My tree grows

1. For me collated old newspapers on library shelves or on microfiche are like treasure troves of information. I just have to go through the pages to look for the information that I need. Indeed you have to put in long hours at the library.

2. Although such rare collection is non-existent in most libraries, the Penang State Library in Seberang Jaya is an exception for holding quite an impressive one. It was there that my wife came across a news story of my father’s passing in the Straits Echo and Times of Malaya dated 26 November 1956 and my niece found an article written by Mr. Lim Cheng Law (L. C. L.) in the same paper dated Wednesday November 28, 1956 in appreciation of my father’s friendship.

3. Recently I came across yet another piece of valuable information in the Straits Echo and Times of Malaya dated February 13, 1948. It is contained in an article about one Mohamed Yusoff bin Mohamed Noor (b.1909 – d.unknown), a local politician. According to the article, in 1929 he ‘married Kulsoom Bebe, only daughter of the late Mr. M.H.M. Noordin, JP., a former Municipal Commissioner’.

4. It was also mentioned that Kulsoom Bebe was ‘the niece of Mr. M.I. Merican, JP., a member of the Kedah State Council and formerly Legal Adviser, Kedah’. M.H.M. Noordin or Mohamed Hussain Merican Noordin was the only (elder) brother of my father, M.I. Merican (Mohamed Ismail Merican). In that case, Kulsoom Bebe was my cousin. Taking into account the date of her marriage, I assume that she was born in circa 1910. If she were still alive, she might be a centenarian by now.

5. So my tree grows …

A new inclusion: Kulsoom Bebe