Getting to know Shaik Eusuff bin Shaik Latiff

Assalamualaikum Good Day. 

In this article I am very excited to share the history of  our prominant ancestor Shaik Eusuff and his family. The narration and genealogy of Shaik Eusuff's family were prepared by my uncle Shaik Mohamed Noordin intended for future reference, especially for our younger generations to know more about their family history. I hope all my readers will get some benefits and enjoy reading this  series of articles about our family history.

By Shaikh Mohamed Noordin

Shaik Eusoff Bin Shaik Latiff was my great great-grandfather on my grandmother's paternal side. Recently, his name has cropped up again because of a court case involving his land in Ayer itam. Shaik Eusuff was a man ahead of his time. In 1896, Shaik Eusuff took an unprecedented step. He made Will in respect of his properties, one of which was his land in Ayer Itam. He bequeathed the land in such a way that any income generated from this particular land must be managed under an endowment scheme, and this income was intended solely to pay for the expenses for another piece of land of his in Dhoby Ghaut that he had endowed for the Islamic caused.

21 years after the death of his youngest child, the land must be returned to his next heirs, whomever is still living at that time. Unfortunately, his well-intentioned scheme as stipulated in his Will has been disputed and contested in the Syariah court to obtain Islamic legal interpretation of the issue.

Shaik Eusoff was formerly a businessman in the construction industry and was actively involved in helping his father-in-law, Mohamed Noordin Merican in the development of Penang. Shaik Eusuff was the only son of Shaik Latiff Bin Shaik Nattar Sahib. His grandfather Shaik Natar Sahib was an army officer, a soldier in the East India Company and held the rank off Jemadar. In the British army, the rank of Jemadar is equivalent to Lieutenant.

Shaik Nattar Sahib was of Gujerati descent who had come from India along with Captain Sir Francis Light who had opened up Penang in 1786. He later took up residence in Penang and became a well-respected and revered community leader at the time.

When the Sepoy soldiers came to Penang, he was the host of them. The 'Boria' show as we know it today was started by him through the Sepoy soldiers. He constructed a building and endowed it as a surau and also a place of boria performance called 'Hasharah Khana' located at Jalan Masjid. Hasharah Khana was also used to celebrate Ashura Day of the 10 Muharram. During that time boria was a religious ritual full of remembrance and prayers.

Shaik Nattar Sahib was the first person to highlight boria as a Peranakan culture and to this day, it is a unique cultural heritage of the Jawi Peranakan community of Penang. Therefore, we should proudly continue the legacy of Shaik Nattar Sahib, namely boria as part of the national’s cultural heritage As at today, there have been ten generations in Penang since the time of Shaik Nattar Sahib.

Apart from Hasharah Khana, Shaik Nattar Sahib has also endowed the cemetery behind the building and restoration work on the cemetery is still in the planning.

My great-granduncle Shaik Sathuck. He was my great-grandfather's elder brother. Both of them were the only boys of Shaik Eusuff's children.

My granduncle Shaik Natarsah @ Buchak, a grandson of Shaik Eusuff.

Shaik Eusoff had continued the charitable work of his father and grandfather by building up a house in the 1850s. This house is still magnificent and is now known as Yeng Keng Hotel in Leboh Chulia. According to available records, Shaik Eusoff was born in 1833 and died on 23 April 1894. He was married to Mah Wan Bee @ Hajee Bee Binti Mohamed Noordin Merican and had eight children, two boys and six girls.

My grandmother Che Wan Chik @ Safar Bee bte Shaik Mohd Noordin with her second husband Abu Backer Merican @ Chik Md Din who was also her cousin. Both of them were grandchildren of Shaik Eusuff and also great-grandchildren of Mohamed Noordin Merican.

 

Mah Wan Bee or per her real name, Che Ahmad Nachair was from a prestigious Merican family in Penang at that time. Her father was Mohamad Noordin Merican a wealthy and successful entrepreneur in the fields of shipping, textiles and spices. Noordin’s business empires stretched as far as Singapore, Acheh, Phuket, Burma and India. He was the younger brother of Cadre Mohideen Merican, Kapitan Kling of Penang.

Kapitan Kling's family, @ Abdul Cader @ Kadir Merican used Merican as their family name, while his younger brother Mohamed Noordin's family used Noordin's name as their family name. The tomb of Mohamed Noordin and his family was located within the Kling Mosque area.

 

During his lifetime Shaik Eusoff was a respected community leader and was appointed a ‘juror’ by the British authorities. He was a Muslim who spent his life living and breathing Islamic principles and had endowed a piece of land of five acres for the building of a mosque named as the Shaik Eusoff Mosque in Dato Keramat. He had also entrusted a 14 -acre plot of land in Air Itam for the benefit of his family. On this land are located the Penang Orphanage and also the Syed Hussin Aidid Malay Boys Home Building.

My granduncle Shaik Emam @ Buchik and his children.

May Allah shower His blessings, Mercy and Grace on their souls and forgive their sins and place them among the people of Solihin. Amen.

Special Thanks

I am especially indebted to Dato Ahmad Rodzi bin Pawanteh, the former President of Ikatan Kasih @ Pertubuhan Perikatan Allahyarham Shaik Eusuf Keluarga Shaik Eusuff Hajee Bee for his input and other relevant information materials as my main source of reference in developing the family trees of Shaik Eusuff.

Family tree Indicators:

           Names in green boxes - stand for male descendants 

2.     Names in pink boxes - stand for female descendants

3.     Names in red font - stand for female names

4.     Names in bold - stand for direct descendants

     Names in italic - stand for spouses 

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