Tulip Che Lah (3) Biography

Hajah Jumabee Tulip bt Che Lah (Wednesday, 4 November 1931-Saturday, 5 June 2004) married to Haji Abdul Rashid bin Mohd Yusope (Saturday, 28 November 1931-Sunday, 8 March 2009). They both aspired to be doctors but had obstacles and had to abandon their dreams. They both opted for teaching and attended the Malayan Teachers’ Training College at Kirkby, near Liverpool, England. After completing their studies, they both taught at Jasin English Primary School, Malacca before they married in Bandar Hilir, Malacca on Saturday, 24 December 1955.

Tulip grew up in Kuala Lumpur and was trained as a pianist. She completed her piano Grade 8 in England. She had a flair for languages, loved art and craft, sewing plus outdoor activities. She was a good debater, sprinter, swimmer and played field hockey as well as ice hockey. She became a teacher and taught English, Civics and Geography for 33 years. She was in charge of the Girl Guides and the St John Ambulance at the schools where she taught in Malaya and Borneo. A trusted person, she was placed in charge of the handover of the Cambridge examinations to the Malaysian authority for the Home Science component while living in Kedah (early to mid-1960s). She taught at Sabah College in Jesselton, Sultan Ismail School and Sultan Ismail College (SIC) in Telipot in Kelantan, Malacca Girls’ High School at Durian Daun and Penang Chinese Girls’ School in Gottlieb Road, near Pulau Tikus, Penang.

Her husband, Abdul Rashid loved carpentry, house building and electrical wiring besides scouting activities, fishing and swimming. He attended the Malay College Kuala Kangsar and then went to study in England. He worked as a Simultaneous Interpreter in the Malaysian Parliament for the first Malaysian Cabinet before he quit and returned to teaching. He was a lecturer for the Malay Language at the Jalan Day Teachers' Training College in Alor Star, Kedah. He last taught Mathematics and Physics at Maktab Perguruan Pulau Pinang. He taught for more than 30 years (1954-1986).

The couple has seven children – Mohd Sharif, Sharifah, Faridah (that's me), Rabi’ah, Mohd Farid, Mohd Amin and Aminah.

Tulip passed away in 2004 and is interred at Tanah Perkuburan Islam Selayang Baru in Selayang. This is an old and expansive graveyard, but it is fast filling up, and almost full in 2012. Her grave # is A433.

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