TO UNDERSTANDING THE UKRAINE RUSSIA CONFLICT

The conflict had sparked in 2014. Ukraine which was liberated from the Soviet Union (formerly Russia's name) in 1991, tends to join the European Union EU and NATO. 

It makes Vladimir Putin in doubtful. This conflict also had killed our Malaysia Airlines MH17 which are 283 passengers and 15 crew on board were killed on July 2014 while this flight was flying over on the Crimea's airspace. In fact until now, no answer and none of the culprits been brought to the arbitration. 

The conflict is vigorously popping up in the Crimean territory. This is because there are many pro Russian rebels are here.  They got arms aid from Russia.

Russia assumes Ukraine's tendency is a huge threat towards Russia and its regional areas. At the same time Ukraine excited to participate into Nato. Ukraine is not an opponent compare to Russia and of course it relies on the US and EU to deal with this conflict.

In order to liberate the Crimeans, Putin claims that a mass of the population of the Crimean Peninsular supported Russia and claimed that they were oppressed and discriminated by the Ukrainian government. The interference of United States will bring a more exacerbates as long United States attempts to stop Russian action on this conflict.

ALIFF AKHBAR 

The true story of my maternal grandfather Sheikh Abdul Kadir bin Sheikh Abdul Rahman

Assalamualaikum Good Day. Dear readers, the following article is about my maternal great-grandfather Sheikh Abdul Kadir bin Sheikh Abdul Rahman as narrated by my uncle Shaikh Mohamed Noordin. Even though I was not yet born at that time, the story itself made me feel close to my great-grandfather as though I know him personally. Please continue reading this story and I hope you too will to get to know him better.

The true story of my maternal grandfather Sheikh Abdul Kadir bin Sheikh Abdul Rahman 

By Shaikh Mohamed Noordin

The story that I want to share here this time is about the father of my mother Shamsam Nihar - my maternal grandfather who was named after his grandfather Sheikh Abdul Kadir Khasab. His official name was Sheikh Abdul Kadir bin Sheikh Abdul Rahman as his father was Sheikh Abdul Rahman. I called him Tok Yan as his family nickname was Chik Yan.

Tok Yan was born in Ipoh, Perak circa 1909 as the second child of 16 siblings from parents of aristocratic lineage. His grandfather Sheikh Abdul Kadir Khasab was an entrepreneur who had as one of his many businesses the Hajj pilgrimage and tourism in Mecca. Tok Yan’s father Sheikh Abdul Rahman was a pioneer member of the Perak State Legislature. He lived in quite an isolated home in the 3rd mile, off Kuala Kangsar Road.

My grandfather Sheikh Abdul Kadir bin Sheikh Abdul Rahman @ Tok Yan.

Although Tok Yan’s father Sheikh Abdul Rahman was born in Penang in Jawi Peranakan family, he settled down in Ipoh Perak after taking Che Mariam as his second wife. Sheikh Abdul Rahman had two daughters with his first wife in Penang. 

Tok Yan's father, Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Shaikh Abdul Kadir Kashab.(Left)

Tok Yan's mother, Che Mariam bte Kulup Anjang Yusuf.(Right)

Tok Yan's grandmother, Andak Sindik.

Tok Yan's house in 3rd mile, Kuala Kangsar Road.

Tok Yan’s mother Che Mariam or Che Yam was the second daughter of Andak Sindik and Mohamed Yusuf @ Kulup Anjang Yusuf, the 10th Dato Panglima Kinta. Her sisters were Che Zaliha @ Che Ah, and, Yang Kalsom @ Che Yai. The three siblings Che Ah, Che Yam, and Che Yai carried the aboriginal bloodline of their mother Andak Sindik. Andak Sindik's father, Uda Kecil, was Chieftain of the native tribe of Temiar. Uda Kecil was also an elephant herder.

Perak State Council members 1932. Tok Yan's father, Sheikh Abdul Rahman was at the last row and in the middle.

Tok Yan's grandfathar, Kulup Mohamed Yusuf @ Anjang Yusuf, 10th Dato' Panglima Kinta.

Tok Yan married his second cousin Fatimah bte Che Ros - my grandmother. Following the style of address of a grandmother in the Panglima Kinta tradition, I as a descendent of this tradition called my grandmother “Ta”.

Ta Fatimah's mother Andak Bakyah and Tok Yan’s mother Che Mariam were first cousins - their mothers Andak Sindik and Ngah Manah were siblings and the daughters of Uda Kecil.

My Tok Yan and his first wife, my granny Ta' Fatimah.

Sadly, Tok Yan divorced Ta Fatimah after they had three children, namely my elder uncle Shamsudin @ Lope, my mother Shamsam Nihar @ Che The, and my younger uncle Nuruddin @ Che Mu. After the divorce, they both re-married. Tok Yan married Teh Bakyah, and they adopted a daughter named Mariani as they could not conceive a child together. Ta Fatimah married a Chinese man named Ong Seng Hee @ Mohamed Ariff bin Abdullah, and they too had no children from their union.   

Tok Yan and Teh Takyah, his second wife and their adopted daughter, Mariani.

My grandfather Tok Yan, my uncle Shaik Buniamun @ Mamu Bachik and myself.

I am grateful to be able to grow up within the lifetime of my maternal grandfather Tok Yan as my paternal grandfather Shaik Natar died young. Thus, I knew Tok Yan intimately before he died at the age of 64 in 1984.

When Tok Yan was a boy of 10, he caught the typhoid fever, which caused him to lose his hearing and he became deaf and mute for the rest of his life. Due to this tragedy, he was lavished with a lot more attention from both his parents as well as other members of the family than his siblings. In fact, he was adopted by his aunt Che Zaliha or Che Ah who had no children of her own. Che Ah also cared for two of his younger brothers Chik Khalid and Chik Shuib. 

Tok Yan's aunty as well as his adopted mother, Che Ah and his cousin Shamlan.

Both his parents as well as his adoptive mother Che Ah died soon after that, and Tok Yan’s disability coupled with his lack of an education made his life difficult compared to his other siblings. Nevertheless, it would be during hard times that a human’s virtues would shine through, and in the case of Tok Yan, it certainly did. His tenacity and perseverance in facing life’s challenges made him resilient. He refused to bother anyone, let alone ask for help from his siblings, even though most of them were doing way better than him in their respective lives.Tok Yan’s handicap and his aristocracy saw to it that he was pampered. As his family was wealthy enough to guarantee his future, indeed not very much was demanded of him at all to get a proper education compared to his other siblings. However, this proved unfortunate when Malaya fell during the Second World War. The luxurious mollycoddled life of his adolescence and young adulthood ended when the Japanese captured and occupied Malaya from 1942 to 1945.

After Merdeka, to lift himself from financial indigence, Tok Yan secured himself a job as a plumber with the Ipoh Municipal Council until his retirement. To supplement his income, he applied his skills in the art of photography. Many relatives and friends patronise his creative services for their private functions.

Tok Yan also possessed remarkable talent in repairing and assembling technical equipment. He repaired TVs, watches, electric generators, and so on, and was able to disassemble and reassemble electrical items easily. He was also very innovative in creating toys for his grandchildren such as "magic cube", desk games, leaving his grandchildren with fond memories.

Later in life, his eldest brother Tan Sri Datuk Chik Mohamad Yusuf @ CM Yusuf, former Dato' Bendahara of Perak and former Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (1964 to 1974), gave Tok Yan a monthly allowance out of his own pocket. But once again tragedy hit and his brother died in a road accident on 26 June 1975 at the age of 68. The monetary assistance ended. 

Tok Yan's eldest brother, Tan Sri Datuk Chik Mohamed Yusuf, former Speaker Dewan Rakyat, 1964 – 1974.

Let us pray for Tok Yan and departed family members so that their souls may be placed together among the good and blessed.Tok Yan’s younger brother Datuk Ridhuan @ Chik Wan was former Deputy High Commissioner of Police; another younger brother Datuk Khalid was Protocol Officer to the Chief Minister of Sabah; Chik Musa @ Chik Mad worked and resided in Saudi Arabia; and the youngest Datuk Wan Zahir was former Deputy Secretary of the Parliament of Malaysia.

Special Thanks

I am especially indebted to my mother Puan Shamsam Nihar bte Sheikh Abdul Kadir and her adopted sister Puan Mariani bte Abdul Kadir for their reminiscence and revelation about my grandfather Tok Yan @ Sheikh Abdul Kadir bin Sheikh Abdul Rahman as my main source of reference in constructing the family tree of Shaik Ahmad Meah bin Shaik Gulam Meah.

PS: Some of the names used in the family tree are nicknames of the person. Therefore, the information can always be updated at any time.

Family tree Indicators:

•  Names in green boxes - stand for male descendents

•  Names in pink boxes - stand for female descendents

•  Names in red font - stand for female names

•  Names in bold - stand for direct descendents

•  Names in italic - stand for spouses 

The Descendants of My Great-Grandfather Shaik Ahmad Meah

Assalamualaikum Dear readers, it is my pleasure to share another article about our ancestor Shaik Ahmad Meah's which was narrated by my uncle Shaik Mohamed Noordin. I am excited to share his article here which I hope it can be future reference, especially for our younger generations to know more about their family history. At the same time, I would like to thank him for using my blog to compile all his collection of articles about our ancestors, I hope all my readers will enjoy reading this article. Thank you

The Descendants of My Great-Grandfather Shaik Ahmad Meah

By Shaikh Mohamed Noordin  

Personally, I don’t really know much about my own paternal great-grandfather Shaik Ahmad Meah bin Gulam Meah. However, I still believe that the facts that I had gathered from my older relatives were quite reliable due to their personal intimacy with our great-grandmother Ku Teh, wife of Shaik Ahmad Meah. However, there was no clear evidence to support the facts that whatever they know about him were entirely correct.

Shaik Ahmad Meah was a Jawi Peranakan who shared the same ancestry as my maternal great-grandfather, Shaik Mohamed Noordin, who was the father of my grandmother, Safar Bee @ Che Wan Chik. Both of my great-grandfathers, Shaik Ahmad Meah and Shaik Mohamed Noordin came from the same great-grandfather, Shaik Nattar Sahib, who was a former Lieutenant in the East India Company during the British era.

Shaik Ahmad Meah was related to Shaik Nattar Sahib through his maternal side (Che Buchik), while Shaik Mohamed Noordin was related through his paternal side (Shaik Eusuff). Thus, both of them were cousins. This was because Shaik Ahmad Meah’s mother was the sister of Shaik Mohamed Noordin’s father, Shaik Eusuff.

Shaik Natar Sahib was originated from Gujarat in India.

Nevertheless, there was a slight difference of “Shaik” in the surname betweent he paternal side and the maternal side of the family. The paternal side had “Meah” at the end of their names which carry the meaning “great” except my father’s name is Shaik Habil and he did not have “Meah” at the end of his name, but his nickname had “Meah” and he was better known as “Bah Meah” among our relatives.

My great-grandfather, Shaik Ahmad Meah was the only child of Shaik Gulam Meah with Che Buchik, who was also the sister of Shaik Eusuff. It is believed that Che Buchik and Shaik Gulam Meah were also a closely related family member. Back in those days, it was quite customary to marry one’s cousin within the Jawi Peranakan community. This was the Jawi Peranakan way to strengthen family ties, especially those who came from wealthy families. Sadly, none of the remaining family members know the names of Shaik Gulam Meah’s parents and their actual relationship with his wife’s family, Che Buchik.

Through my research, it was suggested that Shaik Ahmad Meah was an architect. It seemed that he had designed his own residence near Kedah House on Northam Road, Penang.  Another building that he designed was an underground nightclub which was formerly located opposite the Suria Apartment which has now been demolished. He was believed to have helped his uncle, Shaik Eusuff, a lot, who was involved in the construction business. Shaik Ahmad Meah’s name was also listed as a witness in a will made by Shaik Eusuff in 1892.

Shaik Ahmad Meah was married to Tengku Maimunah @ Ku Teh. They were blessed with seven children, four girls, [Mohamed Bee @ Bijan, Aishah Bee @ Buchik, Mohamed Chak @ Che Chak and Chik Su] and three boys [Shaik Latif, Shaik Gulam Meah @ Mamu Dada and my own grandfather, Shaik Natar.] Back in those days, it was quite normal for women in the Jawi Peranakan community to use the name Mohamed or Ahmad, as in the case of my grandfather’s sisters.

My grandfather, Shaik Natar bin Shaik Ahmad Meah

My grandparents with their young children. My father was their eldest child.

Shaik Ahmad Meah’s wife Ku Teh’ was the daughter to Hj Salleh who was said to be from the Kedah royal family. However, Hj Salleh did not want to use “Tengku” on his name because he did not want to be detected by the Siamese authorities. Hj Salleh was married to a pretty woman from Lingga, the mother of Ku Teh’. Hj Salleh was said to be an eminent warrior and also fought against the Siamese in Kedah and Southern Thailand. He was also a prominent martial arts teacher in Kedah and his prowess in the martial arts had been inherited by his grandson, Shaik Gulam Meah or better known as Mamu Dada in Penang.

Shaik Gulam Meah or Mamu Dada was famous for his skills in Malay martial arts or silat, particularly in Penang. He pioneered a martial arts technique based on the elbow exercise named “Siku Duabelas”. Like his grandfather Hj Salleh, Mamu Dada was also a traditional healer who wrote medical manuscripts about the various types of diseases and how to treat them. This manuscript is still being kept under the care of my brother Shaik Harunarashib. He also succeeded in formulating a type of medicine (makjun) called “PAKAN”. This makjun was used to boost the energy and stamina of his silat students, enabling them to practice their martial art longer. Unfortunately, all his skills and knowledge could not be passed on to his descendants because he had no children.

Shaik Gulam Meah

Shaik Gulam Meah or famously known as Mamu Dada, a reputable Malay martial art or silat instructor in Penang before independence era.

On the other hand, my own grandfather, Shaik Natar, who was the elder brother to Mamu Dada worked in the medical field as a dresser in the government hospital. My grandfather was married to my grandmother Che Wan Chik after he had divorced his first wife, Che Raja who was also my grandmother’s cousin. Che Raja was a daughter to Shaik Sathuck. They had two children, the boy named Shaik Murad @ Babjan and the girl named Mahirjan. My grandmother and Che Raja, both were Shaik Eusuff’s granddaughters.

My grandfather was a dresser in Bukit Mertajam hospital.

Other than this, there was nothing more that I know about the rest of my grandfather’s siblings because all of them have already died. So let us pray together so that their souls may be placed together among the other good souls.

My parents during their wedding's day. 

Special Thanks

I am especially indebted to my both cousins Allahyarhamah Puan Farizan bte Bayazid Khan and Puan Norjan bte Tajuddin for their insight, recalls about our common great-grandfather Shaik Ahmad Meah as my source of reference in drafting the family trees of Shaik Ahmad Meah bin Shaik Gulam Meah.

PS: Some of the names used in the family tree are only commonly known names to the person. Therefore, the information can always be updated if any corrections need to be made at any time.

Family tree Indicators:

• Names in green boxes – stand for male descendents 

• Names in pink boxes – stand for female descendents 

• Names in red font – stand for female names 

• Names in bold – stand for direct descendents 

• Names in italic – stand for spouses