OBITUARY
Dr AHMED NAISZ HANIFFA
9 JANUARY 1935 – 7 DECEMBER 2023
It is with much sadness that I refer to the death of Dr AN Haniffa who I have known for the past nearly eighty years. Affectionately called “Hani” or even “Honey” he was one of three Moor boys who entered Royal College in 1946. The two others viz Hussein Ismeth Rahim aka Tooty, Jehan Raheem, have both predeceased him.
Dr AN aniffa Haniffa on completing his education at Royal College, entered the Ceylon Medical College following in the footsteps of elder brother MN Haniffa who was a year senior to us in school. I know that the elder brother represented Royal at Rugby, and I have a faint recollection of Hani too playing rugby for Royal. Both brothers passed out as doctors in the mid to late nineteen fifties. After gaining post graduate qualifications in England, Hani returned to Sri Lanka where he served the country in various capacities as a medical professional. On retirement he was honoured with an appointment as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Bangladesh where he served for three years and later as the Ambassador in Oman for a further three years.
Hani was always quiet, and soft spoken, but a very observant person. I used to sit next to him in class, invariably in the back row, and make snide mischievous comments on our classmates seated in front of us! However his motto was always “with malice to none”.
Hani’s family are of ancient stock long resident in Galle. His father MIM Haniffa was Advocate of the Supreme Court and an expert on Muslim Law on which he was a lecturer in the Law College for many years. On moving to Colombo from Galle, the Haniffa family became denizens of Wellawatte, first residing in Manning Place, Wellawatte where Hani was born, and the family moving to to Boswell Place, and later 34 th Lane in Wellawatte where their home named “El Dorado” was a great rendezvous for us! The family later moved to Kollupitiya.
It was as a ten year old that I kept the company of fellow denizens of Wellawatte like “Koli” Nadesan, of Boswell Place, “Bambare Samarasinghe of Nelson Place, and “Sivaji Subbramaniam of Vaverset Place, all classmates and thick pals. We used to meet at least once a week, exchange comics, discuss the latest movies, and engage in silly pranks and banter! Ah! those were the days !!
I last met Hani quite accidently at the Cinnamon Grand in 2015 when I was on a visit to the old country. Hani was there with his extended family ready for dinner. He almost missed his dinner having joined my wife and I for a long chat. I remember him referring to some cardiac issues he had at the time, which presumably he succumbed to eight years later.
In July 1965 he married Ummu Hafeera eldest daughter of former Minister MH Mohamed. He has a son and daughter, his son Dr Ruvaize following in the father’s footsteps both as a medical man as well as in service to his fellow men serving as President of the Sri lanka Medical association, and presently working in the Faculty of Medicine in Colombo. His daughter Sumaiha Hashim works as a teacher in the United Kingdom.
Farewell dear Hani “Verily, from Allah we came, and to him we shall return” Hugh Karunanayake
