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| Elegant arches are part of the ancient architecture in the heart of old Johor Baru |
When
members of my friend’s family came to Johor Baru for a short holiday, she was glad
that her cousins and their young families can enjoy the themeparks in
Nusajaya. Having heard so much about
Legoland Malaysia and Sanrio Hello Kitty Town, the youngsters were thrilled to
head to these attractions but her uncles and aunts will find it more meaningful
to visit old Johor Baru again.
We know there’s
no better way to appreciate the sights than to go on a walking tour so we set
out with much enthusiasm.
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| Plaque seen at the JB Chinese Heritage Museum |
The
best thing about heritage walks is they are Free-of-Charge and we can explore
on our own time and at our own pace. We
started at the Johor Baru Chinese Heritage Museum where our visitors can have
an overview of the history of JB from a chart that covers an entire wall on the
ground floor.
The info is provided in
three languages for everyone to get a historical perspective and as we walked along,
I shared interesting anecdotes and details to enhance their tour experience.
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| Road sign for Jalan Sawmill in old JB |
Older folks are
aware that Malaysia and Singapore were once one country so it saves me time in explaining
the history of the Johor sultanate, the founding of Singapore and the
development of modern Johor under Sultan Abu Bakar. Based on historical records, Johor was also known
as Hujung Medini, Ujung Tanah (Land’s End) or Wurawari, a Javanese word that
means “clear water.” In the museum, a
plaque declares that in 1855 Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim gained sovereignty over
the territory of Johor and founded the capital named Iskandar Puteri, the
ancient name of Johor Baru.
At the corner of
Jalan Wong Ah Fook and Jalan Sawmill, there is a sculpture that depicts a Jawi
rendition of the word, “Jauhar” which is Arabic for ‘gem’ believed to be the
word from which Johor derived its name. Nearby
Jalan Meldrum is more than 150 years old and was named after a Scotsman, James
Alexander Meldrum, who in 1860, built a sawmill close to the river mouth on the
left bank of Sungai Segget. Jalan
Sawmill was named after this sawmill, then the biggest steam sawmill in Asia
and the first industry that was established in Iskandar Puteri.
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| Another ancient arch along Jalan Trus |
This sawmill
produced sawn timber as one of Johor’s main exports and to ensure that there
was enough timber for the construction of a light railway between Johor Baru
and Gunung Pulai, Sultan Abu Bakar wisely made Meldrum the engineer of the
Johor Wooden Railway or Keretapi Kayu
Johor. Meldrum is also remembered
for helping to establish the Holy Light Church in 1886.
JB’s main street
is named after Wong Ah Fook, the carpenter-turned-builder and contractor and
successful entrepreneur. He is credited
for building the magnificent Istana Besar or Grand Palace
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| Facade of Thye Onn Pawn Shop at Jalan Wong Ah Fook |
As more Chinese
immigrants prospered, Kampung Wong Ah Fook became the centre for leisure and
entertainment with clubs, restaurants, gambling houses, opium dens, brothels
and the inevitable secret society activities.
Such vices follow immigrants wherever they settled and it was no
different in 19th Century JB.
Merchants on both sides of Jalan Meldrum are still doing brisk business now
as we try to look for historical info on plaques embedded in the pavements that
are unfortunately cluttered with parked cars and cafe tables.
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| Entrance to the ancient footpath that links Jalan Trus to Jalan Wong Ah Fook |
Opposite Johor
Baru City Square, there’s Thye Onn Pawn Shop, a long established business. In those days when a large family had a sole
breadwinner, this valuable service helped to stretch money for food and new
clothes especially during festive seasons.
When the family had saved enough money, their valuables could then be
redeemed.
At the side of the
Public Bank building, a staircase links Jalan Wong Ah Fook to Jalan Trus but I
choose to take our visitors through an ancient footpath and emerge between rows
of old shops on Jalan Trus. Here we find
Yong Heng, a quaint shop at No. 100 Jalan Trus that sells charcoal. Before gas and electric appliances were
common, charcoal was a basic necessity in homes and businesses like laundries,
hawkers and restaurants.
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| Coloured mosaic tiles were used to create this tailor's business name on two concrete pillars! |
We pass the
Kwong Lee Soon Kee Goldsmith and Mun On Tailor on Jalan Trus and see how their
signboards are created from mosaic tiles.
It was a skillful art to arrange coloured mosaic tiles to form business
names for signboards and on concrete pillars.
This design is so durable that the pillars at No. 26 Jalan Meldrum are
still emblazoned with “Fashion Tailor” even though another business now
occupies that shop.
Another
interesting sight is ancient arches built between Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and Jalan
Dohby and one each along Jalan Trus and Jalan Segget. In those days, JB was divided into various
enclaves and the archway marked the entry into another section of town. While walking near back lanes, I point to
uneven patches low on the walls that appear to be squares that are sealed
up. It was easy for our senior visitors to
recall that these former holes were for night-soil collectors to open and remove
and replace buckets when JB had a bucket toilet system!
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| A peek into the charcoal oven at Kedai Kek & Roti Hiap Joo on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee |
Two traditional
bakeries in JB are probably the charcoal dealer’s best customers because they
still bake bread and pastries in charcoal ovens. Sallahuddin Bakery on Jalan Dhoby and Kedai
Kek & Roti Hiap Joo on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee are thriving family businesses
and piping hot products, fresh from their ancient charcoal ovens are quite
irresistible.
Pleasantly tired after our
nostalgic walk, we end our tour with buying sugee
biscuits, giant samosa, buns and
banana cake and savoured them with a hot cup of coffee in a nearby kopitiam.
A version of this was published in the December 2014 issue of The Iskandarian
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