A Malayan Railway kopitiam legacy

 

“Thank you for the well written story of our 88^th anniversary celebration,” said Lim Jit Tong also known as Barney, when he read what I had documented about their 88^th anniversary celebration of the Kluang RailCoffee, hosted at their flagship Kluang Railway Station kopitiam in late August 2026.

 

At the old KTM Railway Station in Kluang 
with Jack Lim [Right], Lim Jianle [Left]
and Robert Lim [2nd from Left]

As I looked back at my first meeting with his cousin, Lim Jit Chen, better known as Jack, at the Kluang Railway Station kopitiam, it was in 2006, a good 20 years out of their 88 years, so far.

 

It was my privilege to document the Kluang RailCoffee story in, My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, among other heritage traders who were still doing the businesses started by their forefathers.

 

On that recent anniversary celebration held in Kluang, it was good to renew my acquaintance with old friends and to meet new ones.

 

I mentioned that I was introduced to two fellow members in their Lim Hainanese clan, namely Robert Lim Meng Zium, a Johorean, and Lim Jianle, who came from their hometown village in Hainan Island, China, just to celebrate this event.

 

Over chilled drinks on that warm and sunny morning, they shared with me an interesting discovery of the link between the railway kopitiam heritage in Johor with the Lim clan in Hainan Island.

 

Lim Jianle showing copies of the old letters 
to Jack Lim, while Robert Lim looks on

When I listened to their account of how Robert met with Jianle in Hainan Island, Jack chipped in to say that he received copies of the letters (collected by Jianle) that were written from the family who used to operate the kopitiam in the Johor Bahru Railway Station.

 

Jianle, I soon learnt, is a researcher and collector of heritage artefacts and these letters in his collection were exciting proofs of the link between the railway kopitiam heritage here with the Lim clan in Hainan Island.

 

The very thought of letters written between families here and their hometown in China gave me a flashback to, Dear You, a recent popular Chinese movie screened in Teochew dialect which shared a tale of how such letters were exchanged and how the Chinese would send remittances, financial help to support their families back home.

 

Early trade links that date back to the 15^th Century during the Malacca Sultanate, made South East Asia a familiar and accessible destination for the Chinese who were seeking their fortune abroad.

 

Meanwhile, poverty, overpopulation, severe economic hardship and political instability in Southern China, mainly Guangdong and Fujian provinces, compelled the Chinese to seek a better life abroad.

 

During the British rule in Malaya where tin-mining and agriculture were developed, it created a huge demand for labour so the Chinese were encouraged to work in these sectors in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

 

The Johore Bahru Railway Station
once had their own Book Stall

The Chinese diaspora would leave their villages in China and travelled by sea in very challenging conditions to reach the region known as Nanyang or South Asian nations like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaya, of which Singapore was then part of.

 

Chinese junks full of sinkhek or ‘new guests’ (in Hokkien/Teochew dialects) would dock in Singapore port and agents would direct the new arrivals to their contracted jobs or send them to their dialect clan houses where they would get job placements.

 

While it was mostly young men who left the country to earn money to send financial help to their families back home, from the 1930s through to the 1970s, there was another wave of independent Chinese women who chose to move to South East Asia to work as domestic servants, nannies and cooks.

 

This sisterhood of majie – a word which means ‘mother and sister’ – in Cantonese dialect, alludes to their spinsterhood, as many took a vow of celibacy and chose to remain unmarried to maintain personal and financial independence.

 

In the early waves of Chinese arrivals, many found jobs as coolies in the Singapore docks, shifting goods and providing goods transport by tongkang and sampan.

 

Coming from an agricultural country like China, the Chinese also found work in agriculture as planters who cultivated the land to plant food and crops, like pepper and gambier.

 

Working hard in their adopted countries, the Chinese thrived and developed strong proficiencies in trade, retail and supply chain management. Many found their fortune in skilled work like laundry services, jewelry-making and iron-works.

 

The Johore Bahru Railway Station
was once the Station Rest House

When the Hainanese arrived in this part of the world, they found their niche in running traditional coffeeshops. Those who were skilled in baking bread in wood-fire ovens started bakeries and supplied freshly-baked bread, buns and cakes.

 

The British, who recognized their culinary skills, invited Hainanese to be their cooks. And as these Hainanese cooks applied their creativity in the English kitchens, it was the humble birth of a popular dish in this part of the world, known as the Hainanese-style Chicken Chop.

 

I thought it would be useful to connect the modern generation with the historical references above so as to better understand what transpired in the Lim Hainanese clan with regard to the legacy of the Malayan Railway kopitiam, coffeeshops opened at most railway stations along the North-South railway line in Peninsular Malaya.

 

In Malaya railway services began in 1885 with the opening of a 13-km line that connected the tin-mining hub in Taiping to the coastal port of Port Weld or Kuala Sepetang, in Perak.

 

In 1910 the Federated Malay States Railway or FMSR was established to merge various regional state networks into a single centralized administration.

 

From 1910 to the 1940s, the network expanded to form a backbone line that connected major economic corridors from Prai in the North down through Kuala Lumpur to Johor and Singapore.

 

The telephone number at the
Station Hotel, Johore Bahru
was only four digits

As the railway system was modernized, it went through various name changes including the Malayan Railway and eventually in 1962, became Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM). In 1992, KTM was corporatized into Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) as a government-owned entity.

 

Before major roads were constructed, the railways primarily served to transport tin and rubber to international shipping ports and fresh produce to the towns.

 

During the British rule, the railways were also an important means of transport and railway stations not only offered a refreshment stop in the railway kopitiam but also provided comfortable accommodation in their railway rest house or railway hotel.

 

The printed letterhead on the sheets of paper used to write those letters from the Johore Bahru Railway Station, confirmed this. At that time the word, Johor was spelled with the letter “e” at the end, to read as Johore.

 

When I saw that the telephone number of the Station Hotel Johore Bahru was made up of only four digits, 2819, it was pure nostalgia, truly a page from the past.

 

From these old letters, we saw that the Johore Bahru Railway Station not only housed a hotel but it also once was a Rest House and even had its own Book Stall.

 

Copies of the old letters in
Lim Jianle's collection

So many thoughts were swirling in my mind and I could not resist quizzing Robert and Jianle for more details on how they discovered this connection. After all, Robert was a Johorean in Johor while Jianle was in Wen Chang village on Hainan Island.

 

Robert explained that during this year’s Qing Ming festival, he returned to Hainan Island for the annual tradition and met with Jianle while they were in the Lim clan ancestral hall.

 

In the course of their conversation, Jianle revealed that he has a collection of old letters received from the Lim family who used to operate the kopitiam in the Johore Bahru Railway Station.

 

Robert, who was familiar with Lim Jit Jee, brother of Jack, made the connection among the Lim clan members and encouraged Jianle to come to Kluang for the kopitiam’s 88^th anniversary celebration. And this was where we met and started to talk about this railway kopitiam legacy in Malaya.

 

Looking back, Jack recalled that his father told him that a Hainanese man found favour with the British and was tasked to operate a kopitiam in the railway station.

 

Word about this work opportunity spread around their village in Hainan Island and members of the Lim clan soon joined the kopitiam industry in Malaya.

 

They eventually monopolized the trade, operating coffeeshops in all the railway stations from Johor Bahru to Bukit Mertajam and even the buffet coach on trains.

 

Jack recalled that his grandfather Lim Luan Hee, first started working with a kopitiam in a plantation in Taiping and it was such a tough experience that he decided to give up.

Lim Jianle was presented
with a copy of my book

He was in fact, on his way out and while he made a stopover in Tampin and stayed with a relative, he was advised to bravely stick it out. Then when he heard that a railway station canteen in Kluang was available for rent, he seized the opportunity and moved to Johor.

Armed with one kati (500g) of sugar and a few cans of milk, Lim started serving his first customer at the Kluang Railway Station canteen in 1938.

Lim slowly built the business in the pre-war days and it continued to thrive in spite of the Japanese Occupation. Upon retirement, his eldest son, Lim Heng Yong, took over and continued to operate the business with the same spirit and commitment. 

To serve early customers waiting for the first morning train, Heng Yong would sleep on a little canvas bed in the shop after the close of business so that he could be up early the next morning to serve breakfast by 6.30am.

In the 1990s, Heng Yong’s son, Jack took the business to new heights by establishing the Kluang RailCoffee brand. This brand continues to grow under a team led by Lim Ben Winn, Jack’s son, and Lim family members.

Currently, the Lim family operating the Kluang RailCoffee kopitiam prevails as the only Lim clan members who have persevered and continues the legacy to operate a railway station kopitiam in the nation, just as their forefathers did, some 88 years ago.

 

The Kluang RailCoffee kopitiam is located within the charming old KTM railway station at Jalan Station, 86000 Kluang, Johor. Check social media for their list of other locations in and outside of Johor.

 

Note: Meanwhile, Robert and Jianle said they will follow a lead to track down the Lim family who used to operate the kopitiam in the original Johore Bahru Railway Station. More about this as the story unfolds.

Celebrating a confluence of cultures

 

In late July when Dr Ajith Bhaskar of Suvarna Fine Arts showed me a draft design of the poster for a coming show, I was thrilled to learn that SeRasa SeRasi will feature a beautiful artistic conversation between Indian classical rhythms and melody with the pulsating sounds of traditional Chinese drums.

 

A scene from SeRasa SeRasi where
Bharatanatyam dancers danced to Indian
classical music and traditional Chinese drums

When I read the small print on the poster, I saw that this show will be presented at the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House, a first ever such show in the artistic scene of Johor Bahru.

 

Curious about the show’s name, I quizzed him about it. He explained that SeRasa SeRasi was a play on words in Sanskrit that summarized the soul of this production that reflected Harmony, Unity and a Coming Together of artistic flavours.

 

I am familiar with the creative work of Ajith as I had the privilege to document his journey with Suvarna Fine Arts under Portraits in my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage.

 

Dramatic opening to dance, Vismaya Vriksha

In the next few weeks, we just could not find a mutually agreeable time for a chat so when we finally managed to speak on the phone, he told me more about this grand production that will feature over 20 musicians and 15 dancers on one stage.

 

Ajith explained that this collaboration of Bharatanatyam dance and the Art of the 24 Festive Drums was more than a blend of two beautiful cultures and art forms but it represented the living, breathing essence of our nation’s social harmony.

 

Dr Ajith Bhaskar was the lead dancer
in the dance, Vismaya Vriksha

Over the years, I have worked with Tan Chai Puan, the co-founder of the Art of the 24 Festive Drums, to write about their performances, festivals and milestone events, so I am also familiar with this performing art which has its proud origins in Johor Bahru.

 

Incidentally, Tan Chai Puan was also featured as an exclusive story under Portraits in My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage, and in 2022, the Art of the 24 Festive Drums was among the brands established in Johor and exported abroad, featured in My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now.

 

Similarly, I have also enjoyed countless Bharatanatyam dance performances by Suvarna Fine Arts and several Rangapravesham, the debut performance of a student of Indian classical dance who have completed the tutelage with their Master.

 

Members of the sub-committee for the show
led by Vijay Chandran, Vice-President 
of Suvarna Fine Arts

In June 2023, the Art of the 24 Festive Drums celebrated its 35^th anniversary since its founding and I had the honour to be the moderator in the, Drum Up Coffee Talk with a panel of guest speakers who included Ajith Bhaskar and Tan Chai Puan, to discuss the performing art scene in Johor Bahru.

 

Inspired by this discussion, several Chinese drummers started to train together with Suvarna Fine Arts classical dancers and I had the privilege to witness the early stages of their exciting collaboration.

 

Then at year-end, these Chinese drummers and I had the pleasure to experience a grand show presented by Suvarna Fine Arts to celebrate their 30 years of artistic excellence.

Lim Shao Xi, lifted up fellow dancer
in this section of the performance

In May 2024, I had the privilege to enjoy the Rangapravesham performances by Suvarna Fine Arts student, Lim Shao Xi, a talented and inspirational young Chinese man with a passion to study the art of Bharatanatyam.

 

In the ensuing years, the collaboration between Suvarna Fine Arts and the Art of the 24 Festive Drums continued to develop. This partnership then blossomed into this, a first-ever grand show in SeRasa SeRasi, a confluence of cultures.

 

So I was (understandably!) both proud and pleased that Suvarna Fine Arts and the Art of the 24 Festive Drums will perform SeRasa SeRasi on one stage for the viewing pleasure of fans, family and friends of these two performing arts.

 

The Chinese drummers in action

At the lobby of the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House, I was warmly welcomed by elegant ladies, dressed in sari complete with accessories and neat hairdos. This reminded me that Suvarna not only trains students in the art of Bharatanatyam but also in skills to handle responsibilities in the front-of-the-house as well as backstage.

 

When I stepped into the auditorium, I was elated to see the stage set-up with the Indian Percussion Ensemble, the Vocal Ensemble (at Left) and the Instrumental Ensemble that comprised the violin, keyboard, veena and guzheng (in the center to the Right).

 

On the far Right of the stage were traditional Chinese drums to perform the dramatic Art of 24 Festive Drums by a smaller ensemble of five drums.

 

In this 90-minute show without intermission, the audience was treated to a mesmerizing experience of an exciting blend of Indian classical music played on the mridangam, rhythm pad, tabla, violin, flute, keyboard, veena and guzheng, complemented by the thunderous sounds of traditional Chinese drums.

 

A scene from the final dance,
Bhumi Mangalam

Incidentally, I was there in the early stages of training with Ajith where the Chinese drummers learnt that there was a science in Indian classical music where a circle of rhythm is repeated in five rhythmic cycles called, “Pancha Nadai,” in Sanskrit.

 

The Chinese drummers, who were clever with numbers and versatile learners, easily grasped the difference between the standard four-beat rhythm in drumming the Chinese drum and the song in cycle of 16 in Indian classical music.

 

With this little nugget of knowledge, I found it very interesting to watch how the elegant movements of the Bharatanatyam dancers were choreographed to match the rhythm of the unique blend of Indian classical music and Chinese drums.

 

Among the dazzling dancers who lit up the stage, I easily recognised the talented young dancer, Lim Shao Xi, who (I was later told!) returned from Taiwan where he was pursuing higher studies and practising Bharatanatyam, just to participate in this exciting showcase.

 

Another scene from the dance,
Bhumi Mangalam

The highlight of this show must be, Vismaya Vriksha, a dance where Ajith was the lead dancer, and an instrumental piece dubbed, Traditions in Dialogue, where the musical instruments seemed to “talk” to each other.

 

This orchestral performance was where the rhythmic and melodic genius of Indian classical music converged with the discipline and depth of Chinese percussion. 

Each rooted in centuries of history, philosophy and artistic expression, the meeting of these two ancient traditions showcased a common ground – the universal language of rhythm, melody and emotion – in the true spirit of SeRasa SeRasi, the confluence of cultures that vibrated in every rhythm and beat.

 

The show aptly closed with Bhumi Mangalam, a prayer for unity with a vision where race, creed and hierarchy dissolved into one world of love, peace and understanding.

 

At the curtain call, the audience responded with roaring cheers when they were introduced to the individual talents in the Indian Percussion Ensemble, the Vocal Ensemble and the Instrumental Ensemble as well as the Chinese drummers.

 

The creative team taking a bow
at the close of the showcase

The creative team featured Dr Ghana Venothan Retnam, flautist and Music Director, Gan See Shyan, Artistic Director of the 24 Festive Drums, the Associate Creative Directors, Sujatha Supliah and Ananthamalar Durairaj, and Dr Ajith Bhaskar as Artistic Director, Choreographer, Creative Director and concept mastermind of SeRasa SeRasi.

 

The presentation of this ticketed showcase at the Permaisuri Zarith Sofiah Opera House was made possible with the generous support of sponsors and fans. Among them was Datuk Raman Velu, a board member of Yayasan Sultanah Rogayah, who recognises Suvarna’s commitment to the performing arts and has a keen interest in supporting the artistic efforts of Suvarna Fine Arts.

 

Suvarna Fine Arts is located at Nong Chik Riverside, No. 17, Level 2, Jalan Kolam Ayer 2, Kampung Mohd Amin, 80200 Johor Baru, Johor.

Renewing friendships in Kluang

 

My relationship with Kluang started decades ago with family weekend stays at the Government-owned Animal Husbandry Station when Uncle Steven was working with the dairy farm located along the Ayer Hitam-Kluang stretch of road.

 

Facade of the Kluang Railway Station
viewed from the carpark

During our farm stays, we often headed into Kluang town for shopping and I remember going with Auntie to pick up their two young daughters after school.

 

After Uncle retired, the family relocated to Kuala Lumpur where their daughters completed college years and then went abroad for further studies.

 

So whenever I took a drive to Kluang from Johor Bahru, I will slow down along the Ayer Hitam-Kluang route and tried to spot familiar sights along that way.

 

In my recent visit to join the event hosted by Kluang RailCoffee to commemorate their 88^th Anniversary, I saw that the road was widened to a dual carriageway with many traffic lights along the improved route, passing Sri Lallang into Kluang town.

 

The new Kluang Railway Station is just
a three-minute walk away from the old
railway station in Kluang

I fondly recalled enjoying a Weekend Walkabout in Kluang in 2014 with my former schoolmates and when Kluang was named Malaysia’s Happiest Town in the 2024 Malaysia Happiness Index, I looked forward to yet another such experience. Time, however, did not permit it so this walkabout plan has yet to be fulfilled.

 

On arrival, I was pleased to see the brand-new railway station built adjacent to the original railway station where Kluang RailCoffee, the oldest railway kopitiam in the nation, remains as a landmark destination for regulars and visitors to Kluang.

 

At the celebration event, I was pleased to renew my acquaintance with members of the Lim family and meet their regular customers, who have since become friends.

 

There was a warm familiarity among the guests – old friends who enjoyed a fresh brew of hot coffee or cool Teh-C-Ais, charcoal-toasted bread and buns sandwiched in a generous spread of kaya and butter – seated together with a sense of community, in the original railway station kopitiam.

 

It was good to meet YB Wong Shu Qi
again at Kluang RailCoffee in
the old railway station in Kluang

I listened to the Master of Ceremony (a talented staff member of Kluang RailCoffee) as she made the announcements and was delighted to hear that YB Wong Shu Qi, Member of Parliament for Kluang, was among the VIP guests who graced the event.

 

In 2014, when YB Wong was then a member of the Johor State Legislative Assembly for the Senai constituency (2013 to 2018), I had the privilege of her company to explore Senai and was delighted to learn more about the town’s founding fathers, documented in my story, The two Wongs of Senai [NST Streets Johor 12 Sept 2014].

 

This published piece led to readers – Wong family members – who reached out to me and connected me with more members of the Wong family based in Singapore. One thing led to another and this exciting experience was documented in, More on Wongs of Senai.

 

A compilation of my experiences about the Wongs of Senai was among the stories featured in My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, my second book in the trilogy of My Johor Stories published in 2018 by MPH Publications Kuala Lumpur.

 

It was during our trek around Senai when YB Wong told me about the My Liberica Coffee Plantation and Processing Mill at Bukit Batu, near Simpang Renggam.

 

I am familiar with their flagship café opened at Taman Molek in Johor Bahru and I was delighted to visit their roastery at the Eco Hub in Taman Ecoperniagaan in 2020. Then I went on to join the Grand Tour of the Coffee Plantation and Processing Mill at Bukit Batu.

 

Then when I was compiling the contents for, My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, the third and final instalment of the trilogy of My Johor Stories published in 2022, I decided to include the story of My Liberica Coffee among the brands that were proudly established in Johor and also exported abroad.

 

I recall that I last met with YB Wong – very briefly in 2024 – when we were both guests at a classical music presentation to celebrate German-Malaysian Friendship.

 

So when we met again at the Kluang RailCoffee celebration event in Kluang, YB Wong did not hesitate to invite me to join her for café-hopping. And I was equally quick to agree.

 

YB Wong with the 2026 calendar
and The Happiest Town book

As we were about the leave the Kluang RailCoffee event, a quick check revealed that some of the listed cafés were closed that day while some were only opened later, so we only managed to make two café hops that afternoon.

 

I remember in a telephone chat with her in early March, YB Wong told me about her Kluang Coffee Passport launched in a calendar for 2026. Briefly, she explained that each page for a calendar month featured an illustration on a café destination in Kluang.

 

Visitors were invited to visit 10 destinations out of the 12 calendar months and collect 10 stamps – to be affixed on a blank space in the illustration – and the completed 10 stamps on the calendar entitled them to receive a special gift.

 

At the carpark, she passed me a copy of this café-hunting calendar and volunteered to drive us (her driver was on leave that day).

 

I was happy to hop into her car and be escorted around Kluang, from town center to the suburbs, for a taste of YB Wong’s warm hospitality along with an experience of Kluang’s hip and happening café-culture.

 

YB Wong and I with the 2026
calendar and The Happiest Town book

During our drive, I could not resist flipping through the pages of the calendar and was pleased to see that Kluang RailCoffee and My Liberica Coffee were featured in January and May, respectively.

 

As she talked about her calendar project, it was clear that YB Wong was pleased with how this 2026 calendar was effectively welcoming visitors to explore the charms of Kluang, proudly deemed The Happiest Town.

 

The success of the calendar compelled YB Wong to progress this concept further with the publication of a hardcover book titled, The Happiest Town, Everyone is Talking About, with easy-to-read text featuring a cast of coffee bean characters in illustrations that appeal to both young and young-at-heart.

 

Published by Pusat Khidmat Rakyat Parlimen Kluang, these beautiful books are available for sale at No. 15, Jalan Tasek 1, Pusat Perniagaan Tasik, 86000 Kluang, Johor. Open from 9am to 5pm. Tel: +607 – 7711778 and +6014 – 9011758.