Johor Military Force ( JMF ) and Johor Volunteer Force ( JVF) in Johor Bahru, Unfederated State of Malaya

Colonel Dato Yahya bin Abu Talib ( Second in Command) Johor Military Force cir 1940

Johor Military Force  ( JMF ) and Johor Volunteer Force ( JVF)  in Johor Bahru, Unfederated State of Malaya

Johor Bahru, 1942 – the place where the Battle of Malaya ended and the Battle of Singapore begin…

1886, State Militia “Timbalan Setia Negri” was formed under the command of commissioner of police, Dato Abdullah bin Tahir, the Dato Sri Raja Setia. Since then, Johor is unique as the only state in Malaya with its own independent defence force. The militia comprised of 60 Malays and 20 Punjabs with Syed Mahmud bin Nong Yahya as officer.

1887, reorganised into regular military unit with Malay as infantry and the Punjabis as an artillery battery. The first commander was Capt. CNC Newland from the 2^nd Battalion South Irish Division of the Royal Artillery. He was the commandant and Instructor and the first Malay officer commissioned was Major Daud bin Suleiman.

1905, Sultan Ibrahim commanded the militia with the assistance of Sgt Major Cullimore. A firing range was constructed and training exercises with British troops were conducted. The militia was named the Johor Military Force (JMF), a regular force.

In the same year, the Johor Volunteer Force (JVF) was formed from the Malay Civil Servants to instill discipline and pride in the Civil Service. There were weekly parade and annual camps for the volunteers.

The HQ of the JMF and JVF was at the Bukit Timbalan ( The Fort).

By 1913, the JMF grew in numbers and competence, with 271 enlisted men and officers – 171 in Johor Bahru and 100 in Muar.

With the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, Sultan Ibrahim offered the services of the JMF to the colonial government of Singapore which they accepted as the garrison of Singapore numbers fell with British forces committed to war in Europe.

The JMF had 190 officers and men posted to guard duty at strategic locations in Singapore to help the garrison. During the 5^th Indian Light mutiny in Feb 1915, Capt Cullimore and 2 others from the JMF was killed. The mutineers who fled to Kota Tinggi in Johor later surrendered to General Tan Sri Ibrahim. When the mutiny was eventually put down, the Governor Sir Auther Young wrote to thank the JMF for their loyalty and bravery. The JMF continued to provide security to Singapore with a detachment of JMF stationed at Pulau Blakang Mati until the war ended.

1915, the JMF Enactment was passed to require the JMF to serve outside of Johor and in any part of Malaya.

By 1938, the JMF grew to 950 men against an authorised strength of 971. They were stationed in JB, Muar, Batu Pahat and Mersing. British officers continued to be seconded for service in JMF and they were armed with machine-guns equipped for jungle use.

In 1939, the JMF was a battalion of infantry with signals squadron, an artillery battery and a military band. The JVF consisted of a battalion of 2 companies and a signals unit. There were also the Johor Volunteer Engineers ( JVE) which was made up of mainly European civilians – managers and staff of rubber estates and commercial firms, with British officers in command.

Junior officers were attached to British and Indian regiments in Singapore for training and two batches of Cadet Officers were sent to the Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun for Officer Training in 1940-41.

Sultan Ibrahim again offered services of the JMF to Malaya Command when war broke out in 1941. Johor Units were placed under the command of Major General Gordon Bennett.

The JMF then consisted of 2 battalions of 4 companies each. The commanders were Major General Sultan Ibrahim – the second in command was Colonel Dato Yahya bin Abu Talib and Lt Col Musa bin Yusof led detachments of JMF and JVF to relieve the 2/6^th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force at Kota Tinggi.

JMF and JVF were alsodeployed as Lone of Communication troops from Mersing to Kota Tinggi, through Kluang and Batu Pahat and to guard airfields at Kahang and Kluang. JMF Signals was deployed in islands off Mersing as early warning posts for sea activites.

Extracted from “Johor : Local History, Local Landscapes 1855-1957” by Lim Pui Huen

Vintage Mercedes Benz, Gelang Patah, Johore

A view of the 1952 Mercedez Benz 300 Sedan(?) Quite a long journey for an old car i.e. from Penang to Johore ( the license plate is PA)

A 1965 Mercedes Benz Omni Bus ( ?) I'm sure all 40 to 50 yr old guys would have sat in one of these "Bas Sekolah" to school before?

Interesting gathering of vintage Mercedez Benz vehicles from the 1950-1960's era. Gave a heritage feel to the small town of Gelang Patah in Johore.

Eat, Talk, Coffee.. etc in Kedai Kopi, Kopi Tiam Malaysia/Singapore – No.2

The old "Switch & Meter Board" of a Kopi Tiam in Batu Pahat

A charcal toaster for bread and to keep the tea & coffee warm

The service station

The water boiler - water to thin down the liquid coffee and to "sanitised" the serving cups

Eat, Talk, Coffee...etc in Kedai Kopi, Kopi Tiam Malaysia/Singapore – No.1

The water boiler in Kluang Rail Coffee, Kluang Johore

The original Kluang Rail Coffee, located in the prenises of Kluang Railway Station

Taking time off for a cuppa...

The service station for the cuppa...

Coffee shops( English) kedai kopi (malay), kopi tiam (hokkien) are “watering holes” for Singaporeans and Malaysians to get away from the hectic schedules of daily life. They are usually located in an old prewar shop house which were non- air-conditioned and ventilated by twirling overhead electric fans ( no more the punkas of colonial days!)

Others could be a makeshift stall along a busy road, with just plastic sheets "roofs" as a shade, or along the beach and public parks – these are usually “Mamak Stalls” run by Indians ( Muslim Tamils) mainly found in Malaysia.
The coffee made by Indians are usually sweeter and not too thick on the coffee essence. Their tea are usually “tarik(malay) or pulled to cool the heat of the beverage. As such, should you want your coffee/tea hot, just say “Panas” (malay) or hot.

Chinese Coffee shops serves their coffee/tea in porcelain cups with saucers and they are not “tarik”. The Chinese think that having air bubbles in the beverage is not good for internal health.
To cool the beverage, you can pour the coffee/tea onto the saucer and sip your drink from there, with a long and satisfying slurpy noise ( that’s what my Grandfather used to do and that’s where I get my beverage – from the saucer when I was very young)

In order to get a thicker coffee essence, you have to order “Kopi Kau” – Coffee Thicker or “Kopi Poh” – Thinner Coffee. What the Kopi “barista”would do is to add more or lesser hot water to the coffee essence ( concentrated liquid coffee) to get the texture.

When you order “Kopi” ,it is hot coffee, with sugar, and condensed milk .”Kopi-O” is black coffee with sugar.”Kopi Kosong” is just black coffee. Black “English Tea” would be ordered the same way i.e. “Teh” is hot tea, with sugar, and condensed milk.”Teh-O” is black tea with sugar and .”Teh Kosong” is just black tea.

Other beverages available includes the following, with a certain terms only used in Singapore –e.g.
Tuck kew ( Kick ball in Hokkien) – Milo ; a chocolate and malt powder drink which is mixed with hot milk; The brand labels of the product usually has a boy or girl doing sports; and for some reasons, the label of the boy playing football stuck with the coffee shop waiters!
Tiau her ( Catch fish in Hokkien) – Chinese tea ;coffee shops in Singapore serve Chinese tea in tea bags ; as such dunking the bag up and down the hot water to infuse the tea is just like tugging the fishing line!

Parit Sulong Memorial, Johore

The old buildings on the west side of the bridge where the Japanese herded the wounded allied soldiers. They were machine gunned at the back of the building next to the big tree on the left of the building.

The new bridge built in 1997 to replace the original one. View from the east side of the bridge

The Parit Sulong Memorial located in the park on the west side of the new bridge

A brief on the massacre of the Allied soldiers

Brief of the third VC receipient, Lt Col Charles Anderson, 2/19th AIF Battalion during the Battle of Malaya. The first VC receipient was Squadron Leader Arthur Scarf, RAF (posthumously) and second was Brig Gen Arthur Edward Cumming, 2/12th Frontier Force Regiment

Parit Sulong Memorial commemorates the Battle of Muar and the massacre of 150 wounded Australian and Indian soldiers by the Japanese Imperial Army during WW2. The site is located on the east side of the new bridge that was built in 1997 to replace the original one that was built in 1930.

Shop Houses in Kluang

Derelict Shophouse in Kluang dated 1930

Row of Shophouses in Kluang with unique lion designs ( The British Imperial Lion or Chinese Mythical Lion?) perched on top of the shop front

Another view of the same row of shophouses, some dated 1936, 1939 & 1940

A shophouse with a different shop front, dated 1935

Another facade, dated 1929

Kluang

During WW2, the allies had the Austalian Battalions and the RAF stationed in Kluang -
"At Kluang we were billeted under canvas with the Australians ( 19th & 29th Battalions ) on the perimeter of Kluang Aerodrome . Food was very good with plenty of meat , butter , bread and cheese . The sections job was to repair and keep in operation the overhead lines between Kluang and Mersing . There were only two Blenheim bombers stationed on the airfield"extracted from www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories

However, during the Japanese invasion, the Japanese was reported to have located their forward base from KL to Kluang on 23 Jan 1942 and used the airbase to flying their planes over Singapore during the fighting withdrawal for the allied forces.

Again, during the Malayan Emergency from 1948 to 1960, Kluang was the centre of operations against the CT in Johore as the town was approximately in the centre of Johore State. A large army garrison comprising HQ 63 Gurkha Inf Brigade and the 1/7 Gurkha Rifles, and the RAF was based in the vicinity of the aerodrome.

Actually, I was going to Kluang to search for the location of the airbase and the garrison. I was distracted somewhat by the beauty of the prewar shophouses in the old part of Kluang Town. Please see the pictures appended above.

Maybe next time, I will spend more time in Kluang to look for the location of the aerodrome. Last, I wonder why shop houses in Kluang are all mostly Dated?Can anyone out there advise me ?

Johor Military Force, Johore Bahru, Johore

Side gates to Johor Military Forces(JMF) HQ, Bukit Timbalan Johore Bahru

An array of cannons in front of the HQ

JMF HQ, Johore Bahru

JMF HQ Front gates, with the JMF Crest

The Johor Military Force ( JMF) – Askar Timbalan Setia Negeri Johore, was raised as an independent army formation in 1885. Johore is the first state and only state to have an army under the sultan. It was not only a private army, but it served to protect the state and assisted the existing police constabulary that was already established in Johor in 1855 to maintain law and order. The founder of the force was Sultan Sir Ibrahim Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Sir Abu Bakar ( 1873 – 1959). Its first commandant was an English officer by the name of Captain Newland, while the first Malay to be commissioned as an officer was Captain Daud Sulaiman.
The JMF was accorded royal colours on May 11, 1916. As such, the JMF was established much earlier than the Royal Malay Regiment ( Askar Malayu).

During WW2, the JMF was not included in the defence of Singapore ( they were under the command of the AIF in the operations area of Johore though) – However, a JMF Head dress Badge ( similar to the one on the gates of JMF HQ, see pictures above) was found in the grounds of St Andrews Cathedral, Singapore as part of the excavation finds exhibition located in the Welcome Centre of the Church. Probably, some JMF men assisted with the ambulance companies to transfer the wounded ? from the battle in Malaya to Singapore as St Andrews Cathedral then was a makeshift hospital during the war.