Fourteen years ago, today...

 

Fourteen years ago, when My Johor Stories the blog, was launched on March 11, I did not know – until later – that this date on the calendar coincided with the day when a horrific earthquake and tsunami happened in Japan.

 

Two cover pages of Travel Times, a pull-out
section of The New Straits Times 

While this cataclysmic natural disaster had such a devastating effect on the affected nations, this also made it easy for me to remember the significant date when my blog went ‘live’ on social media that very same day.

 

My blog aimed to store pieces that were first published in the print media so that readers who follow my stories, may go to my blog to read at leisure.

 

More than 14 years ago, I was contributing pieces to mainstream media in the Travel section of The New Straits Times, called Travel Times, a pull-out section that was later rebranded, Life & Times.

 

Centerspread of Travel story of
the Cover page at Left [Above]

This allowed me to share Johor stories to a wide reading audience because this pull-out section of the newspapers was distributed nationwide.

 

In 2008, when the Editor assigned me to cover an excursion through Melaka and Johor to meet with craftsmen and women who were keeping our culture and heritage alive, I was pleased to publish their stories in a two-part series.

 

I was deeply encouraged to see these two pieces, On the handicraft trail and They cherish their crafts, in the Travel Times but felt that it was a pity that such good stories about local craftsmen were published only once.

 

Two cover pages of JB = Johor Buzz, the
Southern section of The New Straits Times

I strongly felt that culture, arts, heritage and human-interest stories like these about traditional craftsmen, should be shared with more readers.

 

This led me to take the bold step to approach the then Bureau Chief of The New Straits Times office in Johor Bahru to introduce myself and seek his permission to publish my stories on the Johor craftsmen again.

 

At that time, The New Straits Times had another pull-out section for the Southern region, first called J-Buzz or Johor Buzz, that was published daily on week days.

 

Cover story in Johor Streets;
Photo features baby Peggy with
mah-jie, a maid from China

This section of the newspapers, was rebranded as Johor Streets and later evolved to Streets Johor.

 

The Bureau Chief was familiar with me as the Johor-based writer for the Travel Times and welcomed me to contribute regularly to Johor Buzz. And because I am a true-blue Anak Johor, he also invited me to share more about Johor in opinion pieces for the, Your Say, Your Johor or My Johor page of this pull-out section.

 

I am always grateful for this opportunity to share news and events in Johor, draw attention to destinations and good food as well as meet a host of colourful characters to write exciting stories to inform and interest readers through the pages on Johor Streets.

 

When the Bureau Chief encouraged me to consider the Johor that I grew up in and to share it against present-day Johor, this sparked off a series of stories that were supported by old Black & White photographs from my dad’s collection.

 

Jalan Dao' Wilson was part of the
Johor Bahru General Hospital
compound, my first home address
in Johor Bahru, when I was born
 

My dad had a hobby in photography and his collection of photos became a valuable resource that supported my recollections and made my storytelling more meaningful.

 

I learnt from the Bureau Chief that readers connected very well to my stories in the opinion page and started to fondly call them my grandfather stories.

 

I did not know it yet but I was steadily attracting a following of readers who thoroughly enjoyed my Johor stories published in this section of the newspapers.

 

Then the Bureau Chief told me that he was receiving calls from readers to talk about my grandfather stories and he had fun replying their curious questions about me.

 

Deeply encouraged that my stories resonated so well with readers, I worked hard at crafting more interesting tales about Johor which I believed, readers could easily connect with.

 

Mugshot published with my byline

At one point, the newspaper required that that writers not only had a byline but must also insert a mugshot (Read: portrait photo) with each published article. While I was very reluctant to do so, I had no alternative but to comply. So readers could then attach a face to my name.

 

By then, the local community was already familiar with me because I was contributing to the Travel Times, published nationwide, as well as Johor Streets, a daily weekday publication.

 

With my feet firmly planted on two boats, I sailed on to share Johor stories, both nationwide as well as locally in two publications, much to the delight of the stakeholders.

 

I received plenty of invitations and had fun covering both community and private events that highlighted Johor people and places, published with photos in front page and centerspread pieces of the Travel Times and Johor Streets.

 

Our family home at No. 154
Jalan Ngee Heng, Johor Bahru

While I was out in the malls, readers sometimes stopped to chat with me. And when I heard that they were buying the newspapers just to read my stories, I was both happy and humbled.

 

But when they failed to get a particular issue of the newspapers, they were very disappointed. They did not want to miss any of my stories and I was often asked, “What was yesterday’s story?” or “What is your story tomorrow?”

 

My reply was, “I don’t know,” because my pieces were submitted to the Bureau and they joined a queue to be published. So I did not know when my pieces would be out.

 

What I did know was that people liked to read about themselves and their events.

 

My readers’ keen interest made me consider how they may enjoy reading my stories at their own leisure and convenience. In 2011, My Johor Stories the blog, was then created to store published stories as well as stories written exclusively for the blog.

 

Cover page of Johor Streets...

When Johor Streets ceased to be published in 2015, I continued to contribute to a page dedicated to My Johor Stories in The Iskandarian, the official newspapers of Iskandar Malaysia, with the published pieces also stored in my blog.

 

The contents of my blog have connected people to Johor and I had my fair share of exciting adventures, both local and from abroad, who came to Johor because they had read something from my blog that mattered to them.

 

For instance, in 2018 a researcher with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Centre for Chinese Language and Culture, in Singapore, wrote to introduce herself and said she enjoys reading My Johor Stories blog, especially the stories on author, Han SuYin.

 

Zhang must have read, Our Han SuYin Connection, first published in Johor Buzz in 2008 and then stored in my blog. This researcher asked if I would meet her for a chat about Han SuYin when she visited Johor Bahru.

 

... and Centerspread feature on
lefthanded Johor rockstar, Man Keedal

My experience with Zhang on her visit to Johor Bahru was documented in, Han SuYin, the ‘missing period’ in Malaya, as a typical example of how My Johor Stories connected others to Johor.

 

In March 2019, a collection of such exciting experiences was presented in my TEDx Talk titled, Connecting People through My Johor Stories.

 

While presenting a TEDx Talk was a whole new experience, another exciting discovery was when two people – at separate occasions – who told me that my blog was the inspiration for them to start their own social media adventures.

 

I could not help but basked in the reflected glory, aware that My Johor Stories had inspired Tony Boey of Johor Kaki fame and Sonny Cosme of Jomtaralets as they developed their content and firmly established their brands in the community.

 

At 2017 Meet-the-Author event hosted at the
MPH bookstore in Johor Bahru City Square

Meanwhile, Think City, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Malaysia, has been reviving cities like Penang and Kuala Lumpur and when Think City came to Johor Bahru around 2015, they discovered My Johor Stories and me.

 

When Think City Johor Bahru encouraged me to publish a collection of My Johor Stories in a book, I finally accepted the challenge to embark on this book project.

 

My Johor Stories was Think City’s first book project in Johor Bahru that was published in partnership with MPH Publishing Kuala Lumpur.

 

On the first week after my book, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage, was launched on July 15, 2017, this title reached the Number One spot in the MPH Non-Fiction Bestsellers list.

 

A page dedicated to My Johor
Stories in The Iskandarian

The collection of stories in this book comprised some of the most popular posts in my blog with sections on Johor culture and heritage, Johor people who have impacted other lives and Memories, some of my best-loved grandfather stories.

 

My book stayed on the MPH Bestsellers list for consecutive weeks and months, and in December 2017, My Johor Stories was counted among the Best of MPH in 2017.

 

I am ever grateful to readers who are homesick for Johor because it was their support that spurred me on to publish two more books to complete the trilogy of My Johor Stories books.

 

My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, was published in December 2018 while My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, was published in December 2022, after a delay due to the global pandemic.

 

My collection of stories in the latter two books – as their titles suggest – are a mix of interesting stories about places in Johor and people whom I met, along with carefully researched exclusive stories to document a slice of Johor heritage.

 

The trilogy of My Johor Stories

Since 2021, I have had the pleasure to share My Johor Stories ‘live’ in events like, Storytelling by the Sea, Stories by the Sea with German Journalists, and Meeting Media from the Middle East.

 

In 2022, My Johor Stories was featured in Let’s Talk, one of the English television shows on Astro Awani and in 2024, I had the privilege to be featured on BFM Radio.

 

To celebrate National Day in 2022, My Johor Stories was featured in Bicara Karya, a Facebook ‘live’ event hosted by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Library.

 

Needless to say, I was more than pleased that My Johor Stories popped up in the MPH Non-Fiction Bestsellers list again in August 2022.

 

Another unique development was how some hotels and resorts share my sentiment that People liked to stay in a Place with a Story, and placed My Johor Stories books in their better rooms, suites or lobby for the guests’ reading pleasure.

 

My Johor Stories, still on the MPH
Non-Fiction Bestsellers list in August 2022

From reading My Johor Stories during her stay at the One & Only in Desaru Coast, a guest reached out to me to help her family publish a book as a tribute to their father. This book project was particularly meaningful, both, for me and the Tan family.

 

Under a 2023 Think City grant aimed at bringing life back into the city after the global pandemic, I hosted Heritage Walks with small groups to share about Johor culture and heritage in Downtown Johor Bahru.

 

These were another form of My Johor Stories ‘live’ experiences that continue to be held with participants, both local and from abroad, in Heritage Walks tailored to their requirements.

 

Also in 2023, the trilogy of My Johor Stories books was proudly presented to the Sultan Ismail Library to join their Malaysian Collection of books, received by the Johor Bahru City Mayor on behalf of the library.

 

All this and more, started from a blog of the same name, My Johor Stories, launched 14 years ago on March 11. As I count my many blessings, Time moves on and my journey continues…

 

Important Note: My Johor Stories books are available from MPH bookstores nationwide and online from mphonline. As all the MPH bookstores in Johor Bahru have closed, JARO has some stock of my books for sale.