Sunday 1 April 2012

Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail

Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid was the first Malay Queen's Scholar, first Eisenhower Fellow and second Director-General of Health Malaysia.

Dr Abdul Majid bin Ismail in The Who's Who in Malaysia 1965
Abdul Majid Ismail, the first Malaysian Fellow, talks about the lifelong impact of his fellowship experience
Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid Ismail, the first Malaysian Fellow, talks about the lifelong impact of his fellowship experience at the Eisenhower Fellowship on 15 October 2008.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eisenhowerfellowships/3232318794/

He was Tunku Abdul Rahman's golf buddy.
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2007/7/9/central/18215906


An old photo of the Victoria Institution I found in my father's collection in his home in Penang. This photo was taken by my grandfather (Walid). This could be an early photo of the Victoria Institution since there were no trees yet.



Std 6A Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur
Abdul Majid bin Ismail is seated 3rd from left.
Mohamed Noor bin Marahakim is seated 3rd from right.
Photo from Victoria Institute website by Chung Chee Min.
Photo from VI website by Chung Chee Min
US President Dwight Eisenhower
Book written by John Michael Gullick (JM Gullick) about Henry Syers and the Selangor Police. Syers ordered a group of Malacca Malays to move to Kampong Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Tan Sri's grandparents were among those who relocated to Kg Baru. His parents were from Kg Baru. Ujong Pasir in Kg Baru is named after the original village in Malacca (Ujong Pasir after Banda Hilir and before Umbai). JM Gullick was featured on Malaysian TV.

A History of Kuala Lumpur 1856-1939 by JM Gullick (MBRAS). Tan Sri recommended me to read this book to understand Kuala Lumpur. I borrowed the book via Inter-library Loan at USM.

Jebak as mentioned in Tan Sri's book. He loved the story where he caught birds
Tan Sri mentioned The Coliseum (1920), where he used to hang out as a young man.
Dr Mohd Bakri Musa informed me that Tan Sri often hangs out here.
I didn't see this building in KL.

The Jungle Princess is an American movie which Tan Sri watched as a medical student and later  acted in a play when he returned to the hostel.  He played the part of Coco the chimpanzee. The name has stuck since that time.
Dorothy Lamour who was the heroine in The Jungle Princess movie. Back at the hostel, the medical student who played the part of Dorothy was killed when a bomb struck him during the bombing at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in the Battle of Singapore in February 1942.
The Carcosa was Frank Swettenham's residence. Tan Sri was a young waiter at some of the  celebrations here.
Bangsar Hospital was formerly the European Hospital in Bangsar. Tan Sri's younger daughter Ellina was born here in 1959
District Hospital Kuala Lumpur (later General Hospital Kuala Lumpur). This photo of the old hospital in Kuala Lumpur was confirmed by Tan Sri who said the old buildings were wooden and on stilts. This photo was provided by the Malaysian Orthopaedic Association (MOA) where Tan Sri was the Founder-President. Dr Saw Aik gave permission and mentioned the original photo could have been taken by Prof Sengupta, a pediatrician who has returned to Singapore. I tried to call him, but I didn't manage to get in touch.

Tan Sri related the story of "Huxley's ruins", the unfinished building-development of the hospital that looked like ruins, which embarrassed the British person in charge of the construction whose name was Huxley. The expenses incurred by the Government and Major Huxley for the planned hospital buildings are explained in the book, Records and Recollections. Here are extracts of The Huxley Contracts on pages 83-86  of the book:

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The Eurasian Club at Jalan Pudu in Kuala Lumpur. Photo from Kuala Lumpur Old Photos at www.skyscrapercity.com.
Sultan Abdul Samad building, Jalan Raja in Kuala Lumpur
Masjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur is near where Tan Sri's mother was born. He wrote in his book about the location of the house where his mother was born.

Sg Klang and Sg Gombak confluence and the Benteng on the right.

Confluence of 2 rivers from my hotel room
Tan Sri and his memoir An Old Man Remembers (2006). Everything you need to know about him is in his book. He gave me a free copy. Photo from the Star.

Dato Harun bin Haji Idris was a close friend and they went for Hajj together, with 2 others

FAMILY

Federated Malay States Railway (FMSR). Photo from Walid's collection. Walid is Tan Sri's cousin and my paternal grandfather Mohd Yusope bin Hj Mohd Sharif.

Railway workshop office at Sentul. Tan Sri Abdul Majid's father worked in the repair section of the FMSR. Photo from Kuala Lumpur Old Photos at www.skyscrapercity.com.

Tan Sri Abdul Majid's mother, Enjah bt Muhammad Ariff, a Quran teacher.
I remember calling her Nenek Enjah when it should have been Moyang Enjah.


Tan Sri & Toh Puan Khairany have 3 children - Aljafri, Ellisha and Ellina.

Prof Aljafri's book
Fundamentals of Surgical Practice

Ellisha Majid's book
A Sausage Went for a Walk by Ellisha Majid and Peter Kendall

Tan Sri is seated at left. His younger daughter Ellina is standing at 2nd right. Her husband Azizuddin is beside her. Photo from Yayasan Tun Abdul Hamid (YTAH). Azizuddin is Chairman YTAH. YTAH does a lot of charity work in Selangor. Tan Sri and daughter are Directors of YTAH. The other 2 children are Prof Aljafri and Dr Ellisha (not shown). Prof Aljafri appeared on TV briefly when the TV reported there was a landslide at the Selesa Hillhomes Resort, maybe last year (2011). I have never met Prof Aljafri, Ellisha and Ellina in person.

Ellina's family. Captured from YTAH.

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