600 Stro Menggolo clan members gather for reunion
BATU PAHAT: Some 600 members across eight generations of the Stro Menggolo clan, including Malaysian rocker Amy Search, gathered for a family reunion here.
Mislam Keman, who organises the Stro Menggolo “Family Day”, said the first reunion was held four years ago at Rengit here and the second one in Tanjung Batu, Riau, Indonesia, two years after that.
“We aimed to bring together 1,000 descendants of the Stro Menggolo family from both Malaysia and Indonesia under one roof but after three reunions, we only managed to gather between 500 and 600 members.
“We take turns to host the event to enjoy each other’s company and keep the extended families united,” the 76-year-old told reporters when met at Jalan Kampung Batu Puteh.
Besides Amy Search, other well known personalities in the Stro Menggolo family gathering this year is Batu Pahat district kadi Muhammad Husni Tamrin Md Sharif.
Mislam said it used to be a challenge to organise the event as the telecommunications system then was not as sophisticated.
“With the smartphone apps we have today, it is so much easier and faster to communicate and gather eight generations of family members in one place.
“We plan to have the next reunion in two years’ time but we have not decided whether it will be in Malaysia or Indonesia,” he said.
According to Mislam, the clan adopted the name Stro Menggolo after a cultural group formed by one of their family members.
The group – then called Stro Menggolo Jawa Puwarjo – had been active in the Riau Islands in the 1890s but was disbanded following Dutch colonisation.
Mislam said family members in both countries had always been actively involved in cultural activities.
“In fact, here in Batu Pahat, our family members have been organising cultural performances and this has been passed from one generation to the next,” he said. — Bernama