NST 12 September 2006

On 12 Dec 2006, Datuk Wan Mohd Isa Wan Ahmad met Mr Wee Choon Siang, the man whose academic thesis as an undergraduate 1952 was instrumental in helping find the grave of Tengku Menteri Ngah Ibrahim Long Jaafar in Singapore.

Datuk Wan Mohd Isa Wan Ahmad is the great great grandson of the Larut chieftain who died in 1895.Accompanied by Prof Dr Othman Yatim, a professor of history at University Malaya, he met Mr Wee at the Ram Khamhaeng Hospital in Bangkok where the latter was undergoing chemotheraphy for prostate cancer. Wan Mohd Isa expressed relief that he was able to meet Mr Wee.

Mr Wee's son, Soo Cheang informed that his father was equally anxious to meet them. they chatted for over an hour about his health, the thesis and the effort to bring back the remains of Ngah Ibrahim to Perak.

When contacted at his home in Bangkok, Thailand, Mr Wee told that he was honoured and proud that Datuk Wan Mohd Isa Wan Ahmad visited him at the hospital. I never expected the impact of the thesis in Malaysian History. I thought it would be forever locked away in the university's archives. im happy it proved to be more than just an academic work, it has brought to life an important personality in the annals of Perak's history.

The homecoming of the remains of Ngah Ibrahim together with that of his father in law Laksamana Mohd Amin Alang Duakap on 9th september 2006 has almost completed the return of the 4 major personalities in Perak banished to the Seychelles Island in 1877 for their alleged role in the murder of JWW Birch.