Vespa Malaysia: Modern Malay and Lambretta

These three modern Malay ladies showing off their 'scooter' that they use daily to go to work. The ladies are, from left, Che Mariam binti Jamaluddin, Che Raziah binti Mohamed Dom and Che Habibah Akib. Che Mariam is a school teacher and travels about 10 miles a day to and f from her place of work. Che Raziah is the first Malay girl to ride a scooter in Ipoh in 1957. She works as a stenographer in RIDA. Che Habibah is a telephone operator in Warner Brothers Ltd.

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 47 years ago, a New Straits Times photographer took a picture of Raziah Mohamed Dom on her scooter.
But what’s so special about that?

It turned out that Raziah was in the spotlight for being the first Malay woman to own a scooter in Ipoh.
Her sister, Datin Radiah Mohamed Dom, recalled the heady days after Merdeka when Raziah bought the 150cc Lambretta.

“It was the talk of the town. It was unheard of in those days: A woman riding a scooter.

“She used the scooter to travel to work from our parents’ house in Jalan Bendahara. She attracted a lot of attention when she rode it,” she said.

The picture of Raziah on the scooter is among those on display at the NST “Road to Nationhood — 1957” exhibition at the Bangsar Shopping Centre here.
At a time when women were rarely independent or outgoing, Radiah said her sister demonstrated a boldness probably inherited from their mother.

“My mother was one of the first Malay women to drive a car in the country. She was an active woman and I guess this was passed on to my sister.”

Raziah was also enterprising in those days.

“Until today, I am still left wondering how she raised the money to buy the scooter.

“She was resourceful. When she was 10 or 11 years old, she was making kuih and even sewing clothes to make money.”

Radiah said Raziah was also one of a new breed of youngsters at the time who were active in associations.

“I recall how she used to travel from Ipoh to Johor to attend meetings. She was adventurous then.

“Her favourite pastime was travelling and she would save money to travel to foreign countries,” she added.

Raziah, 70, now lives in Australia with her husband and remains active despite her age.

“She doesn’t look it. Recently, she travelled to Argentina. Two years ago, she went mountain climbing in Sabah,” she said.

Radiah said a family member had told them of Raziah’s picture at the exhibition, so she and husband Datuk Abu Kassim Ahmad came to have a look.

Label: Malay and Scooters