Rohani Abdullah Receives PhD In Ethnobotany At 81YO

Frenchwoman Christine Longuet aka Rohani Abdullah arrived in Malaysia in 1971 and fell in love with Terengganu and the country.

Christine Longuet or Rohani Abdullah proved that age is not a barrier when she received her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) at 81 years old.

Rohani from Kampung Pulau Duyong in Kuala Terengganu spent 10 years obtaining her doctorate in human ecology and ethnobotany through her thesis titled “Tempat, Tumbuhan dan Masyarakat di Terengganu; Penilaian Berdasarkan Dua Era.”

Rohani, who is of French descent, began writing her thesis in 2013 with the support of her late husband Wan Othman Wan Abdullah and their eight children.

She said she faced various hurdles in completing her thesis such as health issues, family problems, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fortunately, she had strong support from her family, experienced young supervisors, and assistance from the university management.

Rohani, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from Sorbonne University in France, plans to pen her autobiography as a legacy for her family and publish it in all the languages she speaks: English, French, and Bahasa Malaysia. She wants her grandchildren to know where they came from.

Rohani has published several books such as Amabah An Architect’s Journey (2013) and The Visible Trail of Chang Fee Ming (2000).

Rohani seems to hold the idea of lifelong learning close to her heart because she also earned a Master’s degree in Architecture from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2006.

In 1982, she researched traditional medicine in Terengganu for several firms and institutes in France.

Some of her articles include Kulit Manis: A Taste of Terengganu’s Heritage, Menelusuri Jati Diri, Chapter Perahu Pinis: Peranan Tukang Dalam Penciptaan Kapal Layar di Terengganu, and Malaysia Contemporaine, La disparition de habita traditional dans le Terengganu.

How did she plant her roots in Malaysia?

Rohani arrived in Duyong Island, Terengganu in 1971 as a single other with her children. The island was famed for its skilled boat builders and she was there to order two sailing boats: one for her acquaintance and the other for her to sail the Pacific Ocean.

She has always loved to sail and learned the basics when she was younger. She wanted to go to tropical countries filled with nature and see how people lived.

Rohani picked up and learned the local language from the boat builders. Some of the first words she learned include ‘besar’, ‘kecil’, ‘panjang’, ‘satu’, ‘dua’, ‘tiga’, how many metres, feet and inches.

While waiting for the boats to be completed, she fell in love with a local man Wan Othman Wan Abdullah who became her husband. His nickname on the island was Awi and he passed away in 2019 from cancer.

Rohani is now a grandmother of 26 and great-grandmother of nine with a 10^th on the way. She also considers herself an “orang bumi” (a person of the earth), saying that wherever she stays on this earth is her home.

She loves her family deeply and allegedly played a pivotal role in rescuing her granddaughter Sabrina Bolivar and Sabrina’s mother from the clutches of Global Ikhwan Sdn Bhd (GISBH).

Bolivar, the daughter of a former GISBH member, shared a TikTok video urging the public to stop supporting the organization. She shared her story of personal trauma and neglect within the community.

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