungalow next to an empty plot.

Aunty Chom, a very good storyteller about practices of traditional Malay medicine. She related the treatment of diabetic foot in Penang dialect, which was captivating to listen to.

Aunty Chom was cleaning rice grains when we visited her last evening. Here, the spoiled rice grains and foreign matter are separated from the unspoiled rice grains. The spoiled rice grains are called "padi-padi" and are fed to birds in the garden. 

Sadly, Aunty Chom passed away on 4 January 2016. She is interred at Masjid Jamek Gelugor.


Brown Garden/Helen Brown Garden, Penang 1789
Brown Estate
David Brown Esq of Glugor.

Brown Garden existed after the British arrived in Penang in 1789. It came into existence after Kg Sg Gelugor existed, which was 50 years older.

At first, Brown Garden was a standalone housing area. It comprised a narrow belt on the plains and which fanned into the hillside. Houses here were mostly double-storey and painted an ugly yellow. The houses were on both sides of the main road that led uphill. The houses uphill were on terraces and houses faced the sea. The upper reaches of Brown Garden ended in slopes of Penang Hill. The trees were quite big and plenty. The area became damp as there were many trees with dense foliage.

Later, sometime in the early 1980s, 2 small roads were built to join 3 adjacent housing areas. A small road was constructed to link Lengkok Pemancar to Brown Garden. Another small road was constructed to link Brown Garden to Cangkat Minden.


4-Junction of Kg Sg Gelugor and Cangkat Minden
Too wide, too busy and a death trap

As we exited Minden Heights to return to Kelantan, I saw 3 old signboards in Kg Sg Gelugor, which were very close to the main road - Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah. One signboard indicated Kg Sg Gelugor. I didn't take any close-up photos of the signboards as Affandi drove too fast and I didn't have time to pull out my camera as I least expected to see the 3 signboards.

A brick community hall of Kg Sg Gelugor is its landmark. Most old houses here are wooden. Modern houses have a brick base and a wooden upper floor. 12 January 2013

4-Junction of Minden Heights and Kg Sg Gelugor, viewed from Minden Jalan 1. 12 January 2013. The Malay village is beyond the traffic lights, closer to the sea and land reclamation for constructing the peripheral expressway. The Malay village is now land-locked by 2 modern expressways, and the villagers no longer have free access to the sea. The main delicacy of this Malay village used to be chutney (acar buah).

Cangkat Minden, Penang 1971

Development of an old hillock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minden_Heights

Cangkat Minden (Minden Heights) is more recent than Kg Sg Gelugor. Cangkat Minden was developed in 1971, when I was in Form 1.

According to my late mother, a small river runs under my late mother's house (my sister's house today). This small river was diverted and a big drain was made to contain the river. Since the earth beneath the house is not original solid earth, my grandfather only build 2 wooden homes on top of the buried small river. The land now contains my late grandfather's house and my late mother's house. The 2 houses lie side by side at 460-H and 462-I, Jalan 7, Cangkat Minden.

There is a small access road at the end of Jalan 7, that leads to USM, Penang (main campus). This road opens to USM's guard house and expansive green soccer fields.


Kamaruddin bin Dr Che Lah
Seberang Perai engineer
USM Bertam campus

Aunty Chom updated us about Dr Che Lah's only son, Kamaruddin (my Uncle Din). According to her, Kamaruddin is still the head of public works in Seberang Prai, the same department that sees to the recent development of Bertam, where USM had intended to build its Advanced Medical and Dental Institute. According to Kamaruddin, Bertam is an oil palm plantation land.

Aunty Intan informed that Uncle Din (Kamaruddin bin Che Lah) retired in early 2015. Din retired in February 2015.

Kamaruddin is a chronic diabetic and depends on traditional healing methods despite his father was an early Malay doctor and had owned Glugor Klinik, and his Chinese mother was a long time matron at the Maternity Hospital in Penang. He's scared to go to hospital. His son has a more modern outlook and calls the ambulance for his father's sake. Both Kamaruddin and his son Faisal were trained in Australia. However, Kamaruddin has fear of hospitals. His son understands his father's fear of going to hospital.


Fears of Going to Hospital
Diabetes Education

Many Malay men today still have fears about going to hospital. These fears have never been properly documented nor understood by modern doctors, nor are they studied by medical students. It is very difficult to make a Malay father believe in hospitals or go to hospital. They would rather take to traditional Malay preps which are "more earthly".

In Malay traditional medicine there are no quick cures but most herbs used in Malay traditional medicine are for protective purposes and health maintenance. There are many herbs used by the Malays to slow down diabetic complications. Traditional Malay medicine is of limited use as supplements but it cannot deal with diabetic complications such as diabetic foot or gangrene where limb amputation becomes necessary.


IMR, Kuala Lumpur 1905
Alternative treatment for diabetic foot
Sterile maggots of Lucilia cuprina

There are however, other means of overcoming diabetic foot problems done by the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) in Kuala Lumpur, but these researched methods are limited to certain places as there are no nationwide plans to extend the services from research to the community. One of interest to me is the use of specially breed maggots to consume debris from diabetic foot. The maggots are applied under sterile conditions and then the injured foot bandaged. These maggots grow to enormous size and are then removed. Usually the diabetic foot heals; after some time, new tissue grows in place and the diabetic foot then heals well. I've seen a lot of progress of such therapy but it is still not available to many diabetic foot sufferers and I don't know what the problem is. Why can't they train the patients or supply the maggots to the sufferers and ask them to look after their own foot? I think there is a lot to be done for the diabetic foot sufferers.

GH Penang

This was my second visit to General Hospital Penang. This time we decided not to disturb Mr Tan Hock Chuan. We parked our car near the cenotaph and went up to the 3rd floor to the director's office. We were greeted and then met Mr Tan. He instantly recognised Affandi and I through the glass door while talking to a staff at the counter.

We left 3 copies of Biography of TEMD, one for Mr Tan Hock Chuan, another for Dato' Dr Yasmin bt Sulaiman, and another for the hospital library. Of course we took a few photos and enjoyed ourselves while we were there. The director had a meeting so I didn't see her.

Mr HC Tan

Block A, GH Penang

Parking lot in front of Block A, GH Penang

Block A, GH Penang viewed from Jalan Sepoy Lines and the polo ground

Meet Assoc Prof Dr Cheah Yu-N

He was my research collaborator. We co-published a lot of stuff on Telehealth, including books.

Assoc Prof Dr Cheah Yu-N
School of Computer Sciences, USM Penang

Meet Dr Zarina Mustafa

Both Prof Asma Ismail (now VC USIM) and Dr Zarina Mustafa (School of Educational Studies, USM) are descendants of the first Malay doctor, Dr Abdul Latiff bin Razak. There's a road named Jalan Doktor Abdul Latiff at the General Hospital Kuala Lumpur (GHKL) which was renamed Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL).

Dr Zarina contributed a lot to make the biography of the first Malay doctor a success. Otherwise I didn't have photos for the biography of Dr Abdul Latiff. She had obtained the photos from her uncle, engineer Zainuddin Dato Yahya. Zainuddin had compiled many photos of his Bugis clan which I used for my book.

I had called Dr Zarina to meet her at her office but Affandi got distracted after solat Jumaat and went to visit his old friend Prof Omar Shawkataly (a Malacca man), while I waited for him, and Dr Zarina waited for me.

I informed Dr Zarina that I was waiting for Affandi at Canselori. She wanted to go somewhere and came to see me at the Canselori. We sat there and talked like kids do. It was good to catch up on old times. She was surprised, happy, stunned, thrilled and lost for words that the books were ready and appeared right before her eyes, in her very own hands!! Nobody could imagine that the books would be out after 10 years of research. Yes! We made it after all!! Alhamdulillah. Thanks to all team members who helped. Now we have books which we can share.

Dr Zarina leading the way (Kami Memimpin)
School of Educational Studies, USM

Azeeza Begam Habib Noohu

Habib Noh's desendants

Her father's name takes after the famous Muslim saint of Singapore, Syed Noh @ Habib Noh who is buried at Makam Habib Noh. Azeeza Begam is a descendant of Habib Noh. Link1. Link2.

I first heard of Habib Noh from a distant relative, Azeeza Begam Habib Noohu, when my family gave her a lift to her home in Penang some time in 1982/83. Her house was by the roadside with the front door facing and opening to the road. It was a quaint house with dark green painted walls and it looked a bit "Chinese" and unusual for a family home. She lived there with her mother. I never met her parents.
Both Azeeza Begam and I worked together at the same hospital in Kubang Kerian. This was the newly built Hospital USM (HUSM). It was officially opened in November 1984. Azeeza Begam was in administration as the registrar (pendaftar) and I was a lecturer, doing both administration and academic work. As we both had a lot of work to do in early HUSM, we hardly met while working at the same hospital.

Azeeza Begam and I are of the same age (born 1958). Azeeza Begam feels more connected to me than I am to her. She seeks me more than I seek her.

Azeeza was the woman who had her first C-section after me, using the same surgical instruments which were not properly sterilised after my surgery at HUSM in late April 1984. We both survived the ordeal.

Both Azeeza Begam and I had our first child (daughters) in April 1984, less than 24 hours apart. It was at this time while in our respective hospital beds in HUSM that her mother and relatives came to visit her and I met them for the first time. Our hospital beds were separated by the aisle and green curtains. We could speak to each other while laying in bed.

When I visited her office this morning, the girls there told she had taken early retirement. I was upset as we had not met for so long. I asked the girl (Aishah) for Azeeza's hp#. I called Azeeza during Friday prayer and she came with her daughter to meet me at USM Canselori. It was very nice to meet a relative again after all these years.

It was the first time I met her daughter as I could not get up from my bed to see her daughter in 1984, after surgery back then. I must say that she has a beautiful daughter, with similar first name as my eldest daughter. Her daughter is a mass comm graduate.

I met Azeeza Begam at the USM Canselori in Penang on 11 January 2013. She said a lot of things but I haven't had the time to learn of the details nor digest them fully.

According to Azeeza Begam, "your mother's people" were descended and related to Habib Noh, the famous Muslim saint who died in Singapore. 

I still have some doubts about this. To me, Al-Habshi people are related to my late father's lineage, and not my mother. My late mother's paternal lineage was from Hyderabad in the Deccan plateau, southern central India. According to Azeeza Bagem, Intan's mother and Azeeza's mother were cousins and their parents were siblings and descended from Habib Noh. So, I am right with my doubts. Intan is my uncle's wife. Uncle Din (Kamaruddin bin Dr Che Lah) is my mother's half-brother from the same father. So I am not related to the famed Habib Noh but my uncle's wife and her son are.

Aishah Shahira and Azeeza Begam (right)