Makam Dato Koyah in George Town: In remembrance of a spiritual healer whose legacy lives on at his shrine

GEORGE TOWN, July 3 —The late Syed Mustapha Idris, affectionately known as Dato Koyah, used to make porridge for people who came to him for help.

Known for his mystical healing powers, he made medicine from local herbs and roots.

He was a respected spiritual teacher among the Malayalee and Tamil Muslim communities in George Town.

When he died on April 8th in 1840, a shrine was built to commemorate him and today, it is known as Makam Dato Koyah.

The British East India Company donated the land where the shrine was built and also named one of the roads leading to it after him.

The shrine has South Indian architectural influences and is similar in style to other Indian Muslim shrines in this region.

Makam Dato Koyah was built in honour of Syed Mustapha Idris who was known for his generosity and healing abilities.

There were many stories of the mystical healing powers of Dato Koyah, even after his death.

Persatuan Warisan Dato Koyah secretary Adam Malik said Dato Koyah even healed sick British district officers at that time and it was why the land was donated by the British for his shrine.

The land was also where he had settled to work as a labourer and spiritual teacher prior to his death.

Adam said in the past, people used to collect the oil from the oil lamps at the shrine as the oil was believed to have healing powers.

”People used to rub it on their heads if they had a headache or any spot of their ailment and they believed it healed them,” he said.

However, the practise soon died out but the stories of Dato Koyah’s generosity in feeding the poor with his porridge continued to be passed down from generation to generation.

Makam Dato Koyah was restored according to its original South Indian architectural design.

”We are now the 10th generation and we still practice the tradition of cooking porridge as a community event and giving it out to the poor,” he said.

The community will come together at the shrine to cook porridge every Thursday and on special occasions such as Maulidur Rasul and Awal Muharram to distribute the porridge to the people.

”We will also cook porridge and distribute it on Dato Koyah Day which falls on 5 Safar according to the Islamic calendar,” he said.

Makam Dato Koyah underwent massive restoration works in 2014 which was completed in 2018.

Adam said the shrine is open to visitors only once a week, on Thursdays from 5pm to 11pm but visitors must adhere to the strict dress code such as head covering and no revealing clothes for women.

”We must accord him respect as if he is still alive so decorum is important for those visiting the makam,” he said.

Artefacts on display inside Makam Dato Koyah.

Currently, the makam is undergoing some minor maintenance works but it will still be open to the public during the Historic Building Open House programme in conjunction with Penang heritage celebrations on July 7.

Adam said the association is also teaching a workshop on the traditional art of making kites on July 5 during the three-day heritage celebrations.

”It is a way for us to reminisce about the carefree days when we used to have ‘competitions’ with different groups in town to see who can cut the other’s kite,” he said.

He said they used to add glass shards to their kite strings to make it sharper so that if they are able to overtake another kite in the sky, they could cut its string and win in the ‘competition’.

”We often don’t see who the other group is and if a kite is cut loose, everyone will run towards it and the first one to catch it will get to take it home,” he said.

He said these are stories of growing up in George Town that they hope to share with younger generations.

”Heritage is not only about the makam, it is about the culture, the community and the stories of how we used to live in a bygone era,” he said.