Burmese Myanmar Everywhere in Malaya
I simply wish that some few respected persons who are IT literate from different countries could start to record all the Myanmar Diaspora and their history around the world.
Twenty five yrs ago, I was surprised to read the NST first page report about the photo and bio data of retiring Director of CID, Malaysia. His name started with Maung…He was said to be transferred to British Malaya while serving the police force in British Burma. He never went back to Burma and continued to serve after independence.
Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon was the Chief Minister of Penang from 1990 to 2008 and is currently a member of the Dewan Negara, the upper house of the Malaysian Parliament. In April 2009, Koh was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. He once said that one of his grandparent was from Burma.
He is currently president of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan), a member of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.
Once I met the CEO (boss) of the Habib jewels (more than 2 dozen showrooms in Malaysia). He told me that his father migrated from Burma and his uncle is still in Yangon. His wife told Thida (my wife) that she is ½ Burmese and likes Mon Hinga. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Habib-Jewels/15647792749?v=info
Once during the Indian President had an official visit to Malaysia, President’s wife revealed in the newspaper interview that she was born in Burma, got first degree from RASU and married the future President on her postgraduate studies in India. (Daw Tint Tint aka Usha Narayanan is the wife of former Indian President, Kocheril Raman Narayanan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kocheril_Raman_Narayanan
Wife of the ex Minister (he resigned on his own, to concentrate on his business), famous actress Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina’s grandfather, Datuk Eddie Eu Eng Hock was a Burmese Chinese. (He was said to be the first person to buy and use the Roll Royse car in Malaya. One of his son was a major in Royal Malaysia Air force. https://drkokogyi.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/datin-seri-tiara-jacquelinas-grandfather-datuk-eddie-eu-eng-hock-was-a-burmese-chinese/ There are at least another 2 actress here with Burmese blood.
Burmese migrants to Malaya are pioneers in publishing Jawi, Chinese and Tamil newspapers https://drkokogyi.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/burmese-migrants-to-malaya-are-pioneers-in-publishing-jawi-chinese-and-tamil-newspapers/
Burmese migrants to Malaya are pioneers in publishing Jawi, Chinese and Tamil newspapers
Abdul Karim Ghani
Aw Boon Haw
Before the Second World War Abdul Karim Ghani was a parliamentary secretary in Burma under Dr. Ba Maw’s government. He came to Malaya and became the manager of “The Muslim Publishing House”, the editor of the Malayasian Tamil daily Malayan Nanban, as well as the editor of the Malay edition Dawn, under the name Sinaran. Karim Ghani is alleged to have pioneered the first Jawi Scripted Malay newspaper in Malaya.
He was a prolific writer who could write in English, malay, jawi, arabic, urdu and tamil. Karim also started the first Tamil newspaper, The Malaya Nanban. Ghani was involved with the Muslim League and was the president of the All Malaya Muslim Missionary Society (AMMMS) and an official in several other organizations.
Karim Ghani was born in Sodugudi, Ilayangudi, a politician in South-East Asia of Indian origin Karim Ghani. Before the Second World War Karim Ghani was a parliamentary secretary in Burma under Dr. Ba Maw. During World War II, Ghani came to be the Minister FOR STATE IN Subhas Bose’s Azad Hind government and was in Malaya. He was also the manager of “The Muslim Publishing House”, the editor of the Malayasian Tamil daily Malayan Nanban, as well as the editor of the Malay edition Dawn, under the name Sinaran. Ghani was involved also involved with the Muslim League and was the president of the All Malaya Muslim Missionary Society (AMMMS) and an official in several other organizations. After the end pf World War II, Ghani was involved in South-East Asian Muslim politics, most notably being involved in the Maria Hertogh riots in Singapore in 1950.
Maria Hertogh Riots
The Maria Hertogh riots or Natrah riots started on 11 December 1950 in Singapore, following the court decision to give the custody of Maria Hertogh (or Bertha Hertogh), then 13, to her biological Dutch Catholic parents after she had been raised as a Muslim under the care of Aminah binte Mohamed, whom she regarded as her mother. The riots lasted till noon on 13 December, with 18 killed, 173 injured and many properties damaged – the worst incident of its kind ever witnessed in Singapore. The court decision in August 1950 and the widespread news coverage of the legal battle for custody had evoked widespread agitations in the Malayan and South-East Asian Muslim population who regarded Maria as a follower of the Muslim faith and came to interpret press coverage as portraying Maria as a Christia. nAn organization calling itself the Nadra Action Committee was formally constituted under the leadership of Karim Ghani. This extreme organization solicited support among local Muslims by distributing free copies of its newspaper, the Dawn (not the Dawn, an English paper published in Pakistan). Karim Ghani had also made an open speech at the Sultan Mosque on 8 December in which he mentioned jihad as a final resort. Ghani’s comments were followed by widespread riots and violence beginning on 11 December and continued till the 13th. In total, 18 people were killed, among whom were seven Europeans or Eurasians, two police officers, and nine rioters shot by the police or military, 173 were injured, many of them seriously, 119 vehicles were damaged, and at least two buildings were set on fire. Subsequently, two weeks of 24-hour curfew were imposed, and it was a long time before complete law and order was re-established.
After the riot, the police set up a special investigation unit which detained 778 people, among them Karim Ghani, who was arrested along with several members of the Nadra Action Committee and held at the detention camp on Saint John’s Island for 15 months under Emergency Regulation 20 for his part in the riots before being released on grounds of poor health.
References
- Malay press and Malay politics: The Hertogh Riots in Singapore.N Hussin – Asia Europe Journal, 2005.
- The End of Empire and the Making of Malaya By Timothy Norman Harper.
- Tangled Worlds: The Story of Maria Hertogh By Tom Eames Hughes.
- Unto Him a Witness: The Story of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in East Asia By S A Ayer.
Azad Hind- Free India , this was the slogan used by the freedom fighters of India.
Karim Ghany is alleged to have pioneered the first Jawi Scripted Malay newspaper in Malaya. He was a prolific writer who could write in English, malay, jawi, arabic, urdu and tamil.
Karim also started the first Tamil newspaper, The Malaya Nanban.
Maria was represented by David Marshal a prominent lawyer from Singapore who in his later years had to remark, ” if this case would have been heard in any other circumstances the verdict would have been otherwise” He was referering to the last hurrah of the British who wanted to salvage their christian pride by admonishing the weak malay muslim populace.
In the riots that followed many people were killed and many a muslims who abetted the rioters were charged. Among them were many Tamil Muslim leaders who were sentenced to be hanged. These Tamil Muslim traders were the Islamic icons for the newly independent Malaya.
Karim Ghany was a Tamil Muslim (modern day Tamil Nadu in the south of India).
He was given an ultimatum by the British government, that he was to be banished to a country of his choice. He chose Pakistan and he died a devastated man in the newly formed Islamic country.
Aw Boon Haw
Aw Boon Haw (Chinese: 胡文虎; pinyin: Hú Wénhǔ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hô͘ Bûn-hó͘; 1882 Rangoon, Burma – 1954 Hong Kong) was a Burmese Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for introducing Tiger Balm. He was the son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding County, Fujian Province, China.
There was a public forum on 25.03.2007 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the topic of Chinese Press in conjunction with the 125th anniversary of the birthday of Aw Boon Haw, the legendary media tycoon who founded the Sin Chew Jit Poh (星洲日報) and Guang Ming Daily (光明日報), which are both based in Malaysia. Sing Tao Daily (星島日報) dates back to 1938 and is currently based in Hong Kong and a host of over forty other titles across South East Asia.
Aw’s life spanned across the late 19th century through the early 20th century, leaving behind a lingering legacy in which he was enduringly remembered for helping to nurture and sustain Chinese education and culture.
During the Japanese Occupation Boon Haw was in Hong Kong and carried on business from there while Boon Par shut the factory in Singapore and returned to Burma where he died in 1944.
After the war Aw Boon Haw returned to Singapore, reopened his factory and newspapers, repaired his homes and gardens and established the Chung Khiaw Bank in 1950. He placed the management of the bank under the leadership of his son-in-law, Lee Chee Shan. Aw Boon Haw died in 1954 at the age of 72 from a heart attack on his way to Hong Kong following a major operation in Boston.
Source: Wikipedia
When I was working PERKIM, the Chairman was Malaysia’s first PM Tunku Abdul Rahman and I heard from the numerous Myanmar Doctors who worked under him in PERKIM and his nephew Tunku Aziz about the stories that his mother, who could speak Burmese, was a Burmese Shan migrated to Southern Thailand.
One Arab-Burmese family from Mandalay migrated back to Saudi Arabia and even became the Deputy Petroleum Minister. One Arab blooded Rohingya also became a minister in a Middle East Arab country. And one Rohingya migrated to Bangladesh was said to be the second richest man there with timber trade.
About twenty years ago, I introduced an investor to Myanmar Ambassador. They had a meeting in one hotel and later proceed to Karaoke (my first and last experience in Karaoke) we were surprised later because both were owned by Burmese Migrant.
Previous Myanmar Ambassador told me that when our Senior General visited Cambodia, he was introduced to the descendants of Myanmars who migrated there during the Burmese Kings era.
Few months ago, the Star reported about the 100 + years old Burmese Hindu Temple in Terengganu, Malaysia built by Burmese Indians from British Burma to build railway track in British Malaya.
Some of my patients used to tell me about their grandparents or relatives married to people from Burma.
June Rose Bellamy, also known as Yadana Nat Mai https://drkokogyi.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/burmas-royal-june-rose/
The poor Royal descendants of Thibaw Min in India should be mentioned also.
Who knows, one day, one of the descendants of Myanmar migrant Christian Chins could become the President of USA.
Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina’s grandfather, Datuk Eddie Eu Eng Hock was a Burmese Chinese
Tiara Jacquelina’s grandfather Datuk Eddie Eu Eng Hock, uncle and me
Tiara’s grandfather, with P Ramlee
Jacquelina was born Jacqueline Eu in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to a Burmese Chinese father and Indonesian Chinese mother.
Tiara Jacquelina’s grandfather and me
Tiara Jacquelina Abdullah (3 October 1967) is a Malaysian actress and film producer. She rose to fame in Puteri Gunung Ledang, the biggest budget movie in Malaysia to date, in which she played the lead role, and sang the theme song, “Asmaradana”. Part of the Eu family
Tiara, who is of Burmese-Indonesian-Chinese lineage, has been involved in the entertainment industry since the 1980s. She started out scouting talents for a modeling agency, before moving into television production.
I think of the story of my grandfather, Datuk Eddie Eu Eng Hock, who started out as a shipping clerk riding a humble bicycle to work. He was of Burmese descent and originally came to Malaya from China a few years before the war. My grandmother was Chinese.
After World War II, with my grandmother by his side, he went on to set up Eu-Lee Landing and Shipping, the country’s first official stevedoring company in Port Swettenham, which today is called Port Klang. My grandfather always told us that good luck or good fortune is what you make out of good opportunities and hard work.
I think of the story of my grandfather, Datuk Eddie Eu Eng Hock, who started out as a shipping clerk riding a humble bicycle to work. He was of Burmese descent and originally came to Malaya from China a few years before the war. My grandmother was Chinese.
After World War II, with my grandmother by his side, he went on to set up Eu-Lee Landing and Shipping, the country’s first official stevedoring company in Port Swettenham, which today is called Port Klang. My grandfather always told us that good luck or good fortune is what you make out of good opportunities and hard work.
Gosh, I think I can count myself as “been there, done almost everything”, in this respect. My dad’s side of the family is Burmese-Chinese and my mother is Chinese Indonesian. My parents, Eddie Eu and Nelly Tan, got married in 1966.
Her acting credits include Ringgit Kasorrga, for which she won the best actress award in the 12th Malaysian Film Festival in 1995, Perempuan Melayu Terakhir in 1999, and PGL in 2004.
Married to former cabinet minister Datuk Seri Mohd Effendi Norwawi, Tiara has two children, Hani Karmila and Mohd Eridani.
She recently spent some time in Australia learning painting under the tutelage of renowned artist Peter Barraclough, and also took up creative writing.
Source: Nut Graph
I was born in Assunta Hospital, Petaling Jaya and my first home was in Jalan Kilat, Klang. I grew up mainly in Ampang Jaya, Selangor. I have two younger siblings, Carol and Nicholas. My alma mater is St Mary’s in Selayang.
I was born into a very staunch Buddhist family, the Eu family, where all the men in our family shaved their heads and became monks.
I converted to Christianity when I was 12, along with my brother and sister, and we convinced our mother to convert, too! I became a Muslim when I got married in 1993 (to former husband, the late Hani Mohsin). So I guess I’ve almost done the full circle where religious beliefs are concerned!
Source:
Her husband is Dato’ Seri Mohd Effendi Norwawi, a very prominent businessman from Sarawak, who also formerly served as a senator and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. She holds the Malaysian honorific title Datin Seri as her husband is a Dato’ Seri.
Source:Wikipedia
