Mild Heart Attack

Jeffrey SMSed to inform today (14 March 2013) that his mother, Aunty Esther, suffered a mild heart attack last Friday, 8 March 2013. She was hospitalised and had an angiogram done. One blood vessel was blocked by as much as 70%-80%. She then underwent an angioplasty procedure to open the blocked blood vessel - a balloon was inserted and a stent put in place. She is recuperating and is resting.

We pray that you will recover fast!

Aunty Esther was born on Friday, 10 March 1933. She recently celebrated her 80th birthday.

"Happy 80th Birthday!"

She worked in the Accounts Department in the Malayan Railway Administration in Kuala Lumpur until she retired in 1988.

Aunty Esther's husband is Aelian Cantlay Schokman. He had passed away two years ago, on 15 May 2011.

Aunty Esther has two children, Muhamed Al-Jeffrey and Veronica.

Muhamed Al-Jeffrey married Siti Noor Azar bt Majid and they have four children - Muhamed Armin, Nurlisa Sharmin, Muhamed Aiman, and Nur Hanis.

Aunty Esther has four grandchildren.

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Weddings of 4 Sisters

1953 Daisy Yvette married to Robert Bertram Jansz

1955 Tulip married to Abdul Rashid bin Mohd Yusope

1958 June married to Devdass Kingsley Nathaniel

1959 Esther married to Aelian Cantlay Schokman

My mother was the eldest of 4 sisters. The sisters are named after flowers, season or month - Tulip, Esther, June and Daisy. That's how Dato Mahadzir Lokman remembers them - with "flower names". They all married and have families, kids and grandchildren. 

My parents are Tulip and Abdul Rashid.

I have met Aunty Esther but not her husband Aelian Schokman. I have met their son Jeffrey, Jeffrey's wife Siti Azar and their children, at Hotel Impiana KLCC in KL when I was writing my book (draft). I have met their daughter Veronica Schokman at my brother Farid's daughter Adibah's wedding at Masjid Firdaus (atas bukit) at Templer Park, outskirt of KL.

I have not met both Aunty June and her husband Devdass Nathaniel Kingsley. I have not met any of their children (my cousins).

I have met both Aunty Daisy Yvette and her husband Robert Jansz at their home in Western Australia, before Uncle Robert passed away on 11 December 1988 (2 weeks before Christmas). I also met all her children (except Frances) when I visited Aunty Daisy after Uncle Robert passed away. I met Frances for the first time when I visited her family home at her farm in Sepertine Way, Stake Hill, WA on 10 February 2013. Aunty Daisy took us there - myself, my youngest daughter Yus, and husband Affandi.

Tulip and Abdul Rashid bersanding on 24 December 1955 at 262-T Banda Hilir, Malacca. Akad nikah was held earlier in November 1955.

Esther and Aelian Cantlay Schokman married on 5 September 1959, in KL.

June and Devdass Kingsley Nathaniel married on 8 February 1958, in KL.

------

According to my cousin Jeffrey and his mum (my Aunt Esther), Aunty Daisy got married first.

In a 1953 wedding photo of Catherine's youngest daughter, Daisy Yvette, we can see many of the family members gathered on the steps of the church. Daisy informed me that she married not at St Mary's Church in Kuala Lumpur (level with the Merdeka Padang), but at a church up on a hill. This church would be St John's Church (now cathedral), Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur.

Daisy Yvette's wedding in 1953 at St John's Church. Front row from left: Bridesmaid is Esther, standing next to Robert Jansz (groom). Daisy Yvette (bride), and bridesmaid at right is groom's sister, Aunt Hazel.
Back row from left: Humphry @ Edward Bulner, Daisy Catherine de Coursey Bulner (lady with white hat), groom's father, Mr Jansz/Robert Oliver Jansz, Uncle Reg standing behind groom and bride, and groom's mother, Mrs Jansz/Victorine Alfonso (lady with black hat)

Daisy Yvette and Robert Jansz,

St John's Church (now cathedral),

Bukit Nenas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1953.

When I visited Aunty Daisy in Mandurah in mid February 2013, she helped to identify the people in her 1953 wedding photo above.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/gen1235.html

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Tulip bt Che Lah (6) Send-off 1952

Before my mother left for her studies overseas, her family and relatives gathered for the send-off in KL and in Penang. There were a few photos taken of her family and relatives. One photo was taken at the Maxwell home which had a big garden. Another photo was when the family gathered at the KL railway station. In another photo the family gathered at her aunt's house in Sg Gelugor in Penang. In another photo, the family and relatives gathered on board a ship, the Carthage, which possibly docked at Swettenham Pier in Penang.  That's what I know from reading history. I think my mother and her family visited their Penang relatives before she sailed to Great Britain in 1952. My mother said, her father was newly married when she was about to sail overseas. She said she met them both as both came to see her off. Her step-mother is in one of the family photos at the KL railway station. She's from Bangsar.

At Maxwell Rd home in KL

In a train coach at KL railway station

Katherine Daisy (left) and eldest daughter, Tulip, at the KL railway station 1952

My grandmother Katherine Daisy de Coursey Bulner at KL railway station 1952

Family members and relatives gathered at KL railway station 1952.
From left: Mr FW Bulner, Daisy Yvette (youngest daughter), Katherine Daisy de Coursey Bulner (ex-wife), a schoolfriend of Tulip, Tulip (eldest), who?, Che-cheh (Chinese maid), June (third), Philip (boy), Esther (second) and possibly Dr Che Lah's second (new) wife.

Visiting Aunty Besar at home in Sg Gelugor, Penang 1952. From left: Philip (adopted), Wan Tam, Esther, Daisy Yvette, Wan Chik, and June. Dr Che Lah is standing on the verandah. Wan Tam and Wan Chik are the daughters of Aunty Besar, Dr Che Lah's eldest and only sister.

Gathered on board the P and O Carthage in Penang, before Tulip sailed to England in 1952. From left: June, daughters of Aunty Besar, Philip, Tulip, Daisy Yvette, Esther. Aunty Besar is at extreme right.

On board the Carthage 1952. From left: Aunty Besar/Mak Besar Bee (eldest sister of Dr Che Lah), her daughters, Wan Chik; June, and Wan Tam (extreme right); Esther is kneeling.

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Aunty Daisy Visited Malaysia

Aunty Daisy and her family migrated to Western Australia in the early 1970s, maybe in 1972. I was in Form 2 at Malacca Girls' High School (MGHS) in Durian Daun, Malacca. Aunty Daisy often returned to Malaysia, mainly to celebrate her father's (my grandfather) birthday. I was away at Kolej Tunku Kurshiah (1974-75) or overseas (1976-1982).

Aunty Daisy Yvette arrived at Subang International Airport. From left: Grandmother Daisy Catherine, Aunty June, Aunty Daisy, Aunty Esther and Dr Che Lah. His wife Mariah is behind him.

From left: Dr Che Lah, adopted daughter Kamariah, wife Mariah, Amanda and Katherine Daisy.

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Grandmother and Great-Grandmother

My cousin Amanda Zoe Nathaniel keeps many family photos of her family. My late Aunty June was her mother. I went through her Facebook photo album and found 2 photos which I thought I would never get to see. These are the photos of my maternal grandmother and my great-grandmother. My mother used to tell us a lot about them when I was a little girl.

From left: Stephanie, Aunty June, grandmother Daisy Catherine DeCoursey Bulner (eldest of 6 sibs), Edward Kenneth Bulner @ Humphrey (youngest brother of Daisy Catherine), Devdass Kingsley Nathaniel (June's husband), Vanessa, Rex and Amanda. Gerald is not in this photo.

Front row from left: Rex, Jeffrey Schokman, Amanda, Vanessa, Veronica Schokman.
Back row from left: Stephanie, great-grandmother Emma Frances Krasse and Gerald.

Online family tree:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/gen1235.html

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Tulip bt Che Lah (4) Interview

Interview of Tulip Che Lah

This is a questionnaire that my eldest daughter used to interview her grandmother/my mother at my home in Kg Chicha, Kelantan on 1 June 2004, i.e., 4 days before my mother died.

You are ...

Tulip Che Lah

Today will go down in history. Mark it.

1.6.04    

What is the event that made you do this 'paperwork'?

Dropping by at Chica for a visit.  


1. Describe yourself first thing in the morning.

I'm alive for another day. Shukor Alhamdulillah.


2. What do you never leave home without?

my purse

3. What do irresistible men/women have that the rest don't?

Men their physic


4. What do you do when you see someone you really, really fancy?

Go up to meet the person.


5. Any example of a pantun? Sajak? Syair? Poem?

I saw a ship a-sailing
A-sailing on the sea
And Oh! it was all laden
With pretty things for me.


6. What drives you crazy?

Noise


7. When the world seems to turn its back on me, this is where I run and hide.

My bedroom.


8. Name your most irritating habit.

Answering people with "Is it?"


9. Complete this sentence: When I'm old and 80, I'll be ...

sad and lonely


10. What would you like more of: brains or looks?

brains


11. What do you do to keep your feet on the ground?

being sane


12. What motto do you live by?

Help others if you want to live happily.


13. Name your most interesting asset.

my good nature


14. The most adventurous thing you've done ...

climbed Ben Nevis in England


15. Complete this sentence: When nobody's looking, I ...

I steal a look in the mirror


16. If you could be any person for a day, who would you be and why?

my grandmother. She's a foreigner and pretty.


17. Name one thing you can't say no to?

chocolates


18. Complete this sentence: Parents make the ...

best of loving us


19. Draw a marking that means 'you'.

The world around me.

20. Is there an ayat in the Quran that you would like me to take note?

Ayat Kursy ayat 255 Surah Al-Bakarah.

This is the meaning of Surah Al-Baqarah Ayat 255, which is also referred to as Ayat Kursi. It is the second Surah in the Quran. Reproduced from Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement:
http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/quran/verses/002-qmt.php

002.255

YUSUF ALI: Allah! There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory). 

PICKTHAL: Allah! There is no deity save Him, the Alive, the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh Him. Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that intercedeth with Him save by His leave? He knoweth that which is in front of them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He will. His throne includeth the heavens and the earth, and He is never weary of preserving them. He is the Sublime, the Tremendous. 

SHAKIR: Allah is He besides Whom there is no god, the Everliving, the Self-subsisting by Whom all subsist; slumber does not overtake Him nor sleep; whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is His; who is he that can intercede with Him but by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot comprehend anything out of His knowledge except what He pleases, His knowledge extends over the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of them both tires Him not, and He is the Most High, the Great.

21. What's your line?

Apa khabar? Mmm ... nenek sayang!


22. What languages are you interested in?

Chinese


23. Chinese chess or conventional chess?

conventional chess


24. Name any place in our galaxy that you would like to go to.

The moon.


25. Is there anything you would like me to know?

That I love you.


26. Draw yourself doing something that makes you happy.

knitting

Terima Kasih

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Tulip bt Che Lah (5) My mother

My mother was a big source of inspiration for everything, including problems related to babies, young girls and working mothers. 

She was named after a flower, and the Dutch love this flower. She did not say very much, but led by example. 

She was a dedicated mother who had to divide her time between family and work. She managed her kids well except when she was ill and I had to take over her chores. 

She was loved by her students at all the schools she had taught. She related to me that the Sultan Ismail College (SIC) boys even hosted a dinner in Putrajaya in her honour, which she attended with sheer delight. 

Her students treasured her for her friendliness and the warmth she brought them. 

I remember her as my English coach at home. Sometimes she would tutor me on Mathematics. I knew it was so frustrating for her to teach me Mathematics as I could not comprehend the English text in my Mathematics book! My father took over from her and I had to buck up or I would hear the thunder roar over by shoulder! 

My mother taught me the piano when I was 11, and we continued to play as duet till I was 15 - when I left for Tunku Kurshiah College. 

She was a really good pianist. She told me she was a Grade 5 when she went to England and completed Grade 8 there. 

She also taught me how to cook and sew. By age 9, I was already a wide-eyed seamstress and a pint-sized soux chef! 

She was a good historian. She knew very well about the Second World War (WWII), Winston Churchill, the fates of the Jews, the Holocaust, Ann Frank's diary, and the formation of Israel. 

But she was first and foremost, a Geography and English teacher. Having studied in England in 1952-53, History, Music and Medicine interested her immensely. She knew these topics better than me.

Even though I was already fixed on becoming a biochemist, she brought me in the late 1980 to see her tutor, Mr Roger Raymond Sellman. 

Mr Sellman was a renowned senior British historian who was retired and lived with his wife Mia Sellman, and their dog (Twiggy) at their single-storey bungalow in Pound-Down Corner, Exeter in England. 

Mr Sellman talked me into changing my interest and future profession. He said it would be desirous to accept History (as he had done) and desert Biochemistry altogether. I told him it was impossible and too late for me to switch fields but I thanked him for his encouragement. 

My eyes were fixed on Twiggy and my favourite bread-and-butter pudding which Mia had specially prepared for me! 

I continued to correspond with the Sellmans till I got married at 24 in 1983, and left home to work in Kelantan where I work presently. 

Terima kasih, Mak!

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