A Heritage Walk to remember

 

At the end of our Heritage Walk, I asked participants the all-important questions: “What do you like most and what did you like least, about your Walk experience?”

 

Introductions and preliminary briefing at the
start of Heritage Walk in March 2024

Seema, one of the participants, did not hesitate to volunteer her honest reply, and said she liked everything about the Walk but not the heat!

 

You see, this group chose Saturday, March 23 for our Heritage Walk as it was a Public Holiday in Johor to mark the Official Birthday of the Johor Sultan.

 

This hot season, we have been experiencing tropical heatwaves so our group was well prepared with hats and umbrellas, bravely walking outdoors in the sweltering heat.

 

Little did we know [until later when I read the news!] that at 1.11pm that very same afternoon, we experienced a Zero Shadow Day, a natural event where objects such as a stick or a pole on the ground, will cast No Shadow!

 

At our Meeting Point at the start of our Walk;
Check out the cloudless sky!

This Zero Shadow Day, known as the Lahaina Noon, is a semi-annual tropical solar phenomenon when the sun reaches the zenith at solar noon, passing directly overhead, which resulted in the sun’s rays falling exactly vertical relative to an object on the ground, casting no shadow at all.

 

Thankfully, at 1pm we were just outdoors for a few more minutes before the Walk took us to our final destination in the itinerary, out of the scorching sun and indoors to air-conditioned comfort.

 

When she had gathered her thoughts, Seema – who is from India and lived in Johor Baru for more than 30 years – shared her comments about her Walk experience.

 

Heading out on Segget Walk

She said: “Thank you for a lovely morning spent learning about some of the history of Johor Baru. While the information was insightful, your presentation of the historical facts in your unique “storytelling” style made it extremely interesting too.

 

It has changed the way I will view the all-too-common Jalans (roads!) of Johor Baru that I have been travelling on all these years and the designs on everything, ranging from the lamp-posts to wall murals. Thank you.”

 

At the start of the Heritage Walk, Seema talked about her embarrassment when her daughter’s in-laws came to Johor Baru armed with a list of Things-to-Do/Places-to-Go, when she who lived here for a while, had little or no idea of what to do or where to go with her visitors.

 

Now after her Walk experience based on My Johor Stories, I am confident that she is better equipped with some tips on what to do and where to go with her visitors.

 

Johor's iconic pepper and gambier
motif on the railings of Segget Walk

While we waited for more arrivals at our meeting point, one of the gentlemen participants approached me and whipped out a copy of My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, from his carrier bag.

 

Lim Len Chow explained that my book sequel – launched in 2018 – belonged to his son and when he knew that Lim was joining my Heritage Walk that morning, he passed the book to his father to get me to autograph it.

 

I was more than ready to sign this copy of my book but I told Lim that when we sat down for a chat at the end of the Walk, I will then autograph his book.

 

In fact, we will be visiting two of the heritage traders featured in this book, third-generation heritage traders who were still doing the business started by their forefathers.

 

In our chit-chat, I learnt that Lim was from Negeri Sembilan but moved to Johor when he joined the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and was based in Woodlands, Singapore. He was now retired and still resides in Johor Baru.

 

Photo memento for Stella and Brandon
in the Indian Heritage Centre

I am familiar this because our Uncle Arthur was also with the RMN and was based in Woodlands. He was our sea-man Uncle who travelled the world for work and represented the RMN in badminton tournaments.

 

When Uncle returned from his overseas trips, he will always bring a gift for me and one of the most treasured gifts must be a Chinese quilted coat in Red, which I am still keeping to this very day.

 

I told Lim that my uncle was also with the RMN, based in Woodlands, and then we discovered that Lim was familiar with Uncle Arthur because they both served on the vessel, KD Rahmat!

 

[At the end of our Walk, I not only autographed my books for Lim but also exchanged contact details with him so that he could reconnect with Uncle Arthur again.]

 

At about 9.55am, almost all the participants had assembled at our meeting point except for one. Someone called to check on her whereabouts and told me that she was heading right over (from a wrong meeting spot!)

 

In front of the Sultan Ibrahim Building
on Bukit Timbalan, Johor Baru

In a few moments, a young lady approached our group – dressed in denim and sporting aviator shades – and confirmed that she was the one expected to join us.

 

I appreciate it when participants arrived on time so that we could start the Heritage Walk on time and complete it just on time when the sun was too hot to be outdoors.

 

After introductions and a preliminary briefing, this group set out from the Segget Walk in relative shade because of the greenery along this promenade.

 

As we crossed the bridge to head towards the Arulmigu Rajamariaman Devasthanam Hindu Temple at Jalan Ungku Puan to visit the Indian Heritage Centre, someone who was familiar with Johor in a bygone era, paused to ask about the site next to the temple.

 

At front entrance of the Johor Baru Chinese
Heritage Museum, Jalan Ibrahim

Rows of cars were parked on this site which was used as a carpark, so the present generation or visitors here do not know that this site was once Johor Baru’s Chinatown food court, a popular destination for dinner and supper.

 

We reminisced about the tasty food from this makeshift food court that came with the unforgettable pong from the putrid food waste left daily in the adjacent river, that was literally an open sewer where refuse decayed in our tropical climate.

 

While all these are now just memories, I am pleased to have documented my story on Johor Baru’s first food court in my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage.

 

In the Johor Baru Chinese Heritage Museum

Inside the Indian Heritage Centre, I was pleased to observe how the participants of Indian origin could relate to the artefacts on display that chartered the Milestones of traditional Indian life and showcased their early occupations and lifestyle of the Indian community here.

 

Among the precious artefacts were travel trunks used by early immigrants who arrived from South India to Peninsular Malaya by steamships like the MV Chidambaram that docked in Penang.

 

While this steamship may be familiar to Indian participants whose forefathers may have arrived in Malaya on it, I was pleasantly surprised when Lim mentioned that he had actually seen this vessel when the KD Rahmat was in Penang.

 

One for the album: In the Museum of
the 24 Festive Drums with Angeline Chia
[Centre] of JB Drums

In the Johor Baru Chinese Heritage Museum, the Chronology of Events documented on the wall poster provided a clearer view of the Chinese contribution to the development of Johor since the 1800s.

 

From the collection of old photographs of the Johor rulers, I shared with the participants about the strong relationship established by the Johor rulers with the Chinese community in early Johor, a special bond that continues to this day.

 

[As I was speaking, I looked at the participants gathered in front and noticed someone unfamiliar standing, front and center, paying rapt attention to me.

 

Trying their hand at drumming:
[L to R] Stella, Lim and Seema

She was clearly not from our group so I paused to check and she confessed that she was visiting from Singapore but just wanted to listen to my engaging commentary!]

 

Meanwhile visits to the Museum of the 24 Festive Drums was by appointment only and when I finally secured an appointment for this group to visit the Museum, I was pleased to add this destination to our itinerary.

 

“Ohh…I didn’t know that there was a Drums Museum here…,” was the response I received when I informed Elizabeth Wong.

 

On the morning of 1 January 2020, I witnessed the official opening of the Museum of the 24 Festive Drums but before the Museum started to welcome visitors, the global pandemic reached us and the subsequent lockdown years kept the Museum closed.

 

Chatting with Stanley Yeoh at Sin Keng Wah
Kedai Tilam, Jalan Trus

So our visit to the Drums Museum gave this group a further insight into this dramatic art of drumming that was proudly founded in Johor, with drum troops established nationwide and also abroad, including being exported back to China.

 

From the start of our Walk, I shared the stories behind road names because we have a rich heritage in road names. [Read about it in, My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now.]

 

When we exited the Museum and walked to Jalan Ibrahim, I mentioned that this road was named after Temenggong Ibrahim, the father of Sultan Abu Bakar.

 

Walking through an ancient shortcut

At the junction where Jalan Ibrahim meets Jalan Trus, I pointed across Jalan Ibrahim to the area that was now a carpark and explained that the area beyond was reclaimed because that road through the carpark was known as Jalan Tangga Duke.

 

“So who was this Duke?” I asked and encouraged the participants to hazard a guess. Out of the many nonsensical guesses, it was Lim who gave a wild but right guess.

 

On 16 December 1869, when the Duke of Edinburgh visited Johor as guest of Sultan Abu Bakar, special steps (tangga in Malay) were constructed at the wharf that bordered the Johor Straits for his comfortable arrival when his ship docked nearby. This road then earned its name as Jalan Tangga Duke.

 

When the Duke toured the town, Jalan Duke – where Bank Negara is located – was named to commemorate his visit to Johor Baru.

 

In the rear extension of the Johor Old Temple;
Lim is looking into the ancient well.

At Jalan Trus, we visited Sin Keng Wah Kedai Tilam, the last of the traditional mattress-makers in the city, to observe how a custom-made, cotton-stuffed cushion was being completed by hand-stitching its edges.

 

I observed that it was a fascinating discovery for most of the participants who did not know that such a heritage trade still existed here. While Stella and her husband, Brandon, decided to buy a cotton-stuffed pillow, some of the others planned to bring their own cushion dimensions for these skilled artisans to custom-make their orders.

 

Back on Jalan Trus, we dropped by at the Johor Old/Ancient Temple, also known as the Temple of Unity because it uniquely houses the deities worshipped by the five main Chinese dialects who settled here.

 

Johor’s Street of Harmony bears testimony to the good relationship the Johor rulers have with the people who made Johor their home because land was presented to the Christian, Catholic, Hindu, Sikh and Chinese people to build their places of worship. [Read more about Johor’s Street of Harmony, in My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage.]

 

My Johor Stories 2: Interesting
Places and Inspirational People
autographed for Norman, Lim's son

In the rear extension of the Johor Old Temple, valuable artefacts on display included an ancient bell with inscriptions that hinted of the temple’s age and two wells that used to provide devotees with “blessed” water.

 

At the temple forecourt, a video recording of the recent Johor Chingay played on a wall-mounted television screen for visitors to have a glimpse of this temple’s annual tradition that has gone uninterrupted for more than 100 years except once during the Japanese invasion in 1942.

 

I enjoyed leading the Walk through an ancient shortcut that links Jalan Trus with Jalan Wong Ah Fook for us to (get out of the sun!) and reach Johor Baru City Square Mall in the shortest possible time.

 

An elevator ride to Level Six took us to Mee Ho Seng Kee where Elton Ho, a third-generation operator, is still doing the business started by his grandfather that had progressed from a pushcart to a cool café in the mall.

 

Seated in air-conditioned comfort, we chilled out over drinks while some participants chose to savour Mee Ho Seng Kee’s famous duck egg noodles.

 

Pointing out Uncle Arthur to Lim from a
family photo in My Johor Stories: True
Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage

I had the pleasure to autograph my books for them and turned the pages to a family photograph to point out Uncle Arthur to Lim. Later, I received his comments:

 

“Thank you for the wonderful narratives during the Walk today.

 

It was very informative on the history of Johor Baru especially where the Johor Sultans worked very closely with the Chinese community to develop the land.

 

In fact, I learnt a lot from today’s Walk. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

 

I too, enjoyed my time with this group who braved the heatwave and benefited from our time together. Well done, everyone!

 

Photo Credits: Elizabeth Wong, Seema Unnithan, Prasanna Nair, Stella Ponnapalam, Tan Soke Har and Florence Liew.