They've got my books!

The launch of my book sequel, My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People in Johor Baru with a community-centered celebration was such a meaningful and memorable event that many are still talking about it.

Got my signing pen ready to autograph a stack of books!

I was so glad that all the people who should be at the event were present but some guests replied with apologies because they were not able attend due to various valid reasons.

It would have been much better if my Aunty Sylvia and her husband, Uncle Mok, were able to join us because she is featured in my book along with other family members under the Memories section – and it would have been a thrill for guests to meet her.

Ahead of the event, she called to inform me that on the same date of my book launch, the Mok family would be celebrating their grand-daughter’s birthday in Kuala Lumpur.

Presenting my book to Aunty Sylvia and Uncle Mok

I understand that grand-daughters would come before a niece (me!), so after my launch event, I made it a point to go to KL to present a copy of my book to Aunty and Uncle.

Meanwhile in conjunction with my book launch and for a limited time only, MPH Publishing offered a promo price for my two-book set with a best deal for two hardcover books at RM88 only and two softcover books at only RM58.

One day while Aunty and Uncle were browsing in one of the malls in KL, they popped into MPH bookstore and got a kick out of looking at the display of My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People and could not resist sharing a photo with me!

Uncle Mok, looking at my books
displayed in a MPH bookstore in KL

Likewise my friends, who deliberately made their way to the MPH bookstore in JB City Square to get their own copy of my book, also could not resist sharing photo mementoes of their visit there!

Among them was Ahmad Fadli Syed Hassan, who’s passionate about the history of the Johor royal family and is also the author of the recently launched UTM publication on the late Sultan Ismail (1894 – 1981).

Chong Jin Foong, who moved to Johor with his family on a work contract, told me that on a visit with his father back in KL, his father showed him an old newspaper cutting that featured Johor’s Teochew culture and heritage.

When Jin Foong looked closer at that article and read the byline, he was pleasantly surprised that it was written by me! So we shared a laugh when he told me about it.

He was away for a work assignment and could not attend my launch event. But when he was able to go to the nearest MPH bookstore, he brought his family along to shop for my book.

Ahmad Fadli Syed Hassan has got my book

At the bookstore, he made his three kids look for me on the book cover and they had fun tracking down my image designed in my brand logo which is at the top left corner of the book cover design!

On another day, two shoppers at MPH bookstore in JB City Square – Harish and his wife, Tikah – phoned me while they were there and asked where I was because they wanted to track me down to autograph their books.

It happened that I was also in JB City Square, having coffee with my family at the café right next door to the MPH bookstore. So Harish and his dear wife popped by to get their books autographed, quite conveniently!

Meanwhile, my nephew, Aaron and his wife, Even, who popped up in JB for the weekend to attend my event, hand-carried my books back to Perth to present to my nieces and nephews there.

Chong Jin Foong also has my book!

In the same way, Melanie, my niece who came to JB to spend some time with her grandmother, also hand-carried my books home to the UK – so heavy on her backpack –to present to her mother, her brother and his wife.

Next I arranged to pack my books, all autographed to send by post to family members in KL, Singapore and JB, who could not attend my launch event in JB.

To do this, I chose to use bubble-pack lined envelopes to protect the books from damage. And to buy this particular size of envelope, I went from one stationery store to another but failed to find it.

I even had photographs of the envelope’s dimensions on my phone but when I showed them to the shop assistants, their reply was a disappointing, “Out of stock.”

Finally, I went to a stationery store which has a chain of outlets in the city – with fingers crossed, hopeful to find this size of envelope – and they have it! But there were only two pieces left.

Harish and his wife tracked me down at the cafe!

I then asked the shop assistant to call their nearest outlet to ask if they had any stock of the same and I would head over there immediately. Once again, I kept my fingers crossed while the young lady was on the telephone with her colleague.

“Ada!” was the word I needed to hear and I asked that they keep it aside for me. After paying for the two envelopes from this outlet, I hopped into my car and drove directly to the said outlet for the number of envelopes they were keeping  aside for me!

Just as I autographed and tied up my books with ribbons to present to specific people at my launch event, I did likewise for these books and sealed them in the envelopes and addressed them to their destinations for Mr Postman to present them on my behalf.

I followed up with phone messages to tell the recipients to look out for Abang Pos and to let me know once they have safely received my book.

My sister, Pearly, and her son, Jamie,
with my books in the UK

I was hopeful that the books should be delivered on time for Christmas but to my regret, the postal system did not meet my expectation. The first message to acknowledge safe receipt of my book in KL was on Dec 27.

“I’m so glad Mr Postman did his job. Happy Reading!” I replied, thankful that my book was safely received by recipients in JB, KL and Singapore.

It was weird that when Swee Gim and Wye Choon came to visit us on Christmas Day, I had to tell them that my book for them was in fact, en route by post to them in KL.

On Jan 6, 2019, Swee Gim snapped a photo of my book to show me that it had finally reached them!

My book reached Swee Gim and Wye Choon

It was important to me that Swee Gim and Wye Choon received my Book 2 because they were the people who connected me with MPH Publishing Kuala Lumpur during my book project for Book 1.

On Jan 7, I received a photo from Delia Goh to let me know that she received it last evening (Jan 6). And her postal address was in JB.

I remember meeting Delia (as an adult) when I was at a hotel for a Ramadan food review and when she told me that she used to visit our home when she was a child, I was baffled.

It was strange that she seemed to know me. I should know who the visitors are to our home but I could not recall meeting Delia.

Then she explained that he uncle used to bring her along with his children to visit our grandmother (who lived with us) during the lunar new year season.

Delia Goh has received my book safely

Suddenly I had a vision of Uncle See Hong with three kids in tow, and could even hear his affectionate greeting to my grandmother, “Piew Yee!” when they met in our home…

So this was how I discovered that Delia and I are related!

It turned out that her grandmother, the late Mrs Goh nee Wong Lin Tai, the sister of Wong Peng Soon, and my grandmother were cousins. So rank-wise in the family, Delia and I were also ‘cousins.’

I remember her grandmother, whom we addressed as Sam Yee Poh, and sending my grandmother over to their house for the two old ladies to chit-chat and reminisce about their good old days.

Her grandmother had passed on much earlier while my grandmother, whom I had dubbed, The Real Champion, passed when she was at the ripe old age of 103.

Delia was all ready to come to my book launch event with her dad but due to a medical emergency, they could not come. So my book was put in the post to her.

Ee Lyn has also received my book in Singapore!

And then on Jan 8, Kok Ee Lyn sent a photo from Singapore with her message: “I received the wonderful My Johor Stories 2 at noon today. I’m reading it now!”

I had autographed this book with a message to Ee Lyn, with an instruction to turn to Page 51 and have a closer look at the photograph featured with my Portraits story on Madam Sweet Potato, a midwife in Batu Pahat.

While I was working on this story, I asked for old photographs from her family and a few were sent by email for my review.

In one photo taken at the Batu Pahat Health Clinic in the 1950s, Madam Sweet Potato or the legendary Han Cher Soh (Hokkien dialect) posed with a group of nurses.

It was an exciting connection when I recognized the younger version of a close friend of my parents, Kok How Chai – who was Ee Lyn’s mother – then a Nursing Sister with the Family Planning Unit.

Signing my books for Dr Ong Chong Yau

After their retirement, my parents and her parents used to visit with each other and we maintained a close relationship until both her parents passed away after long illnesses.

I was more than pleased that she had safely received my book because I thought this old photo of her mother in my book is such a special memento for Ee Lyn and her family.

Finally, I must share this snippet about Dr Ong Chong Yau, a church member who attended my book launch event and he bought both Book 1 and Book 2. But when he saw the queue lined up for their books to be autographed, he decided not to join the queue.

One evening after our church meeting, he approached me to ask me to autograph my books and I happily obliged.

Then with a smug smile, the good doctor told me about his bright idea: he thought it would be much better to meet me in church to sign my books because here, there was no queue!

My January 2019 kicked off nicely with an interview with Malay Mail online. This feature, Growing up in Little Swatow: Stories by a true-blue ‘anak Johor’ was published online on Jan 3.

My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, is now available from MPH bookstores nationwide and online via www.mphonline.com