Zubir Said, the Composer of Majulah Singapura

2. Headlong into Adulthood

Chapter 2 Headlong into Adulthood rb111313_iseas_zubir_layout_c2_v5.indd 20 13/9/12 11:15 AM Early Childhood and Adolescence My father was an elder brother to two brothers, Jacob and Ishar, and three younger sisters, Norma, Nuridjah and Nuriana. He had an elder brother who died at a young age. Papa was born on 22 July 1907 to Mohamad Said bin Sanang, a penghulu adat1 of Tilatang Village, Bukittinggi, Sumatra. His father worked with the railway company as a train conductor and his designation in his village was Datuk Rajo Nan Panjang. Datuk Said was a much-respected man in Bukittinggi. It was apparent that Papa loved his father dearly. During an oral history interview, with nostalgia he remembered his father and how he came to be the chief in charge of four other penghulu. … father was elected head because the other heads of the villages were illiterate. He went to school. He can write and read and he can talk. And then when a petition is to be made to the government, he can write. But he did not go to Dutch only Indonesian school. Before he went to school, he was already a datuk, but not yet the chief in the village. But he was a candidate for the chief. He went to school as an adult, his own way because he think[s] “now I’m becoming the chief so I must go to school.” Q: What position does a datuk hold socially? Just a title conferred by the villagers, like a recognition of leadership. Any man who can talk in the mosque, in the coffee shop, in the rice field. Father got strong personality, strong will, also. I remember him walking from [the] remote village to the railway station; that is 14 km; so he started after the morning prayers at 5 o’clock. He eat only hard cooked rice. He did not eat much meat like chicken; he eat more vegetables, that is why he is strong. When he read the newspaper, when he came here, he can read the newspapers without glasses. [My grandfather was then 101 years old] He looked after law and customs of Minangkabau. Under him there were four kampong chiefs — meet often every month, consider condition of kampong and rice fields irrigation. Involved in money matters. Dutch don’t interfere. Also involved in religious ceremonies.2 I remember Kakek — an endearing term in Minangkabau for “grandfather” — as a man of short stature and unassuming, but with a rather commanding personality. He had small eyes, but his vision was 20/20, right till the day of his demise. He was a grand old man whom I recall liked to sit in his favourite rattan chair in the corner of his living room watching the antics of his grandchildren, quietly enjoying their company. He would break into a chuckle from time to time, amused by what they were doing. In the short time I spent with him in Sumatra, I established a close bond with Kakek. He was truly special and much loved by all. In his village, Opposite: Zubir Said’s father, Mohamed Said bin Sanang, Datuk Rajo Nan Panjang. At 101 years of age, his vision was 20/20 and he walked 6 miles from Joo Chiat Place to the Sultan Mosque for Friday prayers. Young Zubir was to have inherited the Datukship according to tradition but he preferred to be free. Headlong into Adulthood 21 rb111313_iseas_zubir_layout_c2_v5.indd 21 13/9/12 11:15 AM they addressed him as inyiak which is another term for kakek in the more traditional Minang dialect. From what he said of his father, I gather Papa was much like inyiak in temperament — “strong personality” with “strong will”. Papa was a “chip off the old block”. Physically, Papa was taller than inyiak but he was the spitting image of his father. Papa could have inherited his taller stature from his mother because, in a fleeting memory, Papa had described his mother as “a big fat woman who can cook well”. He sadly recalled that he did not remember much of his natural mother as she died when he was about seven years old. When his father remarried, Papa was jointly cared for by an aunt. In Minangkabau society, matrilineal influence was and is very strong. Datuk Said brought up his children according to strict Islamic religious codes and Minangkabau tradition, but he also wanted...