BUKAN ORANG SEBARANGAN
In search of my ancestry

During my early childhood I have always been reminded by the family elders to uphold the good name of our family. The most vocal of the family elders was my uncle Wan Mohamed, fondly known to everybody as Ayah Mat. He always stressed, nay, he insisted that we should protect the good name of the Wan Ngah family. I can still remember his stern words “Kita kena jaga nama baik keluarga kita. Kita bukan keturunan orang sebarangan”. Ayah Mat was the eldest son and the third child of the couple Kapten Haji Wan Ngah Wan Abdul Rahman and his wife Hajjah Rafeah Ahmad, my maternal grandparents.

Haji Wan Ngah Bin Panglima Besar Hajjah Rafeah Ahmad (Tok Darat)
Wan Abdul Rahman in the Uniform of Captain of the Askar Timbalan Setia Negeri (JMF)

Hajjah Rafeah binti Ahmad (Tok Darat)

Ayah Mat was literally “the voice of the family”, speaking always on behalf of my mother’s family-members. We, myself, my siblings and other cousins took that advice, or decree, as some saw it, at face value. It was incumbent upon us to keep ourselves out of trouble and not to do anything that might taint or smear the family’s name. What we never did, until quite recently was to ask and get an explanation from him or from other family elders, what was meant by“orang sebarangan”

Fast forward to the present.

About four years ago, my elder brother Yahya and cousin Faridah Aris organized, for the first time a Hari Raya gathering of the “Waris Keluarga Kapten Haji Wan Ngah”. The one day gathering that saw about 300 waris-waris of Kapten Haji Wan Ngah gathered in the compound of the Johor State Secretary’s Residence in Johor Bahru for a day of silatur rahim and getting to know the extent of Kapten Haji Wan Ngah’s family and off- springs. The Guest of Honour was my aunt, Hajjah Wan Fatimah, the second oldest surviving member of the Haji Wan Ngah’s nine children.

The only photograph of Haji Wan Ngah’s complete family, taken in Nong Chik, Johor Bahru in 1966.

Standing (R-L), Wan Abdul Rahim (Anjang), Wan Kamariah (Teh), Wan Mohamed (Ayah Mat), Wan Fatimah (Cu) and Wan Mahmood (Pak Haji Kecik).
Sitting (R-L): Wan Tom (Encik Ngah), Wan Wok (Mak Hatta), Hajjah Rafeah (Tok Darat), Wan Esah (Mak Besar) and Wan Halijah (Mak Aa)

The other member present was Haji Wan Mahmood, the youngest member of the family, while the eldest surviving child Wan Kamariah who lives in Perth, Australia with her daughter Hamidah (Nem) could not come because of health reason.

I never realised that the well organized and attended gathering would open a new chapter for the descendents of Kapten Haji Wan Ngah and Rafeah Ahmad.

It took me almost three years after that gathering to realise that what Ayah Mat told us 50 years ago did actually mean something, and something very significant. Till now not many of the waris-waris were actually aware of the fact and significance of the newly discovered secret as it has not been “officially disseminated to everyone. Insya Allah, when all the facts have been properly verified, everyone would be told.

During that gathering, my nephew Amran Idris started a web-site on Kapten Haji Wan Ngah at http://www.hajiwanngah.com/. That web-site contained useful information about my Grandfather and detailed information about his nine children and their families. It was also intended to be inter-active where members of the extended family could share information and updates. Sadly due to minimal participation and contribution from family-members that web-site was rarely updated and I believe it has now been suspended. It was from this web-site that I finally learnt my great Grandfather’s real name was Panglima Besar Wan Abdul Rahman. Wow! A Panglima Besar! Must have been a high court official. This new revelation actually sparked my interest to find out more about my Grandfather’s ancestry.

My Grandfather, Wan Ngah mengembara from Terengganu to Johore when he was about 17 years old. From stories I heard from family elders he accompanied his step-mother Tok Gobek and half-brother Wan Ahmad (Tok Chik) and came to Johor Bahru in search of a better life and prospect for both himself and his half brother. He later joined the Askar Timbalan Setia Negeri Johor, or the Johor Military Force (JMF), the private army of the Sultan of Johor

http://asianmil.typepad.com/stage3/2009/06/the-johore-military-force

For a long time I have been wondering how a non-Johorian had managed to become a Captain in that outfit when it has always been a rule, till to-day I believe, that you have to be an anak watan, i.e a Johorian to join the force and to rise through the rank to become an officer. How did my Grandfather do it? From stories I heard, my Grandfather did, in the beginning, face a lot of hostility and envy from his comrades-in-arm until an emissary from the Terengganu Palace came down to Johor and explained my Grandfather’s family background and origin which was Johor. That put an end to all suspicion and hostility, and I am sure the JMF must have been proud to welcome back an anak watan from a distinguished family.

Hence began my quest to know as much as possible about my ancestry from my Mother’s side. I was lucky that earlier this year I met a businessman from Terengganu, Dato Suhaimi Hashim, who I have been reliably informed was quite close to the Terengganu Palace. He confirmed about the existence of a Panglima Besar Wan Abdul Rahman who played a significant role in the modern day development of the Terenggan Sultanate. He was the one who told me about the publication Dirgahayu Tuanku – SEJARAH KESULTANAN TERENGGANU 1708 – 2008, a publication by Yayasan Di Raja Sultan Mizan. He mentioned that my great Grandfather’s name was mentioned several times in that book. When I was in Terengganu earlier this year I managed to buy a copy of that book from the Yayasan. Lo and behold! My great Grandfather’s name was indeed mentioned several times and not only that, his official name was Panglima Besar Orang Kaya Megat Sri Mahkota Wan Abdul Rahman, a highly respected and decorated court official from Terengganu. That title was bestowed upon him by Baginda Sultan Omar, the ninth Sultan of Terengganu (1831, 1839-76). Not satisfied with this new information I began a google search on Panglima Besar Wan Abdul Rahman. One of the many postings or sites I came across was a geni.com site which showed a public profile of the Paglima. This public profile is operated by Tunku Dato Iskandar Dzulkarnain Tunku Dato Ismail. That web-site can be found here:

http://www.geni.com/people/panglima-besar-orang-kaya-megat-sri-mahkota-wan-abdul-rahman/6000000010040785868

From here I managed to trace Panglima Wan Abdul Rahman’s ancestors and if the information I have gathered are correct, then my maternal Grandfather, Kapten Hj Wan Ngah was the 7th. generation descendent of Bendahara Tun Habib Abdul Majid Al Idrus, also known as Habib Abdul Majid Padang Saujana, the 19th Bendahara of the Johor Sultanate during the 16th century. Tun Habib Abdul Majid (1637 – 1697), in turn was the great-grandson of Sayyid Abdullah Al-Aidrus, a Hadrami Arab immigrant who settled in Acheh and married the daughter of Sultan Alauddin Mansyur Shah. Their son, Sayyid Zainal Abidin, migrated to Johor and married the granddaughter of Tun Sri Lanang by his son, Tun Jenal the 5th Bendahara of Sekudai. It was from this union that the Maharaja Sri Diraja, the Dato Pasir Diraja (Sayyid Ja’afar) and Putri Bakal were born. Putri Bakal was believed to have later married Sultan Mahmud Shah II. The name “Habib” was a local Achinese variant of the “Sayyid”, an honorific title used by descendants of Prophet Muhamad SAW. However, for political expediency, descendants of Tun Habib decided to abandon the use of the honorific title “Sayyid” and instead use the title “Tun”. Thus Tun Habib’s several sons by different wives were all known as Tuns; Tun Abdul Jalil, Tun Abdullah, Tun Abdul Jamal, Tun Mas Anum, Tun Zainal Abidin and Tun Mas Jiwa. These six sons were all later appointed as Bendahara. Tun Abdul Jalil and Tun Tun Zainal Abidin later established their own independent ruling houses or Sultanate in Johor-Riau and Terengganu, respectively. My maternal grandfather lineage began with Tun Abdul Jamal, who became a Bendahara with the title Bendahara Paduka Raja Tun Abdul Jamal. Tun Habib Abdul Majid died in Padang Saujana, Kota Tinggi in 1697 and was buried there. That place is now known as Kampung Makam, and I was there last Hari Raya to pay my respect to my great Ancestor (Al Fatihah).


The writer standing next to the sign-board put up by Tourism Malaysia Kampung Makam, Kota Tinggi



Makam Bendahara Sri Maharaja Tun Habib Abdul Majid
The 19th Bendahara of Johor (1637 -1697)
Kampung Makam, Kota Tinggi, Johor

Now it becomes clear why Ayah Mat was very particular about us children maintaining the good name of our family. Yes, we are not keturunan orang sebarangan. My only regret about the whole thing is that the family elders should not have kept this information to themselves. They should have told us about our great ancestors much earlier. Imagine that we had to find out the hard way about our ancestors, and they were, as put it nicely by Ayah Mat “bukan orang sebarangan”.

My task is not over. I am hoping to meet up with a local resident of Kampung Makam, Che Gu Ahmad Bahari who, I have been made to understand, has written a book about Tun Habib Abdul Majid. I am interested to find out what new information he has managed to compile and put in his writing. Another task will be to find out why somewhere along the line, the honorific or predicate “Tun” was suddenly changed to “Wan”. This was detected when tracing the family tree of Tun Habib. The fifth generation family members of Tun Aminuddin were Tun Sulaiman Dagang, Che Wan Besar (F), Che Wan Tok, Che Wan Limah (F) and Che Wan Endut (F). Tun Sulaiman Dagang’s son, my great-grandfather was named Wan Abdul Rahman. Insya Allah, I will write about this once information are gathered, vetted and verified.

I am happy that the task I set upon myself a few years back is now almost completed. All information mentioned in these write-ups are based on printed materials which were gathered from the print and electronic media. I must admit that I have not been able to verify them, but since they have already appeared in print, I accept their authenticity.

THE HUMBLE BEGINNING

THE HUMBLE BEGINNING

Four months ago, on my 64th birthday, a friend suggested that I should start a Blog and write about my life, from childhood till now. I found that suggestion appealing as I have always wanted to share my experience with, and tell my stories to those whom would care to listen. My friend even helped to set up my Blog “Perjalanan Ku”. Since then I have received calls from friends asking when they could expect to read my first posting. Ya lah dah lebih empat bulan satu artikal pun takde, macam mana ni? Hangat-hangat taik ayam aje, said another.

I was actually undecided about my first article. Finally I decided to write about my family background, so that readers will be able to know me first hand, from my childhood till now before they share my other stories. The following is the first instalment about my family background.

I was born at 12.35 pm , Friday 18th October 1946 in the “rumah tengah” of our ancestral home at 19 Jalan Dato’ Dalam, Johor Bahru. I was given the name “Arphan” by my Grandfather Kapten Wan Ngah bin Panglima Wan Abdul Rahman who was a retired Officer with the Johor Military Force (Timbalan Setia Negeri). At home and among relatives, however, I am known as Abdul Rahman or simply Aman. I was told that the name “Arphan” was of Farsi origin, and it means “Arif” in Arabic or “Yang bijaksana” in Malay. I hope I have lived up to that name. I have always been proud of that name as until quite lately I have always believed that I was the only “Arphan” in this country. Of course, you will find many Arpans or Arfans, but I have not found or heard of another Arphan. The exception was the name “Omar Arphan” which was given by one of my former office-mates and close friends, the late Omar Mahdum to his first Grandson. I was honoured when he called me and asked my “permission” to use the name “Arphan”. That boy must be about 10 years old now.

I am the second of the four boys born to the couple Ahmad Abdul Rahman and Wan Tom Wan Ngah. All four boys were born in the same rumah tengah of the ancestral home, the scene of many births later when my cousin Neng (Abang) took over and lived in that house after we moved to a nearby house. Before the first boy Yahya (Long) was born in December 1944, my parents adopted a baby girl, Zaleha. It was nothing unusual in my Mother’s family for the daughters to adopt a girl before or shortly after marriage. It was sort of training to bring up their own off-springs later. There were three such adoptions in my Mother’s family. Zaleha has since passed away. She succumbed to breast cancer at the age of 60. Yahya runs his own Motivation and Training Consultancy firm based in Johor Bahru. The third in the family is Idris (Weis) who is a retired Police Officer and the youngest, Mohd Yusof (Roem) is presently the Director General of Balai Seni Lukis Negara. He joined the Balai middle of last year after his retirement from the Foreign Service. In 1965 my parents adopted another girl, Anita (Ti) who presently resides in Shah Alam with her family.

Standing - Yahya, Idris, Mohd Yusof and Arphan.
Seated – Zaleha, Dad, Mum and Ti













Both my parents have passed away. My father passed away in 1997 at the age of 77. Since his death my Mother never left the house in Johor Bahru, not even to visit my Dad’s grave. She passed away in 2006 at the age of 86. My Allah SWT bless their souls always and put them in the place reserved for those yang beriman dan bertakwa kepadaNya.

Till about four years ago, the ancestral home still stood proudly among other dilapidated homes amidst modern development in that area. Our family, who owns that house and six other houses in that area was forced by the local authority to demolish them as that area has been rezoned for light commercial development. The only remaining structure there is a Surau which was bequeathed by my Grandfather to the Muslim Community of that area. That Surau will be moved to a new site when redevelopment takes place, which hopefully is soon. Currently the land measuring almost one acre is being used as a public parking lot, operated by the family.

I can still remember clearly every nook and corner of that house as I lived in that house for 4 years before my father built another house just next to it. The family lived in that new house for about seven years before moving to a government quarter in Nong Chik. Even after we moved to Nong Chik I spent a lot of time, usually week-ends in that ancestral house until I left Malaysia for my first overseas posting in January 1969. Despite the size of that house it had only 3 bedrooms. The master bedroom in the front portion of the house and next to the rumah tengah was occupied by my Auntie Wan Wok, who also happened to be my father’s step-mother. My parents occupied the smaller bedroom, next to another smaller room which was squeezed between my parents’ room and the rumah tengah. The rumah tengah occupied a large portion of the upper split-level of the house. It was here where most of the activities took place – receiving and entertaining visitors, make-shift sleeping quarters for other members of the family and visiting relatives. Most significantly, one corner of that rumah tengah was used as the delivery room – “tempat bersalin” of not less than 8 babies, the four of us, and later, another four from my cousin Abang. I can still remember how that special corner was turned into this special place by hanging and stringing pieces of kain batik to make a make-shift room.

Another significant point I wish to highlight here is that all four of us were delivered by the Kampung’s Mak Bidan, Mak Ara. Mak Ara was the only Mak Bidan in the whole Kampung Air Molek and I am sure all the babies born in that kampong were delivered by her. Mak Ara was an elegant lady, slightly tall and heavy built for a lady, with dark complexion and beautiful and shining black hair she rolled and tucked into a beautiful siput behind her head. The thing that I remember most about her was her prominent oval face that showed a lot of determination and character, her full set of white teeth, which I later found out was a set of dentures, and that she always applied the “celak Mekah” around the lower eye-lids. To me it was such a beauty to see her with the “celak”. I must admit that years later, in my teens I used to apply the same “Celak Mekah” around my lower eye-lid and the practice stopped when I left Malaysia for Germany in 1969. By the way I still have the full set of cepu celak which used to belong to my late Mum.

My family lived in Air Molek until 1957 when we moved to a government quarter in Lorong Tiga, Nong Chik. The family had to move because the boys were growing up, and it was getting more crowded in the small house, and also because my sister Zaleha was getting married. Even after we moved to Nong Chik I always had a strong attachment to Air Molek and I kept coming back to the old house every now and then. Air Molek, or specifically house No 19 Jalan Dato’ Dalam has always been and will remain my root – lots of fond memories which I would like to share with you. All this later in my next posting.In my next posting I will write more about my ancestors. I assure you it will make interesting reading. Till then cheers and Go