Turkish delight form of "lokum" made with starch and sugar. The family business, now in its fifth generation, still operates under the founder's name. Tim Richardson, a historian of sweets, has questioned the popular attribution of Hacı Bekir as the inventor of Turkish Delight, writing that "specific names and dates are often erroneously associated with the invention of particular sweets, not least for commercial reasons". Similar Arab and Persian recipes, including the use of starch and sugar, predate Bekir by several centuries. The Oxford Companion to Food states that although Bekir is often credited with the invention, there is no hard evidence
Bachtiar Effendi younger brother of Rustam Effendi, a communist-sympathising poet born in 1903. Their family was originally from Padang, West Sumatra, although the brothers left Padang for their education. Effendi dropped out of senior high school – a level of schooling already more than most native children received – and instead of becoming a law student as his parents intended he became a labourer at Tan's Film, working in decor. Effendi acted in his first acting role in 1930 with "Si Ronda". He then became an assistant director with "Melati van Agam" (1931), also taking a minor acting role. He directed his