If you have visited
small towns, local or abroad, you will notice that each settlement has a shrine
or place of worship as their social centre and particularly in European towns,
there will inevitably be a Church Road.
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| Steeple of the Church of Immaculate Conception at Jalan Gereja, JB |
Johor Baru is no different because we too have
a Jalan Gereja. The original simple, modest structure for the
towering Church of Immaculate Conception (CIC) here dates back to 1883. To better appreciate the religious and
cultural unity that exists in our community, take a walking tour from Jalan
Gereja down Jalan Trus to Jalan Dhoby and Jalan Duke to discover fresh insights
on our Street of Harmony.
CIC is the oldest
church in JB with the original church built on the same site donated by Sultan
Abu Bakar known as the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. When the present building, designed in
British Colonial architecture was completed in 1921, the old building was used
as a funeral parlour. The marble statue
of Our Lady, a gift from Sultan Ibrahim (1895 to 1959), still occupies a place
of pride in front.
In the early
1960’s, a one-storey parish hall was built to cater to more activities in the
church. With the increasing number of
parishioners, children’s catechism classes were held in borrowed premises in
neighbouring St Joseph’s School. Recently
an extension designed with modern facilities in the Notre Dame Hall, was built
with a multi-purpose hall, funeral parlour, classrooms, seminar and meeting
rooms and guestrooms as well as priests’ living quarters.
The Presbyterian
Holy Light Church at nearby Jalan Gertak Merah, was founded by Presbyterian
missionary, Reverend John Angus Bethune Cook in 1886. Started by British missionaries fluent in
Teochew dialect to minister to the Chinese-speaking community here, it is the
oldest Chinese-speaking church in Malaysia.
Cook was helped by Scotsman, James Meldrum who was the son-in-law of
Reverend Benjamin Keasberry, a tutor to Sultan Abu Bakar.
In 1860 Meldrum
established the Johor Steam Sawmill at the mouth of Sungai Segget to process timber
harvested from the jungle in Johor that was being opened by farmers for pepper
and gambier cultivation in the kangchu
system. The steam sawmill was JB’s first
industry and its timber was exported to China, Mauritius, Java and India where
it supplied sleepers for the Indian railways.
When Sultan Abu Bakar presented the church with land at Jalan Gertak
Merah, Meldrum supplied timber to build the original church which is now used
as the Youth Hall.
The Church had a
small English service for the Meldrum family and other expatriates in JB but it
ceased with the demise of Meldrum and Cook’s retirement in 1924. The English service was revived in 1952 and in
2009, the English-speaking congregation relocated to new premises at Hillville
near Ponderosa Golf Club where a new sanctuary was completed in 2012.
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| Altars for the five deities of the five main Chinese dialect groups are housed in the "temple of unity," Johor Gu Miao |
A walk down Jalan
Gereja and a right turn will lead to Jalan Trus and the Johor Gu Miao or Ancient Temple. Built in the late 19th century by
a group of Chinese community leaders led by the leader of the Ngee Heng kongsi, Tan Hiok Nee (1827 – 1902), it
is dubbed “the temple of unity” because deities revered by the five main clans
or Chinese dialect groups, are housed under one roof. Chinese temples traditionally bear the name
of a particular deity but this may be the first Chinese temple in Malaysia to
be named after a State in honour of the sultan.
The temple was
declared opened by Sultan Abu Bakar in 1870 and the early Chinese community
lived together in peace with their worship of the five deities, Zhao Da Yuan
Shuai (Hainanese), Hua Guang Da Di (Cantonese), Gan Tian Da Di (Hakka), Hong
Xian Da Di (Hokkien) and Yuan Tian Shang Di (Teochew), united in one
temple. The Johor Baru Chingay, the
annual night parade which is a uniquely JB tradition now recognised as a
national heritage, is part of the temple’s 3-day religious celebration for the
lunar new year.
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| Entrance to the Arulmigu Raja Mariamman Devasthanam Hindu Temple at Jalan Ungku Puan with a view of Gudwara Sahib Sikh Temple [Right] through the archway |
The development of
rubber plantations in the outskirts of JB in the early 20th century
saw the arrival of Indians who were employed as labourers or mandore or supervisors. When a mandore in Sultan Ibrahim’s Pasir
Pelangi Estate appealed to him for land to build a temple for the religious
needs of labourers, a site was granted at Jalan Ungku Puan. The sultan also generously donated $500 – a
huge sum in those days – towards its construction and when the Arulmigu Raja
Mariamman Devasthanam Temple was completed in 1911, the word “Raja” was incorporated
in the temple’s name to honour the sultan.
Like their
compatriots elsewhere, Sikhs found ready employment in the police force and as
watchmen or security guards while others were labourers and cattle
herdsmen. It’s interesting that the
founding of the Gudwara Sahib Sikh Temple around 1921 was attributed to the
boldness and quick-thinking of Sikh policemen.
When Sultan Ibrahim’s rubber store caught fire and the estate workers
could not put it out, the police was called and Sikhs ran carts of water to the
scene and cut branches to beat out flames.
In gratitude, the sultan granted them land on Jalan Trus to build their
temple where the first school for Sikh children was also housed.
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| JB's Masjid India at Jalan Duke, off Jalan Dhoby |
When you walk
through Little India and turn right into the domain of the Indian-Muslim
community, you will find Masjid India at the corner of Jalan Dhoby and Jalan
Duke. The original structure has been
replaced by a new building but its distinct identity is evident from regular
sermons in Tamil and the Tamil inscriptions on its façade.
Our Street of
Harmony clearly reflects the peaceful coexistence and unity of diverse groups
of people from different cultural and religious origins. Early immigrants, who are our forefathers, contributed
to the economy and development of JB since the 1800s and as Iskandar Malaysia
transforms into a modern metropolis, let’s treasure the precious peace in our
multi-cultural community and work hard to strengthen the foundations rooted in
shared struggles and the search for better livelihoods.
A version of this was published in the June 2015 issue of The Iskandarian
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