{"id":1570,"date":"2020-09-20T23:11:16","date_gmt":"2020-09-20T15:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/?p=1570"},"modified":"2020-09-21T05:57:41","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T21:57:41","slug":"roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/?p=1570","title":{"rendered":"Roots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It feels like it\u2019s been forever since I wrote anything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is, life has been too hectic in the various spaces of my life, particularly involving work and Ruzain – a lot has been happening. While many times there were intentions to write, I never managed to find time to get to it in the past few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, while I couldn\u2019t write, I tried my best to be steadfast at reading, where possible slotting time for daily reading\u00a0in between my busy life schedule – can\u2019t really claim I succeeded with my efforts here too.

But a recent trip up to Kuala Kangsar to visit Universiti Sultan Azlan Shah triggered back my interest in history and going spiral reading on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve always been fascinated by history since I was young – it was my favorite subject for some weird reason. Believe it\u2019s something I inherited from my late grandfather – Tok Ein. I always treated reading history books like reading story books.

Also when it comes to history,\u00a0I\u2019ve always been interested to learn more about my family\u2019s ancestry – both from my late dad and mum\u2019s side. It\u2019s not that it makes any difference today, if there were any lineages leading to aristocracy – it was the days of yesterday. Personally, I am a firm believer of merit and never a person of protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s fun to know your roots – in a way, being proud of what your family stands for is never wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s posting, I\u2019m jotting it down so that my son, nephews and nieces (also myself) knows and don\u2019t forget our line of ancestries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Mum\u2019s Side<\/strong> – Perak at Heart<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There isn\u2019t much I know of my mother\u2019s side (she doesn\u2019t know much too) besides knowing both my late grandfather and late grandmother originated from Perak. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My grandfather (Tok Ayah), Badiozaman bin Raus was from Sayong, Kuala Kangsar with Bugis lineage and my grandmother (Tok Mak) Robe\u2019ah binti Daud was from Kampar.\u00a0

They stayed at Jalan Othman, PJ Old Town near Assunta Hospital where my mum grew up – the exact area was called \u201cKawasan Melayu<\/em>\u201d (translated Malay area). My late grandfather used to work at Cold Storage\u2019s ice factory in Sungai Besi where he would cycle back and forth from home to work.\u00a0

My fond memories was of him always being a modest and humble man; he seems contented with whatever he has. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every time we came to visit, he will pass me and my elder brother a box of raisins each to eat – I used to prefer the black raisins rather than the yellow but I\u2019ll eat any of them up anyway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Dad\u2019s Side – The \u201cWan\u201d of Kedah <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My dad\u2019s ancestry line has more color and is easier to trace as there are actually written references available thanks to my great grandfathers being prominent individuals in Kedah and Selangor. 

Our family\u2019s \u201cWan\u201d surname originated from Kedah – both my grandfather\u2019s and grandmother\u2019s ancestry coincides to Wan Su @ Dato\u2019 Temenggong Kolot, Bukit Lada, who originated from Pattani. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Late Grandmother\u2019s Ancestry<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My late grandmother (Tok Mak) Datin Paduka Wan Mardziah binti Wan Sulaiman was the daughter of Kedah\u2019s Shaykh al-Islam, Sheikh Wan Sulaiman bin Wan Sidek, a renowned Islamic scholar in the region during his era. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
My great grandfather: Sheikh Wan Sulaiman Wan Sidek<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

He was known as the scholar who modernized the Islamic administration in Kedah. He introduced the modern Islamic school, Madrasah al-Hamidiah. Later, together with Tengku Mahmud, he was the man behind the establishment of now famous Islamic secondary school \u201cMaktab Mahmud\u201d, which he did not manage to see as the school opened a year after he passed away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He passed away on 2 May 1935 at the age of 61. There is a primary school in Alor Setar, Kedah named after him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My late grandmother\u2019s ancestry lineage:<\/strong> Wan Mardziah binti Wan Sulaiman bin Wan Sidek bin Wan Aman bin Wan Net bin Wan Su @ Dato\u2019 Temenggong Kolot, Bukit Lada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Late Grandfather\u2019s Ancestry<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My late grandfather (Tok Ein) Dato\u2019 Paduka Haji Wan Ibrahim bin Wan Soloh came from a family that has been of service to the royal family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He himself was the Dato\u2019 Seri Amar Diraja of Kedah, responsible for managing customs (adat-istiadat<\/em>) related matters for the Kedah royal family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
My late grandfather<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While coming from the same family roots of Wan Su Dato\u2019 Temenggong Kolot, Bukit Lada, Kedah, my late grandfather originated from Selangor with strong family roots in Klang. 

It was my curiosity on the Selangor side of the family that brought me to purchasing a book titled \u201cPesaka Selangor<\/em>\u201d (original title: \u201cKenangan2 Selangor<\/em>\u201d) written by Dato\u2019 Bentara Kiri – Dato\u2019 Amar Diraja Selangor, Wan Muhammad Amin bin Wan Muhammad Sa\u2019id, who is basically my great granduncle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


The book was written in 1916 and was first published in Malay jawi<\/em> in 1937. I got my hands on a preloved (by the library) 1966 version for a hefty but worthwhile RM180 price tag. The book has some cool and original insights into life back then during the early days in Selangor, which is something I could not have imagined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A big part of the book tells the story of the famous Klang War between Raja Mahdi and Raja Abdullah (the one I first learned in the history book at school), which my ancestors was part of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was from this book too I learned a bit more of the origins of my family lineage in Klang, Selangor, which seems to have stronger roots than I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was also a chapter in the book that told the story of how in the middle of the war, my great grandfather and great granduncle was almost sentenced to death while in custody of Raja Sulaiman by the advice or Raja Ahmad, his uncle. But they were saved due to the many good deeds their father Wan Muhammad Sa\u2019id had given to Raja Sulaiman over the years.

The whole incident was already written by the Almighty but the thought of the possibility that it could have happened – I won\u2019t even be here today.

My late grandfather\u2019s Selangor ancestry could be traced back to his grandfather, Wan Muhammad Sa\u2019id, who was born in Klang from the marriage of Wan Muhammad Hadi, son of Wan Su with Che Mahirim, daughter of Tuan Imam Abdul Haj, who was originally from Klang. My late grandfather\u2019s grandmother Che Ghuliah, daughter of Enche\u2019 Bahir bin Dato\u2019 Kaya Hassan also originated from Klang. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Screenshot from the Pesaka Selangor book as written by my great granduncle Wan Muhammad Amin bin Wan Muhammad Sa\u2019id<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Basically my family roots in Klang and Selangor are deep. Sadly, don\u2019t really know anyone from that side of the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
My great grandfather: Dato\u2019 Bentara Kanan Sedia Diraja Wan Soloh bin Wan Muhammad Sa\u2019id<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

His father, my great grandfather was in service to the Selangor Royal family as the Dato\u2019 Bentara Kanan Sedia Diraja Wan Soloh bin Wan Muhammad Sa\u2019id, who coordinated the audiences who meets Sultan of Selangor and who reads out the Sultan\u2019s commands (titah<\/em>) during official ceremonies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
My great grandfather (as circled) during the coronation of His Royal Highness Sultan \u2018Ala\u2019uddin Sulaiman Shah, 17 February 1908<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My late grandfather\u2019s ancestry lineage: <\/strong>Wan Ibrahim bin Wan Soloh bin Wan Muhammad Sa\u2019id bin Wan Muhammad Hadi bin Wan Su @ Dato\u2019 Temenggong Kolot, Bukit Lada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I take pride and feel proud of my family lineage, it is not my intention of jotting these down to show off in any way – it\u2019s really to record it so that it doesn\u2019t get lost as generations passes by. Hopefully this becomes a good point of reference especially for my family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s who we are today and what we put in that matters, not the family lineage or history we have. Especially in our journey of achieving the ultimate goal of becoming better servants to the Almighty. 

Roots. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It feels like it\u2019s been forever since I wrote anything. The truth is, life has been too hectic in the various spaces of my life, particularly involving work and Ruzain – a lot has been happening. While many times there were intentions to write, I never managed to find time to get to it in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-notes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1570"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1618,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570\/revisions\/1618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanahmadnajib.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}