Hjh Aishah bt Mohd Amin (1) Biodata

Aishah bt Mohd Amin (Nenek Inche). Bapak's mother (Bapak punya mak).
(c.1907-1978)

Full name: Hjh Aishah bt Mohd Amin
Call names: I called her Nenek Inche; Bapak called her Inche. Her KL relatives called her Bik Esah.
Date of birth: 1906 or 1907 (estimated)
Marriage: April 1920 (estimated)
Occupation: housewife, sold batik cloths and gold ornaments
Deceased: 1978 at age 71 (as informed by many relatives)
Burial: Tanah Kubor Lama, Kg Cangkat ... full of old rubber trees, near a building
Husband: Mohd Yusope bin Haji Mohd Sharif bin Ismail (Walid)
Father: Mohd Amin bin Hassan Long bin Datok Nengkong (foster son)
Mother: Sekmah (Arabic name)

From Bapak:

Nenek Inche is Bapak's mother. Bapak doesn't know her date of birth (DOB). From her age at death, she was born in 1907 or earlier.

From me:
I have on record her DOB is 1911 (which is wrong). At age 12 in 1919, she married to Mohd Yusope bin Mohd Sharif (Walid). Her mother died when she was 6 (in 1913) and she stopped school as she became very depressed. She went to school for a few days but later stopped completely and never went back to school. She was attached to her mother. This information is based on my communication with Nenek Inche when I was 14-15 (1972-1973; Nenek Inche was 65-66), before I went to Tunku Kurshiah College (TKC) in 1974.

Nenek Inche also did her own business selling kain sarong and gold ornaments (barang kemas). I have seen her selling them myself and she was a good business woman. She had very good soft skills and was very pretty.

From Mak Bedah & Pak Saleh:
Nenek Inche died in Kuala Lumpur in 1978 at age 71. (This means she was born in 1906. If she married at age 12, that would be in 1918, just after WWI.) According to Mak Bedah & Pak Saleh (I asked them on 8 June 2011 in Kota Bharu), kubur Nenek Inche is in Kampong Cangkat. As I recall, near an old building among the rubber trees. Where is Kampong Cangkat in Google Map?

From Muzlifah bt Abdul Aziz (Mak Nya kept record):
Nama anak:

1. Ainon (lahir Ahad, 10 pagi, 6/2/1921)
2. Idris (meninggal)
3. Zaina (lahir Khamis, 12 malam, 3/4/1924)
4. Ramlah (lahir Sabtu, 5 pagi, 29/9/1925)
5. Shamsu'ain (meninggal)
6. Sara (lahir Khamis, 6 petang, 3/5/1928)
7. Abu Bakar (lahir Khamis, 7:28 malam, 19/3/1930
8. Abdul Rashid (lahir Sabtu, 3:20 petang, 28/11/1931)
9. Rahmah (lahir Rabu, 7:30 pagi, 15/11/1933) ........ ini ialah Mak Nya Gombak
10. Safura (lahir Selasa, 8:27 malam, 21/5/1935)
11. Jaafar (lahir Ahad, 11:05 pagi, 28/8/1936)
12. Inchek Beda (lahir Khamis 1:55 petang, 25/10/1938)
13. Baharudin (lahir Jumaat, 6 pagi, 14/6/1940)
14. Inchek Sekmah (lahir Khamis, 12:20 pagi, 13/11/1941)
15. Saleh (lahir Khamis, 6:30 petang, 12/2/45)*

*lahir semasa Perang Dunia Kedua Jan 1942- Sept 1945

Children: 15
Names of her children (as ordered by birth date according to Mak Nya's record in Jawi):

1. Ainon (Mak Ainon, born Sunday, 6 February 1921-died) - isteri Pak Abas. Pak Abas is related to Tan Sri Dr Abdul Majid @ Coco or previously Doktor Majid (now Tan Sri) and also Nenek Mun. Mak Ainon was very big and tall. She was the biggest and tallest. I have never seen a woman so big!
2. Idris - Idris died in infanthood.
3. Zainah (Makcik Nah, Che Nah, born Khamis, 12 malam, 3 April 1924-died 2000) - she married but unfortunately none of her marriages worked. She was a math genius, her mind flipped and she became insane. Most people said she was "gila" but I don't think so. When I knew her, her mind was already flipped but she remained a math genius when I knew her in 1964-1973. She could do 3rd root of any large number - she didn't use a calculator but she can give the correct answer to any decimal number. She was very quick at multiplication especially very large numbers. I haven't seen a math genius of this nature. Che Nah attended school till Standard 2 and then dropped out of school. She spoke Malay, English, Indian and some Chinese languages which I don't know. I still think of her as a math genius. She probably had chickenpox of the brain and her state of mind was like that after she recovered from severe chickenpox. We didn't do MRI on her brain and didn't do brain autopsy on her at death. We should have done them because that was a big clue we missed for how a math genius became to be. She was thin and tall. She suffered from a hip fracture due to osteoporosis. She died in 2000, aged 77.
4. Ramlah (Mak Lah, lahir Sabtu, 5 pagi, 29 September 1925-died 2001) - she was a petite woman and soft spoken. She never scolded anyone when we visited her. She blinks too frequent. She always cooked for us and I enjoyed eating at her house when we visited her family in Semabok. Her house is still there near Masjid Semabok where her husband had served as Imam Masjid Semabok. Her husband was famous and even Malay folks living in Perth in Western Australia knew him as their Qadhi. Her husband is Cikgu/Imam Haji Mohd Yusof bin Buntal of Semabok. Mak Lah suffered a stroke  and was warded at Hospital Melaka. She passed away on 26 October 2001, aged 74.
5. Shamsu'ain (meninggal)
6. Sara (Mak Sarah; lahir Khamis, 6 petang, 3 May 1928-died 2004) - She lived in Klang but moved to Banda Hilir after her husband Atan died of accidental fall and drowning at Port Klang. At the time she was pregnant with Mohd Yatim @ Mustafa. She was soft spoken and never raised her voice. She was strict and hardly smiled except when she cracked jokes. She cooked and also ate a lot of ikan masak pedas - fish with tomatoes and carrots. She was a good seamstress and made my first telekung. It was well-sewn and I can still recall that first telekung - it was well-sewn around the neck. She made it free for me. She died on 12 April 2004 at age 80, in BBNilai at her daughter Rafe'ah's house.
7. Abu Bakar (Pak Baka, Pak Bakau, lahir Khamis, 7:28 malam, 19 March 1930- d.1986) - he married a Singaporean Malay lady, Mak Cik Yam, and had 2 kids (a boy and a girl). They lived in Singapore but he then divorced her. He returned to Singapore, died in Singapore and was buried in Singapore. His siblings attended his funeral in Singapore - Bapak, Pak Din, Pak Saleh, Mak Bedah etc attended the burial in Singapore. I don't know the burial site, probably in Jurong. He died on 26 ___ 1986.
8. Abdul Rashid (Bapak, Pak Asid, Pak Sid, lahir Sabtu, 3:20 petang, 28 November 1931-d.8 March 2009) - Bapak is my father. He was the only sibling who completed school and went overseas. He attended the King Edward VII College of Medicine for a year and then quit to enter teaching. He went to Kirkby. He took the Mathematics Option. Only he and his sister were math geniuses. Bapak taught me a little mathematics. I have never failed my math exams and I came top for all math exams for my undergraduate. I was also offered a job in the Mathematics Dept. Bapak died in his sleep at home in Penang on 8 March 2009. He is interred at Tanah Perkuburan Masjid Jamek Gelugor, a few graves behind Dr MJ Che Lah's grave.
9. Rahmah (Jame'ah/Mak Nya di Gombak ; lahir Rabu, 7:30 pagi, 15 November 1933-died) - she was good with handicraft and made Malay wedding preparations herself. I had helped her too making small yellow rafia baskets for hard boiled eggs. She worked very fast and screamed if you did chores wrongly. She kept the whole house clean - kitchen, bedroom, living room, toilet, etc. She was very strict and collapsed while visiting Malacca. She subsequently died of hypertension (HPT)! Don't scream or you will get HPT. She always said "Kan aku dah cakap?!" and then the screaming began. She often got angry with her kids easily and would hit them and her kids would cry. Her kids were scared stiff of her. I have never seen a mother so angry at her own kids. But she is still a nice aunt to me. She always teased me and then she would smile or laugh. She was very kind. One day when she heard I was going overseas, she quickly came to see me and brought durians from her hill home orchard in Gombak. She grew the best "durian Gombak" I have ever tasted.
10. Safura (Bik Wa, Kak Wa; lahir Selasa, 8:27 malam; 21 May 1935-died) - one of 2 sisters who could speak good KL English. She worked as a telephone operator. She died of cyanosis in Mak's lap in the car on the way to hospital. Mak cried when Bi' Wa died in her lap. Bi' Wa died on 11 November 1977. Mak liked Bi' Wa very much as she was very humble to Mak and vice versa. Bi' Wa's children are Baizura, Mastura, Syawaluddin, and Kamarul Akhir - they are in Facebook. Bi' Wa's children are cousins to Ayah Wan Merican in Facebook. Ayah Wan Merican is a cousin of Zana (Zanariah of TKC, MCE 1975; I think she was in 5S at TKC). Zana is also in Facebook. Ayah Wan Merican has passed away in Keningau, Sabah and was laid to rest there. His former wife (cucu Tok Kenali), his widow Zaiton Taib and his kids are in FB. 
11. Jaafar (Pakcik Pau; lahir Ahad, 11:05 pagi, 28 August 1936-died 2015) - he was very handsome when he was young. He married twice, first to Makcik Maznah and divorced, and then later married Makcik Fatimah Baba, a nurse and later warden at IMR Hostel in KL. He has 2 children with Makcik Maznah, Suhaimi and Muzlifah. He came to our Penang house to attend Bapak's funeral on 9 March 2009. At the time he had some health problems. His health deteriorated after that. Pak Cik Pau later died on Saturday, 7 Feb 2015 at 1:15pm in Hospital Seremban. My youngest brother Amin sent me SMS when Pak Cik Pau died. Mak Cik Timah was terribly upset.
12. Inchek Beda (Mak Bedah, Kak Bedah, Bedah, lahir Khamis, 1:55 tengahari, 25 October 1938) - she said her name was supposed to be Zabedah but somehow the contracted name was written on her BC and that lousy name stuck for life. She was unhappy about her own name. She was the other sister who spoke very good KL English. Mak Bedah worked as a Johnson and Johnson (J&J) executive all her life, but she retired with half gratuity and was bitter about it. She said her Chinese colleague got twice as much gratuity and she felt cheated for having been so faithful to J&J all her life. Mak and Mak Bedah got along well but Mak kept her differences and her unhappy feelings to herself. Mak Bedah married a widower but her marriage failed and they divorced. The problem there was the use of talisman (tangkal) by her husband. She didn't like the idea of tangkal and divorced him. The use of tangkal is forbidden (haram) in Islam. I met the husband twice, once at his big bungalow up on a hill in KL, and another time in Sabah when he came to visit us at home. The husband's profile has appeared in Who's Who. Mak Bedah has no children but she helped to look after both Jamaliah and Dora Rafidah, anak Mak Nya. She also took in anak Bi' Wa when Bi' Wa died. So she looked after 6 nieces and nephews of her 2 sisters, Mak Nya and Bi' Wa.
13. Baharudin (Badin, Pak Din, lahir Jumaat, 6 pagi, 14 June 1940-died) - he continued to study at night school and became a very good Muslim. He spoke Malay, English, and many other languages. He became the Private Secretary to Tun Hussien Onn. He was also Malaysia's Attache to Cambodia (now Kampuchea). His wife Makcik Fauziah cooked for the Malaysian Parliament. She was a good cook. Pak Din bought the fresh ingredient from Pasar Chow Kit in Kuala Lumpur (KL). Makcik Fauziah died on 8 April 2011 and is buried in Kajang. We all went down to see Nonie in Cheras Batu 10.
14. Inchek Sekma (Mak Sekma, lahir Khamis, 12:20 pagi, 13 November 1941-died) - she was the youngest girl in the family. She married Pakcik Mohamad and remained a housewife. She also prepared and sold cincaluk or udang geragau preserved in brine. She was very kind and always cooked lunch for us when we visited her house in Limbongan/Tanjong Keling in Malacca. She was a good cook and used a manual stove with coconut husks. One day her house was razed to the ground and an article came out in the newspapers. It had a photo of her pushing Pakcik Mohamad on wheelchair. After the fire, a small house was constructed next to the burn site. We went to see her after the incident and she talked about it. At the time the youngest son (Idris) was still a bachelor - he later married. Mak Sekma later died. Zaini's wife Zaharah died of cancer stage IV (affected her lungs) on 18 Feb 2015.
15. Saleh (Pak Saleh, lahir Khamis, 6:30 petang, 12 February 1945) - he also attended night school with Pak Din. He then worked as Audit, then Chief Audit for the Malayan Railway Administration. He married Makcik Zaharah. They have 3 daughters (Norhafizah @ Pp, Suhaila, Nurul Akmar - in Facebook). 

At 262 Banda Hilir house, Melaka circa 1950s-1960s. From left: Pak Abas, Mak Ainon (standing), Mak Edah (makcik basuh baju), Mak Nya, and Nenek Ani.

At 262 Banda Hilir house.  From left: Bi' Rahmah? Norzilah hisap puting, Pakcik Pau (checked shirt)?, Nenek Inche (faced sideways) and Bi' Wa. This is the hind quarter of rumah Banda Hilir (rumah bahagian belakang).

Reading papers at 262 Rumah Banda Hilir. From right: Nenek Inche and Nenek Ani near the door? Who are the kids?

Tea at 262 Banda Hilir house. From left: Mak Ainon serving, Bik Enson holding cup and Bik Leha (Pak Saleh identified them in March 2012).

Nenek Inche before the Second World War, before the Japanese Occupation in Malaya (1941-1945). Mak said that the family had a lot of black varnished furniture which were turned into firewood during the war. None of the black furniture survived the war which ended in September 1945. Location is unknown - could be Jalan Imbi home in KL as the Banda Hilir house had little brick walls - only near the toilet and the wall adjoining rumah Nenek Ani.

Hari Raya at 262 Rumah Banda Hilir. Back row from left: Pakcik Pau, Pak Bakau, and Bapak. Front row from left: Pak Saleh and Pak Din.

All of them at Pulau Besar in 1948. Nenek Inche's husband is Mohd Yusope (Walid) at far right with songkok. He was called "Walid" which means father in Arabic. Bearded Haji Noordin bin Ismail @King George (Ujong Pasir) is at far left. Behind Haji Nordin is Haji Yusof bin Buntal (Pak Ji Usop Semabok, suami Mak Lah). Next to Walid is Pak Abas (Abas bin Haji Abdul Rahman, suami Mak Ainon Umbai).

Source:
Bapak (HARMY = Haji Abdul Rashid bin Mohd Yusope)
13 October 2007