20 NATION
memortes
of Nadrah
I By Sean Augustln
seon@nst.com.my
KEMAMAN: Eleven years
have passed, but Rokayah \fu-
sof will never forget the phone
call from her father on the eve
of HariRaya to say that
Nadrah Maarof was at his
house.
'I was preparing nqsi
minyak," sudthe 62-year-old.
The last time she had seen
her adopted aunt was about
46 years ago when she was 4
years old. And the onlymemo-
ry she had was of being cra-
dledbyNadrah.
Nadrah, or Maria Bertha
Hertogh, became a worldwide
cause celebre when a Singa-
pore court awarded custody of
her to her biological parents
afterWorldWar2.
The verdict taking her away
from her adoptive mother,
Aminah Mohammad. caused
riots in Singapore, killing 18
people and injuring 200.
After her Dutch father was
captured by the Japanese in
1942, Nadrah's mother gave
her to Aminah without her
husband's lcrowledge. She
was renamed Nadrah Maarof
and raised in Kemaman as a
Muslirn.
After the court award,
Nadrah became Maria Bertha
Hertogh again and was taken
to Holland where she was
raised in her father's religion.
She recenfly died at 72 years
of age from leukaemia at her
home in Huijberhen, southern
Holland.
Recounting that one visit 11
years ago, Rokayah said she
dropped everything and rush-
ed to herfather's house.
"We hugged and criedwhen
we saw each other for the first
time in many decades. She
hugged everyone in the house.
"We were just so surprised
to see her, and even more sur-
prised she could still speak
English and Malay fluently.
She did have an Indonesian
twang,though.
"We talked until midnight.
And the next day, we were up
until the wee hours just catch-
ingup.
"Nadrah told us about her
life in Holland and asked
a.bout the familyhere.
NEW STRATTS TTMES FRtDAy, lULy 17, 2009
Nadrah, or
Maria Bertha
Hertogh
(right) with
Rokayah
Yusofs
mother,
Kamariah
Mohd Dahan,
on her last
visit. (lnset)
A tearful
Rokayah Yusof.
"It was the most memorable ple. But when word got round her. We just didn't ask her
and the sweetest Rava for me. she wasinKemaman, a crowd a.boutit."
as she slept in my hoirse on the gathered outside herhotel and Rokayah learned of Nadrah's
second day ofRaya. Everyone she had to sneak out. death from her son in Kuantan,
cried when she left the next Rokayah said her grand- who keeps in touch with
day," she said, showing pho- mother, Aminah, was badly Nadrah's granddaughter
tographs of the soft-spoken affected by the whole aflair. throughthe Internet.
curly-haired Nadrah. Aminah, who diedin 1976 of "Iwish I had gone to Holland
Nadrah, who called herself old age, avoided people when to see her. She was such a nice
m ak cik and, lov e d ke t up at and she returned from Singapore, andjovial person.
r end.ang, hadlocated the fam- and clammed up whenever "She will always be in my
ily with the help of two Dutch someone broughtup the story. prayers," said Rokayah,
journalists. 'T think she was bitter. adding that she planned tovis-
Because of her fame. though we will never really it Nadrah's children in Hol-
Nadrah shied away from peo- know how badlv it,a.ffected landnextyear.
The heart-wrenching story of Maria Hertogh
tfl.2
HUBERDINA Maxia Hertogh; or bet-
ter remembered as Nadrah, died last
week. Shewas 72.
For those who have never heard of
her. she was embroiled as a l4-vear-
old girl in one of the most contentious
court cases the countrv had ever
lnoum. After the court detided, there
were demonshations that culminat-
ed in the first race riots in Singapore
thatkilled 18 people andinjured 173.
Nadrah would have been largely
forgotten on both sides of the Johor
Shaits had Dewan Mosyaraltat, a
magazine published by Dewan Ba-
hasa dan Pustaka (DBP), notrevisited
the case.
I was the head of the Magazine Di-
vision at DBP and its chief editor at
thetime.
It all started in July 1988 when the
editorial team discussed the possibil-
ity of "looking at the Nadrah issue
from anewperspective".
A young assistant editor of the
magazine, Fatini Yaacob, was as-
sigred to the task.
They were voluminous reports on
the court case, the landmark decision
and the aftermath, but little was told
about Nadrah the girl, her adopted
mother, her farnily and what hap-
pened to her after 1950.
More than 37 years had passed
since Maria was "returned" to her
bi-
ological parents and her marriage to
one Mansor Adabi_was annulled by
the court. It was a story that needed
to be told.
Nadrah was born to Dutch parents
in Java, adopted by Aminah Mo-
hamad and broughtup inKemaman,
Terengganu. Aminah was a business-
woman who frequented Bandung
where Nadrah's father and mother,
Adriamrs Petus Hertogh and Adeli-
na, resided.
It was a difficult time for a Dutch
fa,mily in Japanese-occupied Java in
1942. T?lre family insisted Aminah
took Nadrah but Hertogh changed
his mind later when he was freed
from the Japanese prison.
He went looking for Nadrah. She
was discovered in Kemaman and
Hertogh initiated the custody battle.
Aminah was defended bv - Ahmad
Ibrahim and Sa,rdon Zubir.
Malays of all walks of life came out
with a find to help the case. They
wonthefirstround.
On Aug 1, 1950 Nadrah was mar-
ried to Marnor Adabi. But the Appeal
Court overturned the ruling. The rest
aswe knowis history.
A publication by a statutory body
like DBP is not required to be inter-
esting or break any record in terms of
newsstand sales. However, the four-
part series on Nadrah beginning in
February 1989 sold 100,000 copies.
It created quite a commotion
iunong the reading public. A sta,r in
the form of Fatini was born. She did
anotlrer investigative report on
Sharnsiah Fakeh, the. former Malay
communist, but nothing surpassed
the followingfor the Nadrah series.
It was a pleasant surprise for us at
themanagementofDBP.
' him. But apparenfly none of the let-
Maria Hertogh's story was covered
by DBP in 1989
My boss at the time, Shaari Abdul-
lah, who was the director of publish-
ing had rhis to say to me: "Go, what-
everittakes."
The director-general, Datuk Ju-
maat Mohd Nor, was extremely sup-
portive, in fact breaking some rules
to allow us to pursue the matter.
But it was Fatini's tireless enthusi-
asm that made the difrerence. She
took many months going through
more than 100,000 documents, and
tavelled more than 150,000km to
five nations for the story.
I haced her movements in mv
notes to rea.ders every month. Luc(
too, was on her side. The man behind
the centroversy, Mansor, was side-
Iined as the Nadrahissue boiled.
But 38years later, he spoke to Fati-
ni about Nadrah and how the short-
Iived marriage had changed him.
Mansor was no ordinary person. He
was the son of writer and nationalist
A. Kadir Ada,bi. He was the editor of
the Malayan Law Journal in the
1950s.
\{hen Fatini met him, he poured
his heart out. He revealed that he
wrote to Nadrah long after she had
been mercilesslv taken awav from
tersreachedher.
Much to our surprise, he gave ev-
erything to Fatini, including three
personal files. (The letters were pub-
lished in the April issue).
The last meeting with Fatini took
place onMarch 13, 1988. He diedthe
next day. The interview with Mansor
was publishedinthe March 1989 is-
zue ofthemagazine.
Fatini was able to trace manv ofthe
books nryitten about the case. one of
them the largely forgotten Thngled
Wrl* The Story ofMaria Hertoghby
DrTomEamesHuges.
She went tbrough reponts in the
Straits T\mes, Singapore Standqrd
andUtusan Melayu. She went to the
Dutch archives in Bergen op Zoom.
She met Nadrah's adopted sister
and friends in Kemarnan, Tereng-
ganu. Fatini was able to meet Jo-
hannes Gerrit Vermuellen, the man
who befriended Marsor and Nadrah
and who fied hard to "connect" both
ofthemvialetters.
A Dutch private TV station gave her
a copy of a special documentary it
produced u;.1975 entitled The TIme
Just Stood Sti//. The final touch to the
story was, of course, meeting and in-
terviewing Nadrah herself. It was al-
most an impossible task.
Nadrah disappeared into oblivion.
There were unconlirmed reports
that she visited her adopted fa;nrily in
Terengganu a few times. There were
stories in 1976 about her allegedly
tryingto hllhersecond husband, Jo-
han Gerardus \tVolkenfelt.
Fatini met him, too, in Bergen op
Zoom. But it was Vermuellen who
helped Fatini hace Nadrah and her
children. Vermuellen had precious
material a,bout Nadrah, but he lost it
in alire in 1987.
Nadrah was in the United States
tying to earn a living with her part-
ner Ben Pichel, leaving her children
inHolland.
It was a tbugh life for her. Fatini
flew to the US with two of Nadrah's
daughters, Carolien and Marlies.
She worked odd jobs as janitor,
cook, domestic helper, whatever,
sending her money home for her chil:
dren. She was livingwith Pichel in a
small town which Nadrah requested
not to be revealed.
By then the Nadrah story had
reached fever pikh in Malaysia and
Singapore, and the Dutch media was
presenting largely negative reports
a.bout her and our interest in
Nadrah.
She remembered her davs in Ke-
marnan fondly, going to school like
the other girls, reading the Quran
and playing fraditional games. And
she remembered the lady who went
through hell when she was brought
back to Holland, Aminah.
Nadrah is part of the Malay/Ivluslim
psyche in this part of the world. The
issue redefmed their perception
about religious conversions and race
relations in more wavs than one. As
ldtin) and the De-
for me, Fatini (now
wan Masyaraftot editorial team,
Nadrah impacted our professional
lives.
Izuluij@tm.net.my