Memories of the Soo Peng Hang Press

 

I recently had a visitor from the US who was keen to explore more about Johor’s culture and heritage. After we visited a bookshop and the Sultan Ismail Library, I thought that he would be interested to see some vintage books on Johor at Galeri Sejarah Johor or the Johor History Gallery.

 

Facade of Soo Peng Hang Press [Right]
at No. 48 Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Johor Bahru

My visitor, Professor Sanjay Krishnan from Boston University, whose teaching and researching interests included Post-Colonial and World Literatures, responded with much interest when I suggested to check out a collection of old books at the Gallery.

 

Professor Sanjay had read Encouraging the Reading Habit a piece I published in 2017, from My Johor Stories blog and was in search of some old books that he once read at the Sultan Ismail Library when it was then located in downtown Johor Bahru, next to the main Post Office. His quest for these old books brought him to Johor Bahru again.

 

The signboard for Soo Peng Hang
Press was faded but the
Chinese version is still legible

He said that in his previous visit to Johor Bahru, he managed to buy a copy of My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage, from the small stock available from JARO, or Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation.

 

In this visit, he was pleased to get a copy of My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, the third and final instalment of the trilogy of My Johor Stories from JARO, and had me autograph it for him.

 

[After the global pandemic, all the MPH bookstores in Johor Bahru were closed so I obtained permission from MPH to keep a stock of books for sale in Johor.]

 

On our way to the Gallery, I gave Prof Sanjay a brief introduction to Mohd Fariz Johari, the curator of Galeri Sejarah Johor. For his passion in seeking and discovering ancient artifacts, he was nicknamed Johor’s own, “Indiana Jones.”

 

I explained that this young man started to showcase his private collection of Johor artifacts in the mall and over time as his collection increased, this space gradually expanded to a wider wing on Level One.

 

Then when Mohd Fariz Johari discovered the trilogy of My Johor Stories, he bought a set of my books to add to his collection of books on Johor in the Gallery.

 

Professor Sanjay Krishnan [Right]
at the Galeri Sejarah Johor

I also prepared Professor Sanjay to see an eclectic mix of artifacts which may not be clearly labelled but it would be interesting for vintage treasure-seekers to browse around and hear interesting anecdotes from the gallery assistants.

 

So when we arrived at the Gallery, I let the helpful gallery assistant escort my visitor around while I made a quick survey to see what was “new” among the artifacts.

 

A glance around showed me that there was a great number of additions to the collection. I was able to identify the familiar vintage photographs of the Johor royal family members and scenes of Johor Bahru in a bygone era, inherited from the former Johore Heng Photo Studio.

 

In 2023, this vintage photo studio was among the destinations of heritage traders featured in My Johor Stories Heritage Walks but as it was a sunset trade, the family who used to run this photo studio, decided to cease its operations in 2024.

 

I am pleased that I have documented the story of the Johore Heng Photo Studio in My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People.

 

Among the “new” artifacts I saw in the collection was a cloth banner woven with Chinese characters draped over the door of a wooden wardrobe. I do not read Chinese but I was able to deduce that it should be from the now defunct, Soo Peng Hang Press, one of the earliest printing companies in Johor Bahru.

 

Samples of kuda calendar with the
Soo Peng Hang Press brand

It was an intelligent deduction because this banner was on the same wooden wardrobe where I saw samples of old kuda calendars printed with the Soo Peng Hang brand, hanging there. These one-month-at-a-glance, traditional calendars earned its name from the horses printed on the dates when there were horse-races.

 

On a shelf inside the wardrobe, I saw used pieces of ceramic moveable types used for typesetting. The sight of these items convinced me that they came from the Soo Peng Hang Press.

 

When I lead groups of participants of My Johor Stories Heritage Walks along the promenade designed parallel to Jalan Wong Ah Fook, I would pause along this route to share interesting information on Johor culture and heritage.

 

Among the stops I made along this promenade was a spot opposite the row of shophouses where the Soo Peng Hang Press was once located at No. 48 Jalan Wong Ah Fook. The paint on the old signboard was faded but the faint outline of its name, at least the Chinese version, was still legible.

 

Used pieces of ceramic moveable types
used for typesetting

Flashback to mid-March 2015, ahead of the coronation of Sultan Ibrahim of Johor on 23 March 2015, I had the privilege to meet with Soo Kok Wah, a member of the Soo family who shared with me, his recollections in Coronation Memories.

 

I did not know then that in 2017, I would be involved with a book project in partnership with Think City Johor Bahru, to document the heritage story of the Soo Peng Hang Press.

 

In 2019, this hardcover publication was launched in a simple ceremony witnessed by members of the Soo family. It was uncanny that I had a personal connection with this book project because my dad’s first job was as a typesetter.

 

While I was sad that the Soo family was not able to open their defunct printing press as a heritage gallery, I trust that these artifacts should trigger off recollections of this fine art of printing in a bygone era before the invention of modern printing technology.

 

Visit the Galeri Sejarah Johor for your own glimpse of the artifacts from the Soo Peng Hang Press, the Johore Heng Photo Studio and an array of other heritage items.

 

Galeri Sejarah Johor is at Lot 120, Level One of Komtar JBCC Mall, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor. Open daily from 10am to 10pm. Free Entry.

 

Meanwhile, My Johor Stories books are available from MPH bookstores nationwide and online from mphonline.

 

In Johor Bahru, my books are available at Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation (JARO) located at Jalan Sungai Chat, Sri Gelam, 80100 Johor Bahru, Johor. Open from 8.30am to 4.30pm. Closed on Saturday and Sunday.