Two Generations Removed....

Md Yasin bin Abdul Jani, 1896 - 1957


The man in the picture is my paternal granddad, Md Yasin bin Abdul Jani. This write up is meant for my siblings and their children, my cousins, second cousins, and others who may know of our families, and remember this man. My memory of my granddad is sketchy and information I have on the man is also sketchy. It is my hope and wish that this write up is corrected for anomalies and inaccuracies and records straightened up if possible by anyone with the correct information.

Migration of Indonesians to Malaysia (Malaya) and vice-versa, if any, started even before the times of that (warrior?) Parameswara in 1400s (based on the history lessons I attended in school) and the absence of any identity checks and records made it rather difficult to track or make traces of the migration. I guess this migration phenomena continued ever since although there is some form of identification efforts to differentiate the people from the two countries and others now.

Three young men, Abdul Jani, his elder brother Aspani, and another brother (name unknown), all still bachelors I think, migrated from Pekan Baru, Riau, Sumatra in the mid 1800s by a rowing boat to look for better pastures across the sea. After several days of travelling in the boat and braving the waves, guided by the positions of the sun in the day and the stars at night, and food rations running low, they landed in Tanjung Minyak Beku which is at the coast of Batu Pahat, Johor. How long they stayed there is not known. Perhaps due to difficulties in making a living In Batu Pahat the three brothers decided to move on. They then continued in their boat and followed the coast northwards landing in Kesang. They eventually parted ways there. Aspani, who was a skilled goldsmith, decided to venture South, landed in Singapore and worked as a goldsmith. Abdul Jani, decided to settle down in Parit Jawa and went into farming. The third brother continued migrating North. It was believed that he finally settled down in Lumut. I think he took the boat with him. Not much is known of the two brothers. I remember my dad once visited a relative in Singapore, a sailor, who was a descendant of Aspani. I was a small boy then and I do not remember what happened after that visit. (Singapore was then a bustling seaport and many young men in Singapore became sailors to see the world).

Abdul Jani set up home in Parit Jawa, got married and had three children, Md Yassin, Fatimah and Othman. I do not know much about the life of Abdul Jani, what he did, where he lived and who he married, but I do know that he maintained contacts with his other relatives in Sumatra. So also information that I have on Fatimah and Othman are rather sketchy. I remember some of their offsprings and that too are sketchy. Other family members could perhaps add on to the facts that I noted here.

Md Yasin joined the Police force and rose in ranks to be a Police Inspector until retirement. He set up home in Muar, marrying a woman, Damnah bt Said from his father’s village in Riau, Sumatra as his first wife. If I am not mistaken this was an arranged marriage. His job as a police officer (people called him Merinyu Md Yasin) had him posted to various towns in Johore. I know that he was posted to Muar,Tangkak, Pontian, Kota Tinggi, Keluang and other towns. His job had him dealing with the local public a lot. He was one of the few who owned a car. He was a friendly, good looking man, with good (maybe enviable at the time too) government position, respected and popular amongst the locals wherever he was posted, and especially so with the pretty ladies. His family remained in Muar whenever he was posted to other towns. He married several times, in the various towns that he was posted to. How many times grandpa married I am not too sure but I remember my dad said many times, more than the fingers of both hands! However he had children only from two of the wives, from my own grandma, Damnah, and another grandma Rafeah Ismail (we called her Tok Nyah). Tok Nyah hailed from Pontian, married grandpa after the death of Damnah, and lived with grandpa in Muar and later Johor Bahru.

I did not get to meet my own grandmother, Damnah, but I do remember my step-grandmother, Tok Nyah and got to meet, only once, two other step-grandmothers, one in Kota Tinggi and another in a seaside village in Johor Bahru. I do not remember their names and do not have any information of their lives. I know that they do not have any children with my grandpa, hence no unknown cousins anywhere!

Grandma Damnah had seven children. Five of them died either at birth or when still very small. My dad was fourth and an uncle, Abdul Jalil, sixth. Abdul Jalil, after a skirmish with the Japanese soldiers during the Japanese occupation, died at their hands as a young man in his twenties. So my dad was the sole survivor (coincidentally in the middle) amongst his siblings from grandma Damnah. Grandma Damnah died when dad was about 5 years old. She was laid to rest in Pekan Baru, Riau. One of my paternal uncles managed to locate her grave when he visited Pekan Baru not too long ago. We made a promise that if we can get away from our busy schedules we would go together to Pekan Baru and he would show me where her grave was located but that did not happen. My uncle passed away suddenly before we could make that trip. I am still determined to locate my grandma’s grave and am looking for pointers and the Almighty’s pleasure towards locating it.

Grandma Rafeah or Tok Nyah had nine children, seven boys and two girls. These were the ‘paternal’ grandma, uncles and aunties that I know of and grew up with, while my dad was always considered as Tok Nyah’s eldest. All the children were born in Muar where Tok Ayah and Tok Nyah lived until they moved to Johore Bahru sometime in 1948. I remember the large wooden bungalow that has quite a large, open yard in the front and side of the house. I played in the house and in the front yard a lot, faintly remember the naughty pranks I played on my uncles, and had my grandpa or grandma’s protection whenever I get the wrath of uncles and aunties, heh heh. I was the eldest grandchild you see, and I got away with anything. Tok Ayah built a raised floor wooden bungalow in a village some 15 kilometers away from the Johor Bahru town centre. It was raised tall enough for cars to be parked underneath the house. It was a large house with several rooms upstairs and a fairly large kitchen with attached dining at ground level in the back portion of the house. The compound of the house was also large, much bigger than the former house in Muar. I spent a lot of time in this house and played with my uncles and aunties.

Tok Ayah came to our house in another part of Johor Bahru often. He usually came alone and by bus. He had to take two buses each time. I don’t remember him sleeping over but remember playing with him often, hide and seek, cowboy & red Indians, tops, kites and so on. He passed away late 1957 of a lung problem. He was quite sickly towards the end of his life and came to our house very infrequently. On the day he died, I remember sitting at one edge staring at his body and wondering why he was so still, did not get up and why people were coming and going to see him. I used to miss this man much after he was gone but had the uncles to contend with after that. Dad was busy with his work and also the political uprising at the time, hence less time for me allowing me to spend a lot of time with my uncles. However dad would catch up with me whenever he was free, going on outings, playing games in-door and outdoor. I have a lot of fond memories on this………..

This Picture Was At The Muar House Before Moving To JB. Standing Back from Left: Salleh, Mahmood standing in-front of Ibrahim (Awang), Tok Ayah, Md Shah (Idris), Mariam, Hamzah. Sitting Left: Fatimah (Sarah) with Baharudin (Musa) and Tok Nyah with Md Nor


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