STORIES BEHIND THE NAMES

I had to attend a kenduri at Dewan Toh Puan Rahah located at Yayasan Tun Abdul Razak. The address said Jalan Bukit Bintang but the map put it at Jalan Raja Chulan. A couple of friends told me that it was at Jalan Conlay. Suitably confused, I decided to take a taxi there.
My faith in KL taxi drivers was somewhat diminished when the taxi driver looked at the map for a few minutes and assured me that he will find the place. He didn't know where it was, but he promised to find it.
After going up and down Jalan Conlay several times, the taxi driver told me that the group of people eating under the tent might be my party. I politely told him that wasn't Yayasan Tun Razak. It was Pusat Kraftangan.
Alhamdullillah we found the place and I made my friend, the host, happy. I met many old RTM friends, among them Dato' Aziz Singah who was stationed in RTM Kuala Terengganu before he got his datukship.
I never wondered about Datuk Aziz Singah's name until I was in the taxi on my way home with my former boss, Hj.Madzhi. He asked me whether I know of the story behind the name. I confessed that I don't. Datuk Aziz is from Negeri Sembilan and Hj.Madzhi asked him from which puak (clan) his father was from to have such a leonine name. Datuk Aziz told him that when he was born, his uncle went to the police station to get his birth registered. The policeman asked the uncle what was the baby's name. The uncle told him "Aziz". The policeman then asked whose son was it. The uncle replied "Si Ngah" and "Singah" became permanent on the birth certificate.
Hj.Madzhi also met a pretty nurse from Kelantan whose tag read "Ana Tino". Ana Tino related how his father was hoping to get a girl after fathering a number of sons, one after the other. When told that he had a daughter, he was overjoyed and excitely rushed to the police station (this one somewhere in Kelantan). When asked for the name of the child, he kept repeating "anok tino, anok tino" (baby girl,baby girl). I guessed the policeman taking the report was a bit deaf like me and wrote the baby's name as Ana Tino. Now, I have to assure you that my friend Herman Tino (who taught me the proper pronunciation of Toyo, Khir's father) is a male through and through right down to his kain pelikat. I also suspected that it was the same policeman who gave M.Rajoli his name when it was supposed to be Rojali (Ghazali).
I am sure you have come across other unusual names too. Remember the late Cardinal Sin? My English professor in Singapore can speak many languages. His name is R.K.Tongue.
Please feel free to name other examples.

Labels: names