Search 5

SEARCH 5

January 2005

The fifth search is to re-study all the information I had gathered and accumulated concerning Dato' Dr. Haji Che Lah b. Mohd. Joonos (Class of 1930; Born 10 December 1903; Deceased 26 January 1986).

I believe that some people might still remember him or that something must have been recorded somewhere about him.

His village stretches from the periphery of Minden Heights to the shores of Penang bridge. His village is still there but some houses have been demolished to make way for Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah in front of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and the periphery road leading to Penang bridge.

His last residence still stands at 460-H, Cangkat Minden, Jalan 7, 11700 Gelugor, Pulau Pinang (near USM side gate facing towards Georgetown).

My mother was the eldest from Dato' Dr. Haji Che Lah's first marriage to a non-Malay woman. They had 4 daughters and an adopted son. Dato' Dr. Haji Che Lah had a second marriage to a non-Malay woman. They had a son and adopted a daughter. My mother had managed to get some information from her father at his bedside just before he passed away in Hospital Pulau Pinang in 1986. Dato' Dr. Haji Che Lah b. Mohd. Joonos was buried in the graveyard adjoining Masjid Gelugor in Penang.

I have known my grandfather since small. He also attended my wedding in 1983 in Penang. As I recall, he was very big, tall, kind, very humble, very energetic, and highly talented. His knowledge seemed to cover vast areas. His interest was people. His highly prized skill was his communication skills. He spoke quite a few languages - Malay, English, Tamil, Cantonese, some German, some Arabic, and a few others. He spoke mainly English at home for the women he married did not speak much Malay. He spoke Malay to the Malay visitors who frequented his home. He had so many visitors especially in the evening. He spoke Tamil to the JKR workers who came to clean the grounds of his mansion (now demolished). He enjoyed his work as a doctor. He was 5 years retired when I was a child aged 5. He did quite a lot of work following retirement.  He designed and helped build the township of Minden Heights (adjacent to USM main campus in Penang) in 1971 (I was in Form 1, Sekolah Menengah Zainab, Kelantan). We went through the blueprint for Minden Heights; I was asked to calculate the land sizes and areas, and  studied a few things about the intended layout plan for Minden Heights. I often visited his house which was next door to my mother's house. I was there mainly to study mathematics for which he had set aside a table for me by a big window upstairs. He was supportive of my interest in mathematics and sciences. I was also there to read some of his journals on Tropical Medicine, from which I came to learn about malnutrition in Africa, and most importantly, we discussed a lot of things about biochemistry. He told me to be a doctor. We talked about everything from blood gases, coma, right up to van den Bergh test for bilirubin. He had genuine interest in astronomy (he said Allah structured everything including the universe). His greatest love was for Allah. He served as a doctor on 9 Haj pilgrimages by sea liners. He brought back quite a lot of stuff from the Arab land, a good one was Asma al-Husna which he adored. He was particularly good with chemistry, especially at making plain and perfumed soap. He was also good at the water filter. He worked on the water problem for a long time because he said there is no way to kill a virus 100%. He had bought a few water filters to try them out at home. He was interested in why babies shrieked in the middle of the night - for which I was asked to investigate the pH of baby milk formulas! I also had to report back to him! He practically enjoyed everything, every bit of his life. He was never so angry. I have never seen him being angry nor can I recall him being angry. If he got angry, he would roll up a newspaper and used that to tap lightly on the head, nothing like the kid bashing we hear about nowadays. He liked people, just about anyone. He was very gentle and spoke in a very gentle voice despite his big size! He loved music, mostly evergreen such as Ray Conniff. He listened to music mainly at night. He read papers while listening to music. He always turned up for anything and appeared as the happiest person at any occasion - birthday parties, beach parties, any kenduri, anything for that matter. He loved to dress up to go to masjid for Friday prayers and Hari Raya - he looked very clean and very handsome. He wore a hat and carried a walking stick. He drove once in a while for he had a very good driver. He grew durian, rambutan, bamboo, palms, cloves, nona (custard apple), bleeding hearts, orchids and roses, mostly roses. He had a few other plants including those from his overseas travels. One was a big woody tree with soft red furry fruits (Kesumba or Inai Keling; Bixa orellana), probably from Indonesia. He had a beautiful lawn with quite an impressive landscape. He usually sat on the swing with me in the evening to have tea and pisang goreng (banana fritters) in the garden (after I had finished work at USM) and we watched passers-by until almost maghrib. He is best remembered as a loving grandfather. He would always smile around people, and smiling was his greatest gift. He was the kindest grandfather a granddaughter could ever have. He was simply a wonderful person.

Dato' Dr. Haji Che Lah b. Mohd. Joonos
March 1930
Graduated with a Licentiate in Medical Surgery (LMS) from King Edward VII College of Medicine, Class of 1930. Served as a royal doctor to the late Sultan Sir Abu Bakar of Pahang. Chief doctor in charge of the Sungai Buloh leper camp during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya (1942-1949). Badly tortured with salt water to his throat by the Japanese soldiers but survived. Made soap for his villagers during WW2. Responsible for the set up of public toilets on Pulau Besar in Melaka. He was Penang Health Inspector. Retired from General Hospital in Penang in December 1957, after Merdeka. Following retirement, he became an Honorary Town Planner and a member of the Penang Town Council. He also served as a doctor for the Haj pilgrimage in 1963 (his ninth and last Haj pilgrimage).

Last residence: 460-H, Cangkat Minden, Jalan 7, 11700 Gelugor, Pulau Pinang.

Born: 10 December 1903
Deceased: 26 January 1986
Contact:

NUS - oarsorr@nus.edu.sg 
Son - kamaruddin@mpsp.gov.my
Grandsons - M. Sharif bin Abdul Rashid, M. Farid bin Abdul Rashid, and M. Amin bin Abdul Rashid (all residing in Kuala Lumpur)
Granddaughters - Sharifah bt Abdul Rashid (Minden Heights, Penang), Faridah bt Abdul Rashid  (USM, Kelantan), Rabi'ah bt Abdul Rashid (Jengka Pusat, Pahang), and Aminah bt Abdul Rashid (Kuala Lumpur)
Great grandsons - M. Hafiz bin M. Sharif, M. Daniel bin M. Sharif, M. Azhar Hakim bin Affandi and M. Ibrahim Adzim bin Affandi (both residing in Kelantan)
Great granddaughters - Aishah bt M. Sharif, Nur Husna bt M. Sharif, Nuraishah Bazilah bt Affandi, Nurfarahiyah Nasuha bt Affandi, Nuramira Suraiya bt Affandi, and Yusrina Faqihah bt Affandi (all residing in Kelantan)

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Acknowledgement

Assoc. Prof. Faridah Abdul Rashid

Granddaughter of Dato' Dr. Haji Che Lah b. Mohd. Joonos (Class of 1930).

Work address:

Department of Chemical Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia. Tel: +6-09-766-4755. Fax: +6-09-765-3370.

Hajj Pilgrimage

In her book "Malaysia, A Pictorial History 1400-2004" (2004), Wendy Khadijah Moore wrote on page 255 that Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra bid farewell to the first batch of pilgrims to Mecca to depart from Port Swettenham, 20 February 1960. And the adjacent page 254 had a photograph of the ocean liner with Tunku in the foreground - photograph was from Arkib Negara Malaysia (ANM).

The Haj is an annual event performed only in Mekah. I was told by my grandparents that the sea trip took 3 months each way and many who died on board were buried at sea. If the Haj services by sea liner only started in 1960, how could my grandfather perform 9 Haj trips since 1963 was his nineth and last trip? How did he reach Mekah before 1960?

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Telehealth Research Group
http://www.medic.usm.my/rnd/~telehealth
School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia

Tanah Datuk Jenaton

Makam Datuk Jenaton is in Minden Heights, which is beside the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) campus in Penang.

Why is Datuk Jenaton important?

From a historical perspective, Datuk Jenaton was awarded a large piece of land on Penang island by a sultan of Kedah, for his deeds, for saving the Kedah Sultanate from Siamese attack. The Kedah Sultanate is probably the second oldest of the Malay sultanates in present-day Malaysia. It was under constant attack by Siamese forces from the north. Datuk Jenaton and his followers helped saved the Kedah Sultanate from the last of the Siamese attacks. In this respect, his deeds to the Kedah Sultanate cannot be simply forgotten in the folds of history. Had he lost that battle with Siam, we would not have old Malaya and modern Malaysia today - we would be part of old Siam and modern Thailand today. We would be speaking and writing Thai. Sawad dee khap?

What land was he awarded? Why is it important to know?

From various accounts written about him and his land, we know he was awarded a large piece of land covering  what is today Minden Heights, USM, and maybe Kampung Batu Uban. Kampung Batu Uban is another historical village. We will need all the old maps of Penang and all related documents that have his name written. Places which may still have these old documents would be Penang Town Council and also the construction company that had made Minden Heights. I have not the faintest clue which construction company was involved with building Minden Heights, but I suspect it is a Chinese company and my Chinese grandmother's handsome young Chinese friend named Mr Ang, who also had construction projects (bina masjid) in the Arab states. I don't have any other clues in mind at present.

Was he the original settler?

From a historical perspective, Datuk Jenaton and his elder brother-in-law (abang ipar) Nakhoda Intan, had arrived in Batu Uban and Masjid Batu Uban was constructed in 1734. When he was awarded the land by the sultan of Kedah, he would be the first settler to open the land which was awarded to him (the area was a virgin forest). The British arrived in 1876 when Francis Light dropped anchor in Penang waters. The British developed Tanjung Peniaga/Tanjung Pinang as their administrative stronghold.

How did his land become Minden Heights?

It is a long story. His land was probably taken by force(?) or negotiated to build Minden Barracks, which is now USM main campus in Penang. Then the Minden Heights housing scheme was made in the early 1970s - 1971 to be exact. The housing scheme was designed by my grandfather who is my mother's father. I will tell you a bit about Minden Heights where my late grandfather's and my mother's houses still stand - side by side. My grandfather's house is the oldest house on site, in Minden Heights - it was built around 1970.

History of the Minden Heights housing scheme

In 1958, Dr Che Lah retired from Pahang early and returned to Penang. He had 3 houses built consecutively in Penang, over some 20 years. His first residence was near Dr SMA Alhady's house, along Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah. His second residence was up on Lengkok Pemancar. His third and last residence was built in Minden Height, or rather, Tanah Datuk Jenaton. Dr Che Lah worked in his post-retirement years, as a designer for the Penang Town Council. He worked at various jobs too.

When Dr Che Lah started working on designing the housing scheme for Minden Heights, he first built his wooden bungalow on site, at the corner of Jalan Minden 1 and Jalan Minden 7. His house still stands at the original site - dilapidated with time, and the metal parts rusty from the salty sea breeze nearby. The sea was nearby before Penang bridge was built and land reclamation activities started. USM new campus was just recently constructed in 1969.

In the early 1970s, Minden Heights was virgin forest, really thick jungle - this I saw as I was in Form 1 and I had spent my school holidays with my grandfather and stayed with him. We sat and discussed the design for Minden Heights housing scheme. It was a difficult project. He was at the designing stage and everything else in the area was jungle - very green and very thick! At first I had thought my grandfather was crazy to have abandon his mansion uphill and come to live in a wooden house downhill. Orang Melayu kata buang tebiat. I asked my mother if my grandfather was ok. He was ok. He wanted to sell off his mansion and had his 3rd residence built in Minden Heights.

At the time he (Dr Che Lah) was planning and designing, I had heard the name Datuk Jenaton being mentioned. It was mentioned in almost every conversation and that name left an impression in me. Not knowing the actual problem, I had misconstrued and had thought that Datuk Jenaton himself refused to give up his land and that caused my grandfather to face difficulties proceeding with the housing project he had to do for the Council.

As a young teenager (Form 1), I had no idea of the significance of Datuk Jenaton, but my grandfather and my uncle (Uncle Din) had great respect for him - they spoke of him with great respect. In actual fact, the Minden Heights housing scheme that my grandfather had to do, was actually on Datuk Jenaton's land - this very land we call Minden Heights today (in Malay, we call it Cangkat Minden, which refers to a hillock, not a bukit or hill and certainly not a bukit tinggi or highland). About half of Datuk Jenaton's land is USM and the other half is Minden Heights housing area or scheme.

Minden Heights is a well-planned housing area in this part of Penang island. Some of Penang's super rich tawkays live here. When my grandfather designed Minden Heights, he had allocated a lane and 2 rows of low-cost housing for the poor Indians and Malays. My grandfather's house stands at the start of this 'poor man's row'. I cried when my mother related this to me. It was sheer disbelief on my part that my once super duper rich grandfather wanted to live in a poor man's row. But my grandfather only smiled and never regretted his idea of living on the poor man's row (Minden Jalan 7). My mother had explained to me, my grandfather sold his 2nd residence to help pay for my uncle's education in Australia, and all he was left with was this wooden home in Jalan Minden 7. All his other lands and landed properties in Cherating and KL had been given away too - FOC. My grandfather was preparing for his last farewell, and evidently another life. Minden Heights was the last project he designed for Penang. I don't know what or which model he had used but I suspect he followed an Australian model for the Minden Heights housing scheme.

There are some credibly famous roads in Minden Heights. The main road is Minden Jalan 1. Rich and expensive homes lie along Minden Jalan 1. Houses on this road are in the range of RM3 million and above. Poor man's row is Minden Jalan 7 (even millionaires live here today). My late mother's house is in Minden Jalan 7. Minden Jalan 5 was where USM expatriates once lived when the USM medical school was based at USM in Penang, before it shifted to Kubang Kerian, Kelantan in May 1990.

When Minden Heights was first designed, the roads did not reach far inward. I remember, the perimeter of Minden Heghts was only up to the playground. Later, it expanded to join Minden Heights to Brown Garden (Taman Brown) which is next door, and which also opens into Taman Sardon and the adjacent biggest modern fresh market. Almost everybody in the vicinity of Minden Heights knows the Taman Sardon market. It is the cleanest fresh market in Penang. During my grandfather's time as Penang Health Inspector, the markets must be clean and not sting or smell. But that is old news.

Anyway, coming back to Minden Heights, this area is also famous for another thing - it houses Makam Datuk Jenaton, the Malay hero and warrior who saved Kedah from Siam (more in the next post).