A Merdeka Appeal to Penangites — Remembering Mak Cak, Mak Timah Bidan
I was born in 1949, eight years before Malaya became an independent nation.
My childhood home in Sungai Pinang was also a place where members of UMNO gathered for meetings and political activities during those important years leading toward Merdeka.
But there was another person in that house whose influence reached far beyond politics.
Her name was Mak Cak, known throughout the community as Mak Timah Bidan — Mak Timah the Midwife.
She was my eldest aunt, and she was the woman who brought my twin brother and me into this world.
For decades, she travelled through the kampungs of Penang, often on foot and at all hours of the night, delivering babies wherever she was needed. Malay, Chinese, Hindu — it made no difference. A mother in labour was simply a mother who needed her help.
She was paid with whatever people could afford: rice, coconuts, pengkeras, a sarong, perhaps a few ringgit.
And much of what she received, she gave away again to people who were poorer than herself.
She became a trusted figure across communities at a time when racial tensions could run deep. During one particularly difficult period of tension between neighbouring Malay and Chinese villages, her reputation was such that she was reportedly allowed to enter the Chinese enclave when others could not.
People trusted her.
Not because of politics.
Not because of wealth.
But because she had spent her life serving people.
In her final days, Malays, Chinese and Hindus gathered beside her bed. Each came in their own way, but all came for the same reason: to pay their respects to a woman who had touched their lives.
When she was finally laid to rest at Dato Kramat, thousands were said to have followed her funeral procession.
She was later honoured as a Justice of the Peace, but to me, and to many who knew her, the greatest honour was something much simpler:
People remembered her.
Now, as Malaysia celebrates another Merdeka, I find myself wondering:
Shouldn't Penang remember her too?
My suggestion is a simple one.
The road now known as Jalan Sungai, formerly known as River Road, runs through the very area where her home once stood.
I would like to respectfully ask the Penang authorities to consider renaming Jalan Sungai in honour of this remarkable woman:
Jalan Mak Timah Bidan
Not because she was my aunt.
But because she belonged to the community.
She brought Malay, Chinese and Indian children into the world. She helped the poor. She crossed racial and religious boundaries when others could not. And she played her part in the difficult years surrounding the birth of our nation.
This is not about my family seeking recognition.
It is about remembering a woman who spent her life serving Penang and its people.
If Mak Timah Bidan once touched your family, or if your parents or grandparents knew her, please share your memories below.
Perhaps together, we can give Penang another reason to remember her.
Merdeka, Malaysia.
Salam from Penang. 🇲🇾
