Posts
1. My father was left an orphan at
the age of two. He was brought up by his uncle, Habib Mohamed Merican Noordin,
and educated at Penang Free School. Although he was
said to be “the best English
educated of the Noordin’s family,”* it was not known to what level
he completed his schooling. In any case, it qualified him to be a teacher at his
old school.
2. When Habib passed away in 1909, my father had become a Senior Assistant Master after having taught for 11 years or so.
At the time he might have thought of moving on to pastures new.
3. At the end of the preceding
year, an English school was being opened in Alor Star, Kedah. The Kedah state government appointed Mohamad bin Iskandar, a senior teacher at the Penang Free School, as the first Headmaster
of the school, known as Government
English School (G.E.S.).
The pioneer Headmaster resigned and returned to his former school in 1910. The
school was left in the hands of one Md. Salleh.
4. Tunku Ibrahim, the
Regent of Kedah at the time and a friend of my father, requested him to fill in
the post of Headmaster of the G.E.S., so he resigned his post in Penang Free
School and came over to Alor Setar to assume the position in February 1911.
Thus, began his lifetime career in the Kedah Malay
Civil Service (KCS).
5. Ironically, as soon as he assumed duty, the school would be closed for two months or so. At the time the first
census covering the Unfederated Malay States which included Kedah, Terengganu,
Kelantan, Perlis and Johor was being held. Hence the Kedah Government decided
to hold its first census.
6. My father and a number of boys were called upon to work in the
Census Office which was situated on the ground floor of Balai Besar, Alor Star.
He was appointed as Chief Clerk at the office. The author
of the Census Report (1911) stated in his remarks: “Ismail Merican, the Head
Master of the English School, worked indefatigably as Chief Clerk at tabulating
the results and showed considerable skill in controlling a large staff of
clerks.”
7. After the census had been conducted, my
father carried on his duty as Headmaster. Under his tenure the enrolments were 160 boys by
1912. The school expanded its teaching staff, and taught up to Standard Four by
then. Che Md. Ariffin, Secretary to the Government, and the Headmaster of the
school selected an area of about 30 acres at Tanjung Bendahara, Alor Star, for
the site of the present building.
8. During his time as
Headmaster, he used to stand in for one J.M. McDonough when the latter was seconded to the British Adviser’s
office or otherwise on leave. He earned special
allowances of $15 rial a month while McDonough was on leave and received acting allowances for doing his
work when he was away.
9. McDonough was then an official at the Audit
Office and probably he was also in charge of schools. Once, my father was
appointed Acting Superintendant of Education for 18 days or so in early 1912 while
McDonough was on leave. The latter’s situation seemed a matter of concern to
the government with regard to his capability to promote education in the state.
Thus, in January 1913 a proposal was forwarded by the Secretary to Government to
the British Adviser (Adviser) nominating Mohamad Ismail Merican as
Superintendent of Education, but it did not work out in his favour.
10. However, in March 1913 my father was appointed Senior Auditor, North Kedah. Apparently my father was
a down-to-earth and assertive person. Within weeks of his appointment as Senior
Auditor, he asked for an increase in housing allowance which was $10 rial a
month. The Government answered his request with a $5 rial increase payable as
of April 1913.
11. It seemed that his time as Senior Auditor was not all easy ride.
There were rough times too. For instance, in late February through early March
of 1915, it seemed that he was taking too much time in his audit in Langkawi. For
that reason, the Adviser inquired about the date he left for Langkawi and the
number of departments to audit. According to him 10 days were sufficient for
the audit. My father enclosed a written report in his minute stating that he
very much regretted the long time taken. In another instance, he reported the
threats made by one Mr.
Stuart during the audit of the Education Department in February 1916. It
was a consequence of an argument he had with the latter at the time of the audit.
12. Then in September 1917, he applied for a rickshaw allowance. In his
application he stated the need for a suitable conveyance to go to government
departments around town to carry out his duties. He concluded by expressing his
disappointment over his salary increment. He wrote:
“… In view of the above circumstances (reasons for a rickshaw allowance) couple with the fact that I am not going to get next year, and have not got, any increment for two years in the face of hard times, I think that only the grant of such an allowance would meet the case.”
As regards the rickshaw allowance, there was no regulation to it, so
he had to be contented with “charging actual expenses.”
13. He served for about five years as Senior Auditor before being
appointed Registrar of High Court in June 1918. He was promoted to Class IV of
the Kedah Malay Civil Service as of September the following year. His
appointment as Registrar was the beginning of his involvement in the legal side
of his career. He benefited much from his time in the Registry through hard
work and dedication. At times he stood in for the Sheriff while he was on
leave. In fact, he was Acting Sheriff in the last months of his time in the
Registry. In a letter of request for promotion to Class III of the Malay Civil
Service, he wrote:
“… While I was in the Registry I was largely responsible for every preparation concerning the inaugural of the Court of Appeal which went off without any hitch and tacitly met with the approval of the Judges of the said Court. All the records of the appeals had to be done in two languages which I did single-handed and within very short notice. …”
14. However, there was a short break from the “legal circles.” In
October 1922 he was appointed to the post of Assistant Superintendent
Monopolies and Customs (ASM&C) in Sungai Petani and was on probation for
one year. He was confirmed to the office in October the following year. Prior
to his confirmation, in August 1923, he asked for promotion to Class III of the
KCS, but the Government was of the opinion that it was premature and that he
could only be promoted to Class III if and when a vacancy were to recur.
15. The year 1922 marked a turning point in my
father’s career. In October of that year just before his transfer to Sungai
Petani, he was appointed to carry out the work of special
Translator of Enactments etc. The Adviser was thinking in terms of his
secondment to the Legal Adviser’s office to carry out the work, but the State Council decided as a temporary expediency
that he should be called upon to assist in translation work in addition to his
other duties and should receive a fee for so doing.
16. However, he was seconded to the Legal Adviser’s office in
November 1923 to carry out the translation work. Actually, his involvement in
the translation of Enactments began when he was appointed to sit on the
Enactment Translation Committee in January 1916. Later in September 1918, he
was appointed a committee member for the drawing up of laws for the
State of Kedah.
17. As it turned out, his appointment as translator was a blessing
in disguise. It drove him to live up to his potential. For a number of years he
carried out the enormous work of translating the Enactments to the best of his
ability. It was the highlight of his achievement in the service. He was given a
monthly allowance of $35 rial as of 11 November 1923 for doing the translation
at the Legal Adviser’s office. It was withdrawn as from 24 January 1928. Khoo
Salma Nasution wrote in The
Chulia in Penang:
18. My father spent 27 years in the KCS, the last 14 years of which were spent mostly in the office of the Legal Adviser. At first he held the post of Office Assistant and finally as Assistant to the Legal Adviser, an appointment in Class II of the KCS, on a salary scale of $450 - 575 a month.“… For fourteen years M.I.M. Noordin was responsible for the translation of hundreds of enactments and it was said that few knew more about the laws of Kedah than he.”
Mine in brackets.
No comments:
Post a Comment