A peek into the Dato' Jaafar Building

 

The Dato’ Jaafar Building on Bukit Senyum in Johor Bahru, now home to Muzium Tokoh Johor or the Museum for Johor Notable Personalities, was the official residence of the first Menteri Besar of Johor, Dato’ Jaafar Haji Muhammad.

 

Archive photo of the Dato' Jaafar Building
from the 1800s used with my story on
Johor's Historic Hills and Palaces

In my story on Johor’s Historic Hills and Palaces first published in Life & Times, a section of The New Straits Times in March 2015, I shared that the official residence of Johor’s first Menteri Besar, Dato’ Jaafar Haji Muhammad was Sri Gambir, located on Jalan Dato Menteri 1/1 at Bukit Gambir, a site between Jalan Yahya Awal, Jalan Gertak Merah and Jalan Mahmoodiah.  

 

In 1893, Dato’ Jaafar built another home on 100 acres of land at Bukit Senyum which was modelled after Hardwick Hall, an Elizabethan country mansion with four square towers in Derbyshire that belonged to the Duke of Devonshire.  

 

A section of the building facade
as it looks now

It is believed that he named the mansion, Senyum (Malay word for 'smile') because when he sought permission from Sultan Abu Bakar, the Sultan conveyed his approval with a smile.

 

After the demise of Dato Jaafar in 1919, the building was renamed Dato’ Jaafar Building and used for various purposes before turning into Muzium Tokoh Johor.

 

This charming old building in the city should not be mistaken for another new building by a similar name, designed and built in Kota Iskandar, the new State administrative centre in Iskandar Puteri.

 

Dubbed, the Dato’ Jaafar Muhammad Building, this building complex houses the office of the Johor Chief Minister, the offices of the State Executive Council, the State Secretary’s office and other government departments.

 

The ticket counter on the Left wing 
of the Ground floor of the building

This sprawling building designed with five floors in Kota Iskandar, was also named after Johor’s first Menteri Besar, Dato’ Jaafar Haji Muhammad, the father of Dato’ Onn Jaafar.

 

Johoreans who are familiar with the Dato’ Jaafar Building on Bukit Senyum may have passed this grand old mansion countless times but have never been inside simply because, for many years, public entry was restricted. Another reason was probably due to the urban legends linked to this historical building.

 

In fact, I only stepped into part of the Dato’ Jaafar Building in 2018 [only for a refreshment break!] when I attended a Johor Heritage Foundation event, Bicarawara Tokoh – Lada Hitam dan Gambir, which was held in the adjacent building.

 

A flight of wooden stairs in the
Dato' Jaafar Building

Regardless of urban legends, students of architecture will still find this building fascinating and an interesting subject for study.

 

I discovered this when I joined an event in 2023, organised by UTM in partnership with KALAM, the shortform for Pusat Kajian Alam Bina Dunia Melayu or the Centre for the Study of Built Environment in the Malay World. My experience at this interesting event was documented in, Passion to Preserve Heritage Buildings.

 

Recently, after the Dato’ Jaafar Building closed for renovation and upgrading work in the Muzium Tokoh Johor, I received an invitation from Curator of the Museum, Haziera Ramlan, to a preview of the Museum before it opened to the public.

 

She explained that this invitation was for a Simulation Tour and Curatorial Advisory Session that aimed to gather feedback to help them enhance their storytelling approach, improve historical accuracy and visitor engagement strategies.

 

Interesting flights of
central stairs in the building

 

I was delighted to accept this invite, ready to share my knowledge and experience to help position Muzium Tokoh Johor as a centre for authoritative and well-curated historical presentation.

 

Museums and heritage galleries are a favourite destination of mine and among the most memorable were my experiences at the British Museum in London, the National Museum of Singapore, the Singapore Chinatown Heritage Centre and the Images of Singapore Museum on Sentosa Island.

 

More recently, I had the privilege to experience the National Museum of Australia and the very well-curated Australian War Memorial, a must-visit site in Canberra.

 

Dato' Onn Jaafar was the
seventh Menteri Besar of Johor

On the drive to the museum that afternoon, I was mindful to exit the Inner-Ring Road to Jalan Tebrau and across to the slip road that bordered the MBJB building before comfortably reaching the entrance to the Muzium Tokoh Johor.

 

Escorted by Hazeira and her team on a tour of the museum from the Ground Level to the two levels above, we lost track of time as we were deeply engaged with discussing areas of improvement for visitors to benefit from exploring and having a meaningful experience in the museum.

 

It was interesting to observe that the museum had employed modern technology in various parts of the exhibits to narrate history and heritage, and even brought to life, an animated figure that represented Dato’ Jaafar Muhammad!

 

In addition to Johor history and Royal family members, among the sections in the museum were galleries for Notable Johor Personalities in Politics, in the Chinese community as well as in Sports achievements, and a separate gallery for team JDT.

 

A section of the gallery for Notable
Personalities in Chinese community

Among the Notable Personalities in the Chinese gallery were Wong Ah Fook and Tan Hiok Nee, Johor pioneers whose contributions to developing Johor in a bygone era were honoured by roads and heritage quarters in Johor Bahru named after them.

 

I was pleased to share with Hazeira and her team that the family of Tan Hiok Nee had got in touch with me last year because they are organizing a grand Bicentennial Celebration for Mejar Cina Tan Hiok Nee, planned for 2027.

 

When I shared with them that the Tan family was already connected with the Johor Baru Tiong Hua Association and the Johor Bahru Teochew Association in the plans for a city celebration for the Tan Hiok Nee Bicentennial event, Hazeira expressed interest that Muzium Tokoh was also keen to participate in this celebration.

 

In the gallery for Notable Sports Personalities, I was pleased to see that my aunt, Dato’ Sylvia Ng, was featured among other Johor sports personalities whose achievements in sports brought much pride to Johor and the nation.

 

Beautiful bannisters on the staircase

Readers of My Johor Stories are familiar with my stories on our family’s badminton achievements that started with, Where Champions were Born about grandfather’s house at Jalan Ngee Heng that featured our grandfather, a four-time Johor State badminton champion in the 1930’s.

 

A summary of the family’s sports achievements is documented in, Badminton Glory Days, compiled under Memories among the collection of stories in My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, the third and final instalment that completed the trilogy of My Johor Stories books.

 

As Hazeira led me up and down the ancient staircases, around the verandahs and through to the various galleries in opposite wings of this symmetrical building, I saw how the exhibits were organized in the building and suggested that more directional signs are needed to guide visitors to the various sections and galleries.

 

During my visit, I saw a technical team testing out an elevator installed in the old building to facilitate transfer of the elderly and physically challenged to reach the upper levels. While access ramps were constructed across some of the doorways, I observed that they seemed too steep for the comfortable movement of wheelchairs.

 

Do not be surprised when the image of
Dato' Jaafar Haji Muhammad waves at you!

Even as I learnt that the curating team had worked hard throughout the recent Ramadan and Hari Raya seasons, we agreed that there was still much room for improvement before visitors can have a beneficial experience in the museum.

 

My visit to the museum ended at the rear courtyard on the Ground level where a souvenir shop, prayer rooms, restrooms and a café are located.

 

For your own experience at Muzium Tokoh Johor, look out for updates on social media about the dates and times for pre-opening visits and guided tours.

 

Muzium Tokoh Johor is located at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Bukit Senyum, 80400 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.