Richard
Dunn was on a quest to see and do as much as he possibly could on a trail from
Singapore, Johor to Labuan to see where his family members once lived, worked
or died.
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| Richard Dunn at the gates, Istana Pasir Pelangi, Johor Baru |
When he started
researching places in Johor Bahru online, Richard discovered My Johor Stories where my stories gave him more historical
background and local perspective.
Among
other things, he learnt more about Johor’s heritage buildings, the cultivation
of Johor’s first economy crops, pepper and gambier, and the Ngee Heng
brotherhood!
His
family was among the English who came to the Far East while many Asian nations
were British colonies.
Johor, in
particular, had a strong English influence as Sultan Abu Bakar was a good
friend of Queen Victoria and the first two Johor sultans of the Temenggong Dynasty where distinguished as
Anglophiles.
In the recent Sultan’s
coronation, we learnt how Sultan Abu Bakar even modeled the Johor royal regalia
after that of the British monarch’s.
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| At the former building for JCSC at Seri Gelam |
Richard’s
grandfather, Frank Mongford Still, better known as F.M. Still, was a good friend
and confidante of Sultan Ibrahim, who reigned from 1873 to 1959. The sultan, who spent a great deal of time in
London’s Grosvenor House, also passed away there.
From his
grandmother’s memoirs, Richard discovered that his grandfather was Chief
Accountant in the Johor Public Works Department in 1928 and in 1934, they shifted
into a house, probably government quarters, on Bukit Jepun.
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| At the main entrance to Istana Bukit Serene |
His
grandmother, Florence May Still (nee Drysdale) was headmistress of Ngee Heng
Primary School in 1934, 1937 and 1941. His grandfather
was a Major in the Johor Military Force and also Inspector of Prisons,
Johor.
He was
Honorary Secretary of the Royal Johor International Club and Johor Civil
Service Club (now renamed Johor Cultural and Sports Club), and later also
Honorary Secretary to the Royal Selangor Club.
While he was in Johor Bahru, F.M. Still was also
President in the Johor Football Association and President of the Johor
Badminton Association.
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| The archway with Istana Besar or Grand Palace in background |
This
information was a helpful guide as to where I should take Richard on his visit here but he had
his own ideas – particularly about the palaces where his grandfather used to
hang-out with Sultan Ibrahim – as recorded in his grandmother’s memoirs!
Richard
saw the 1902 Map of Istana Besar with
surrounding buildings and its perspective in relation to the Johor Bahru Prison from my
story, Historic Hills and Palaces – and wanted to see all these buildings.
I realise
that palaces, even the Istana Besar or Grand Palace, was out of
bounds to the public, but I was determined to show Richard the outside, for him
to get a sense of the place and let him imagine its grandeur when his
grandparents used to frequent those palaces.
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| Students posing for a we-fie with Richard and Lindsay at the second entrance to Istana Besar |
When I
picked Richard and his wife from the hotel on Friday morning, he was armed with
his travel guide books, laptop and camera.
He had photos and documents loaded in his laptop to use as reference. So as I drove, he would tap away on his
keyboard to pull up a picture or some document to show me.
Our first
stop was at the gates of Istana Pasir Pelangi to see the original building, set to a
backdrop of beautifully maintained polo fields.
In the early years, Sultan Ibrahim’s rubber
estates were nearby and this was HH Sultan Sir Ibrahim’s country house and estate office.
Then we
made a stop at the former building of the Johor Civil Service Club (JCSC) at
Seri Gelam, then refurbished as a restaurant and offices.
Richard had read from My Johor Stories about JCSC’s rich history in Johor and saw some
photos of its new building at another site. My friends in JCSC administration, however,
told me that they may not be able to find any old records, especially after
they shifted into their new premises.
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| At the guardhouse with the Sultan Ibrahim Building in the background |
We talked
about the origins of the running social club, Hash House Harriers, which may
have started in Johor Bahru while the founding runners were based here. It was not until they were in the Royal Selangor
Club when they formally named themselves Harriers, so the running club
technically started in Johor Bahru.
Then we
went to the gates of Istana Bukit Serene where we could only see the driveway
into the palace. Once again, we wondered
if Richard’s handwritten letter to the Johor Sultan ever reached him.
My friends with the palace reminded me that
Richard’s query should be directed to the president of the Johor Royal Court Council for
any arrangements, if necessary.
I
realise that the timing was just not conducive for further plans but Richard
was such a good sport about it and even ready to make another trip for this.
We
took a pleasant drive along the coast road to reach the main entrance to the
Grand Palace and made a stop at its second entrance for a view of the recently
refurbished Balai Zaharah. I spotted
groups of young people walking about – inside the palace grounds – even though
it was supposed to be out of bounds to the public, and this aroused my
curiosity.
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| At the Johor Military Forces building |
The
sight of an English couple also made a group of female students walking to the
gate, rather curious and Richard struck up a conversation with them, telling
them briefly about his grandfather who was a good friend of Sultan Sir Ibrahim.
Soon we learnt that the
students were doing a school project on heritage buildings and were out collecting
information and taking photos. And of
course, the students couldn’t resist capturing the moment with a photo memento
of the English visitors.
No visit
to JB can be complete without a visit to the city’s iconic State Government
Secretariat, now known as the Sultan Ibrahim Building on Bukit Timbalan, so we
headed up that hill.
And it only took a
moment for the affable Richard to start a chat with a gentleman who was seated
in the pavilion at the guardhouse!
Then we
went around to its other entrance at Jalan Abdullah Ibrahim for another view of
this magnificent building designed with unique Indo-Islamic architecture that
evolved in India. Work on this building
started in 1939 and for decades, this building dominated the city’s skyline.
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| After a lovely lunch at Eh He Art Cafe |
While the guard allowed Richard to snap photos,
he cautioned us to stay out of their restricted zone. I told Richard and Lindsay that the duties of
the JMF are now largely ceremonial as it continues in its services to the state
and Sultan to this day.
We saw
the signboard in front of the JMF building written in Jawi, the Arabic alphabet
used to write the Malay language, and it was only the next day, when we visited
the Gallery in Sultan Ismail Buidling, Kota Iskandar, that we learnt more about
the JMF.
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| Selecting a garment for Lindsay at Bev C |
It was
time for a spot of lunch so we headed to the Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk were I
showed my visitors Hiap Joo, the traditional bakery and bought them freshly baked
banana cake for a taste of tradition.
After a lovely lunch at Eh
He Art Café, we browsed around the shops to see the charming new businesses housed in
old buildings.
I was
delighted when Lindsay responded positively to my introduction of Bev C, our
local fashionista who is making a name for herself with her unique designs. And it didn’t take long for Lindsay to pick
out a dress to try on and decided to buy it.
A tour of
the Johor Bahru Tiong Hua (Chinese) Heritage Museum gave the visitors more info about the historical
development of Johor since the 1800s and then it was time for afternoon tea. I realised that our banana cake was “outside”
food but I was grateful that my friends at the Drums Café graciously let us
enjoy the cake with our coffee.
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| Richard signing the guest book after their tour of the Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum |
On our
way back to the hotel, we drove through Jalan Ngee Heng and I pointed out to my
visitors, the spot where our grandfather’s house with a badminton court, used to be
before the land was acquired to build the Tun Abdul Razak expressway.
I also pointed out that the site of the Ngee
Heng School was up that way and we would see it on Sunday morning.
Richard
recalled reading about our family’s passion for badminton. While we were on
this topic, I mentioned that the legendary All-England champion, Wong Peng Soon,
was our granduncle and was trained by our grandfather, Ng Ngoh Tee.
It
had an eventful day together but it was not over yet because Richard and
Lindsay were joining me for the evening show at the JB Classical Music Festival,
happening that same weekend.
So after a
rest and change of clothes, I was at the hotel again to pick them up to go to
the show at Afiniti Medini.
I saw Richard lugging his laptop into the car and it occurred to me that there was no need to bring his computer to the show. But he was clearly bursting to show me
something.
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| Richard and Lindsay at Afiniti Medini for the Classical Music Festival show |
He apparently spent the bulk of the time checking online for
archive newspaper records from the Singapore Library website and came across a
particular piece in The Straits Times dated 1 November 1936.
It was part of a report headlined, “Johor
Bahru to hold tournaments,” and the first line read:
“At a committee meeting the Johor Bahru District Badminton
Association presided over by the vice-president, Mr Ng Ngoh Tee, in the absence
of the president, F.M. Still, it was decided …”
I
read no further. My jaw just dropped in utter surprise!
I was speechless for a bit
until I found my voice again. How uncanny?! Who would have guessed that our grandfathers,
not only knew each other but also worked together in the same badminton
association!?
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| The online Straits Times report dated 1 November 1936 |
I
must confess that this shocking discovery was buzzing in my mind throughout the
evening because I just couldn’t get over how Richard, a stranger whom I
welcomed to Johor in search of where his grandfather lived, worked or walked... and then discovered that he was also acquainted with our grandfather!
The
next morning over breakfast, I told my mum about this uncanny discovery about
our grandfathers, and she coolly replied, “I know Mr Still.”
While I was stunned at her reply, mum was Ah Kong’s eldest daughter so she was probably familiar with her father’s friends and associates.
Mum gave me yet another surprise when she
said, “We also have his photograph!”
I
begged mum to please look for it and when she looked into grandma’s old albums,
she found it!
By this time, I was
heading out to meet Richard and Lindsay again for a tour of Kota Iskandar and I
hugged this new discovery along with glee.
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| From our family album, a 1939 photo - Seated front row: F.M. Still [Left] and Encik Mat [Right] with Standing Left to Right: Wong Peng Nam, Wong Peng Soon, Ng Ngoh Tee and Wong Peng Yee |
Once
again, Richard was holding his laptop, ready to show me something when he got
into my car. From the Singapore
Library’s newspaper archives, he found a published group photo with our
grandfathers at a badminton event.
Then
it was my turn to tell him what my mum said and that I too, had a photo to show him. Richard and I were simply amazed at the
discovery that our grandfathers knew each other.
His
quest to discover more about what his grandmother recorded in Jalan Astern, continues in the next exciting episode of his journey to
more sites in Johor Bahru.
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