Book - Reflections: Dr Mohd Said (2021)

 

Reflections: Dr Mohd Said
by Halimah Mohd Said
Published by UPSI, Tanjong Malim, Perak. 2021
Hardcover, 298 pages
ISBN 978-967-2908-55-5

Book is available online from Shopee
https://shopee.com.my/REFLECTIONS-DR-MOHD-SAID-i.238273030.11923703157

Cast From The Herd: Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia

 

Cast From The Herd:  Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia

M. Bakri Musa

Excerpt # 6:  Mandul Leaders

Continuing on with his intriguing analysis of Chairul Anwar’s Aku poem, Cikgu Noh dismissed Malay leaders and sultans as manduls. We pupils remained quiet; another metaphor!

I knew what mandul meant, foreman, the one who barked orders to the already tired coolies ordering them to move even faster in the heat of the day. Chairil was agitating his people to defy their mandul so they would be spared from the slaughterhouse.

“Cast yourself from the herd,” Noh exhorted. “Defy your mandul if they are mandul.” 

Another poetic play on words! Seeing our puzzled looks, he asked what ranchers do with their mandul bulls. “Sell or slaughter them,” he answered himself. “They can’t breed!”

That sure was a circuitous and devastating explanation of the other meaning of mandul. What? Slaughter our mandul leaders? That would be treason; we would end up being slaughtered. Noh was exhorting us to defy our leaders, including presumably him. We dared not defy this champion boxer, not even a former one. Besides, he had already captured our imagination; we would follow him. This boxer of a bull was a fine specimen; he was far from being mandul.

“Read that last line again,” he commanded. We were about to commence our group murmuring when he read it aloud himself, as he had intended to do anyway. “I want to live for a thousand years, no less!” 

He clinched his lips and paused, displaying an unexpected caution. “Our faith tells us that our time on this earth is but temporary.” After an uncharacteristic but noticeable hesitation, “We are told to welcome death, to not be afraid of it.” 

He was now into religion; this could be a minefield. He paced back and forth. Then, “Is Chairil afraid of death when he asserted that he wanted to live for a thousand years?” Without waiting for our reply, “Was he afraid to face his Maker? Was he being blasphemous?”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Three devastating punches in quick succession. We had not yet recovered from the first and he already fired his next, and then the third. This was how he must be in the ring. Pity his opponent! By this time I knew he was not expecting an answer from us. Surely such lofty philosophical ponderings were above our grade level. 

I was right, for he continued. “Ladies and gentlemen, if we blindly follow our mandul leaders, we too would end up being slaughtered.”

We remained silent, unaccustomed to being addressed with such formality. This was a heavy load, and so early in the day and year.

“Remember this wisdom of our elders,” he wagged his finger. “Even the dumbest buffalo, once it had escaped, would not be easy to corral again.” He paused. “The first thing that critter would do is pace the perimeter, test its strength, and search for gaps. Your world would be irreversibly changed once you have cast yourself from your herd.”

This was not a cry for freedom. Far from it! Chairil was asserting–no, demanding–his right to it. He challenged us to defy our leaders if they were to tread on our freedom. Substituting one oppressor for another–Japanese occupiers for Dutch colonialists–was no freedom. Nor the promise of later freedom justified curtailing the current meager one, as the Japanese did to Malays. As Chairil Anwar warned, our leaders were just as likely to trample on our freedoms as those colonialists and occupiers.

This young poet was a rebel, but with a noble cause–the emancipation of his people from their own leaders, the liberation of docile peasants from their imperious sultans. A rebel with a cause! Where had I heard that phrase before?

No, I had not. That matinee I saw a while back starring James Dean was “Rebel Without A Cause.” Chairil Anwar was a James Dean with a cause. No! Dean was a Chairil Anwar without a cause. Chairul’s was an arrogant assertion of rugged individualism and fearless break from stifling traditions. Even his poetry broke conventional forms. The brutal Japanese could not intimidate him, and he was contemptuous of his own feudal leaders. No wonder he wanted to live for a thousand years and bear the stings of bullets and pains of wounds. His cause will remain so long as humans fear to stray from their herd or take on their leaders. His would take a thousand years, and more!

I too now wanted to cast myself from my herd, to seek my own pasture even if it would take me a thousand years. My hero would not be some battle-scarred old warrior lionized in our hagiographies like Hang Tuah but a young poet–Chairil Anwar. My mission was to change my destiny that had been defined by my birth and culture, and to break the constraints forced upon me by my leaders.

Emboldened, I felt like a newly-commissioned officer tasked with a critical battle that could alter the course of the war. It did not escape me that Chairil Anwar’s immortal poem was penned in the year of my birth–1943–and that he was from my Minangkabau tribe. Propitious! 

Chairil’s stirring lines reverberated in me. Only the ringing of the school bell interrupted the pounding in my chest. As the class stood up to say our customary “Thank you, teacher!” there was again a collective hesitation. Should we instead say, “Terima kasih, Cikgu?” 

That awkward silence did not faze him. “Terima kasih kerana sudi mendengar!” (Thank you for being so kind to listen!) 

Wow, a teacher thanking us! How weird, and a substitute teacher at that! 

I had anticipated a lazy drift downstream led by a lackadaisical substitute skipper. Instead I had one who was very much engaged; he steered us through the rapids without even a whimper of protest from us. In truth, we dared not. 

Yes, there were many white-knuckle moments but I was invigorated by the sprays and bumps. On to more whitewater runs! Oh God, let not what I had just been through be a wispy illusion, or worse, a cruel tease. I remembered only too well how meek my grandfather’s bull buffalo was long after I had freed the rope from its nose-ring. The huge critter behaved as if it was still tethered. 

I wanted to be challenged, to take leave of my herd, and to seek new pastures. I yearned to be freed from the tiring chores and petty squabbles that defined my village life. Liberate me from the stifling constraints of my feudal traditions where my destiny was defined at and by my birth. Unshackle me from the numbing mindless rote memorization that passed for learning at my school. I was now intolerant of those constraints. 

Chairul Anwar’s powerful words had jolted me out of my comfortable adolescent fantasy world. My coconut shell had been toppled, and I yearned to explore the now wide open world. Chairul Anwar had ignited the fire of freedom and merantau (wanderlust) in me. I was determined to keep it burning, and burning bright. The good news that morning was not my getting a substitute teacher, rather that he had brought Chairil Anwar’s immortal poem to my world. 

Next:  Excerpt # 7:  At Last, In Long Pants!

Cast From The Herd: Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia (Excerpt # 5)

 

Cast From The Herd:  Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia

M. Bakri Musa

Excerpt # 5:  Chairul Anwar–My Hero!

“Read it!” Mr. Noh commanded as he turned to the blackboard with Chairul Anwar’s immortal poem “Aku” which he had written earlier.

A soft monotonous murmur filled the air, the humming of Buddhist monks except that we were not in saffron robes and our heads unshaven. And there were girls amidst us! 

“Put in some feeling!” as he swung his fist. 

The humming grew but not by much, punctuated by nervous giggles from the girls. He cut us off, unable to bear our pathetic attempt. “Aku!” as he punched his left fist into his right palm, the smashing sound reverberating through the room. Good thing it was his palm and not my face. He looked at the board once in a while as if he was unsure of his lines. Of course he knew them by heart. That was just a display of false modesty on his part, to reassure us that he was after all not a language teacher. 

When he finished reciting the whole poem, I felt an unaccustomed warm glow enveloping me. The hair on the back of my neck stiffened. I felt downright manly. I had never heard my language uttered in such a sure, assertive tone. It bordered on the arrogance, with defiance oozing all over, accentuated by the clenching of his lips and fists. His tone jarred the melodious sounds of those words. 

He let his words sink in. Then, “Look at the poem,” as he pointed to the board.

What was there to see but lines that ended with words that rhymed?

“Is this your parents’ poetry?” he taunted us.

I was familiar with pantun (quatrains), gurindam (couplets), and seloka (rhythmic verses). They were recited at ceremonies and festivals, but this poem did not at all sound like any of those. Yet it had its own inner rhythm, powerful imageries, and stirring emotions, much more so than our melodious pantun. This certainly was not a poem you would recite to your lover on a moon-lit beach.

 

Chairil had penned it at the height of the horrendous Japanese Occupation when evil was everywhere, with young men herded onto trucks and trains to be sent to the war fronts or the infamous Death Railway in Burma, never to return. Noh went on to relate the poet’s utter contempt for his leaders who in their blind hatred for the colonialists had embraced the Japanese. Those native leaders continued doing so, with their followers in tow, long after the Japanese had proved to be even worse monstrous masters. 

Chairil was angry at the Japanese of course, but he was even more contemptuous of those Malay leaders for betraying their people, and for them to blindly follow their leaders. Those folks were like kerbau (domestic water buffalo), Chairil sneered. Like the kerbau, those leaders were in turn being led by the ring through their noses to the slaughter house by the Japanese, with the masses following in tow.

“We should be like the seladang (wild buffalo) instead” Noh thundered, “wild, feared, and free to roam. No one would dare put a ring through its nose!”

I was now in rapt attention. After that absorbing but brief detour as a captivating storyteller he was back to being a teacher with his questions. He challenged us to ponder whether those defiant words could have been uttered by a palace hamba (slave, peasant) or the sultan.

My God! We were only a few minutes into his class and he was already peppering us with questions. I did not expect that, not from a substitute teacher of an unimportant subject in a honeymoon-year class. This fellow was determined to make full use of his time with us. 

Thank goodness he answered himself. Those defiant words, he reminded us, could not possibly have been uttered much less written by a hamba. You would not expect peasants to be assertive or literate, so excuse them. The sultans however, were a different story. They should be leading their people away from those menacing trains and trucks. They should lead in the sabotage; one truck immobilized by a flat tire would spare the lives of dozens; a derailed train, thousands more. Instead, those sultans helped herd their subjects onto those trucks and trains bound for inevitable death.

“They were but kerbau leaders,” Noh thundered, “apologists and enablers for the Japanese. Left alone those villagers would do what ordinary self-respecting folks would; resist tyranny and fend for themselves.”

I was a village kid, familiar with kerbau. My grandfather had a few. Yet I missed his buffalo metaphor. Then I remembered the ease with which I could control my grandfather’s herd by simply holding on to the rope attached to the ring through the lead buffalo’s nose.

“The ring may be of gold and the line spun of silk,” Noh continued, “still, even a Japanese toddler could control the animal and through it the herd.” 

You may not have a ring through your nose but if you follow a leader who is being led around by the ring through his nose, then it is the same as if that ring is through your nose.

Next:  Excerpt # 6:  Mandul Leaders

Merdeka in 2021

 Hits: 1,064,376 ... 30 August 2021

We are still in the COVID-19 pandemic era. The end is still far but it will come to an end.

Merdeka in 2021: Unity is Strength

I received an interesting book on 29 September 2014 from Datuk Abdul Mutalib Razak, ex-Chairman TV3. 

He gifted me his book entitled, "Expressions of Merdeka Malaysia. Celebration. Buildings. Arches. Stamps. A pictorial journey by Abdul Mutalib Razak. 31 August 1957. 16 September 1963." ISBN 978-983429801-2

I don't want to write much about the contents of the book, but I want you to try and see the contents of the book yourself. It is a good coffee-table book and a good read.

2021 Budget - Lessons Not Learned

 2021 Budget – Lessons Not Learned!

 

M. Bakri Musa

 

The 2021 Malaysian Budget repeats the same old mistake – the erroneous belief that throwing money at a problem would solve it. As in the past, billions are again being allocated to Bumiputra institutions like JAKIM and JASA, as well as to MARA and UiTM. Despite such generosity, now and in the past, there has been no appreciable improvement in Bumiputra competitiveness vis a vis non-Bumiputras.

 

Stripped of their fancy acronyms, JAKIM and JASA are but public works programs for otherwise unemployable Bumiputras. Those institutions go beyond. They are responsible for Malays not being competitive. There is little incentive to; the likes of JAKIM and JASA are ready to employ you. If you want Malays to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the nation, as is the aspiration of all Malay leaders, then get rid of those institutions.

 

            As for the billions for MARA, they will continue to squander that by sending Malays to third-rate universities abroad, though thankfully not in the same massive numbers as in the 1970s and 80s where they sent Malays abroad even for Sixth Form! As for UiTM’s bountiful windfall, none will be used to recruit English and Philosophy Professors. Then we wonder why our students have abysmal English fluency, and are incapable of critical thinking.

 

            The “help” Malays are getting from their government reminds me of an old Reagan advice to ranchers in the west. “When you hear, ‘I am from the Feds and I am here to help,’ run to the hills fast!”

 

With JAKIM distracting Malays to be obsessed with getting into Paradise, there would be that much fewer left to ensure that we do not suffer our own collective Hell right here and now in Tanah Melayu. For every Malay consumed with revealed knowledge or prophetic traditions, that would be one fewer to do research on Covid-19, or clean the environment.

 

What Malays need are better engineers and architects, not more exquisite Qur’an reciters and mesmerizing ulama with their fire-and-brimstone sermons. Consider Malaysian masjids. One showpiece mosque in Kuala Lumpur has acres of open marble floors that are unwalkable because they are exposed to the blazing Malaysian sun. I suppose, to be charitable, that was part of the design – a preview of how hell would be like! Even with recently completed masjids, there are extension cords everywhere as the designers did not anticipate the electrical outlet needs. In Kelantan, the most “Islamic” state, you cannot get clean water to do your ablution.

 

When we do get those few Malays away from this obsession with religion, we do not let them practice their craft. Instead we seduce them into doing something else, like administrative chores.

 

It breaks my heart to see those few Malays of my generation who were trained in the sciences being seduced into becoming pseudo-ulama. I would have thought they would have served as much-needed role models for the young in the kampungs by being productive in their respective fields.

 

It is sad to see the first Malay PhD in mathematics now touring village mosques giving khutba (sermons) on the supposed past glory of Islam in the Malay world. A more worthy legacy would have been for him to establish Institutes of Mathematics to encourage the young to pursue the subject. Another, also of my vintage, abandoned his doctoral work in mathematics at a prestigious university to go into religion.

 

I am also saddened to see the few precious Malay scientists and professionals not being rewarded and honored, not for their sake but as a societal statement to inspire the young. The honor of Emeritus Professorship is being heaped not upon those few precious Malay pioneers in the sciences and professions, but in Malay and Islamic Studies. We already have a glut of them. Meanwhile we keep harping on the lack of Malays in the sciences!

 

My late father had an apt observation on that misplaced priority:  Membajakan lallang (adding fertilizer to lallang–a particularly tenacious weed).

 

A Christian cobbler would best show his faith, wrote Martin Luther, not by carving crucifixes on the shoes he makes but by making them durable and cheap so the poor could afford them. Likewise Muslim engineers would best demonstrate their faith in Allah not by carving intricate Qur’anic verses on the bridges they build but making sure that during floods more water would flow under than over, and that there is no unexpected right angle turns at mid-point.

 

Islam is a great faith. It has withstood hordes of Mongol invaders as well as Stalin’s brutal suppression. The faith does not need defenders, least of all from these characters in IKIM and JAKIM.

 

Islam cannot advance in Malaysia if Malays are overrepresented in the socially dysfunctional categories. Getting rid of JAKIM and JASA, as well as MARA and BTN would be a great first step. Thus far that reality has not even registered on Malay leaders.

 

Non-Malays should relax; quit worrying about all those goodies showered on Bumiputras. Heed the wisdom of Plutarch:  The man who first brought ruin upon the Roman people was he who pampered them by largesse and amusements.

 

Remember, when Malays holler “Tanah Melayu untuk Melayu!” (Malaysia for Malays!) that is not a threat, it’s more a desperate cry from those betrayed by their leaders.

Race, Religion, And Royalty: The Barnacles On Malay Society

Race, Religion, And Royalty

The Barnacles On Malay Society

 

M. Bakri Musa (www.bakrimusa.com)

(First of Four Parts)

 

Introduction:

 

Race, religion, and royalty have long defined Malay culture and society. Today those three elements have degenerated to be the treacherous troika of Malaysia’s increasingly dangerous identity politics. This development more than anything else threatens to radically alter Malaysia’s political dynamics, and with that, the nation’s stability.

 

There is yet another related and equally (if not far more) consequential aspect that is not appreciated. That is, race, religion, and royalty are the barnacles on Malay society that not only impede Malay progress but also threaten to sink Malay society and culture. That in turn could have a severe and adverse impact on Malaysia. There cannot be stability if the nation’s majority ethnic group were to be left behind or remained marginalized. It is unfortunate that this is fast becoming the sorry and tragic reality for Malays.

 

The narrative or “explanation” spun by Malay leaders and followers alike has been to blame others. In colonial times, the “others” were the colonialists; today, after more than six decades of independence, with the government as well as all the major levers of powers dominated and controlled by Malays, the “others” are now non-Malays and the West.

 

This weakness or tendency to blame others is not unique unto Malays. South African Blacks still wallow in their victimhood status at the hands of the minority whites. The Chinese, at least until a generation or two ago, still blamed the humiliations they suffered under the British during the Opium War. White Americans today blame illegal immigrants for what ails America, with President Trump spending billions to build a wall at the southern border.

 

That Malays are not unique in this blame-the-others game is no consolation. Nor would that help solve the problem.

 

My commentaries on race, religion, and royalty penned within the last decade examine this neglected but important proposition that the three elements have become barnacles on Malay society. They impose a severe and costly drag, becoming the major factors contributing to Malay backwardness. Unresolved, race, religion, and royalty could be the undoing of Malay society and culture.

 

 

Conflicts Based On Race, Religion, and Royalty

Conflicts based on only race, religion, or royalty have plagued mankind throughout history. Those involving any two of the three simultaneously, as with race and religion or religion and royalty, are likewise not unusual. However, conflicts where all three are invoked and in parallel are rare. I cannot think of any. Rare or unheard of it may be, that is the unfortunate grim prospect facing Malaysia today. The nation is now deeply polarized along race, religion, and attitude or loyalty towards royalty. This is never more keenly felt than within the Malay society.

 

During the last decade of the last century there was the Rwandan civil war that pitted the Tutsis and Hutus. Not too long before that, there was the Biafran War in Nigeria, with the Ibos against the rest. A non-African would find it difficult to tell a Tutsis from a Hutus, or an Ibo from the rest. Those conflicts were based solely on ethnicity, a variant of race.

 

The turmoil still plaguing India is based on religion–Hindus against Muslims. Indians are ethnically or racially similar. You can’t tell them apart by their physical features, the language they speak, or their personal mannerisms. Both Muslims and Hindus shake their heads to signal yes and no. As for intra-religious conflicts, the centuries-old Sunni-Shiite divide in Islam is still being played out today in all its lethality and brutality.

 

Royalty too is no stranger in many conflicts. Within my memory and closest to Malaysia geographically and culturally was the 1962 rebellion in nearby Brunei. Only the quick intervention by the British through its mercenary Gurkhas saved the sultan. A decade and a half later, the Iranian Revolution forced the Shah of Shahs to flee his country. The Iranian Revolution that triggered it is still ongoing.

 

All those horrors occurred during my lifetime and memory. The history books document many more, and much worse.

 

Less common but not rare is where two of the three elements of race, religion, and royalty are combined, or where their dynamics paralleled. The centuries-old and still very deadly Arab-Jew conflict reflects this combination, with tribe and religion in play. The “troubles” in Northern Ireland between the Irish and English is but a residuum and reflection of a much bigger divide between the two that has plagued the Emerald Island for centuries. That too is a combination of ethnicity (Gaelic versus English) and religion (Catholic versus Protestant).

 

To reiterate for emphasis, a conflict involving all three–race, religion, and royalty–is rare. That is where Malaysia is headed towards on its current trajectory. With all three elements involved and in parallel, once the conflagration is ignited, expect it to be much more vicious, protracted, and difficult to resolve. That makes preventing such a catastrophe from happening be the highest priority.

 

Next:  The Race Barnacle  (Second of Four Parts)

 

No "Guided" Constitutional Monarchy

 No “Guided” Constitutional Monarchy

M. Bakri Musa (www.bakrimusa.com)

 

 

Alas the accolades heaped upon the Agung for not acceding to Prime Minister Muhyiddin’s earlier request for Emergency Rule had not yet ebbed when the Agung startled Malaysians with his unprecedented “advice” for Members of Parliament to pass Muhyiddin’s forthcoming 2021 budget.

 

            This royal “advice,” or “guided” constitutional monarchy from the palace if you will, has all the stink of an overripe durian. At least with that you could salvage it into tompoyak paste, a delicacy if you can get past the odor.

 

            The Agung issued that menasihat (advice) only a few hours after Muhyiddin had presented his proposed budget to him. The Agung had barely enough time to skim the headings and he already had his advice for the rakyat.

 

            Something about Malay language. You and I menasihat each other, but sultans decree. Therein lies the danger. Already those in UMNO and Muhyiddin’s camp are making this point of the menasihit being a titah(decree), and to be obeyed as such, to suit their political expediency. Indeed, a few paragraphs into the palace statement, it used the word titah to describe it, just in case you missed the message. There was no subtlety there.

 

            Those who think that this was merely an advice from a concerned King are ignorant of Malay language, culture, or norms. To go against a titah is derkaha. That would make those who would vote against the budget traitors.

 

            It is not coincidental that the palace issued the statement in Malay and with no accompanying English translation, as is the practice. I would like to see palace officials (or anyone else) translate the first few words of the fifth paragraph of the October 28 Palace Statement:   “Al Sultan Abdullah bertitah [my emphasis]demikian selepas menerima menghapad YAB Perdana Menteri. . . .” (The Agung decreed this following an audience with the Prime Minister . . . .)

 

            Back in 1957 the incompetent but egotistic President Sukarno, unable to perform the basic tasks of governance, introduced “guided democracy,” with him being the “guider” of course. With that as a beginning, a decade later he was replaced by a brutal dictator, Suharto. That reign of terror would not end till 1996.

 

            Malaysians be warned! Do not go down this well-trodden path of “guided” or “menasihat” of anything from anyone. The path to hell is paved with good intentions.

 

Members of Parliament should do their job they were sent to do. They are paid by the rakyat. MPs must listen to those who sent them there and paid their salary, not anyone else even if he were to heap upon you exalted titles of some ancient supposedly glorious Mashuri dynasty.

 

            An earlier Agung said it best. “Democracy as a political system does not become a democracy because it is given that appellation. The true meaning of democracy can be summed up by the phrase ‘government by the people.’”

 

Now that is sound nasihat (advice)! That earlier Agung, Raja Azlan Shah, had also served as the nation’s Chief Justice.

 

            He went further. “Any form of pressure or arbitrary limits imposed on the people in their free exercise of the right to choose their own government will be a clear abrogation of any parliamentary system of government. Similarly, major bills must not be rushed through Parliament. The people should have an opportunity to express their views.”

 

            An annual budget is a major if not the bill for the government. This Agung wants it diluluskan tanpa sebarang gangguan (passed without any interference).

            

            That is a very dangerous mindset, to equate robust parliamentary debates as gangguan (interference). Palace advisors must be disabused early and in no uncertain terms of this treacherous path that they have chosen to follow.

 

            If this Agung believes that the current Covid-19 pandemic presents such a clear and present danger to the nation such that parliamentary bills must be passed without gangguan, he should have approved that earlier request for Emergency Rule.

 

By giving this titah to support Muhyiddin, the Agung has implicitly endorsed him as the legitimate Prime Minister. As such, his earlier denial of the advice from the “Prime Minister” for an Emergency Rule set a very dangerous precedent. The King reigns but does not rule.

 

            The King’s titah to the rakyat was misplaced. He should have directed it instead to Muhyiddin. That advice is the same one Malaysians have bombarded on Muhyiddin during the last few months, that is, get Parliamentary endorsement of your leadership. If you do not or cannot, then get out! This manufactured political crisis is Muhyiddin’s, not Malaysia’s.

 

            Malaysia’s system of constitutional monarchy is unique in many ways but it is still in its infancy. Malays have just emerged from the old ugly days of feudalism. Many still yearn for those days. As such our system of constitutional monarchy should be strengthened and not breached under some misplaced pretext of loyalty or stability. It is still fragile.

 

            It was not so long ago following the 2008 elections when the Menteri Besar of Perak said this to his sultan:  “Patek memohon derhaka ….!” (I, your slave, beg to commit treason ...!) Imagine the people’s representative being a slave to the sultan!

 

            In a constitutional monarchy, sovereignty lies with the rakyat, not the raja.

 

            To switch my earlier metaphor of an overripe durian, this attempt at breaching the clear lines in a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy must be plugged before the entire edifice crumbles. Don’t let the nation be swamped. Malaysian MPs should be like the brave Dutch boy – stick your finger in the dyke, and do it now with the budget session next week.

Books by others

 I'm helping to promote books by others:

Academic Writing for Beginners. Explorations of the mind by Elaine Morais. More at https://moraiselaine.wordpress.com

Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep by Dr Madhuri Majumder. The Recollections of Malaysia's First Lady Dermatologist As told to Alexandra Wong (please contact Elaine Morais).

Proposed book on The Early Malay Doctors

Proposed next book:

"The Malay Doctors of Malaya and Singapore 1900-1957"

Proposed CONTENTS

FIFTY-ONE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE EARLY MALAY DOCTORS

(Alphabetical Order)

1. DR ABBAS BIN HAJI ALIAS (1914-2004)

2. DR ABDUL AZIZ BIN OMAR (1919-1985)

3. DR ABDUL GHANI BIN MOHAMMAD (1906-1979)

4. DR ABDUL KARIM BIN NAWAB DIN (1912-1970)

5. DR ABDUL LATIFF BIN ABDUL RAZAK (1889-1956)

6. DR ABDUL MAJID BIN ISMAIL (1921-2013)

7. DR ABDUL SAMAT BIN HAJI PAGAK (1902-1952)

8. DR ABDUL WAHAB BIN MOHAMED ARIFF (1919-2006)

9. DR ABDUL WAHAB KHAN BIN MUHAMMAD LAL KHAN (1898-1956)

10. DR ABDULLAH BIN AHMAD (1913-1992)

11. DR ABU BAKAR BIN IBRAHIM (1918-1979)

12. DR AHMAD EZANEE MERICAN (1929-2000)

13. DR AHMAD YASIN BIN MOHD SAID (1922-2015)   

14. DR ALI OTHMAN MERICAN (1890-1945)

15. DR (H) AMIR BURHANUDDIN BIN UNGKU MUHAMMAD NOOR (1911-1969)

16. DR ARIFFIN BIN NGAH MARZUKI (1925-2019)

17. DR AWANG BIN HASSAN (1910-1998)

18. DR CARLEEL MERICAN (1922-2003)

19. DR CHE LAH BIN MD JOONOS (1903-1986)

20. DR HAFEEZUDIN SIRAJUDDIN MOONSHI BIN HAKEEM ABDUL HAMID (1895-1965)

20. DR HAMZAH BIN HAJI MOHD TAIB (1900-1955)

22. DR HUSSAIN BIN ABDUL GHANY (1927-1983)

23. DR ISMAIL BIN ABDUL RAHMAN (1915-1973)

24. DR ISMAIL BIN MOHAMAD GHOWS (1882-1964)  

25. DR KAMIL MOHAMED ARIFF BIN KADIR MASTAN (1893-1960)

26. DR LATIFAH BEE GHOWS (1911-2005)

27. DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD

28. DR MEGAT KHAS BIN MEGAT OMAR (1908-1979)

29. DR MOHAMED BIN TAIB (1916-2002)

30. DR MOHAMED DIN BIN AHMAD (1912-1999)

31. DR MOHAMED IBRAHIM BIN SHAIK ISMAIL (1892-1962)

32. DR MOHAMED NOOR BIN MARAHAKIM (1923-1998)

33. DR MOHAMED SAID BIN MOHAMED (1907-1996)

34. DR MOHAMED SALLEH BIN ABDUL HAMID (1910-1960)

35. DR (H) MOHAMMAD NOOR BIN NORDIN (1929-1994)

36. DR MUSTAPHA BIN OSMAN (1900-1975)

37. DR NURUDDIN BIN MOHAMED SALLEH (1915-1983)

38. DR OMAR BIN DIN (1921-2000)

39. DR PANDAK AHMAD BIN ALANG SIDIN (1892-1965)

40. DR RAJA AHMAD NOORDIN BIN RAJA SHAHBUDDIN (1925-2008)

41. DR RUBY BTE ABDUL MAJEED (1924-2013)

42. DR SALMA BTE ISMAIL (1918-2014)

43. DR SHAIK MOHAMAD BABOO BIN AHMAD ALBAKISH (1894-1964)

44. DR SHAIKH TAHA BIN SHAIKH ABUBAKAR MATTAR (1910-1993)

45. DR SITI HASMAH BTE MOHD ALI

46. DR SULAIMAN BIN MOHAMED ATTAS (1913-1972)

47. DR SYED HASSAN BIN SYED ALWEE ALJUNIED (1901-1962)

48. DR SYED MAHMOOD BIN ABDUL RAHMAN ALKUDS (1912-1970s)

49. DR SYED MAHMOOD BIN SYED HUSSAIN JAMALULLAIL (1921-2011)

50. DR SYED MOHAMMAD BIN ALWI ALHADY (1921-2005)

51. DR UNGKU OMAR BIN UNGKU AHMAD (1931-1969)

----

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

 

TEMD 2021

Biography of the Early Malay Doctors 1900-1957 Malaya and Singapore (published in 2012 by Xlibris Inc., USA/Australia/UK)

I will be revising my manuscript for my book beginning April 2019 (it may take me 2 years). I hope to remove many pages and add a few more new chapters on doctors whom I was not able to include before. I hope to add new photos which I continued to receive post-publication.

You can check the old chapters online on Google. Please submit corrections to me.

I have retired and now work from home. Please email me on Gmail: faridahar@gmail.com.

Please let the doctors' families and relatives know, especially those whom I missed in the first book published in 2012.

I'm still looking for portraits and biographies of Dr Nizamuddin Ahmad, Dr Zakaria Salim, and others who graduated by Merdeka year (1957).


TEMD = The Early Malay Doctors

Pahang - Hospitals, govt clinics, police station and Sg Lembing tin mine

Gold mining vs. tin mining vs. iron mining

The Raub Australian Gold Mine operated in Raub while tin mining was operated by the British in Sg Lembing. Raub was producing much of Malaya's gold, that it was more appropriate to call it El Dorado. Sg Lembing was also nicknamed El Dorado because of the immense wealth it brought to its associated communities.

Two big iron deposits in Malaya were Bukit Besi in Terengganu and Bukit Besi in Kuala Krai, Kelantan.

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Sg Lembing Underground Tin Mine

Lombong Bijih Timah Bawah Tanah, Sg Lembing
(Tai Pei Tong)

Sg Lembing was once the richest tin mining town in Pahang Darul Makmur. This was because the area was the second richest tin deposit in the world after Bolivia.

Sg Lembing's mining shafts and subterranean tunnels which reached a depth of between 450 to 650 metres were said to be the deepest in Southeast Asia. The history of modern Pahang, which began with the British colonisation, is linked to the development of Sg Lembing.

Sultan Ahmad Al-Muadzam Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Bendahara Sri Maharaja Tun Ali (23 May 1836 – 9 May 1914) was the sixth Raja Bendahara of Pahang and the founder and first modern Sultan of Pahang.[1] Commonly known as Wan Ahmad before his accession, he seized the throne in 1863 after having defeated his elder brother Tun Mutahir in the Pahang Civil War, assuming the title Sri Paduka Dato' Bendahara Siwa Raja Tun Ahmad. In the early years of his reign, Pahang descended into turmoil, with various attempts made by the surviving sons of the late Tun Mutahir, based in Selangor, to overthrow him. This led to Pahang's decisive involvement in the Selangor Civil War that successfully brought it to a conclusive end.

The successive wars that ravaged the land had led to the rise of dissension among the ruling class and territorial chiefs who were thenceforth divided into factions. In 1881, prompted by his dwindling authority both within Pahang and among his counterparts in the western Malay states, Ahmad took upon the title of Sultan Ahmad al-Muadzam Shah and formally proclaimed as Sultan by his chiefs two years later. The event marked the revival of Pahang as a Sultanate after more than two centuries of union with the crown of Johor.[2] Ahmad gained formal recognition from the British Straits Settlements government in 1887, in return for signing a treaty with the British which compelled him to accept a British Agent in his court.

During his reign, Pahang politics came under the purview of the British government. Increasing pressure was exerted upon the Sultan by the residing British Agent to administer the state according to the British ideals of just rule and modernisation. This had effectively plunged the state into a seething cauldron of discontent with clashes between traditional chiefs and the British. The British ultimately compelled Ahmad to put his state under the British protectorate in 1888 and John Pickersgill Rodger was appointed Pahang's first Resident. The work of building up a State administration began with the creation of the Supreme Court, a police force and a State Council. In 1895, the Sultan entered into a Treaty of Federation to form the Federated Malay States. Ahmad transferred his executive and administrative powers to his eldest son Tengku Long Mahmud, due to old age in 1909, retaining his position and titles as Head of State until his death in 1914.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_Mua%E2%80%99zzam_Shah_of_Pahang

Chinese tin mining in Sg Lembing 1886-1888

The Chinese miners were the first to mine tin ore in Sg Lembing. They started mining on small scale since 1886. This then gave way to the British miners.

---------------------------

British tin mining exploration in Sg Lembing 1888-1986

The British began exploring the area in earnest in February 1888 when the then Sultan of Pahang, Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Muazzam Shah I agreed to a proposal by a London-based mining concern to set up the Pahang Corporation Limited (PCL) to commercially mine tin in Sg Lembing. The Company was given a 100-year concession in an area 2,500 acres (1,000 hectares) wide for a nominal sum of one cent per annum.

Sg Lembing was also the first town in the Malay States to be placed under the purview of a British mining company, the PCL. In 1915, the mining concession was taken over by the Pahang Consolidated Company Limited (PCCL), which in 1984 was changed to the Pahang Investment Public Limited Company (PIPLC).

Rocks containing tin ore were crushed inside the caves and tunnels in Sg Lembing. These were then placed in wooden barrels on trains and brought to the nearest river port on Sg Kenau. They were milled and then transported down the river to ships in the harbour at Kuantan. These ships shipped tin ore to Britain.

In its 100 years of mining the Sg Lembing mines produced approximately 13 million tonnes of ore that was able to produce 150,000 metric tonnes of pure tin valued at $2 billion. The mining activity contributed significantly to the local inhabitants and economy of the state.

---------------------------------
Visit to Sg Lembing Tin Mine 9 Sept 2015

I visited the Sg Lembing tin mine after the ICOMMM2015 international conference organised by UIA. We took the UIA bus to the tin mine. It was a hazy morning.

I didn't like the visit because the tunnels were dark and smelly, quite dangerous as the ground was wet and slippery in several areas. Claustrophobia was a problem. I liked the adventure but would have enjoyed it more if I was a lot younger or a teenager.

The tunnels leading inside the mine were safe and secured with cement walls, steel beams and cables etc, just as for bridges. The engineering feat is great and should be applauded. Ventilation was sufficient and was provided by natural air holes and those built by the British engineers back then. Large fans have been put in place, but adjusting to tunnel or cave environment raised anxiety.

There were no food stalls on the grounds of the tin mine. We brought our own water bottles and buns, which we ate on the bus on the way home. I thank UIA for making this trip possible.

UIA bus pick-up point for Sg Lembing tin mine visit

Muzium Sg Lembing up on the hilltop.

Close-up of Muzium Sg Lembing

Tourism Malaysia plaque of Sg Lembing history and tin mine

Former house of the General Manager, PCL (later renovated). 2015

Archway to the Sg Lembing tin mine. All vehicles must park outside in the big loose gravel parking lot. No vehicles are allowed on the grounds of the tin mine. Visitors have to walk in and purchase their tickets at the small building on the right just after the arch.

Welcome board and history of Sg Lembing tin mine

Unnamed mine entrance

Wilinks Mine entrance, which remained opened during the 1926 great flood

Tour guides drive this open rusty metal train with metal seats and take visitors into the tunnels of the mine. Each tour is about 30 minutes.

---------------------------------
The Great Flood of 1926

Banjir Besar di Sg Lembing 1926

Sg Lembing, Raub and Kuala Lipis are prone to flooding.

Disaster struck in December 1926 when the entire Sg Lembing town was submerged by one of the worst floods in Pahang's history. Food stocks were destroyed. Homes, hospital and schools were submerged, with plantations covered in 3 feet of mud. All communication lines with Kuantan were destroyed.

Food rationing began, and the town lived under seige-like conditions for 2 months.

All mines, except the principal Willinks mine, were abandoned due to flooding and the mining ceased for 3 months. Life only returned to normal 4 months after the flood had subsided.

However, the PCCL suffered £53,176 (RM265,880) in repair cost and £60,000 (RM300,000) in loss of profits. In those days, such losses usually meant the end, but, the PCCL soldiered on before it finally closed down in 1986 due to high operating cost, falling tin output and fall in tin prices.

External links

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ehs2.1248

Winstedt, R. (1927). The Great Flood, 1926. Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 5(2 (100)), 295-309. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24249117
https://www.jstor.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ni%C3%B1o%E2%80%93Southern_Oscillation

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Price of Tin

The price of tin was $474 per picul.
Source: Singapore Standard, 28 November 1951

Rubber and tin prices rose appreciably yesterday, rubber by 3 cents per lb and tin by $3 per picul.
Source: Singapore Standard, 5 July 1956

[One pound sterling equals RM5.33 (5 Feb 2019)].

Newspaper

Food control at Raub

Disastrous floods in Pahang. Havoc in tin mining area.

External links

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2014/03/17/tunnels-from-a-glorious-past-sungai-lembings-evolution-from-a-tinmining-hub-to-a-tourist-destination/

http://www.jmm.gov.my/ms/muzium/muzium-sungai-lembing

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2012/01/14/sg-lembing-cut-off-by-flood/

https://www.eztakaful.com.my/permata-tersembunyi-di-sg-lembing-kuantan-bahagian-3/

https://www.bharian.com.my/node/75274

http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/sungai-lembing-bandar-mati-hidup-semula-bahagian-1-114659

http://www.astroawani.com/foto-malaysia/sungai-lembing-mati-hidup-semula-3957/sungai-lembing-001-40545

https://www.timothytye.com/malaysia/pahang/sungai-lembing.htm

https://www.facebook.com/pg/eldoradoinnsungailembing/photos/?tab=album&album_id=375414565897289

http://www.journeymalaysia.com/MC_sungeilembing.htm

https://emilayusof.com/2013/02/sungai-lembing-museum-kuantan-pahang/

https://thriftytraveller.wordpress.com/tag/tin-museum/

http://myredfingger.blogspot.com/2010/10/ada-apa-di-sungai-lembing-pahang.html

http://explorasa.my/2016/09/tempat-menarik-di-sungai-lembing-pahang/

http://www.suanie.net/2016/08/sungai-lembing-pahang/

http://www.suanie.net/2017/01/watch-shop-sungai-lembing/

https://redirecting.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/sungai-lembing-pahang/

------------------------------
Sg Lembing Police Station

The old Sg Lembing Police Station was built in the 1960s. It is now defunct and has been given Warisan status.

My ex-classmate's parents had lived in Sg Lembing when her father was a policeman and posted to Sg Lembing Police Station. The family had lived in the police quarters.

The following photos are by Fatimah Mohamad. She, her 2 sisters and their mother visited Sg Lembing Police Station in early 2019.

Housing quarters for policemen's families.

------------------------------
Hospitals in Pahang
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hospitals_in_Malaysia#Pahang

1. Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA)
2. Hospital Pekan - in Pekan
3. Hospital Kuala Lipis - in Kuala Lipis
4. Hospital Raub - in Raub
5. Hospital Bentong - in Bentong
6. Hospital Jerantut - in Jerantut
7. Hospital Jengka - at Bandar Tun Razak Jengka
8. Hospital Muadzam Shah - at Bandar Muadzam Shah
9. Hospital Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (HOSHAS, formerly Hospital Termerloh), Temerloh - est. 2005, 498 beds, RM480 million, http://hoshas.moh.gov.my/hoshasv4/
10. Hospital Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom (formerly Hospital Cameron Highlands) - at Tanah Rata
11. Hospital Rompin - in Rompin
12. Hospital Bera (new) - due 2019, previously RM88mil but delayed & re-cost RM121mil

Four early Malay doctors served in Pekan & Kuantan, Pahang. They were Dr Pandak Ahmad bin Alang Sidin, Dr Che Lah bin Md Joonos, Dr Mohamed Said bin Mohamed and Dr Mohamed bin Taib (dentist). They were also royal doctors who attended to the Sultan's family.

In Pahang, Dr Che Lah had lived close to the Pahang Mentri Besar's residence.

External link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Menteris_Besar_of_Pahang

Dr Che Lah's 3rd daughter June and only son Kamaruddin.  Pahang 1956

Dr Che Lah retired as CMHO Pahang from the Government Medical Service in Pahang on 30 June 1958 

His last place of work in the Govt Medical Service in Pahang. 

Dr Che Lah bin Md Joonos seated 5th from left.

Retirement in 1958

Dr Che Lah was awarded the Meritorious Medal Award by Sultan Sir Abu Bakar on 30 June 1958.

Dr Che Lah bin Md Joonos and wife. 1958

Dr Che Lah bin Md Joonos receiving the Meritorious Medal Award from Sultan Sir Abu Bakar of Pahang. 1958

-----------------------------------------
Government Health Clinics in Pahang
Source: https://www.lookp.com/pahang/klinik-kerajaan?page_id=3
There are 100 Government clinics (Klinik Kesihatan Kerajaan) in Pahang:

1. Klinik Kesihatan Sungai Lembing
2. KK Beserah
3. KK Bandar Jengka
4. KK Benta
5. KK Jengka 2
6. KK Jengka 22
7. KK Bandar Tun Abdul Razak
8. KK Bandar Bera 32
9. KK Kemayan
10. KK Bukit Mendi
11. KK Bukit Betong
12. KK Bukit Ibam
13. KK Cheroh
14. KK Damak
15. KK Cini
16. KK Mempaga
17. KK Karak
18. KK Ibu dan Anak Kuantan
19. KK Lepar Utara 4
20. KK Jengka 8
21. KK Nenasi
22. KK Kg Bantal
23. KK Padang Rumbia
24. KK Jeruas
25. KK Kuala Krau
26. KK Ibu dan Anak Kuala Lipis
27. KK Tanjung Gemok
28. KK Rompin
29. KK Kuala Tahan
30. KK Kuala Tembeling
31. KK Lanchang
32. KK Lembah Klau
33. KK Lurah Bilut (Felda)
34. KK Mela
35. KK Bandar Mentakab
36. KK Ibu dan Anak Mentakab
37. KK Merapoh (Fasa 1)
38. KK Chanis
39. KK Perantau Damai
40. KK Ibu dan Anak Muadzam Shah
41. KK Padang Tengku
42. KK Peramu Jaya
43. KK Sanggang
44. KK Sg Tekam Utara
45. KK Tanah Rata, 3900 Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands
46. KK Tekek
47. KK Tersang
48. KK Triang
49. KK Dong
50. KK Ulu Gali
51. KK Perwira Jaya
52. KK Bukit Goh (Felda)
53. KK Jaya Gading
54. KK Balok
55. KK Gambang
56. KK Maran
57. KK Bandar Pekan
58. KK Ibu dan Anak Jerantut
59. KK Ibu dan Anak Raub
60. KK Pekan Awah
61. KK Pekan Tajau
62. KK Temerloh
63. KK Chenor
64. KK Bentong
65. KK Simpang Pelangai
66. KK Purun
67. KK Padang Luas
68. Klinik Desa Jengka 3
69. Klinik Desa Jengka 14
70. Klinik Desa Sg Jerek
71. Klinik Desa Jengka 15
72. Klinik Desa Jengka 5
73. Klinik Desa Kuala Sentul
74. Klinik Desa Jengka 16
75. Klinik Desa Jengka 6
76. Klinik Desa Jengka 7
77. Klinik Desa Ulu Jempol
78. Klinik Desa Jengka 1
79. Klinik Desa Jengka 21
80. Klinik Desa Jengka 10
81. Klinik Desa Jengka 11
82. Klinik Desa Kg Bangau
83. Klinik Desa Batu 8 Lepar
84. Klinik Desa Kuala Kenong
85. Klinik Desa Batu Malim
86. Klinik Desa Kg Kemahang
87. Klinik Desa Kg Budu
88. Klinik Desa Jerkoh
89. Klinik Desa Triang 3
90. Klinik Desa R/P Rentam
91. Klinik Desa Durian Tawar
92. Klinik Desa Triang 1
93. Klinik Desa Mayam
94. Klinik Desa Kuala Bera
95. Klinik Desa Kuala Triang
96. Klinik Desa Kumai
97. Klinik Desa Bukit Kepayang
98. Klinik Desa Bukit Puchong
99. Klinik Desa Mengkuang

-----------------------------------------
Masjid

Old Masjid Negeri, Kuala Lipis - est. 1888 by Yemeni founder

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Roads

There were no roads from Singapore to Kuala Lipis till the 1890s.
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Train station

Kuala Lipis train station - est. 1926, old wooden building with delicious Malay food
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Bus station

Kuala Lipis bus station has prayer spaces