“Congrats on your recent
interview which I found so interesting.
 |
| My Johor Stories, Book One and Book Two |
“I was wondering if I
could get autographed copies of your two books for my husband as he can
associate with the stories you wrote about. I want to surprise him with the
books!” she said before we went on to discuss about how to get this done.
I know Alice had married a
Johor Baru guy and she asked if I remembered him…
 |
| My two books, tied up in ribbons |
I had a Bas Sekolah
to ferry me back to Masai where my parents were based for work while Alice and
her younger sister, Ivy, would be collected by their Ah Kong or
grandfather in his car, painted a bright shade of blue.
We were in different
classes during Secondary school, went our separate ways after leaving school
and only met again at our first school reunion event where I learnt that she
had settled down in Kuala Lumpur.
In our recent phone chat,
Alice said that she and her husband had planned to travel to Johor Baru in April
but plans had to change due to unforeseen circumstances.
She then suggested to get
her niece, Elaine, who lived near Austin Heights in Johor Baru to help
coordinate my book-signing and to send the books to her in Kuala Lumpur.
Thanks to Alice and her
interest in My Johor Stories that we discovered that my books were listed but Currently
Unavailable from MPH online.
Two years had passed since
the start of the global pandemic and the lockdowns which resulted in a great
deal of changes in the economy.
Among the businesses that
had no alternative but to cease their operations included hotels, restaurants
and bookstores like the MPH bookstores in Johor Baru.
A check with MPH
Publishing Kuala Lumpur confirmed that their bookstore at Senai International
Airport was already closed and that MPH no longer has a presence in Johor Baru.
This sad news compelled me
to do a thorough search through my own collection of books to see if I had any
spare copies of books for Alice.
I was delighted to let
Alice know that I found the two books she wanted, My Johor Stories: True
Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage and My Johor Stories 2: Interesting
Places and Inspirational People (with a photograph as proof!) and was pleased
to part with them so that she could present them to her dear husband.
In another phone chat, I
asked Alice what message she would like written with my autograph in the books before
her niece collected them from me.
“Will ask Elaine to
message you directly to make the arrangement,” said Alice.
 |
| My books within a carrier bag, at the car service centre |
As usual, the Customer
Service staff will send several text messages to remind me about the due date
for my car to be serviced – and I had ignored them.
But because I had an
appointment in Muar to meet with the founder of the award-winning High-Pole
Lion Dance troop, I thought I should reply the service centre to confirm the
appointment and get my car tuned up before I drove out-station.
Since my car service
centre is located at Taman Desa Tebaru, close to Austin Heights where Alice’s
niece was, I thought it was an ideal spot for a rendezvous to pass my
autographed books to her.
 |
| Handing over my books to Elaine at the car service centre in Taman Desa Tebrau |
Before heading to the
service centre, I got my books autographed, tied up neatly in ribbons and put
into a carrier bag, ready to be handed over to Elaine.
The car service centre is
linked to the showroom and furnished with a comfortable lounge area so while I
waited for my car to be ready, I will plug in my laptop and get some work done.
 |
| Photo proof from Alice to show me that my books were safely received! |
Nearby, some car owners
were looking through the glass wall, observing while their cars they were being
serviced. I politely asked one of them to help me capture a photo memento to
document the handing-over of my books to Elaine.
Alice was amused to
receive this photo of the ‘official hand-over’ but had not made any
arrangements about retrieving the books from Elaine as there was no hurry and
no particular occasion for her to present my books to her husband.
This loving wife just knew
that her husband will appreciate my stories because he was very proud of being
a Johorean.
I told Alice that I can
relate to this sentiment because we Johoreans often boast about the “01” in our
identity numbers.
 |
| Alice presenting my books to her dear husband in Kuala Lumpur |
It was an unforgettable
delight to discover from an Instagram post that my Book Two was presented to
none other than His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim for his birthday.]
After my books were passed
to Elaine, the very next day, Alice reciprocated by sending me photos as proof
that she had safely received my books and said, “Received today in good order!”
Elaine had dispatched my
books via courier and they were safely delivered to Alice by midday the next
day. That same evening, Alice presented my books to her husband.
Happy Reading and
reminiscing on Johor!
Note:
We stay hopeful that mphonline will make my books, My Johor Stories: True
Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage and My Johor Stories 2: Interesting
Places and Inspirational People, available again very soon.
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