The third generation of Allahyarham Mohamad Bin Hj Elias.

Dear all,

It has been more than a month since I updated our family’s blog; I have to apologize for not blogging here frequently. I will try to find time and collect more ideas to furnish the blog. Meanwhile, the blog has been responded by the young third generation, the grand children, our dear Uda and Ann (me and my sister are the fourth generation even though Uda and Ann are younger by age comparison).

I would like to feature their thoughts in the post rather than in the comments section. So here we go:-

1. Excerpt from Uda.

As told by my late father; One’s life is great not because of the splendor he lives in, but the adversity he overcomes. I’ll try not to romanticize the life history of my grandparents, the late Mohamad Bin Haji Elias and his wife Zabedah Binti Hassan.

My late father was keen in retelling stories of his childhood and his upbringing. Their life was really quite well off for quite some time. Mohamad Bin Haji Elias or Pak Item to those close to the family was truly a man of literary talents. His work as a ‘jurutulis’ or writer / documenter from his postings at the Johor Police Dept. to the courthouse garnered him written recommendations for his ability to converse and write well in Malay and English. And this came straight from the then Sultan Sir Ibrahim, Sultan of Johor. From whom he received the PJP (Pingat Jasa dalam perkhidmatan) and PLP (Pingat Lama Dan Baik dalam perkhidmatan).

Writing proved to be his hobby and vocation as recalled by my grandmother. He did write one book titled ‘Tarikh’ which was about the life of Dato’ Bentara Luar, Dato’ Muhammad Salleh Bin Perang and his exploits during the openings of several towns and districts such as Endau, Batu Pahat and Bandar Maharani in Muar and his travels to Japan. The book was published circa 1928 and sold for One Ringgit. The book’s exposure albeit a short one did had a slight impact and was highlighted in the secondary school history books. The book was subsequently banned most probably because it had touched slightly on the monarchy.

Every Friday night after the Isyak prayers, the three brothers Wak Long (Sulaiman), Pak Uteh (Ariffin) and Pak Itam himself would sit together and sip coffee and talk until the wee hours of the night. Right there at the house of No. 1 Lorong 5, Jalan Yahya Awal. This is a man whose ideas were way ahead of his time. My father recalled of one, his father had proposed the setting up of a foundation for the family. Alas his demise at the peak of his years is truly a loss to us all, yet God knows best. Mashaallah.

My grandfather died of high fever (demam panas) in his early forties and left the family without a means to support themselves. My father was in his early bachelor years.

By this time the huge house had become too expensive to maintain without money to live by. They partitioned part of the house to be rented out while the family lived upstairs. A section of the land upfront was rented out to an Indian for a small sundry shop. Grandmother even took to making kuih to be sold. I remember the huge grinding stone to grind flour at the old house.

At that time your grandmother, Mak Yah (Mariah) and her sister, Mak Tam (Safiah) were already married and lived elsewhere. Your grandfather, the late Haji Abdul Manaf Bin Safar (God bless his soul) was much older and having already been employed, had helped a lot with the family. I remember my father telling me that it was he who helped him get a start, working with the Government. Times were not always rosy, but this is life after all. It is not about what we have that matters, but what we make of it.

After living in easy times and then being without a husband to take care of the family had made her strong as she persevered through much hardship later in life. She suffered from diabetes and a stroke later in life had made her bedridden. She was close to death when my father sat beside her and read the Yassin. She died before he finished the surah, after Maghreb in November 1970. God bless her soul.

I realized a slight mistake when you said that the late Zabedah Binti Hassan, wife of the late Mohamad Bin Haji Elias (God bless their souls) had no other siblings. In actuality, she had a brother (not sure whether older or younger), named Wak Salimon whose daughter Rahmah married her own cousin Pak Dik (Mohd. Sidek Bin Mohamad).

I do remember a story from my father, retold by mother during the Japanese occupation where all the families in the neighborhood had to flee for safety reasons. Mohamad Bin Haji Elias at the time was already living a high life, having his own car while the others couldn't afford one. Couldn't remember what model but I would assume it would look like something from P.Ramlee's movies. The family did have to bury household items to hide them. They packed the car full and at night literally pushed it all the way to Kempas. Most other families followed suit. This was a convoy fleeing for safety in the blanket of night, under the cover of darkness in the midst of uncertainty. Silently creeping away so as not to be noticed. The house at No. 1 Lorong 5 Jalan Yahya Awal, a house he had built with his own two hands, was left abandoned and it was not long after it was turned into the Japanese army's office station.

I simply could not imagine what was flashing in their minds then. Leaving everything behind for the sake and safety of their children. Perhaps hope and faith helped guided their way to safety... and back home when the occupation was over.

I do remember being told by my auntie, the late Mak Tam (Safiah) that her father. the late Mohamad Bin Haji Elias had truly built that huge house with his own two hands, of course with help from fellow kin and most probably had hired help too. But she did recall that he himself had to 'pikul pasir' and mixed cement.

They were orange hexagon tiles adorning the lower level living room, those actually came from an old palace somewhere near the Bukit Zaharah area, being torn down or refurbished. The disused tiles were salvaged and reused for the house. That is why, if you could remember, the tiles were not enough to cover the whole living area and the entrance foyer.

Nowadays the house No. 1 Lorong 5 still stands tall only in our memories.

Just need to rectify something here. The late Mohamed Bin Haji Elias and his wife Zabedah Binti Hassan (God bless their souls) had actually 10 offspring. Of which three of them died young or in his bachelor days.

Their offspring are (according to hierarchy) Mariah, Safiah, Abdullah (died an infant), Mohd. Amin (died a bachelor), Mohd. Salleh, Aminah (died virgin / meninggal sunti), Mohd Sidek, Mohd. Ibrahim, Saodah and Ummi Kalthom (God bless their souls those alive and gone).


2. Excerpt from Anne.

Assalamualaikum;

I would like to congratulate Kak Jah and Abg Nafi, on the effort of putting this info into pieces and let me be informed on our family history and route. I'm Anne, daughter of Arwah Pak Yem (Hj Mohamed Ibrahim, son of Allahyarham Mohamed b. Hj Elias) who was brought up in that mansion for 17+years, until the late 1999, the whole family shifted to Kg. Melayu. I shall say a lot of valuable memories that remain and forever be remaining inside our mind and heart. Quite sad though to see the mansion you used to stay no longer there.

I personally idolize our late grandfather and grandmother even though I have never seen them (only on photos). But thanks to both I got the chance to know more. The more I'd read the more I idolize them especially grandmother, she was such a ‘tabah’, women to raised up 9 children with her own hand and on top of that all of them are well of and success...am I right?

Thanks again to Kak Jah and Abg Nafi keep up the good work for the sake of our family. I'm proud to be part of Mohamed Hj Elias's family.

That’s from the grandchildren, Anne and Uda.

You are quite right Anne about great granny being ‘Tabah’ and strong, yet successfully raised her kids to be successful in their own rights, its mind boggling to imagine her life as a single mother with a large family to support.

I never know about the ‘orange tiles’ story until Uda brought this up. Being 'artistically talented’, I see that your late father and now you inherited that ‘gift’. Musical wise, I heard Allahyarham Tok Mat composed songs too, hmm thats explain my ability to sing so we can have rain in my area hehe.

By the way, Uda, I just confirmed with my mom that the late Allahyarhamah Tok Bawah and Allahyarham Wak Salimon were cousins. Maybe Kak Saadah can verify the fact here. (her daughter’s (Kak Saadah) wedding photos that was taken last year is in my picasaweb album).

Thank you all.

Love,
Napi.



Ps: Both photos are courtesy of Uda.
Pss: Hope others will write too. Anne, perhaps, I can have your email add, your brothers and sisters too. The 'comments' function provided by 'blogger' doesnt allow me to access email of senders.
Psss: Uda, do you have a copy of the book 'Tarikh'? Anyone else have it? It will be great for all of us to share the book.

MOTHER OF MOTHERS

My late grandmother
Maria bt Mohamed had related this story when I was very very young and my mother had patched up the pieces. Zabedah bt Hassan came from Java, Indonesia at a very young age maybe at seven or at the most nine into the Elias household. As she blossomed into a fine young lady, one of the Elias siblings was smitten with her and she was later married off to Mohamed, one of the sons in the Elias family. At that time, she was only nine but the marriage union was only after she reached puberty. She bore the stately Mohamed nine children out of which one died as a child.

The era was before the Japanese Occupation and Mohamed was working as an officer or interpreter of the Court during the British rule in the than Malaya. Mohamed’s grasp of languages must have been superb – hence a number of Language lecturers in our family. My uncle another Mohamed pointed out to me as we were studying the picture of Zabedah and Mohamed that Zabedah was wearing shoes when most ladies of that era could only afford slippers. What I remembered was my late grand auntie Saodah telling me that she had a Chinese ‘Ah Soh’ to dress and comb her hair before leaving for school each morning. Well, I guess the Mohamed family was very well heeled or so to speak.

During one of my visits to an uncle’s house, right after our Mohamed Hj Elias 2007 reunion I had enquired after an old dining ware as I remembered that it was presented to my husband as one of the ‘balasan’ or gifts during our engagement ceremony. I will search for my old ‘engagement pictures’ to have the crockery displayed in this blog. That piece of crockery stands as a testament of the Mohamed house being used as one of the stations during the Japanese Occupation. The crockery was buried in the ground and later dug out after the Japanese had left the country and was handed down from family to family. My late mother-in-law wondered why my side of the family had placed ‘nasi briyani’ in that particular piece of crockery that was very well lined and aged or in Malay ‘retak seribu’. To my mother, it was a lot of sentiment that goes into that piece of crockery as it was used as a ‘balasan’ during her wedding and her mother’s, a gift from Zabedah and far more valuable than any Royal Daulton or Queen Anne’s China and silver cutlery. It was bought through mail-order catalogues from the than very famous Robinson Store in Singapore. Unfortunately, my uncle told me that the heritage was stolen when my grandmother’s house was once broken into. Despite the Islamic teachings that we must not hold to earthly goods, that piece of news had somehow made my meager collection of crystals paled and meaningless as I too like my mother is a very sentimental person as history is somehow lost along with the missing crockery.

Crockery aside, I guess preserving part of our history in this blog will open up a floodgate of memories that may help our younger generation understand their roots and to hold true to Islamic beliefs and the saying that ‘Family First’ as well as ‘Charity begins at Home’ will become an adage worthy to be passed from generation to generation.


Zabedah, the “Iron Lady’
Mohamed passed away at a relatively young age, slightly above forty and Zabedah was than hardly in her thirties. With no government pension, Zabedah raised six children including a special child single-handedly. When Mohamed died, Mariah, than later Safiah was married and had their own families. Mariah was living next door to Zabedah’s mansion while Safiah was in Kluang, Johor with her husband who was than with the Agriculture Department.

Zabedah came from Java and had no siblings at least in the than Malaya and the Elias-in-laws had already passed on. There were only some family property and part of the Mohamed’s mansion that she had rented out to support her and her family. I remembered my mother telling me about Zabedah’s chicken coup and the small banana plot that may be her other source of income. Life must be tough for Zabedah but she persevered. Her well-known highly disciplinarian style of upbringing had ensured that all her children were well-placed in society. The mansion was build by Mohamed but it was Zabedah’s legacy. She could have put her children in an orphanage or squandered away the wealth but her children’s wellbeing and the mansion as the Mohamed Hj Elias legacy was supreme in her mind. That ‘Power of Love’ for her children and the ‘Strength of an Iron Lady’ magnified every time I passed the old house in Lorong Lima, Yahya Awal which alas is now no more.

My brother remembered her as the bedridden lady while I only remembered the helpless kindly face where part of her blood now flows in my body. She was forever enticing me to come near her by offering me candies or coins. After all am I not her first great grand-daughter. I called her ‘Tok Bawah’ - a name my mother used to call her as my other great-grandfather was ‘Tok Jantan’ and not predictably ‘Tok Atas’ as his house was just next door and on a higher ground.

There are many wonderful and some heart wrenching stories I would like to share with the younger group that I feel if I put my true heart to it - if the stories does not bag me a Nobel award, it will at least have Shuhaimi Baba or our Yasmin Ahmad, our film industry greats begging for more stories. However, sensitivity aside I must thread carefully.

Zabedah bt Hassan was indeed a very very fine lady and in fact a very very fine example to emulate as a wife, mother and a personality worth mentioning in any history books especially our family history blog as ‘Mother of all Mothers’ – at least in our family.

Al Fatihah to Allahyarhamah Zabedah bt Hassan. May her soul be at Peace and be placed among the ‘Shuhadas’ and ‘Salihin’. Amen.

Our big family.

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Bismillahirahmanirahim.

It all started a long time ago during the pre-world war with two persons in love, supplemented with hopes, determination and polished with strong values. Multiply that, years later we are there to see ourselves; in a kingdom we call family. Stronger than bricks, unshaken by earthquakes and still standing tall through thick and thin provided that we all unite and withstand any hurdles in the name of family.

The late Allahyarham Mohamed Bin Hj Elias has left us so many years ago, based on my raw calculation about 70 years from the present date. He died at the approximate age of 40, left a wife - the late Allahyarhamah Zabedah Bt Hassan (known to most of us as 'Tok Bawah') and his 9 children but his legacy to excel and survive in life still lives on in each and every one of us. For the spirit of unity, let him be the source of inspiration to all of us.

For the memory of Allahyarham Mohamed Bin Hj Elias and our love to the family, me and my sister Khadijah Mohd Noor from millionairesarefromthesameplanet.blogspot.com (we are the great grandchildren), dedicate this blog to Allahyarham, the children (currently survive by his son and daughter, Pak Dik and Mak Chom/ Datin Hajjah Ummi Kalthom), grand children, great grandchildren and our children of the future generation.

This blog will not be perfect without the contribution of facts and information from relatives as it is impossible to gather any information regarding our ancestor from history text books available, nevertheless, it is important for us to preserve our own historical document as this will not only provide us with a dimension to reflect ourselves but also to unite our ever increasing number in the family.

Our first reunion was held on the 14th of October 2007 during the second day of the auspicious Hari Raya, conducted at our dearest Datin Hajjah Ummi Kalthom’s (fondly called Mak Chom to all of us) mansion in Johor Bahru. The function that started at 3.00pm was a success with guess (so many of us) comprising the children of the late Allahyarham, grand children, great grandchildren and the great great great…. Photos can be viewed and downloaded from picasaweb.google.com/hanafinoor for free to all of us.

For a start, this blog might only be a small memento that our family can share at the moment but I strongly believe it will be a great and important blog to network our big family. As the current author for the blog, I would like to invite all of us to post anything about the family from extra facts to our ancestor's history, announcements, greetings etc.

Any comments, suggestions for improvement or even new info are welcome and can be emailed to me at hanafinoor@nafibiz.com or hanafinoor@gmail.com. I am still waiting the softcopy of Arwah's photos and family tree chart from Nawal and details regarding our family that Abang Ramli has collected during the reunion before I can upload to this blog.


Ps : It's really touching to see some of us came all the way to Johor Bahru from Penang (the late Allahyarhamah Mak Odah's family) for this meaningful family reunion.

Pss : Alfatihah to those 'resting in peace' that we miss dearly.