The Early Malay Doctors: Masjid Jamek Sungai Gelugor, Penang

This village had a low-lying old green mosque for a long time. Two years ago that old mosque was demolished to build a brand new brick mosque. The new mosque is a white and blue mosque with blue domes and golden spires. One early Malay doctor is buried here - Dr MJ Che Lah, along with his wife and son-in-law. There are many others buried here but I don't know them. This mosque and village behind the mosque and across the street up on the hill in front, all belong to the Rawa people (Orang Rawa) from Sumatra. The imams here were also from the Rawa people, for example the famous man Yusof Rawa, who also operated the Hajj pilgrimage company based near Masjid Jamek Melayu Acheh in George Town (Georgetown). The Rawa houses are small Malay village houses (rumah kayu kampung) found typically in all the Malay villages on Penang island, including the village at Jelutong. However, the houses at Kg Dodol at Jalan Perak are styled differently - they could be people who migrated there from Kedah or north Perak.