No. 154 is the number of our grandfather’s house on
Jalan Ngee Heng that was once home to the Ng family and members of the extended
family who used to lodge with our grandparents.
Group photo at our parents' wedding banquet held on the badminton court at No. 154 Jalan Ngee Heng; Group posed at the court side arranged on the driveway! |
They were others who lodged at 154 before my siblings
and I lived with our grandparents in Johor Baru while our parents were based in
Masai for work.
Our fellow lodgers at 154 were cousin Philip while his
parents were working with the Kota Tinggi Hospital and cousin Malcolm, whose
parents were based in Penang.
With the current Movement Control Order (MCO) enforced here and
lockdowns happening in countries like Singapore, Australia and the United
Kingdom, family members are staying home and staying connected by looking up
old photographs and reminiscing about a bygone era.
As we shared memories of life in grandfather’s house, we
fondly refer to it as 154.
The sharing of old photos is certainly a healthy
pastime for everyone who are staying home in compliance with the MCO and over
the days (Day 23 in Malaysia!) we are discovering exciting rare shots from each
other’s collections.
View of the long driveway at 154; Aunty Elizabeth [Left] and Aunty Polly seated, eating langsat fruits |
A day ago, I was amused to receive a batch of
Black-and-White photos from Uncle Arthur who, I believe, couldn’t resist but
joined in by digging through his own collection to share with the family.
“Hello!” said Uncle on the WhatsApp chat, “Here are a
few snaps that might interest you. See if you can make out where the four
picnic photos were taken. My mother was still so young!” he added.
I recognised everyone in the photos taken at the
picnic, including our very young-looking grandmother, who was very much part of
these organised family outings.
Grandmother – whom I had dubbed, The Real Champion
– lived to a ripe old age of 103 and it was sometimes difficult for junior
family members to think of her as young and vibrant until we see her in these old
photographs!
On such family trips, there was always a sharp-eyed camera-person
who would inevitably shoot a candid shot of something horribly embarrassing (that
would haunt you later in life…)
This one was of my brother – then a scrawny little kid
– in a shot that showed his full-frontal naked bottom-half-of-body as mum was
dressing him after his swim!
Uncle Victor with the badminton court behind him |
While my sister guessed the picnic was at Ayer Papan
in Mersing, cousin Bernice (now a mother of two sons) jumped in with a
sarcastic question, “No shame ah?”
Another set of photos showed Uncle with his then
girlfriend (now wife) on a visit to Penang on a sight-seeing outing with Malcolm’s
parents who lived there.
Malcolm was delighted to see these precious
photographs of his late parents because he had never seen them before.
This photo-sharing and exchanges of comments soon
flooded my phone and I had to quickly download to clear some storage space
because I anticipate more photos from aunties, uncles and cousins who have
clearly caught the sharing-old-photos bug.
As I was taking a closer look at these shots, I
decided to separate them into various collections and share them in My Johor
Stories so that family members who have never been to 154 (the building has
been demolished!) nor experienced life there, may catch a glimpse of what we are
reminiscing about.
Aunty Polly behind the counter at Universal Pharmacy |
Besides dad, who had a hobby in photography and thus
had a vast collection of family photos, these old photos were probably from
Uncle Victor, who was a member of his school’s Photography Club and skilled in
handling a sophisticated camera to capture quality shots.
Uncle’s collection of photos of the Johor Chingay, an
annual street parade which used to pass by our house on a route from Jalan Ngee
Heng onto Jalan Trus to the Johor Old Temple, have provided excellent visual support
for my stories on Johor’s Temple of Unity and its traditions.
Back then, Jalan Ngee Heng spanned from the junction
of Jalan Kebun Teh Lama to the junction of Jalan Gereja.
A rare shot of the old kitchen-dining hall at 154; Aunty Polly [Centre] with Aunty Sylvia [Right] and me! |
From the upstairs windows of 154, we could watch this
colourful, pulsating parade because it was the regular route for the Johor
Chingay to and from the Old Temple to a temporary shrine, now known as Xin
Kong, located at Jalan Ulu Ayer Molek.
Some of the earlier photos were probably by dad while
the more recent (compared to the ancient!) photos were by Aunty Polly, who had
a trusty little instamatic camera.
Readers who are familiar with my story, Han Su-yin and
JB Connection, have been introduced to Aunty, who used to work as a sales
assistant with Universal Pharmacy.
This modern pharmacy (the building was also
demolished) was located along Jalan Ibrahim where Dr Elizabeth Comber, a
Eurasian medical doctor who’s pen-name was Han Su-yin, used to work in the
clinic upstairs.
Aunty Polly, helping grandmother in the old kitchen |
As for the formal family photos in our albums, I guess
they were taken by professional photographers who used wide-lens cameras.
An example is that group shot at our parents’ wedding
banquet, an event which was held on the badminton court at 154.
Yes, the banquet was set up on the court.
From a series of photos, I saw that round banquet
tables were set up on the court for guests to dine course by course, pretty
much the way Chinese restaurants would serve the banquet meal.
In those days, teams of cooks would cater for banquets
by cooking live from an on-site kitchen set up at the dining venue.
An aerial view of 154 during its renovation; Note the tall bamboo fence on the front and side of the property; Also the back windows of rooms upstairs and downstairs. |
There were probably few restaurants big enough to host
a large banquet back then or maybe it was more fun to host this celebration at
home!
Even from these old photos, we obviously have a
treasure trove of memories from grandfather’s house.
Now this double-storey bungalow and its entire compound
with a long driveway and a badminton court, are part of Jalan Tun Abdul Razak.
The property was acquired by the Government for
development and after the expressway was built, what was left of our former
home was just part of our driveway.
An enterprising warung operator set up his food-stall
here and under the fronds of a shady tree, his business developed as customers
from this area became regulars.
In the renovated kitchen-dining hall; Aunty Polly and Aunty Sylvia laying the table for a meal with grandmother at the built-in cabinets [in the background] |
Recently I drove pass the site of our former home and saw
that the warung had expanded its business premises and the ground under the
matured tree was leveled with floor tiles!
Two grainy old photos with scenes in grandmother’s
kitchen reminded me of the kitchen in the rear section downstairs that was
constructed in wood.
I remember grandmother used to cook using traditional
charcoal stoves (for slow-boiled soups!) and kerosene stoves, that were then considered
a modern invention.
Her two younger daughters, Aunty Polly and Aunty
Sylvia, were helpful in the kitchen and when my sisters and I lived with our
grandparents, we were also trained by grandmother through being assigned
various kitchen duties.
Grandfather [Left] with Uncle Robert and his wife, Aunty Helen; Note the big sink and draining board where we washed many, many dishes! |
While we, the grandchildren, were living at 154, three
aunties and three uncles who were still single, also lived with our
grandparents.
So while grandmother managed the home by catering
meals and doing the laundry, we had the experience of folding clothes, serving
meals and washing up for this large group of people.
I remember that Uncle Arthur, who was then attached to
the Royal Malaysian Navy, would only be home occasionally when he was on
furlough.
Bear in mind that houses were designed without the
convenience of ensuite bathrooms or toilets because back then there was still no
proper sewage system.
This house had a bucket toilet located close to the
back gate and I recall being awakened by crashing noises in the wee hours of the
morning when the night-soil collectors came in their truck to remove the bucket
and replace it with an empty one.
View of the round-about from our open balcony on rainy day; Note the partially submerged cars in the flood! |
Meanwhile, children were discouraged from using the
toilet to avoid the danger of missing a step and falling into the bucket… and this
very thought kept us obedient to grandmother’s instruction to use the traditional
chamber pot instead.
In fact, each room in the house was assigned a chamber
pot and this privy convenience was especially useful at night because our room
was located upstairs.
In our (children’s) room, there was a duty roster for
each one to take turns in bringing the potty into our room at bedtime and in
emptying the potty in the morning. This was a deeply humbling experience as we
learnt to serve one another.
In the 1960s, the double-storey bungalow at 154 underwent
a major renovation where the kitchen and bathrooms were reconstructed in bricks,
complete with modern toilets that used the flush system.
On the balcony posing on the water storage tank; [L to R] Pearly, our mother, Aunty Sylvia, [Seated] Kenneth and Ruby, Aunty Polly [Right] Cousin Malcolm and me are squeezed under the tank! |
The renovated section of the ground floor had a flat
roof which created an open balcony with a water storage tank, the only
structure up here.
A door upstairs opened to this concrete platform and a
window from our room also opened to this platform. Sometimes, we would climb
out through this window…
From this vantage point we enjoyed a panoramic view of
the upper section of Jalan Ngee Heng, Wisma Gim Shew and the motor workshop behind,
a section of Jalan Tebrau opposite that led uphill from the round-about (with a
petrol station) and another road which led downtown to Jalan Wong Ah Fook.
The construction of Jalan Tun Abdul Razak that used to
lead directly to the former Causeway checkpoint into Singapore, resulted in the
demolition of 154 and the removal of the round-about, which changed the entire landscape
here.
Grandfather relaxing in the sitting room [TV next to him!] with someone else - only his knee can be seen! |
The row of pre-war shophouses next to 154 remains
standing to this day but the bungalows on the site next to No. 163 (last unit
on this row) were also demolished and in its place, the former Tropical Inn
hotel was built.
The rows of terrace houses opposite 154 were then
demolished and Wisma Maria was built on this site.
The row of shophouses close to the junction where
Jalan Ngee Heng meets with Jalan Gereja were also demolished and this site is
now occupied by the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel.
As the city developed, the length of Jalan Ngee Heng
from the junction of Jalan Kebun Teh Lama to the former Causeway checkpoint was
renamed Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, an expressway that was further extended into an
interchange where the former round-about was situated.
Now Jalan Ngee Heng is just a short road that spans
between the junction of Jalan Gereja to Wisma Maria, where the road joins with
Jalan Tun Abdul Razak.
To be continued. Look out for the next exciting
episode…
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