JARO celebrates Chinese New Year 2025

 

Recently, the Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation (JARO) hosted their annual Chinese New Year celebration with their staff at the New York Hotel, Johor Baru.

 

JARO Chairman, Datuk Jimmy Low [Left]
helped to serve food from the buffet

The event kicked off with a few words from JARO Chairman, Datuk Jimmy Low Boon Hong, who expressed his gratitude to the hotel for their generous support in sponsoring their annual Chinese New Year lunch over the years.

 

Datuk Jimmy took the opportunity to express his appreciation to Datuk Teo Ee Piau, Chairman, Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kluang, for taking time to join their lunch celebration.

 

Also present was Datin Patricia Lim, among the JARO committee members, and hotel General Manager, Ms Tan Ai Lee, who graciously welcomed guests to the event.

 

Datuk Jimmy Low serving food
to JARO staff members

It was an annual treat for some 50 staff from the three workshops in JARO – tailoring, basketry and book-binding – along with the administrative team, who enjoyed the buffet lunch hosted at New York Hotel during Chinese New Year.

 

Datuk Jimmy helped to serve the staff from the buffet and encouraged them to enjoy the meal and return to the buffet for more helpings if they so wished.

 

It was heartwarming to see how some of the staff members helped to dish food from the buffet for their colleagues who were physically unable to help themselves.

 

Among the guests were well-wishers from the Johor Baru Tiong Hua Association who presented Ang Pau or Red Packets of fortune money to the JARO staff.

 

Datuk Jimmy Low presenting 
Ang Pau to JARO staff

I was pleased to observe the spirit of community as the Chinese well-wishers presented their gifts of Red Packets as a Chinese New Year tradition, to everyone in the JARO community, regardless of race or religion.

 

Datuk Jimmy expressed his appreciation for the generous support from this group of familiar people who joined JARO for their celebration every year, which was proof of their firm commitment to contribute to the wellbeing of the JARO community and this charity organization, which was among the first to be established in Johor.

 

Founded in 1952 by Dr Beryl Wilberforce-Smith, a Chest Physician in the Johor Baru General Hospital, JARO started as a rehabilitation centre for recovering tuberculosis patients.

 

Well-wishers from the Johor Bahru Tiong Hua
Association supports JARO in their annual
Chinese New Year lunch celebration

As the Johor Baru General Hospital was then a unit of the Malaysian Anti-Tuberculosis Association, this centre was first known as the Johore Anti-Tuberculosis Rehabilitation Organisation.

 

It was first located at the Johor Baru General Hospital, now renamed Hospital Sultanah Aminah, and relocated to nearby Sri Gelam in 1968, into a building that was officially declared open by then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak Dato Hussain.

 

From 1952 to 1955, Dr Beryl Wilberforce Smith led the organisation as Chairman while this role was subsequently handed over to Mr C. D. Yarrow (1955 to 1956) and Dato Yap Kim Hock (1957 to 1970).

 

Datin Patricia Lim presenting Ang Pau
to JARO staff members

In 1958 Dato Dr. Lim Kee Jin came to Johor Baru when he was posted to the Johor Baru General Hospital as Consultant Physician.

 

When he joined the hospital, the patients in the tuberculosis rehabilitation centre, came under his care. This started him on a life-long mission to rehabilitate people with disabilities by training and equipping them with marketable skills so that they can have financial independence and a sense of dignity.

 

No one was left out in this annual
Chinese New Year lunch celebration

In 1970, JARO was registered as a charitable society to manage a sheltered workshop that caters to the rehabilitation needs for physically and intellectually disabled, spastics, visual or hearing impaired, the chronically ill and those who for personal reasons, have difficulty in getting regular employment.

 

When Dato Dr. Lim stepped down as the longest-serving Chairman (1971 – 2008), Datuk Jimmy Low took over the role as Chairman of the JARO committee.

 

At the event, Datuk Jimmy shared that JARO provides training and employment for people with disabilities in workshops that create quality, custom-made handicrafts and book-binding services.

 

Thank you for your generous support to JARO

Datuk Jimmy also explained that JARO staff received a salary as well as EPF savings and SOCSO insurance coverage.

 

He was pleased that some of the trained staff, who were able to find employment elsewhere, have left JARO to pursue their own careers.

 

This Chinese New Year lunch was among the annual celebrations in a calendar of social events that JARO has with their staff, including Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and the International Day for the Disabled.

 

Red packets for all JARO staff

Attractive and useful JARO handicrafts – a pride to own and a joy to present to others – are available for sale from the JARO showroom located at No. 18, Jalan Sungai Chat, 80100 Johor Baru, Johor. Tel: +607 – 224 5632.

 

Visitors are welcome to the showroom, open from Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm. Also opened on Sunday from 9am to 3pm. Closed on Saturday.

 

Note: I had the privilege to document The JARO Story among the brands established in Johor, published in My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now.

 

As all the MPH bookstores in Johor Bahru were closed after the global pandemic, I have permission from MPH to keep a small stock of My Johor Stories books for sale at JARO. My books are also available from MPH bookstores nationwide and online from mphonline.