Shaik Ahmad Clan: Tulip Che Lah (2) Demise 2004

TULIP CHE LAH (4 Nov 1931-5 June 2004)

She is my mother. I am her daughter. She was the eldest of 4 sisters. She was a schoolteacher at many places before she retired at age 55 in Penang. She wanted to be a doctor but WW2 shattered her dreams. She became a teacher instead after completing 2 years teacher training at the Malayan Trainee Teachers' College at Kirkby, near Liverpool (1952-1954). She returned to Malaya and taught English, Civics, Geography and sometimes Physical Education. She was a grade 8 pianist and a good piano teacher. She played mostly waltzes and rags, mostly Strauss and Chopin. She spoke English, Malay, sang in Tamil, and comprehended Spanish, German, Japanese, and Chinese. She was a good cook and used Betty Crocker cookbooks from the UK. She knitted and did crochet from Japanese books. She married to Abdul Rashid bin Mohd Yusope (my father), previously a simultaneous interpreter in the Malaysian Parliament for the first Malaysian Cabinet, then a teacher and later a college lecturer in the Malay Language, Mathematics and Physics. They have 7 children. She suffered a heart attack and passed away in the afternoon, aged 72. She is interred at the Muslim cemetery in Bandar Baru Selayang, outside Kuala Lumpur.

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Tulip at 72. Visiting Singapore

These words were found in Tulip's diary of 1967: "To do good is not only our greatest duty, but should be our greatest interest." I have used this as the text description for this blog, and also as the last slide for my professorial talk in 2010.

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DOA UNTUK IBUBAPA

Allahummaghfirli waliwalidayya warhamhumah kamarabbayani saghirah

Allahhummaghfirli dzunubi waliwalidayya, warhamhumma kama robbayani soghiro

Makna doa:

Ya Allah, ampunilah dosa-dosaku serta kedua ibu bapaku dan kasihanilah mereka keduanya sebagaimana mereka memelihara dan mendidikku di masa kecil.

Allahummaghfirlaha warhamhuma wa'afiha waghfu'anha bima rahmanir rahimin