Closing 2022 with deep gratitude

 

Looking back to the start of 2022, it was marked by a visit to the Johor Baru Convent School on January 2 for a first-hand view of the school that needed urgent repairs after the long periods of lockdown since 2020.

 

Site of No. 154 Jalan Ngee Heng,
the address of our grandfather's house now
occupied by a warung and advertisement pylon

As I walked around the Primary School with Mrs. Oliveiro, President of the Past Pupils Association, I was pleasantly surprised to spot my cover and centerspread story published in Johor Streets of The New Straits Times, Precious artifacts preserved in the Convent Gallery, still posted on the notice board!

 

This visit was followed by an appeal to the school’s alumni and generous benefactors, for help raise funds to meet the cost of repairs and improvements to the old buildings.

 

Walking along the corridors of the Primary School to the chapel upstairs brought back sharp recollections of my experience in this school and I was pleased to document it under Memories in My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now – the final instalment to complete the trilogy of My Johor Stories books.

 

Growing Up in Grandfather's House was one
of my stories under Memories in Book Three;
Guess what we were doing here?

As the Covid19 virus was still raging in our community, I accepted the offer to take the booster dose of vaccine in January.

 

While I waited for my turn at the hospital, I met with Rose, a former classmate in the Johor Baru Convent, and first her question was, “When will my next book be out?”

 

At that point, I had no answer for her as work on this book project was delayed by the long lockdown periods and not being able to meet with the Subjects featured in Book Three.

 

Work was further delayed because I had the worse reactions from receiving the vaccines – compared to others – and was in no condition to do any thinking or writing.

 

I was grateful to regain a level of energy before the Chinese New Year season and with the gradual reopening of the economy and international travel, we had small gatherings among family and friends to usher in the New Year.

 

With Yvonne Loh at Ponderosa
Golf & Country Club

As the season of celebration came to a close, our mother – who turned 90 this year – showed symptoms of discomfort on her skin. When an appointment was arranged for the doctor to examine her, her condition was confirmed as shingles, a viral disease with painful skin rash. Ouch!

 

So from February to March, we managed mum’s health who (thankfully!) could not see her (ugly!) skin rash because it was on her back and gradually nursed her back to good health after two courses of medicine.

 

In March, just prior to the Johor Elections, I had the privilege of meeting Sharaad Kuttan in Johor Baru and recorded an interview with him that was featured on Astro Awani channel, Let’s Talk with Sharaad Kuttan, on April 9.

 

With renewed interest in My Johor Stories, I committed myself to completing the manuscript for Book Three and worked hard to meet the Subjects to review their stories and reached out to those whom I failed to connect with since the start of the lockdown.

 

One of the challenges was to connect with the renowned, Kun Seng Keng Lion & Dragon Dance Association in Muar.

 

Dr Anand sent me this photo to
confirm he had safely received it!

After a series of messages sent by Messenger to their website, I finally received an email address and name to start discussing the reason why I was reaching them.

 

In April, when I received an invitation to meet them in Muar, our mutual friend – the co-founder of the 24 Festive Drums, Mr Tan Chai Puan – kindly offered to accompany me for this meetup.

 

It was a most fruitful time together with Mr Tan who helped as interpreter and translator, and we managed to flesh out a most inspiring story, one which I believe, was the first time ever documented in English, as told by its founder, Mr Tan Chong Hing.

 

Also in April, I had the privilege to sit down with Johor’s Mejar Cina, Dato David Wong, and his cousin, Philip Wong, who shared with me more about the Wong family in Johor.

 

Founder of My Liberica Specialty Coffee, 
Jason Liew, with Book Three of My Johor Stories

That same month, I also met with Jason Liew at his My Liberica café in Taman Molek to review my story documented on My Liberica Specialty Coffee.

 

Around this time, a friend who often travelled from Senai International Airport, shared with me a photo of the former MPH bookstore with its shuttered façade, which confirmed that even the last MPH bookstore in Johor Baru was closed.

 

This was proof of the stark reality that life as we knew it, had changed after the pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns. We soon learnt that many MPH bookstores in the Klang Valley were already closed with only a few still opened there.

 

With the manuscript for Book Three almost done, I had to think ahead about the distribution of my books in Johor Baru when there were no longer any MPH bookstores here.

 

I was ready to proceed with the publication of Book Three with the support of MPH Group Publishing Kuala Lumpur, and while my books will be available online from mphonline, I knew that many readers still preferred to flip its pages, touch, feel and smell the new books before buying them.

 

When I shared these thoughts with my friends, Edey Suresh of The Iskandarian and Grace Chiam of BrandCulture PR Marketing & Communications, volunteered their ideas to help me prepare a Marketing plan for My Johor Stories.

 

This included a Road Show planned in partnership with the Subjects featured in Book Three where my pop-up book sale would let readers buy my books here.

 

The month of May started with deep sorrow when we lost our former classmate, Jennifer Liew, due to complications arising from kidney failure. After the funeral, at the request of her sister, I went to help with sorting out her personal effects.

 

With Jeevan Singh
and Gregory Lui

Also in May, we had a small but joyous lunch celebration for Mother’s Day with my mum and eldest sister.

 

In June, all eyes were on the BBC Channel, mesmerized by the live telecast of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Not long after that, in September, we were again glued to the television to witness the Queen’s funeral procession.

 

Then it was such a privilege to be a Human Book among five other Human Books at the Human Library event, hosted by Johor Corporation.

 

Around this time, Think City Johor Baru invited participants to submit applications for the Downtown Johor Baru Grants Programme and I was encouraged to do so.

 

With the help of BrandCulture, I submitted a proposal and eagerly anticipated a reply by end September.

 

Extracted from Chinese Newspaper 
report that (I was told!) reported my
name in Chinese, Loh Peh Chee.
[Photo by Tan Chai Puan]

Meanwhile, the main project in July was visits to the dentist with mum who finally decided that she needed to sort out her dentures. Numerous visits were required for the preparation and fittings before the final set was fitted on to give her a sweeter smile.

 

As conditions improved, travel was more comfortable and we received visitors from my sister’s in-laws from Kuala Lumpur, my nephew Andrew and family from Perth as well as our cousin Bernice and family who arrived from the UK.

 

I was delighted to receive a message from then GM of MPH Group Publishing Kuala Lumpur, who showed me the MPH Weekly Bestsellers list for Non-Fiction as at August 12 to 18 with My Johor Stories listed back among the Top Ten titles!

 

This was very encouraging and it inevitably spurred me on to tie up all the loose ends in my manuscript for Book Three and submit it for publishing before the year ended.

 

With Jeffrey Bong [Lemon Tree Restaurant] 
and his daughter

To commemorate National Day 2022, I was invited to participate in a UTM Facebook-YouTubeLive event on August 23, Bicara Karya, to discuss about My Johor Stories along with another author from East Malaysia, Jong Chian Lai.

 

In early September, we celebrated mum’s 90^th birthday with a small gathering at home and a day later, my nephew Aaron and his family arrived from Perth to spend a few days with us.

 

When Aaron and family returned to Perth, my sister left with them for a much-anticipated break with her family there.

 

When I received the letter of approval from Think City Johor Baru, it was all systems go in the planning for the My Johor Stories in Downtown Johor Baru Awareness Campaign, simultaneously with the organizing of my book launch event in mid-December.

 

Elton Ho of Mee Ho Seng Kee, 
plans to run a contest where diners
stand to win the hardcover versions
of My Johor Stories, Book Three

On Dec 31, earlier on this last day of the year, I heard a radio deejay ask this question, “What was your greatest achievement in 2022?” with a request for listeners to phone-in to share their inspirational stories.

 

I heard the deejay chat with a caller who shared her story on how she worked hard through a regime of regular exercise to lose weight. She persisted with her routine and even on rainy days, she would exercise indoors by walking on the staircase.

 

While I applauded her on such an achievement, it made me think about my own greatest achievement in 2022. No, it was not about publishing Book Three of My Johor Stories.

 

Around end September, the most dreaded thing happened: I tested positive and had all the symptoms of a bad flu plus sore throat so I quickly consulted my doctor for a prescription to heal and recover.

 

Not willing to alarm my mum, I told her that I had “a bad flu” and kept my mask on properly while trying hard to avoid sharing the same space with her.

 

It was really challenging as I was ‘flying solo with her’ and did everything possible to keep from spreading the virus to her.

 

After a whole week of misery, I felt a little better. Meanwhile I closely observed mum and was deeply concerned each time when she cleared her throat. Maybe I was just paranoid but I did not want mum to get infected, especially in her advanced age.

 

So my greatest achievement in 2022 was keeping mum free from infection. 

 

A sample of the Limited Edition, 
My Johor Stories tote bag

Even while I felt horribly weak through the next few weeks, it was a marvel how so much was accomplished in the preparation for my book launch event and planning for my Downtown Johor Baru project in the first four months from January 2023.

 

In fact, preparations for the activities planned for the My Johor Stories in Downtown Johor Baru Awareness Campaign are coming along rather well.

 

For a start, registered participants will each receive a Limited Edition, My Johor Stories tote bag complete with one softcover version of My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now.

 

Look out for more details to participate, available on social media very soon.

 

Happy New Year 2023!