yselfReceived an sms early this morning from a dear friend Najwa asking something unexpected. So the sms written....
Najwa: Ckn blh tlg.....By the way my friend tanya you ada sedare mare kat penang tak coz ada org kat kampong tok dia nama mcm u
Ckn: Penang? My mum mmg frm penang tapi my dad's side byk kt KL. Cuba tanya sikit sapa nama kot i yg x tau sedara mara sendiri.
This was 8.55 am when I got the sms. Later in the afternoon received an email at around 1.15 p.m from Iza; Najwa's friend asking about someone that her grandfather knew back then by the name of Pfordten in Penang. And so with that I just like to share a bit with everyone about my family history and the story behind my name Pfordten!
My grandpa; Arthur Reginald Pfordten was born on 23/11/1886 in Batavia, Java as a Roman Catholic. Later the family returned to stay in England and he was sent to study in German where he went to an English College. My late great grandfather; Frederick George von der Pfordten owned a Cable Company that made them moved various places. And their last stop was in Singapore.
Soon when the business in cable ended due to telephone took the forefront in telecommunication, my grandpa had to find jobs in other sectors. He later joined the rubber industry as a planter and soon he was made a manager in Cameron Highlands. Grandpa converted to Muslim in 1937 when he was 51 years old and married my grandmother; Jamaliah Puteh a Malay lady who was then 29 years old.
Grandpa and Tok Jam (my grandmother) was blessed with 3 children before the World War 2 strike. And when grandpa joined the British Army, the Japanese had captured him and thousand others and was taken prison-of-war and was intern at Changi Prison from 1942 till 1945. As Tok Jam was alone in raising 3 small kids, she decided to give my dad away to a Malay family in Penang. During that period, Daddy told me that his foster family had to really take care of him as they were afraid that the Japanese would harm him as he looked like a foreigner. They hid him in rolled up 'mengkuang' mats, or within piles of firewood, to avoid him from being spotted by Japanese patrols
3 years without news about Grandpa, Tok Jam had re-married with a Malay man but with a condition that should grandpa return, the marriage to the 2nd husband will automatically jatuh talak. Tok Jam had a daughter with the 2nd husband. Later when the war end, grandpa return to Penang to find the family and bring them back to Cameron Highlands. And yes Tok Jam and the 2nd husband automatically jatuh talak. But grandpa really nice to care for the daughter as if its his own child. After that they were blessed with another 2 child, my makcik and arwah paksu. So in Pfordten's family ni ada la macam2 jenis muka. Muka campur2, muka mat saleh, muka melayu.
Grandpa passed away on 23/12/1974 when he was 88 years old. He was buried in Cameron Highlands. I never had the chanced to know him but when Tok Jam was still alive I can see the love between them is truly pure. Tok Jam would always proudly told us about Grandpa; how good he was as a Muslim, a husband, a father and a man. And the most thing that I remember most was that the special name Tok Jam called grandpa as she couldn't pronounce Pfordten correctly - Fo'u. And Pfordten is to be pronounce as Forten with a silent P.
Najwa told me it is worth to make a movie. Ala2 macam ceta natrah gitu. To me it is interesting to know about my family history. Talking about movie you can check this movie and this movie to find more about our family. Both movies had the family's name as a character in it.
My late grandfather - Arthur Reginald/Abdul Rahman Pfordten
My late great grandmother - Augusta Pell
My late great grandfather - Frederick George von der Pfordten
My grandpa; Arthur Reginald Pfordten was born on 23/11/1886 in Batavia, Java as a Roman Catholic. Later the family returned to stay in England and he was sent to study in German where he went to an English College. My late great grandfather; Frederick George von der Pfordten owned a Cable Company that made them moved various places. And their last stop was in Singapore.
Soon when the business in cable ended due to telephone took the forefront in telecommunication, my grandpa had to find jobs in other sectors. He later joined the rubber industry as a planter and soon he was made a manager in Cameron Highlands. Grandpa converted to Muslim in 1937 when he was 51 years old and married my grandmother; Jamaliah Puteh a Malay lady who was then 29 years old.
Grandpa and Tok Jam (my grandmother) was blessed with 3 children before the World War 2 strike. And when grandpa joined the British Army, the Japanese had captured him and thousand others and was taken prison-of-war and was intern at Changi Prison from 1942 till 1945. As Tok Jam was alone in raising 3 small kids, she decided to give my dad away to a Malay family in Penang. During that period, Daddy told me that his foster family had to really take care of him as they were afraid that the Japanese would harm him as he looked like a foreigner. They hid him in rolled up 'mengkuang' mats, or within piles of firewood, to avoid him from being spotted by Japanese patrols
3 years without news about Grandpa, Tok Jam had re-married with a Malay man but with a condition that should grandpa return, the marriage to the 2nd husband will automatically jatuh talak. Tok Jam had a daughter with the 2nd husband. Later when the war end, grandpa return to Penang to find the family and bring them back to Cameron Highlands. And yes Tok Jam and the 2nd husband automatically jatuh talak. But grandpa really nice to care for the daughter as if its his own child. After that they were blessed with another 2 child, my makcik and arwah paksu. So in Pfordten's family ni ada la macam2 jenis muka. Muka campur2, muka mat saleh, muka melayu.
Grandpa passed away on 23/12/1974 when he was 88 years old. He was buried in Cameron Highlands. I never had the chanced to know him but when Tok Jam was still alive I can see the love between them is truly pure. Tok Jam would always proudly told us about Grandpa; how good he was as a Muslim, a husband, a father and a man. And the most thing that I remember most was that the special name Tok Jam called grandpa as she couldn't pronounce Pfordten correctly - Fo'u. And Pfordten is to be pronounce as Forten with a silent P.
Najwa told me it is worth to make a movie. Ala2 macam ceta natrah gitu. To me it is interesting to know about my family history. Talking about movie you can check this movie and this movie to find more about our family. Both movies had the family's name as a character in it.
My late grandfather - Arthur Reginald/Abdul Rahman Pfordten
My late great grandmother - Augusta Pell
My late great grandfather - Frederick George von der Pfordten
4 comments:
waaahhh.. baru hari ini aku tahu salasilah keluaraga kau..
aku cuma tahu kau ada german blood tapi tak pernah nak bother hehehhe...kira kau punya family ada sejarah kuat jugak la kan kat bavaria nun! bagus la kau keep family record
eh tak menjawab soalan .. hahahahah
aku rasa memang boleh buat movie..
salam..waa unty..it was a great fam history..x sangka unty sanggup korek rahsia about ur german blood history kan..anyway, it was interesting..good luck!
Yes.. it is worth to make a movie
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