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