Historyogi Post (95): Celebrating five years
"I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy." - Rabindranath Tagore.
Historyogi Post celebrates 5 years!
The Historyogi Post turns five this month! I founded this newsletter as the Red Dot Digest in 2018 to anchor my effort to promote a greater understanding of Singapore’s past. The newsletter has since been joined by the Historyogi Podcast and Historyogi TikTok in 2021. My deepest thanks to all readers and subscribers who have supported my ventures through the years. I also want to express my appreciation to the National Archives Singapore and National Library Board for their online resources which have been really useful.
In this 95th issue, I introduce three new podcast episodes that cover the history of Singapore’s early shopping malls, the story of legendary football coach Uncle Choo, and a beginner’s guide to Singapore’s Queer history.
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Classroom
#26 - The history & cultural impact of Singapore's early shopping malls (With Liew Kai Khiun)
The physical shopping mall is increasingly seen as out of date with the rise of online shopping. However, shopping malls were once considered major symbols of Singapore’s rapid modernisation. They became homes to youth culture, video arcades and even artistic protest. We speak to Assistant Professor Liew Kai Khiun from Hong Kong Metropolitan University about his edited book “The Singapore Mall Generation”.
His book is now available here.
#27 - The story of Choo Seng Quee, Singapore’s greatest football coach (With Reynold Pereira)
Looking at Singapore’s football scene today, it is hard to imagine that we once enjoyed a golden age in football. But we did enjoy that golden age and the man often credited for nurturing it is Choo Seng Quee. Also known as Uncle Choo, he coached the Singapore national team to victory at the iconic 1977 Malaysia Cup final. We speak to Reynold Pereira, author of a new book on Uncle Choo, about the legendary coach’s philosophy and how he shaped some of Singapore’s best football players.
You can purchase the book here.
#28 - The Beginner’s Guide to Singapore’s Queer history (With Roy Tan)
Long before Pink Dot and the repeal of Section 377A, Singapore had a colourful Queer history of recreation, repression, and resistance during the 20th century. Today, we speak to Roy Tan, a veteran activist and archivist who founded the Singapore LGBT Encyclopedia Wiki. We discuss the history of activism, AIDS, gay bars, entrapment operations, media portrayals and early advances in transgender rights. Please note that this episode contains mentions of suicide and historical terms that may be offensive now.
You can access the Singapore LGBT Encyclopedia Wiki here.
Digging Deeper
Semangat Yang Baru (National Museum): Marilah kita bersatu dengan semangat yang baru. (Come, let us unite in a new spirit.) The National Museum’s new exhibition asks the question, what does semangat yang baru – the new spirit – mean to us today? Explore the series of artefacts from the 1950s to 1970s, including Lee Kuan Yew’s famous red box, a spotlight from the old National Stadium and old election campaign memorabilia. Read more
Charting the history of Singapore Turf Club: From 1842 to the home stretch (Straits Times): The government announced on June 5 that The Singapore Turf Club will close its doors in October 2024, marking the end of horse racing here after more than 180 years. In this feature, the Straits Times charts the various milestones in the history of horse racing in Singapore. Founded in 1842, the club was initially located at Farrer Park (hence the location of Race Course Road) before shifting to Bukit Timah in 1933 and finally to Kranji in 1999. Read more
Revamped museum tells story of Singapore’s navy and maritime progress (Straits Times): The Singapore Navy Museum reopened in June after a year long revamp. New exhibits include artefacts from the RSS Panglima, the navy’s first ship, and items from the Challenger-class submarines which the navy operates. While formerly located within the restricted area of Changi Naval Base, the museum is now publicly accessible. Read more
This Month in History (April, May, June)
Singapore becomes de facto one-party state (Apr 13, 1968): On this day, the first general election was held in post-independence Singapore. 51 PAP candidates won their seats through walkovers as only 7 seats were contested by the Workers' Party and independent candidates. The PAP won all the contested seats as well, giving it complete control of the legislature for the first time. This election marked the end of the Barisan Sosialis (which had boycotted the election as a "farce") as a political force and ushered in 13 years of zero parliamentary opposition until JB Jeyaretnam's victory in the 1981 Anson by-election.
"Marxist Conspiracy" arrests in Singapore (May 21, 1987): On this day, authorities began two waves of arrests, and detained a total of 22 people under the Internal Security Act. The detainees were accused of conspiring to subvert Singapore's political system and set up a Marxist state. The group consisted of Catholic church workers, activists, lawyers and theatre practitioners. The alleged mastermind was Tan Wah Piow, a dissident student activist who had fled to exile in London in 1977. All detainees provided confessions before they were released, but nine were rearrested after recanting their confessions and accusing the authorities of torture. Many activists and academics maintain to this day that no such "Marxist conspiracy" existed.
Singapore issues its own currency for the first time (Jun 12, 1967): On this day, Singapore's Board of Commissioners of Currency issued the first true notes of Singapore currency, known as the Orchid series. Currencies previously used in Singapore included the Straits Dollar, and the Malayan and British Borneo Dollar. After Singapore's independence from Malaysia, both countries were unable to agree on continuing the common currency arrangement and therefore announced that they would issue separate currencies. The Orchid series of notes were freely interchangeable with Malaysian and Brunei currencies, and each note featured an Orchid motif (above) as well as illustrations of Singapore's multicultural identity and new industrialisation.
Down Memory Lane
Pearl’s Hill Road: This road is named after Captain James Pearl, commander of The Indiana vessel in which Stamford Raffles sailed to Singapore in 1819. Pearl obtained permission from the Temenggong to live on the hill. While it was initially named Mount Stamford, Pearl renamed the hill after himself when Raffles tried to make William Farquhar repossess the land. Pearl sold the area back to the government and left for Europe in 1828. The original Tan Tock Seng Hospital was located at the foot of Pearl’s Hill. A service reservoir was built in 1898, providing fresh water for Chinatown.
Peirce Reservoir: This reservoir is named after Robert Pierce (1863-1933), the Municipal Engineer who built it in 1910. (Pierce also designed the iconic Jubilee Clock Tower in Georgetown, Penang.) It was originally named the Kallang River Reservoir as it was constructed by building an embankment across the river. The Upper Peirce Reservoir was created upstream of the existing one in 1975, following which the older reservoir was renamed Lower Peirce Reservoir.
Quotable Quotes
“A birthday speech by tradition should contain nice and preferably truthful things about the person concerned. However my long association with the Prime Minister had taught me that he is not a man who takes kindly to what he regards as calculated flattery and since all that I would say had to be calculated, I was clearly
inviting trouble. So to prevent any possible misunderstanding let me assure the Prime Minister that everything I am going to say to his face tonight I am prepared to repeat behind his back as well.”Deputy Prime Minister S Rajaratnam at Lee Kuan Yew’s 60th birthday celebration