Browsing through various dictionaries, one of the meaning of roots is origin. That's what I'll be writing about today. My origin is interesting. No, I am not Pan Asian, a mix that Malaysian seems very fixated on. But the origin is interesting, nevertheless.
Why this topic? Well, a few days ago and yesterday I was host to 2 of my origins, I shared to them where I came from, and they became quite interested. The links are through my father. And to be specific the first one, was through my paternal grandfather.
I hosted Sekretaris Daerah Kabupaten Agam, Drs. Edi Busti from Sumatera, Indonesia. What's the link? My great grandfather came from Pintu Angin, Palembayan.
He came from down there. Legend has it that he walked from Pintu Angin, Palembayan to Medan. He walked with his wife and daughter. His wife, my great grandmother was carrying my grandfather. My great grandfather at that time was around 21 or 22 years old, while his daughter was just 1 or 2 years old. This was in 1909 or 1910. My grandfather was born in Medan.
So, how did I become a Malaysian? In 1915 he left for Kedah. By that time, he already had 3 children, including my grandfather. By that time, my grandfather was 5 years old. He has and elder sister and a younger brother. His sister was left in Medan. That became my link in Sumatera.
My grandfather married in 1934. They had 4 children including my father. My father was born in 1941. In 1942, his mother passed away. So, he never knew his mother. And obviously, neither did I. My grandfather was in a dilemma. He had small children and a baby to take care off. He tried his best to take care of the children. His 2 eldest, a girl and a boy, was under the care of their maternal grandparents. He took care of his 2 sons himself in the beginning. It proved to be difficult, he then married a second time in 1944. The lady that I considered as my grandmother. From here, 4 more children were born. Another girl and 3 boys.
Thus, from my father's paternal side I originated from Pintu Angin, Palembayan, Sumatera.
Next, yesterday, I hosted the Acting Consulate-General of Thailand Mrs Marisa Indramangala and the Minister Counsellor (Commercial) K. Worawan Wanwil. During the discussion I shared that I have links to Thailand. How?
Well, my great great great grandmother is from Thailand. Reputed to be from Bangkok actually. We don't know her Thai name, in the family tree she was known as Pandan Wangi because of how fair she was. My great great great grandfather was a religious teacher to the Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah, the 37th Sultan of Kedah. He was married to the lady in waiting for the Sultan's consort that originated from Thailand. It is reputed that this was the line where Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj, our first Prime Minister for Malaysia originated from.
My great great great grandfather on my grandmother's side originated from Central Java. They were reputed to be from Yogyakarta where they are further reputed to be linked to Wali Songo. My ancestors were reputed to be very learned and pious. As a descendant from these great people, I am a little embarrassed. I hope I can live up to their reputation and I hope I can live up to a fraction of what they were.
The lot from my paternal grandmother's side is an illustrious lot. One of my ancestors were known to be the person that provided the manpower to build the famous Terusan Wan Mat Saman in Kedah. The forerunner project that launched rice production in Kedah.
I am only writing about my father's side. I have not even touched on my mother's side that is quite interesting as well.
Looking at it in a modern sense, I originated from Indonesia and Thailand, that's 2 out of 10 ASEAN nations. There are the other 8 nations starting with Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Timor Leste and Philippines. I am related by marriage to Singapore and on my mother's side, we were related to the ancient nation of Champa. Champa is now parts of Vietnam and Cambodia. 3 more nations then make it 5. Half of ASEAN.
I'll continue my story in my next posting.
![Joie de vivre [zhwaduh-vee-vruh]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/98d927_9bd54ac5248843daac7bd16909b74bda~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_216,h_216,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/98d927_9bd54ac5248843daac7bd16909b74bda~mv2.png)
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