A few things happened
recently that set me thinking about going back to Masai for a visit and I did so
with my mum and eldest sister.
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| The government quarters allocated to my dad while he was based in Pusat Kesihatan Kechil, Masai, for 13 years |
Throughout the
trip, our comments were mostly about the changes we saw in the way Masai has
developed and how nearby estates were now replaced by buildings.
My
thoughts about Masai were triggered off at, Bicarawara
Tokoh – Lada Hitam dan Gambir, an event where a guest speaker on the topic
of Johor’s pepper and gambier heritage, was UTM Associate Professor Dr Haji
Kassim Thukiman.
We
met at the tea-break and the first thing Prof Kassim said was, “I bought two of
your books!”
He was referring
to my book, My Johor Stories: True Tales,
Real People, Rich Heritage and expressed how thrilled he was to read about
Masai, a town mentioned in my story, Going
back to Masai-chusetts.
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| Mum, the midwife, still wearing her uniform, when she gave us slices of watermelon to slurp (and drip!) outdoors! |
He was fascinated
with my experiences in Masai while our parents, transferred to work with the
hospital’s Health Sub-Centre, were based there for 13 years.
Prof
Kassim was born in Kong Kong, specifically in Kampung Cahaya Baru, a FELDA
development, but as the nearest Police Station was situated in Masai, his
birthplace was thus registered as Masai.
As
we chatted about familiar places, I felt a strange sense of pride in Prof
Kassim, an academic and university lecturer, and his humble beginnings in a kampung near Masai.
Not
long after meeting the professor, I was at Dine, Puteri Harbour for a
food-tasting experience and was introduced to a menu of recommended dishes by
Chef Kalidass.
As
the items were served, I began to notice distinctive and creative Western-Asian
fusion ideas applied to the meats and sauces that were not only unique but rather
gutsy.
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| Bus No. 39 still serves the JB - Masai route! |
When
the chef finally came out of the kitchen, I invited him for a chat to learn
more about his culinary journey and the inspiration behind his creativity.
Kalidass,
better known as Chef Dass, then shared his story about how he was guided by
strong mentors and trained in international brand hotels in Germany and
Singapore, before coming back to run a restaurant here.
His
determination and passion was evident from his voice and when I asked where he
was from, Chef Dass told me he was from Taman Sungai Rinting, a former kampung near Masai!
A few days later, I
was at another event in Bandar Seri Alam, a township on the edge of Masai, and
stumbled upon an interesting café, Grumpy Goat and Friends Specialty Coffee House.
I
could hardly believe that Grumpy Goat was in Masai. As I reminisced about the
old town, I marveled at how far Masai had progressed since those early years when
Johor Port was created in Kampung Pasir Gudang.
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| The Masai Post Office at the corner of the main road into town with Jalan Sekolah |
When
our parents started work in Masai, my siblings and I lived with our
grandparents at Jalan Ngee Heng so that we could conveniently walk to school.
Our
term holidays was with them in Masai and I can never forget the fun we had at
beautiful Palm Beach in Kampung Pasir Gudang, how dad taught us to lose the
fear of water and the way we used to swim-race with each other.
In
the latter years when we moved back to live with our parents, we witnessed how
Masai gradually developed from a one-street town into a thriving business
center as it grew in tandem with Johor Port and the Pasir Gudang Industrial
Area.
Many
businesses opened to meet the needs of a budding shipping industry and to
support the manufacturing and heavy industries happening in Pasir Gudang.
Masai
folks were suddenly seeing a new wave of people coming into their once
sleepy-hollow town and the enterprising ones started more sophisticated
businesses here.
The
stylish décor in Grumpy Goat, a specialty coffee house, sent me on a flashback
to the first coffee house in Masai, located at the last shop in that row on the
main road.
 |
| A sign we saw on the drive back from Kong Kong to Masai, just shows how much the area has developed! |
Named,
Ocean Coffee House, it was not only
designed with a glass-panel door and covered by curtains across its insides, it
was of course, air-conditioned.
At
that time, it was the place in Masai
to entertain clients and visitors in air-conditioned comfort.
I’ve
dined in Ocean and remember it had a coffee house menu of food and beverages –
both local and European – as well as ice-creams and also served beer!
Not
long after that, visitors to Masai could have a drink or two at a
pub-restaurant (if my memory serves me right) called, Seaman’s Paradise.
In our
school-going years, mum arranged for my sisters and I to commute daily from
Masai by school bus or Bas Sekolah and we travelled by the winding old
road.
But when we joined
more extra-curricular activities and our hours became irregular, we opted to
travel by public bus.
At that time, the
bus service between Masai and JB was provided by Alec Bus, commonly called ‘the
Green bus,’ and its number was 39.
When our brother
started Standard One at JB’s St Joseph’s School, mum arranged the same Bas Sekolah driver for him.
One of the most
unforgettable incidents must be that day when my brother did not come home as
expected because the bus driver forgot to pick him from school!
The driver was
oblivious to it until the moment mum went to ask him for her son.
Filled with
anxiety, mum and the driver rushed to the school and were relieved to find my
brother in the office, safely with then headmaster, Alex Anthony.
Since that horror
incident, the driver took extra care to ensure that my brother was safely on
board his bus before he left the school for Masai.
This and many
other memories came flooding back on our return to Masai-chusetts.
A version of this was published in the July 2018 issue of The Iskandarian
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