From Johor Bahru Directory
Bangunan Dato' Jaafar was modelled on Hardwick Hall in England.
Bangunan Dato' Jaafar is a century-old building that was the personal residence of Dato' Jaafar Haji Muhammad, the first Menteri Besar of Johor. Built in 1893 [1] at what is now JKR 514, Jalan Yahya Al-Dattar, Bukit Senyum, Johor Bahru, the most impressive feature of the building is its central staircase, with a void rising up three floors. The building was modelled after Hardwick Hall, one of the most significant Elizabethan country houses in England, and was a residence that rivalled many palaces in size and grandeur during that time.[1]
2. Named "Senyum" by Dato' Jaafar,[1] the building was acquired by the Johor state government upon his death on 3 July 1919.[2] It was renamed Bangunan Dato' Jaafar, but was then neglected until the Japanese occupation (1942 - 1945) in World War II, when the Imperial Japanese Army made use of the building to house comfort women.[2] When the British returned to Malaya after Japan's surrender in 1945, the building was used for a time as their military headquarters.[2]
3. After Malaya's independence, Bangunan Dato' Jaafar became the Maktab Perguruan Bahasa (Language Teacher's Training College) before the college was shifted to Lembah Pantai in Kuala Lumpur. Subsequently, the building was occupied by a few government departments such as JKR, KEMAS, and Yayasan Warisan Johor.[2] The building is now handed over by the Johor State Government to Yayasan Warisan Johor which converted it into the Tun Hussein Onn Memorial to honor the three generations of Dato' Jaafar's family, namely:
- Dato' Jaafar himself;
- his three sons, Abdullah, Mustapha, and Onn (who served as the second Menteri Besar of Johor); and
- his grandson, Tun Hussein Onn, who became the third Prime Minister of Malaysia.
