He is Mr Excitement. For 35 years, he has kept his neighbourhood Backyard Pub and Grill in Sri Hartamas the heart of everything people.

Chong is also Mr Go-Getter. As life progresses, the number of things people love shrinks inexorably, but for Chong the loves keep mounting in his life.

You’d think it is just about him spending many more years behind the bar, but it’s about him lending a helping hand to the needy, assisting musicians and enhancing friendships in his “backyard”.

That is the inspiring life story of the accountant turned hospitality doyen, and the Sentul lad who attended Christian brothers’ training, who made the unlikely transition to running a pub.

Chong may be a man of many gifts, including being a talented footballer and sprinter as a teenager, but for various reasons Backyard has turned out to be his finest piece of undertaking.

“It has been a wonderful 35 years. The fact that I am still smiling is due to the friendship that comes with work every day,” said Chong, 67.

He said he got into the pub business by chance in 1989 after a friend offered him a partnership. “It was a small neighbourhood pub and I decided to join him for the fun of it – nothing serious, let the manager run it, and we just drink.”

Among his early customers was his Form Three discipline and sports master at La Salle Sentul, the late Bernard Khoo, who exclaimed upon seeing him: “I never imagined someone like you would be a pub owner.”

Little did Chong realise that he had to go that extra mile as Backyard soon grew in popularity to match the then iconic taverns, Rennie’s in Petaling Jaya and Canteena in Bangsar Baru.

Each pub became the hub for networking, with the shapers of society, sports personalities, celebrities, diplomats, politicians, professionals from various sectors and newsmen, all under one roof.

The late Rennie Klassen and Canteena’s Benny Lim had been integral to many front page stories. Long before citizen journalism made its debut, they were trailblazers in this context.

In the 1980s, a group of “westerners” were regulars at some pubs in Bangsar Baru. As it turned out, they were Soviet spies who sought to mingle with newsmen at “press joints”.

It was Lim’s horror stories about Bangsar Baru being a rat kingdom that prompted the New Straits Times to join hands with Kuala Lumpur City Hall and residents to rid the business enclave of rodents in the 1990s.

Chong, like Klassen and Lim, always knew, and knew first. He continues to strike a chord among pub goers and maintain the trademark Backyard’s camaraderie, but it hasn’t just been about pulling pints.

The beating heart of Backyard

Some groundbreaking things happened at Backyard over the past three decades, benefitting musicians and music lovers.

It included the introduction of live music to provide income for jobless musicians, the beginning of entertainers gaining a sense of autonomy for their own careers and a ready-made platform for local talent.

Chong said when he became the sole owner in 1996, live music was practically dead in Kuala Lumpur and some unemployed musicians approached him for a chance to play in Backyard because there was no playing opportunities for them.

He did a small revival with the help of the late musicians Jarius Anthony and Errol de Cruz, sparking dramatic changes in the way musicians were paid, portrayed, and packaged.

“Music has been my mainstay and one guy who has brought in musicians from here and abroad is Edmund Anthony, who has been with me for many years,” he said.

Backyard became the place for musicians to perform, transforming it from a mere venue for drinks and food into a vibrant hub of entertainment.

Chong noted it transcended ordinary social interactions, and there was no turning back for him.

He later went on to offer gigs for aspiring musicians to gain exposure, hone their craft, build their confidence, connect with an audience and develop professionally.

Today, Backyard plays a crucial role in cultivating vibrant music scenes within communities, breathing life into the music industry and fostering an environment for artistes to thrive.

“The musicians have contributed greatly to the success of Backyard,” said Chong, who himself played “a little guitar” as a teenager with a 12-string guitar presented to him by his sister, Rosemary.

Resilience of Jerry

Chong feels his hardiness in the business world comes from his younger days as a footballer and 100m sprinter.

As a schoolboy, he was a member of Sentul’s Belia Raya football team (formerly Pasar Rangers) that won the Selangor Reserve League and incredibly went on to play star-studded PKNS in the quarter-final of the state’s then prestigious knockout tournament.

Belia Raya, with Chong playing striker and attacking midfielder and his brother, Tony, as defender, took a 1-0 lead, only to be beaten 11-1 by PKNS that comprised Mokhtar Dahari and other national players.

“We wouldn’t have made it to that stage if not for the tough training we had endured including carrying rocks as weights,” Chong recalled.

Chong, who represented Selangor in the Burnley Cup tournament, said the other good football teams in Sentul then included the Flames, Cardinals and Eleven Brothers.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Chong brought his resilience to the fore, “frustrated at every turn, with a strong temptation to close down Backyard”.

He said: “It was a trying time for everybody but I looked at my staff, most of whom were foreigners.

“They didn’t have money to send home and I needed to ensure that both them and my family would survive.

“The only way through the pain was to find a way to fight it and we did all together – my family, staff and customers.

“Some of my staff have been with me for more than 12 years and they have stuck with me through thick and thin, and for that I am indebted to them.”

Chong said he was eternally grateful to his customers, many of whom have been loyal patrons for years.

One of them is Darren Pereira, who accompanied his father, Cletus, to the pub as a seven-year-old, watched his first Champions League football final there, and is today Backyard’s operations manager.

Showing compassion

Over the years Chong’s reputation for his charity initiatives has grown, and today sees Backyard’s “Bands for a cause, Melodies of compassion” event taking centre stage.

The showcase features the Raw Band, Sharin Trio and the D’Constantly Band from 5pm.

It adds another chapter to Backyard’s book of generosity that stretches back to years of financial aid for needy children and aid for 50 victims of the 2004 tsunami.

Various events have been lined up for the 35-day anniversary celebration which ends on Oct 5 with a big bash.

In the meantime, Jerry Chong will continue doing Jerry Chong things as we savour the pub’s well-known mutton fried rice.