Historyogi Post (96): Small notes, Fair histories & Presidential pasts
"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.
Hello there!
Did you know:
Author Neil Humphreys hates being called an expat?
NTUC Fairprice was originally named NTUC Welcome?
We almost had a Malayan Governor-General in Singapore?
Learn more about these fascinating aspects of Singapore history in my most recent podcast episodes. Read on for a quick download of ongoing museum refurbishments, queer history and the mind-boggling possibilities in counterfactuals. End off with a serving of This Month in History, a traitorous road and Lee Kuan Yew’s interesting words. Also, please follow my Historyogi Instagram account if you haven’t done so :)
Classroom
#29 – A Historyogi Episode From An Even Smaller Island (with Neil Humphreys)
In 1996, an Ang Moh arrived in Toa Payoh to start a new life. He loved Singapore’s idiosyncrasies so much that he decided to turn his humorous observations of everyday life here into a series of books. Today, we speak to Neil Humphreys, author of Notes From An Even Smaller Island (2001) and numerous other titles, about his take on 1990s Singapore, kiasu behaviour, colonial history and what he considers most unique about this little island.
#30 – Writing a fair history of NTUC FairPrice (with Sue-Ann Chia)
NTUC FairPrice is such a household icon in Singapore that it’s more famous than the union movement itself. But how did NTUC come to operate a supermarket chain in the first place? Today, we speak to Sue-Ann Chia, co-editor of a new book titled “The Price of Being Fair” which chronicles FairPrice’s 50 years in business. We discuss FairPrice’s beginnings during heavy inflation, the pivotal decisions and costly mistakes it made, the supermarket wars, and its crucial role in national supply chain resilience.
#31 – Before he was President: Yusof Ishak & the role of Yang di-Pertuan Negara (with Muhammad Suhail)
Before he was President of Singapore, Yusof Ishak was the Yang di-Pertuan Negara which directly translates to “He Who is Made Lord”. Singaporeans generally know little about this role, other than it was the predecessor of the current presidency and a symbol of self-government. But in fact, the British, Federation of Malaya, and Singapore leaders all actively struggled to define the Yang di-Pertuan Negara’s powers and symbolism so that the office would align with their political vision for the island. Today, we speak to Muhammad Suhail, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, who has authored a new book on the Yang di-Pertuan Negara. We discuss the intense debate over Singapore’s future constitutional arrangements in the 1950s, the British desire to keep effective control over Singapore, Malaya’s fears of communist influence, and Singapore’s demand for a public symbol of true autonomy.
Digging Deeper
An empty COVID-19 vaccine vial and photos of Singapore’s circuit breaker: Museums move to display recent history (CNA): As part of a revamp of their galleries, the National Museum of Singapore and the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) are seeking to co-create stories with the public and other agencies. For example, the National Museum intends to collect more contemporary history to let visitors relate to historical narratives better. The ACM is also putting together more contemporary themed displays to highlight lesser known communities such as Zoroastrianism and Judaism. Read More
Queer History Was Made in ’90s Clubs. These Fliers Captured It. (NY Times): In the new book “Getting In,” the journalist David Kennerley takes an electric visual stroll through New York’s 1990s gay club scene. Not with photos, exactly, but through fliers — more than 200 of them. Kennerley assembled the book from his collection of over 1,200 fliers that he acquired from several sources — promoters outside clubs, now-closed gay shops and bars, club mailing lists — all before social media. A self-described “bit of a hoarder,” Kennerley considers the book an act of queer music history preservation. Read more
The big idea: why we should study the history that never happened (Guardian): For historians, counterfactualism and the attention it pays to what did not happen is an odd, dark realm – often silly, sometimes dangerous, and almost always problematic. Yet this kind of fantasising is now all the rage, and threatens to overwhelm our perceptions of what really happened in the past. At the same time, the inferences that emerge from historical research are shaped not just by our knowledge, but the contexts within which we operate. Questioning such inferences through “what ifs” is different from unrestrained speculation. Read more
This Month in History
Singapore Press Holdings formed (Aug 4, 1984): On this day, Times Publishing, Straits Times Press, Singapore News and Publishing, and Singapore Newspaper Services merged to form Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). The stated intention was to cut costs from wasteful competition and duplication of resources. However, observers also note that the merger sharply reduced alternative voices and cemented growing state control of domestic news dissemination. In recent years, SPH has suffered falling revenues as consumers turn to online media platforms offering a greater diversity of views, including anti-establishment opinions rarely seen in SPH publications.
Association of South East Asian Nations founded (Aug 8, 1967): On this day, five Southeast Asian nations, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, came together to form ASEAN via the Bangkok Declaration. Its establishment came after Indonesia's policy of Konfrontasi against Malaysia ended in 1966 and ties were restored between both states. ASEAN remained staunchly anti-communist through the end of the Cold War, when it gradually expanded to include Indochina and Myanmar in the 1990s. Today, the bloc boasts one of the youngest and fastest growing societies but also faces increasing strain from great power rivalries and the inability to achieve consensus on pressing concerns.
Singapore applies to join the United Nations (Sep 3, 1965): On this day, Singapore officially applied to join the United Nations. It came less than a month after it had separated from Malaysia. Foreign Minister S Rajaratnam's application (above) to UN Secretary-General U Thant was sponsored by Malaysia, Britain, Jordan and the Ivory Coast. The membership resolution was unanimously passed by the UN General Assembly on Sep 20 and Singapore was admitted as the 117th UN member state the next day. Rajaratnam and Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye then embarked on a two month global tour to establish Singapore's status as an independent state and to form new cultural and trade links.
Down Memory Lane
Petain Road: This road is named after Henri-Philippe Petain, a decorated World War One French general who led France to victory against Germany in 1918. The British named several roads in Singapore after iconic allied figures from the war. Other examples include Clemenceau Avenue and Kitchener Road. However, when Hitler invaded France during the Second World War, Petain decided to collaborate with the Nazis. After the war, he was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment). Since then, there have been occasional calls for Petain Road to be renamed but so far the name continues to survive.
Quotable Quotes
“Repression, sir, is a habit that grows. I am told it is like making love — it is always easier the second time… All you have to do is to dissolve organisations and societies and banish or detain the key political workers in these societies. Then miraculously everything is tranquil and quiet - on the surface. Then an intimidated Press - and some sections of the Press here do not need intimidation because they have very friendly owners - the Press and the Government-controlled radio together can regularly sing your praises and slowly and steadily the people are made to forget the evil things that have already been done. Or if these things are referred to again, they are conveniently distorted, and distorted with impunity, because there will be no opposition to contradict it.”