The cloth bears the stamps of the North Johore Indian Labour Union together with several Chinese clan associations including the Hakka Community Association, the Teo Chew Association and the Rubber Dealers Association, as well as that of clubs such as the United Chinese Club, the Hwa Chiau Club and the Toh Guan Club. Chinese names are written in columns under these stamps, a likely indication that the stamps and names belonged to a secret society in Johore. Like its counterparts in Singapore, secret societies in Johor were also splinter groups of the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society), a sworn fraternity among Chinese men based on anti-Qing sentiments, and operated in a manner similar to it. The Tiandihui, already well-established in Singapore by 1824, eventually drifted to Johor given the geographical proximity, and the secret societies in both places were closely linked by history and customs.
