ALIFF AKHBAR: Who is Mohamed Noordin Merican?

By Shaikh Mohamed Noordin

Many of the younger generations, even among our own family are not aware of who Mohamed Noordin Merican @ M.M. Noordin was, although his name may tickle them sometimes. Hence, let me therefore, verify who M.M. Noordin was and his relationship with us. M.M. Noordin was in actual fact, the ancestor of my grandmother, Che Wan Chik @ Safar Bee.

M.N.N.Noordin @ Che Din Bukit Kecit, my 2xgreat-granduncle.

As we retrieve back to the family tree, Che Wan Chik was the daughter of Shaik Mohamed Noordin Meah, who was the son of Mah Wan Bee @ Hajee Bee @ Che Ahmad Nachair. Mah Wan Bee was the daughter of M.M. Noordin with his fourth wife, Nonya Ngah Eh @ Ugay Eh. In fact, my name “Noordin” was actually taken after the name of my great-grandfather, whose name was Shaik Mohamed Noordin, who also used his grandfather's name, M.M. Noordin.

M.M. Noordin I, my 2xgreat-granduncle, elder brother of my 2xgreat-grandfather M.N.N. Noordin.

Meanwhile, Che Wan Chik's mother was Che Chak @ Khadijah Nachair Merican, the daughter of Mohamed Nashoorudin Merican @ M.N.N. Merican, who was also famously known as Che Din Bukit Kecit. He was also the son of M.M. Noordin with his third wife Nyonya Soo Eng. There were many intermarriages between cousins of the Merican’s family and the Shaik’s family, which had set to form the present generation as it is now.

For example, Mah Wan Bee was married to Shaik Yusuf bin Shaik Latif, a well-known wealthy man in Penang, who was also my ancestor from my paternal side. To facilitate the understanding of possible connection or relationship with M.M. Noordin, attached below are genealogical diagrams (family trees) of him and his children, of whom may be possibly related to you.

MM Noordin II, son of MNN Noordin, my gread-granduncle.

For reference, M.M. Noordin was an extremely affluent and a well-known public figure in Penang in the nineteenth century. He was born in 1778 in Pondicherry, India. However, M.M. Noordin was not of an Indian descent, but was said to originate from Turlekan, a district in Turkey. The word "Merican" itself comes from the word "Marikalayar", which means "people from the ocean". Apparently, this associates with their activities, which are mostly related to navigation and shipping.

Nevertheless, other sources had indicated that the Merican descendants were said to have originated from Samarkand, an old city located along the ‘sister route’ or silk road in Central Asia. The old city was formerly known as Maracand or Maracanda. It is the capital of Uzbekistan, which was once part of the Soviet Union. They migrated to the Arabian Peninsula and later to the Indian subcontinent before reaching the Malay Peninsula.

M.M. Noordin moved to Penang from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu in 1820 with his mother Fatimah or Pathma and his brother Abdur Cauder Moheedin Merican in search of a brighter future. They landed in Batu Uban and stayed there for a while before moving to Kampong Kolam in Georgetown, Penang.

M.M. Noordin started his business as early as the 1820s and by the 1830s he had already emerged as one of the most influential and respected business figures in Penang. His business includes the textile and spice trade. He also provides shipping services to transport immigrants and pilgrims.

Habib Merican, my 2xgreat-granduncle, he was my 2xgreat-grandfather's elder brother.

M.M. Noordin was also very successful in the barter trade, namely textiles brought in from India to be exchanged for black pepper from Acheh. His shipping services between the ports along the Straits of Malacca, including Acheh and North Sumatra, also covered Burma and India. By the late 1830s M.M. Noordin had already established himself as the largest shipping operator in Southeast Asia.

For example, in 1838, his shipping records showed that he had sent 17 merchant ships to Deli, Acheh, Pudu, Pedir, Chittagong, Arakan, Cuddalore, Nagapatnam, Calcutta, Cochin China and Singapore. In 1852, his ships had even shipped merchandise all the way to China.

By the end of the 1860s, M.M. Noordin had already built the reputation as a well-known plantation entrepreneur and trader who ran his business operations at Chulia Street in Penang. With such remarkable and distinguished accolades, he was elected to lead various socio-economic organizations. Among his notable accomplishments, include his appointment as a committee member of the Penang Chamber of Commerce in 1838. He was also the first Indian Muslim to be appointed as the Municipal Commissioner and Justice of the Peace.

M.M. Noordin replaced his brother Cauder Moheedin who died in 1834 as Captain Kling, and had continued the legacy of his brother by attaining excellent record. He is also a major contributor to the infrastructure development in Penang.

As a successful merchant and community leader, M.M. Noordin also played an active and significant role in looking after the welfare of the community in Penang. His generosity was prevalent through his various charity works for the well-being of the local community. He had also built the first school for the Muslim community to learn the Quran, Islam, Arabic, English and other languages. The school is located adjacent to the Kapitan Keeling Mosque, which was built by his late brother.

He was also known as the largest landowner in Penang, owned many shops and rental houses as well as the largest farm in Seberang Perai, ‘Noordin Estate’. He had built a water supply line from the waterfall area in the city, namely in the Light Street/Leith Street area. This water channel was the first irrigation system in Penang before the water pipeline system was introduced.

Although he practised and had a strong adherent to the teachings of Islam, his charity deeds and donations were also extended to other religious institutions, including to the Christian institutions to facilitate their worship. The sentiment in maintaining harmony and good relations among the communities with multi religions had been practiced and nurtured since his time. Today's generation should be ashamed of not being able to emulate the attitude shown by a prominent community figure who had already charted a glorious history in this state.

Family's mosque, built up by first Kapitan Keling, Abdul Kadir Merican, my 3xgreat-grandfather's @ Mohamed Noordin Merican's elder brother.

M.M. Noordin died in 1879 at the age of 92. He was buried in the Noordin family cemetery located at Chulia Street in Penang. The tomb was built in the 1880s, which was the site where his mother was supposed to be buried. His brother was, however, not buried at the same site but in Kampong Kolam where they first migrated to Penang. The tomb was abandoned for some time before it was repaired. Presently, it has been turned into the Art Gallery of the Malay Painters Association of Penang.

Noordin Family Mausoleum.

M.M. Noordin has also a street named after him, Noordin Street or Lebuh Noordin. After his death, his business was taken over by his children. He was survived by six sons and six daughters, who have now inherited one large family. He emulated the way the Chinese carries the "family names", a legacy which is passed down to the grandchildren and future generations. It is my utmost intention that this brief narration about M.M. Noordin Merican will be able to serve as a source of inspiration to his descendants. Amen.