Southern Uprising: The Scene Down Under

By Alif Omar Mahfix  •  31 May 2013 in Features

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The success of these early parties culminated in the forming of Junk Junkies, a collective of DJs and fashionistas headed by Melvin I’mpulse (now of Beatism studios – DJs Lizz and Eva T being alumni), who regularly organised such sales-cum-parties in Jalan Tan Hiok Nee. Around the same time My Little Corner, a salon by Elvis Long, joined the family and has since added My Little Garden, a restaurant serving Thai food and beer. Starting businesses the following year were Eats n Beats by Kevin Soh and Lin, where the opening hours don’t matter and the food is a different special of the day every day; Miss Ireen Handmade, a mix media artist selling her own handiwork; apparel shops Scandalist, Psychedelic, The Labels and Homebase; and Mr. Kombi, a nasi lemak joint that had instruments in house for open jam sessions. Most recently, Sea Wong expanded the Roost brand further by opening a snogurt and salad bar called Roost Repurposed a few doors down. It features an amazing interior completely built by him and his partner Kenny. Most of the furniture and fittings are cleverly upcycled and repurposed.

Sadly, That’s Cafe had closed its doors this year and Mr. Kombi is apparently following suit. However, the current popularity of the area ensures that new shops are opening every few months. Some of the shops here have been featured in Hong Kong fashion magazine Apple, the street is used for shoots all the time, even for movies (one with Dolph Lundgren and zombies!), and it’s a hive of activity at night as the Bazaar JB has also been extended to include the entire street.

The community that arose out of all this is a group of ‘autonomous collectives’ bound by their interests in music, fashion, and design regardless of creed, race or religion with their heart in Jalan Dhoby and Jalan Tan Hiok Nee. It was more 1Malaysia than most official programmes of 1Malaysia.

The JB Chinese Association that runs the Chinese Heritage Museum on Jalan Tan Hiok Nee has also done its part in reviving the fortunes of the neighbourhood. Since gazetted as a Heritage Walk, they have put in much effort in beautifying the street by refurbishing some of the buildings thereat and constructing two arches at either end of the street as well as holding various cultural and historical events.

Recently, the residents of the neighbourhood (headed by Elvis Long) organised a charity street party called JB Calling Positive Vibes, which raised money for Grace Covenant Community Care to much success. It marked the first time the JB Chinese Association had worked together with their neighbours. Previous attempts by the residents to collaborate with the association were met with cold responses as they (at that time) clearly had no idea and/or confidence in what the residents were trying to do. Since the event however, the association has been open to ideas from the residents for future collaborative efforts.

Thus far, efforts of both the residents and the association (despite being in isolation of each other) have helped raised the profile and popularity of the area tenfold since the days of pondan central. One hopes that with more collaborative efforts between the neighbours, better things are yet to come. However, the flipside is that with more popularity fuelling demand for shop space, rental prices may also go up, thus possibly pricing these residents out of the area, driving out an integral part of what made it the place it is today in the first place. But that may not be so bad after all as a newer younger bunch of kids with fresh ideas are ready to take the mantle and push JB youth culture to the forefront – not merely limited to the street.

Some might argue what the fuss is all about as such communities exist all over the world and in Malaysia herself, heck, better ones even. In fact, their KL connections have been integral towards the development thereof, but lest we forget, this is Johor Bahru, yo! Years behind KL or even Penang. With such a healthy community of youths with vibrant ideas, slowly but surely JB is catching up with their neighbouring cities, shedding its image as a feng tau-girly pub haven with no other places to go or just a stop-over border town. With the development of its own identity and youth culture, at least there’s some semblance of some kind of a scene down south now. The southern uprising is truly in full swing.

JUICE kinda want to visit the area during its pondan central days.