800 descendants of Jamak clan come together

FOR the first time in the family’s lengthy history, more than 800 descendants of Jamak and Aminah came together for a long awaited family reunion.
The reunion at the Puspanita in Putrajaya was to honour the founding patriarch Jamak of the Bugis tribe, who was born in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 1850.
It took Datin Kalsom Taib, 66, and Siti Zainab Sheikh Abu Bakar, 67, about a year and numerous meetings to make possible the coming together of six generations of family members.
Big clan: Members of the Jamak Family listening to the goings-on stage and other highlights by compere Mahadzir Lokman
It was in Johor that the union of Bugis blood was established when the young Jamak who followed his father to the Malay peninsula, met Aminah Derima.
This was the beginning of a strong ancestry in the Jamak line, in which all his descendants take pride in.
Jamak and Aminah raised their 10 children at Parit Bakar in Muar, Johor, thus planting the seeds of a deep-rooted family tree.
Now in its sixth generation, the Jamak bloodline can trace 1,550 descendants and, if their spouses are included, the number swells to 2,150.
“This is a good number for a start as we expect a bigger turnout in our future family reunions,’’ said Kalsom, daughter of Tan Sri Taib Andak, the former chairman of Felda and Maybank.
Family history: Kalsom presenting the books to her mother Puan Sri Zainab Ahmad 89.
The oldest in the current lineage is 91-year-old Fatimah Jana and the youngest from just a few months old.
To commemorate the special occasion, three books to record the history of the family – Salasilah dan Direktori Keluraga Jamak, Continuation of a Bugis Heritage – were published.
The Taib Andak: In Class of His Own was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the Maybank Head Office on Dec 11.
“The purpose of this launch is done with the hope that the descendants of Jamak will discover more about their heritage and will yearn to add to the family’s legacy,’’ said Kalsom, author of the book on her father.
Some illustrious Malaysians have come from the Jamak family and they include former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Jaafar Hussein and Datin Paduka Fatimah Abdul Majid, the oldest living second generation and the first woman elected to the Johor state assembly in 1958 and the first woman from Johor to be elected an MP in 1964.
Kalsom herself is the first woman to become president of the Malaysian Mining Employers Association.
According to Kalsom, this year’s reunion will be the first of many to come, as the Jamak family grows in number and stature.
She said part of the proceedings from the sale of the books would go towards the Jamak Welfare Fund.
The programme of the day-long reunion gathering included outdoor activities where family members took part in group games, ice-breaking and break-out games.
For details, call 012-2882396 (Kalsom Taib) or 012-2114737 (Junita Shah).