My Johor Stories and OCBC

 

On my Heritage Walks, I usually lead the group in a route to the city’s heritage quarter via the breezy Segget Walk, turn into Jalan Segget, pass through the archway into the Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk to head towards the Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum.

 

The front porch of the OCBC Bank Johor Bahru
remains an iconic feature in this building

Adjacent to the archway into the Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk at Jalan Segget, stands one of the modern buildings in the heart of the city since the 1960’s that features a landmark porch. Over the years, this building has been renovated with its façade upgraded but this porch remains an iconic feature of the OCBC Bank in Johor Bahru.

 

Headquartered in Singapore, OCBC offers comprehensive banking services across ASEAN and China with a presence in New York, London and Sydney.

 

In my commentary during the Walk, I will point out to participants that the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) is situated at one end of the Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk while another bank, the HongKong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) stands at its opposite end.

 

Facade of the OCBC Bank
Johor Bahru at Jalan Segget

These established banking institutions have served generations of customers to this day, since its inception when the banks provided an essential service to overseas Chinese who worked hard to earn a living in order to send funds back to their homeland.

 

While hardworking Chinese provided for their families in China, many sinkek or new arrivals – whose hearts were still with their homeland – contributed funds in support of the revolutionaries’ cause to overthrow the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty.

 

Recently, I was in front of the OCBC Bank again on a Heritage Walk with a group of Sun Yat Sen docents from Friends of the Museum, Singapore, and we captured a photo to the backdrop of the arch for the Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk.

 

I did not know it then but I was back there again a few days later, this time to go into the OCBC Bank to meet with Regional Manager, Fiona Gan. My mission was to deliver a set of the trilogy of My Johor Stories to her, who will then convey my books to retired Bank Manager, Tan Ngiap Joo (TNJ) in Singapore.

 

Sending My Johor Stories books to Ramona
when we met at the DoubleTree by Hilton
Johor Bahru in February 2025

It all started last year when my cousin, Malcolm, in Sydney told me that he reconnected with his former colleague in OCBC Bank Sydney, Ramona Tan, and that she wanted to have a set of the trilogy of My Johor Stories.

 

He reminded me that Ramona’s family used to live opposite our grandfather’s house at Jalan Ngee Heng and that she and her sister studied in the Johor Bahru Convent school and were familiar with my sisters, cousins and I.

 

When Ramona got in touch with me, she told me that she was checking online for information on our school’s centenary celebration plans and that her sister, who still lived in Johor Bahru, confirmed that I was related to the people who lived opposite them at Jalan Ngee Heng.

 

It was good to meet with Ramona and
her husband on their visit to Johor Bahru

We exchanged a series of messages to arrange for my books to be sent to her in Victoria, Australia, and by December 2024, Ramona safely received my books.

 

In our message exchange, she mentioned names of some schoolmates and tried to hazard a guess if I was related to so-and-so just because we had the same surname.

 

No, I replied that I am certain that I was not related to any of them and urged her to read my story titled, We are OCBC, documented in Book One, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage.

 

In this piece published in my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, I used OCBC as the abbreviation for, Orang Cina Bukan Cina, to explain a bit about my parents and family heritage.

 

Inside the OCBC Bank Johor Bahru...

Then Ramona told me that after 20 years of living abroad, she planned to visit Johor Bahru for Chinese New Year in 2025. Meanwhile, she asked for another set of My Johor Stories books for a lady friend and I agreed to pass the books to her when we meet up here.

 

For her stay in Johor Bahru, Ramona said that she was booked into the DoubleTree by Hilton simply because it was built close to where she used to live on that same road.

 

I replied that I had a stay with the DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru ahead of its opening to the public to do a hotel review and was pleased to document the experience because – I agree – that it was really exciting to see how that familiar road was being developed.

 

Over hot brewed coffee, I met with Ramona at the hotel, who was back in Johor Bahru with her husband. I was pleased to let my cousin Malcolm know that I had a good chat with his former colleague in OCBC Sydney, reminiscing about the Jalan Ngee Heng neighbourhood, our school’s centenary celebration plans and of course, some stories documented in My Johor Stories.

 

I could not help but blushed when Ramona Enconniere (her husband is French) declared, “I think it’s wonderful that there is someone in Johor Bahru like you, who is so interested and willing to share their stories.”

 

Fiona Gan [Left] receiving the trilogy of
My Johor Stories on behalf of TNJ

Then recently in April, Ramona reached out again, this time to ask for a set of My Johor Stories for her (and my cousin’s) former General Manager at OCBC Sydney, TNJ who was now retired in Singapore.

 

She did very well to coordinate the arrangements for me to meet with Fiona Gan, Regional Manager based in OCBC Johor Bahru, to pass my books to her so that Fiona could personally deliver them to TNJ in Singapore.

 

Once again, there was a furious exchange of messages to connect me to Fiona Gan in Johor Bahru and a further exchange of messages between me and Fiona to arrange an appointment in her office.

 

So there I was again, walking along Jalan Segget to OCBC Bank that bright morning, not on a Heritage Walk but to meet with the Regional Manager in the bank.

 

This bank has been here for generations but I have never stepped inside. After all, there was no reason to do so but now I had a real mission – to send my books over.

 

On my Heritage Walks, I sometimes choose to walk along Jalan Ibrahim from the front of the Johor Bahru Chinese Heritage Museum to the Segget Walk and beyond.

 

This was an opportunity to share with participants, a little about the history and heritage of the original businesses that used to occupy the shops along this road.

 

Facade of the shop unit formerly
occupied by Everstrong on ground
level; The embossed logo on the
upper level of this building

When we passed the last block of two-storey shops located adjacent to the OCBC Bank, one of the shops that used to house Everstrong, was easily identified by its name in capital letters, emblazoned vertically on two stone pillars at the corridor in front of that shop.

 

I remember looking at the façade of this shop unit from the opposite side of the road and spotted a circular design embossed on the front wall of its upper floor.

 

From a distance, this design features a Chinese junk that closely resembled the logo of OCBC Bank. I was convinced that this shop unit was the original site of the bank and made a mental note to find out more.

 

As I climbed the stairs that led to the front entrance of OCBC Bank, I made it a point to say something about this to Fiona when I had an opportunity. So it was uncanny when Fiona was the one who brought up this particular matter and we both marveled that this same thing was on our minds.

 

The wall plaque inside OCBC Bank Johor
Bahru that records the bank's opening
on 20 July 1963 by Sultan Ismail of Johor

She immediately showed me a photo of the shop’s façade which she said was shot just that day because the bank was keen to preserve its logo designed on the concrete façade of that shop. Personally, I was pleased that this confirmed that it was in fact, the OCBC logo and that the bank was once operating in that space.

 

Fiona explained that she had been trying to get in touch with the property owners to discuss it but without success.

 

Once again, it was uncanny that she was speaking to me, one who was familiar with the property owners. I assured her that I will help to connect them to discuss about that logo and hopefully, reach an amicable solution to preserve that precious heritage for the bank. I was excited to learn that an OCBC Heritage Gallery was being curated… but more about this later.

 

I was pleased to present the trilogy of My Johor Stories to Fiona who received them on behalf of TNJ. When I wanted to capture a photo memento, she suggested that we go to the Private Banking lounge where we should get some shots of ourselves with a model of a Chinese junk – an icon of the bank’s brand – in the backdrop.

 

Fiona Gan [Right] presenting the
trilogy of My Johor Stories to
Tan Ngiap Joo in Singapore

After a pleasant chat with Fiona, I was ready to leave. And on my way out of the bank, she showed me the wall plaque that recorded the opening of this bank in 1963 by His Highness Sultan Ismail, the son of Sultan Sir Ibrahim.

 

As I slowly descended the iconic stairs and headed out into the bright sunshine, I mulled over how My Johor Stories connected with OCBC in so many ways.

 

A day later, Fiona personally delivered the trilogy of My Johor Stories to TNJ in Singapore and she kept her word by sending me a photograph proof of the book presentation to him.

 

“Delivered the books to Mr Tan yesterday. He likes the stories,” I read Fiona’s message that came with the photo of herself and TNJ, holding my books.

 

Thank you, cousin Malcolm and Ramona, for your support in promoting My Johor Stories and connecting me to Fiona, TNJ and the proud heritage of OCBC in Johor.