KETUA PENENTANGAN MALAYAN UNION Gambar 4.1 Penubuhan UMNO pada 11 Mei 1945 di Istana Besar Johor Bharu tahun 1937 dan Frank Swettenham, bekas Residen Jeneral Negeri Melayu Bersekutu, Kedua-dua mereka melihat dasar Malayan Union itu sangat berten- tangan dengan dasar kerajaan British selama ini.” Namun yang lebih berkesan lagi ialah kecaman daripada anggota pembangkang Parti Konservatif Britain dalam ‘House of Commons’. Bagi mereka Malayan Union ialah satu tindakan 88 Termasuk juga 17 orang bekas pegawai tentera dan pentadbir yang pemsh berkhidmat di Melayu termasuk A.C. Baker, Sir Cecil Clementi, G.L. Guiliemard dan Inin-iain lagi. Mereka membaniah kerana Malayan Union adalah penjajahsn bulat-bulat ke atas Tanah Melayu. Manakala 7 orang bekas pegnwai lain yang tidak terkenal juga telah beranggapan sama, Hal ini lelah dibicarakan dengan panjang lebar oleh J.D.V. Allen. The Malayan Union, him. 36-39, ‘57-66; A.J, Stockwell. British Policy and Malay Politics During Malayan Union Experiment 1942-1948, him. 60; Mohamed Nordin Sopiee. From Malayan Union to Singapore Separation: Political Unifications in the Malay Region 1945-65, him. 24. 95_ : a al ‘ahha ocajean Johor parka awe alae Fara 1948." sowongen beribuctiby rakpat Melis Dieser tie wrathlacae cnet prasearriaicorn eas aja-taja Meta aakysimya” Hagaironagen sstogai onda berbuci bulaas, pada eaininya minor Sher rauaan ete lelectra aa ace “yO PET 2pm ona pas eg Ste ian Om fabih yakio wath meme ‘beiebahaink Kei, Saad PM : Damas Dai ts rag le erp Seria aa Weiagan daripeda bebis pepawat Esiiuh alam akhbor dj London pads bubs April TH. Anmeranpa BO, Widioll”” bebas Peunibal Briliak 2 dobar pada 3Ent tAWong Ah Fook Immigrant, Builder and Entrepreneur aoe weetIn 1854, 17-year-old Wong Ah Fook arrived in Singapore, He made his way from carpenter to towkay, built palaces and landmark buildings and founded the first local bank in Singapore. The book also traces his role in opening up Johor in the days of Sultan Abu Bakar. More than a rags-to-riches story, the life of Wong Ah Fook is told ee ee nn esc Ee re eee ee ea ere) Fook’s great-granddaughter, She has skilfully combined Family affection with objective scholarship to write this biography. throughout history, the development of Singapore and Johor has been closely linked, This book isa confirmation ofthese else historical linkages, and it would be helpful if modem-day eee eat raters eer ere heen eet eT its implications." Pe ea nema noe eed ee Se ee ete ener ed Malaysia, Care en ter rea ees Set eee! Sere Semen etre tae nee eee os “What shines through the authors account i the entrepreneurial sprit of the early immigrant eas ar sen keene en ee ee een ee ree eee see one ene ere ee “The only pity is thatthe Chinese reader will miss a great book because it will be published in cones Tan Sri Dato’ Kuek Ho Yao NS ret ts eee eet eerer ent ISBN. 061 292 950 4 Deron pet eerie nie arene: oleget2ls236' foarere errant Met Tie daaWONG AH FOOK “The Drawing Room” is famous for its cyatal furniture and vases IMwigRanT, but rather a fault-finding mission.) Distinguished visitors like Major J.RA. MeNair and the famous traveller Isabella Bird recalled the charm of Johor and the calm stillness of the Straits in their memoirs published in 1878 and 1883, respectively. Mrs. Bird had noted the dullness and boredom of European society in Singapore and remarked that the Maharaja's receptions and dinner parties varied “the monotonous round of gaieties” The peak of his social success was definitely the visit of Queen Victoria's grandsons, Prince Albert Victor and Prince George of Wales, when they stopped over in Singapore in 1882 on their voyage as naval cadets on board the H.M.S. Bacchante. The royal party was taken to Johorand the young Princes were impressed enough to write about their visit in some detail in the published account of their voyage. Not only did they write about the regatta organised for their enjoyment, and the “pretty sight” of the ships and yachts anchored in the Straits, but they also wrote about the palace where they said, ‘everything combines to give an air of magnificence and comfort They remembered the “huge drawing room just like one of the state rooms at Windsor” and were struck by the bathrooms approached by a winding staircase below their bedrooms, and by the Malayan way of bathing by throwing water over themselves. When the princes returned to Singapore, it was not Governor Weld but the Maharaja who drove them back in his carriage. Istana Tyersall After moving to Johor, the Maharaja wanted to maintain a presence in Singapore and had Wong Fook build him a palace on an extensive property next to the Botanical Gardens. When it was completed, it was officially opened with a grand ball, which gave him the opportunity to hold another extravaganza, While other Malay rulers might look down their noses at him, he nevertheless impressed them with the display of his wealth and influence and his access to European society. ‘The new Istana Tyersall actually replaced an older palace of the same name that had been but down some years before. It was declared opened by Governor Sir Cecil Clementi at a ball attended by the leading lights of Singapore and Johor society. The architect was Dato’ Yahya, who drew up the plans according to the wishes of the late Sultanah Fatimah.? Newspaper reports tellWONG AH FOOK » IMMIGRANT, BUILDER AND ENTREPRENEUR 50 ‘ut technical instructions from the architect. He had to know enough of the market to be able to source for the highest quality building materials from all over the world and to have the logistical ability to bring them to what was then a settlement on the edge of the jungle. ‘The site chosen for the new palace was the gentle slope of a hill facing the sea. There, Wong Fook marked out the outline of the building under the watchful eyes of the Maharaja and the architect. Building materials were brought in from various sources: ceramic tiles from Europe, marble from Italy, roof tiles from China, granite from Pulau Ubin, and fired bricks from Singapore, while fine hardwood timber from the Johor jungles was supplied by Meldrum's sawmill. Atthat time, the walls and columns of buildings were plastered with something called “Madras chunam’ and itis very likely that the same method of construction was used for the Istana Besar. Madras chunam was made fiom shell lime without sand and mixed with the white of eggs and coarse sugar. Water steeped in coconut husks was then added and the mixture beaten into a kind of paste. The walls were plastered with this paste and when they were dry, were rubbed with a rounded stone and then dusted with a soapstone powder to produce a smooth surface. If Madras chunam were indeed used in the construction of the Istana Besar, how many eggs would have been needed? And how many hens laid the thousands of eggs? ‘The original Istana Besar was a long low structure with wide balconies running the whole length of the ground floor. It was a building that combined the openness and airiness of a tropical bungalow with the grandeur of a royal residence. However, the Istana Besar that we see today is very different from the original palace because of two major renovations. The first carried out in 1918-19 added a lofty banqueting hall graced by the classic splendour of Corinthian columns. The second renovation carried out in 1986 changed the brown clay tiles of the roof to deep blue tiles and re-painted the building white, giving the palace the ambience of a Mediterranean palazzo. The palace has two entrances which are its two most outstanding features. On the seaward side, flights of steps lead from the shore to a spacious loggia, and on the landward side, an imposing flight of steps leads up to the ‘Throne Room. Restorations have restored the interior of the palace very sympathetically to the days of the Maharaja. Large quantities of china that he bought are on display and the furnishings of the private rooms remain largely as they were in his day. Postponing a Wedding We now come to the other favourite memory about Great-grandfather’s life that Thad mentioned earlier, the giving away of his marriage savings and having to delay his wedding as a result. In reconstructing this part of the story there are only two firm dates that I can rely on — the official opening of the Istana Besar early in 1866 and the birth of his first child in 1870. My father’s cousin, Aunt Rosalind Foo, told me that the Maharaja had instructed Great-grandfather to purchase the soft furnishings from China: the silks, brocades, damasks, the fine linens and other decorative items that the new palace needed. From the first date, we can conclude that he must have left for China just before 1866 and from the second that he was married before 1870. Great-grandfather was then twenty-eight years old and longed for the comforts of home and the joys of family life. He felt that it was time to take a wife and began to plan a trip to Spectacles Village for this purpose.during the reign of Maharaja Abu Bakar. Historians express differing views of his role and achievements, but they nevertheless regard him as the founder of modem Johor and pay tribute his enormous energy and breadth of vision. However, his position vis ‘vis the other rulers was an anomalous one fora large part of his reign. Although Johor was the most prosperous state and the Maharaja was the most influential ruler in dealings with the British, his title did not carry any royal status and he stood lower in hereditary rankto the royal rules ofthe other Malay states. The Sultan of Trengganu, for instance, had refused to sit down to dinner with him, One of the proper accruements of a ruler and one that would add to his personal prestige in a very visible way would be a suitable residence. Besides, the Maharaja had grown tired of the harassment that his ‘A Weooa DeLave> family had had to put up with in Singapore = the government wanted to build coal wharves near his house, for example — and he had been forced to give up little by litte, the sea frontage to his land because those marshy grounds had, with the growth of Keppel Harbour, become extremely valuable property. Questions, too, had been raised as to whether he, as the ruler of another state, should be allowed to reside in Singapore He, therefore, decided to build himself a ‘grand and luxurious palace, vastly superior to the residences of his fellow rulers and quite as impressive as the Grange Road residence of the Governor in Singapore. (The former Government House, now called the Istana, was completed in 1869. Construction started only in 1867 after the Johor palace was completed, which suggests that the Governor had felt himself upstaged!), He appointed a European architect to draw up the plans and when they were completed, he looked for a building contractor who could be elied upon to do good job. When work began in 1864, the Maharaja decided. to entrust the task of building his palace to Wong Ah Fook, who the year before, completed two godowns for Paterson & Simons on behalf of the Johor government * Although Wong Fook was still a young man, this contract speaks volumes for his skills and reputation asa builder because the building of the Istana Besar was the biggest construction job going in its day, which ‘would also have incorporated the state of the art such as it was at the time. Perhaps, he hhad been carefully preparing himself for such a break because we are told that he had been “assiduously studying” his trade, paying particular attention to road making and buildingconstruction. Such a major contract, tells us that Wong Fook had progressed 10 the point where he could read complex architectural plans and drawings and carry 49WONG AH FOOK + IMuiGRaNT, BUILOER AND ENTREPRENEUR blood oaths and secret rituals of the secret societies. An old-timer told me that he did not need to join the Ngee Heng as he was already under the patronage of the Maharaja and perhaps that provided him with a kind of protection, but as the leader of the Cantonese, he would have been involved in ensuring good relations among the Chinese, While the Maharaja had laid down the provisions for law and order, the Chinese leaders felt that harmonious relations needed to be built from the ground up. In the late 1860s, the Teochews had built the Ancient Temple of Johor on Jalan Trus in the heart of the Teochew area to provide for the religious needs of the cultivators. However, Tan Hiok Nee and other Teochew leaders wisely decided that it should be open to all Chinese. Unlike other temples which are usually dedicated to one deity, five deities were given places of honour in the Ancient v Temple. Until today, it honours the five patron deities ofthe five main dialect groups: Teochew, Cantonese, Hokkiens, Hakkas and Hainanese, so that it has been the centre of worship for all Chinese. In this way, Johor was able to avoid the division that could be seen in places like Singapore and Penang, where the Chinese worshipped at different temples, sent their children to different schools, and when they died, were buried in different cemeteries. Life and death was ‘equally clannish, Instead, these early Chinese leaders took pains to foster a spirit of co- operation between the various Chinese ‘communities that is often referred to as the “spiritof the Ancient Temple’, a co-operative spirit that has continued to this day Building the Istana Besar Iskandar Puteri began as a village by the sea but grew into a thriving community@ personal interest in laying out the roads and flowerbeds and was usually up at daybreak to supervise the gardeners. The road leading to the palace was planted with palm trees, while the scarlet flowers of the flame-of-the forest set the gardens ablaze. Many of the tropical creepers and flowering, shrubs were collected from the jungles on his instructions. The Maharaja was a sociable person and the Istana Besar enabled him to entertain with style and aplomb. Johor Bahru is not BULDING JOHOR BaHAU very far from Singapore, but that little bit of distance made it a natural destination for visitors, as well as for Singapore residents feeling the need for a change of air. At the Istana Besar, he entertained aristocrats like ‘Thomas Brassey and the Duke of Sutherland, who sailed their yachts through the Straits of Johor and dropped anchor in front of the palace. Governor Sir William Jervois paid an official visit and so did many lesser officials (Later, Governor Sir Frederick Weld came too, although his was not exactly a social visit the palace gardensyor elexeyeyy SUL, ZareM ap Jo 38pa axp or umop 8u1do|s suapse8 yam spunos® snopeds Ur 12s sem Surpying awospury UL suvadoung jo “299 ‘suouono ‘sofos ‘aummuinf 19410 242 ‘siuawouso asaundo| pun asousy3, swospury 49410 su urd eouf unr ays dg a0 w48n019 sasma asaundey yor yyim pour, pun ‘ipunf imios sno fo sreaniod 810) puv souadeup ysrunp you yim Suny 219 2004f 18116 24) wo woosyoq puv woos 941, 2usf puo pooug asvounns agin ayn pue ‘fo puv Bir {uan suas pun sypoy ays spaystuanf jam pun uiospuny Atpousana 513 20nnp10 uvadesn D sapun uauapom asaunyy dq Masa nmq soon ay 2ounsspouay aps us spying us uepuy -oj8uy 51 wvys “uvadoung $1 ‘220p0d sof puom Aopepy ayn ‘payyo> sions. sv ours] ay, (9¢2 4) need 19 jo uondDsop FrMoyfo}o4n APMPU! ~PIUS "ysta JOY Jo oda1 Bujold 210m SogeT 4p Ul sesoq PUES] 24D Ye asand v sem ous ‘Appes aouaio}s pip u pur 20 susp eoxed aun cx 20ue1109 Su O04 H¥ SNOMPengasas KemerdekaanAD GRAND rALAUE, AND ROYAL ABU BAKAR MUSEUM | De aAKHAS MERDEKA 87 a mengasaskan pentadbiran baginds. di Tanjung Puter yang ketika itu turut Aikenal sebagat Iskandar Puteri taginda disebut dalam ssjarah sebagai tan yang. memperkenalkan ci-ir Srokrasi moden dalam pemerinfahan spobila, mewyjudkan jawatan mente wakil raja, herant besar, heron biasa an lain untuke membants gi sistem pentadbiran yang bag: petkenafkan lah sistem Range fan sungal” ai mana orang Cina Siberian surat kebenaran antsk mene tap dan mengusahakan penanaman lada tam dan gambir di Johor. Melati sistem ini, cukat dipungut se ra teratur dari kangcu dan keberke Stsannya meayaksiban ekonomi Johor ferkembang, pesat jauh meninggatkan negeri-neger lain di Tanah Mela Menyedari hakikat pentingnya pend an di Kalangan anakearak Melayt vs tarut menyediskan perantuan Kecekapan Sultan Abu Dakar memerin- tah Johor mengagemkan Bi boginda diber gelaran Bapa ddan pada 1885, British mengiktiat Johor Sebigal neger!bebas seta berdaulat. Baginda juga clbtraf sebagai Sulton Johor dengan gelaran Sultan Alm Bokar Alkali Ibrahim Shah iahkan sebagai pegawat falah Kapten Daud Salaiman, Sejarah menyatakan ahaa Johor ‘adalah neger!pertarna dan schingga kn Satu-satunya nogeri yang memilti past an tenteranya send Rami munghin tidak mengetaha babs wa pasuhan TSN in, meskipan danggsp shag tetera peribadi Sultan Johor, rut terbabitmematahan pemberontakan askar India di Singapura pada 1915, Antara sumbangan lain pasukan TSN jalahmenjaga kesclamatan Pulau Be lakang Mat yang kin! dikerali sebagai Pulau Sentosa dt Singapura ketika Per ang Dunia Pertama. Selain itu, mereka jugs membaata mengawal Kesclamat Taluan perhulbungan at Mersing, Kluang, ddan Bata Pah. terbilang negara yang Femach mengangeots pasukan TSN in termacuklah Dato’ Onn Jaafar perdana menteri ke tga Tan Hi: sein Onn dan bekas panglima Angkatan Tentera Malaysia Jen Ibrahim tsa.ISBN 98362-28616‘drawing ofthe Devan of Couns Chamber. next to the main palace. It isa small elegant building with colonnaded verandahs running ound all four ses. The Istana Besar and the Dewan now make up the Royal Abu. Bakar Museum, which is open to the public. ‘The buildings are still used for official functions and when my husband was in government service, we attended many of these functions at the Istana Besar, such as the Sultan’s Birthday. These were impressive occasions, when members of the Johor orders of honours wore their medals and decorations and were dressed in their starched white uniforms with gold buttons and epauletes. The officers of the Johor Civil, Service were also dressed in stiff white uniforms complete with dress swords; military officers looked magnificent in full BULDNG Jovor BAHU PALACE OF THK MAHARAJAH. OF OPPOSITE SINGAPORE, The Dewan, a recent shot, ar