Chronicles of Old Singapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Roger Ting & Ting Min Long from the Singapore Dragon & Lion Athletic Association talk about the origins and development of Foochow dragondance in Singapore. They explain why martial arts and wushu were historically crucial for dragondance and some of the interesting performances they did in the past. The podcast is in Mandarin and English. 00:00 Intr...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Wan Chan Peew applied to Tanjong Katong Technical School in 1960, eschewing both the grammar schools and apprenticeship scheme in the Naval Base. He remembers taking two jam-packed buses to Tanjong Katong Road where the school was, his classmates and the strict principal N. Vaithinathan, who walked around in a white shirt and shorts with a cane in his hand....

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. James Kwok relates the difficult moments in his MNC career, including moral dilemmas when working with clients in other countries and a particular cash-on-delivery deal involving a kidney patient. He reflects on what he learned from sales, how he helped raise his daughters and why at the age of 60, he decided to leave the private sector and become a school c...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Sathasivam Kolandaivelu takes us back to Old Tanjong Pagar, where his father was a mandore with the Singapore Harbour Board (SHB). The family lived in the SHB staff quarters at Breeze Plain being moving to the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) flats at Everton Park. Sathasivam recalls the community spirit at Everton Park, the pasar malam during weekends and...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Hidayah Amin talks about winning the 2021 NUS Singapore History Prize with the Kampong Glam book, why she writes, her publishing business Helang Books, and her current book projects. 00:00 Winning the NUS Singapore History Prize 09:29 Learning from Mistakes in History 14:34 Helang Books 22:29 What am I Angry About These Days (Current Projects) 26:23 Geylang...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Maria Yap reflects on managing parents and the culture of parenting in Singapore. She considers other common challenges faced by teachers, such as the workload and outbreaks of pandemics. She enjoyed her half a century of service in the education system, but feels more can be done to conserve school heritage. She urges teachers to take better care of themsel...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Asok Kumar had a culture shock when his father decided to retire in India. The family packed up and left in 1973. When he returned to Singapore in 2010, the old staff quarters at Breeze Road were gone. But he managed to find his former classmates at Silat Primary School. 00:00 Leaving Singapore in 1973 03:19 Buses in India 09:09 Breeze Road Quarters Demolish...

Chronicles of Old Singapore | Venugopal Kurup – Queen’s Crescent, Silat School & Shell Part 1 Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Venugopal Kurup takes us back to the 1950s and 1960s and the interesting people he still remembers. He studied at Silat Integrated School in Kampong Bahru and lived in a flat at Queen’s Crescent, the fifth neighbourhood of Queenstown New Town. This ended in 1966...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. I am joined by Angela Sim, a YouTuber who documents artisans and Chinese heritage, and three veterans from the Chin Woo Athletic Association: Jack Tan, Eric Ko and Edwin Ng. They tell me about the origins of the association, how they became interested in its activities at a young age and the masters who taught liondancing. 00:00 Introductions 12:28 History o...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. James Kwok spent 30 years in the rough and tumble of the MNC jungle in Singapore from the 1970s to 2000s. He remembers the expatriates who mentored him and interesting doctors (some of them difficult) he worked with. He talks about how he survived and thrived and the lessons he learned as a salesman of medical equipment. 00:00 Introduction 04:17 Hire & F...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Hidayah Amin relates her anguish on two occasions – when Gedung Kuning was acquired for public development in 1999 and again when the mango tree in the compound, planted to celebrate her birth, was cut down. She fought to keep the name Gedung Kuning but notes that market forces have gentrified Kampong Glam. Instead of bars and massage parlours, the kampong c...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Ronnie Choo remembers the good times playing lead guitar in Naval Base bands like the Blue Flames and the Playmates to supplement his low apprentice pay. He talks about leaving the Naval Base when the British closed their military bases in Singapore, and how it is a pity that the old Asian staff quarters have not been conserved. 00:00 The British Pullout &am...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Asok Kumar talks about his deep feelings for Singapore. He was born in Kerala in 1956 and came to Singapore as a toddler, living in the staff quarters at Breeze Road in the Singapore Harbour Board and attending school at Silat Primary School. He remembers one particular politician who made a stirring speech at Breeze Road. 00:00 Introduction 02:12 From Keral...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Ng Yan Ching recounts why her family remained in Margaret Drive till 1999 and why she started guiding heritage groups in Queenstown and elsewhere. We talk about Queenstown’s community museum and documenting the rich memories of the elderly residents, especially those affected by Sers, the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/paKq...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Hidayah Amin talks about growing up in Gedung Kuning, the Yellow Mansion. This was part of historic Kampong Glam, which was home to a cosmopolitan community of Malay traders and hawkers. Hiydayah’s great grandfather was Haji Yusoff, a pioneering businessman who created the original haj belt. This debunks the myth that the Malays were a backward people. But t...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Ronnie Choo recounts growing up in various places in and outside the Singapore Naval Base in Sembawang. His father was a local chargeman in the base and the breadwinner of two large families. So Ronnie started working at a young age, first as an apprentice to be an engine fitter at the Dockyard Training College before leaving the base to sail with Straits St...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Ng Yan Ching, a former resident of Margaret Drive and volunteer with My Community, talks about why having been a Queenstowner, she is always a Queenstowner. She remembers her rental flat and neighbours at Margaret Drive in the ‘70s and ‘80s, her schools and several memorable itinerant hawkers who came to the neighbourhood. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/paKqabMnI...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. LTC (Retd) Mejar Singh Gill relates how the Sikhs were classified as a martial race by the British and how this changed when Singapore became independent and then the British closed down their bases. He also talks about other aspects of the Sikh community – their other professions, festivals, the women (the Kaurs) – and the need to document its rich heritage...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Dilip Doshi talks more about Gujarati traders and their food and festivals. He acknowledges his debt to his Indonesian Chinese benefactor, Ong Wai Tjoei, as well as the dispersal of the Gujarati community when the government acquired Market Road for redevelopment in 1979. He discusses the Sindhis and Parsis who have also been successful in business, and the...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. LTC (Retd) Mejar Singh Gill talks to me about growing up in the Singapore Naval Base in the ‘50s and ‘60s where the Sikhs were prominent in the naval police and armed forces. He explains why he wrote the book, Singapore’s ‘Northern Sikhs'’ and their Gurdwaras, and the important role Sikh temples play in the spiritual and social life of the community. 00:...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Islanders Adam Giman and Fawzi Nasir recount their sadness at leaving St. John’s and Lazarus Islands in the 1970s and why they continue to return afterwards. Adam even got a job at PSA in order to be close to the sea. We also discuss conservation and the cultural heritage of the islands. Finally, I ask them about how they viewed Singapore from the vantage po...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Dilip Doshi recalls how his father Panachand came to Singapore and later established a trading firm at Market Street, the heart of the Gujarati community on the island. He talks about the Gujaratis’ cultural and religious life and their reputation as middlemen in the transregional trade across the Indian Ocean. 00:00 Introduction 02:04 My Father Panachand Do...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. After Texas Instruments, Quek Siow Kai joined the famed German company, Motoren- und Turbinen-Union. Going back to his machinery roots, he found his place there. He also talks about the rise of China into an economic giant and the loss of engineering expertise in Singapore. Finally, as one from the Chinese-educated group, he relates how many others went into...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Islanders Adam Giman and Fawzi Nasir talk about the two islands of their childhood in the ‘50s to ‘70s – Pulau Sekijang Bendera (St. John’s Island) and Pulau Sekijang Pelepah (Lazarus Island). They recall the staff quarters on St. John’s and kampong life on Lazarus. These were two different worlds, but shared a common relationship with the sea and the Riau a...

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jeffrey Eng remembers growing up in a shophouse, which was not only a house but a business premises. For a long time, they used the bucket system. The Singapore River close by was putrid before it was cleaned up and lightermen and coolies worked along the riverfront. I asked Jeffrey if he can envisage Eng Tiang Huat being at Smith Street, which is being revi...