Empat puluh lima
Family trees are usually interesting to explore. Some families are lucky enough to keep records of their lineage, to know where they come from and make sure the family history doesn't disappear. Unforunately, I don't even know a great deal about the lives of either of my parent's parents, but I hope to in the future. This post is about my grandad from my dad's side, whom we all call Papoh. His real name is Awang Tengah bin Awang Hasib. These are some pictures of him from old newspaper clippings my dad gave me.
He had been the treasurer for Partai Rakyat Brunei. If the party had been allowed to come to power having won the 1962 legislative council, he was set to be the Minister of Agriculture and Corporation (Al-Sufri 2003, p. 108). Instead, the PRB staged a rebellion that was quickly suppressed by the Bruneian and British authorities. The PRB was banned and he was imprisoned for a short while along with some of his comrades, others fled the country. 
Besides being a political figure, he was a successful businessman who owned a timber company situated in Kampong Burung Pingai under his name, ATH. He passed the company down to one of his sons, Abu Bakar, who we call Uncle Gugok, and his wife. Uncle Gugok sadly passed away after a tragic car accident in 1997.
My memories of Papoh during my childhood aren't many. I remember being around him during family gatherings and he comes over to our house in the afternoon every once in a while. He wore a pair of thick glasses and was intimidating for some reason, well for me and my siblings at least.
And thats my knowledge of Awang Tengah. Papoh.
Reference:
Al-Sufri, J. (2003) "8 Disember: Dalangnya Siapa?" Brunei: Pusat Sejarah Brunei
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posted by Zed Peace
on 22 May 2009
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