Return to Blogging

Yesterday, I was invited to give a talk to a group of Secondary 1 students at NJC (National Junior College), my alma mater. They were attending a seminar on Place-Writing and learning how to write essays and poems about places they remember. Although I know nothing about writing poetry, that topic was covered by two professors who came after me. My task was simply to share my experience of writing about the places that I remember.

And so I shared with the children my experience in blogging about the Singapore that I grew up in. Due to time constraint, I focused mainly on the schools I went to (click on the label “schools” in the column on the right of this page); especially NJC, seeing that I was in the pioneer batch in 1969. Gave them some details of the old campus and shared about how we had to trudge across a big field, which is today’s Nanyang Girls School, and climb 103 steps to go for lunch at the Dunearn Secondary Technical School during the first few months when our own canteen was not ready. The irony is that the ground that DSTS stood on was the very same place that today’s NJC occupy.

1981 Map of NJC and vicinity

I also shared my fondest memories of my two years in NJC. Showed them some photos of our Adventure Camp in Pulau Tekong in April 1969. Not surprisingly, the photo which most intrigued them was this one of me standing in front of a tobacco farm.

I should apologize for neglecting this blog - which had given me my much satisfaction and even a bit of fame – for so long. I haven’t blogged regularly since I discovered Facebook in 2014. Anyway, I have decided that I would try to resume my blogging here, even if it’s on a less regular basis. So do keep tuned.

Never too old to blog

Did you see the article in the Straits Times today, where I was featured together with my fellow senior nostalgia bloggers, Philip Chew, James Seah and Victor Yue? There’s a photo on page A4 of me and James. And do you know where this photo was taken, what’s that thing that I am holding in my hand?

Answer. I was holding my primary school report book. The school, as regular readers of my blog, as well as those who have read my book, would know, was the Braddell Rise School. The reporter wanted to take a photo of James and me as a location that could be linked to our fondest memories of the old Singapore. For James, it would be Bukit Ho Swee; whereas, for me, it was my kampong at Lorong Kinchir off Lorong Chuan. Unfortunately, both these places no long exist, and so I suggested we met at Mount Alvernia Hospital and took our photo at the site of the former Braddell Rise School. I told her that I had studied in BRS from 1960 to 1963, and had literally seen the hospital next door sprout from the ground. The BRS buildings are slated for demolition soon to give way for a new wing of the Assisi Hospice. Fortunately, the demolition works had not started yet and so we could sneak in for a photo-shoot.

I requested that the report make mention of my book Good Morning Yesterday ….. for obvious reasons. Many people know me to be a blogger, but many do not know that I am also an author; and even fewer people know where to purchase it. I myself am not sure, since it has been two years since the book was released, and many bookstores no longer carry it; but I am quite sure that the Kinokuniya branch Orchard Road does – at least that was what my distributor says.

Another place where you can purchase my book, at least for this weekend, is at the 50Plus Expo organized by the Council for Third Age (C3A). The expo will be held from 28^th to 30^th March at the Suntec City Hall 401-404. For the 3^rd time in a row, I have been invited to speak at the Forum, and so has my friend James Seah. My book will be on sale at the Booth C27 (Spring Publishing Pte Ltd). If you would like to attend the 50Plus Expo, please register at the C3A website.

 So here again are the details.

Finally I met someone who knows the Nine Bridges

Long time readers of this blog and those who have read my book will know that I grew up in a kampong near the present CTE called Lorong Kinchir. Lorong Kinchir only got its name after Lorong Chuan was completed in 1963, joining Braddell Road to Serangoon Gardens. Before that it was a dirt track which ran from Braddell Road to Upper Thomson Road and did not have an official name – at least not that the kampong folks knew of. At that time our address was 288 Ang Mo Kio. The local folks called it Chui Arm Lor in Hokkien, or Water Pipes Road. Another name was Kau Tiao Kio or Nine Bridges. This was because the nearby Kallang River and its tributaries crossed our road nine times from Braddell Road to Upper Thomson Road.

Over the years, I have yet to meet anyone outside of our kampong who knew this name, except perhaps, Freddy Neo. But two days ago, I finally met a 79-year-old gentleman who did. He grew up in a kampong just like ours in neighbouring  Yio Chu Kang. He was being interviewed by a group of Sec 4 students from Nanyang Girls’ School, and I was helping out as an interpreter in case the girls could not understand Chinese dialects. This event was held at the Lions Befrienders Senior Activity Centre @ Blk 150 Mei Ling Street. It was organised by the Singapore Memory Project.

It was a meaningful session. Both the seniors and the young ladies enjoyed themselves. The girls certainly learnt a lot about the Singapore of the past; something they might not be able to learn from the textbooks. I think this initiative to involve school children in interviewing senior citizens to gather memories for the SMP is an excellent idea. It kills several birds with one stone. Both young and old benefited from the session and SMP harvested many memories at one go.

My Queenstown Symposium (26 May 2013)

Dear friends,

I will be participating in the My Queenstown Symposium on Sunday, 26 May, 2.00pm, at the Queenstown Community Centre. I will be making a short presentation of my memories of Queenstown. As you should be aware, Singapore’s first HDB estate has been undergoing drastic transformation these past few years. Many of the iconic places in this lovely little town have disappeared. Although, I have never lived in Queenstown, I have stayed near to it for most of my adult years; and hence have many happy memories of it.

Other speakers at this even include my friends, Lai Chee Kien and Yu-Mei Balasingamchow. For more details (you have to register), please visit their Facebook page here.

For those who have yet to purchase a copy of my book, I have good news. The organisors have kindly given me permission to sell my book at this event. You will be able to get it for only $10 instead of the usual retail price of $18.65. So I look forward to seeing you there. 

Recognize these places?

Join me for a trip down memory lane

Dear friends,

I have been invited to present a talk-cum-slide show tomorrow evening at the Baby Boomers (Facebook Group) Social cum Business Nite gathering.

Venue:          Pearl Centre Office #04-13

Date/Time:  Friday, 26/4/2013, 7.30pm

I will be speaking about Growing Up in Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s. Will be covering more or less the contents that I covered during my presentation last month at the 50PlusExpo organized by the Council for Third Age – with lots more photos and interaction of course; as that talk was very rushed.

For more information, please visit BBS Facebook page here and indicate if you are attending so as to facilitate logistical/refreshments arrangements. You can purchase my book Good Morning Yesterday at a special special price.

See you there.

50plus EXPO 2013 - Live Well, Celebrate Life!

Friends,

I will be giving a talk and slide show this afternoon at the 50plus EXPO 2013 at Singapore Expo, Hall 6. Do come and join me for a trip down memory lane.

Date – Friday, 22^nd March 2013

Time – 4pm

Topic – Blogging on Growing up in Singapore in the 1950s & 1960s

Forum Room – A

Venue – Singapore Expo, Hall 6

This expo will run from today to Sunday. Details here.

See You.

 

Let’s Go Baby, Let’s Go To Jardine Steps (By Peter Chan)

Ask yourself this question; “Beside the F1 Singapore GP, what else has the Government tried to do marketing Singapore to the world?”

I could not think of a good answer until I took some clues from a stack of old photographs about Jardine Steps, a name much better known to many British military servicemen and international tourists from  ocean-liners that berthed here.  Twenty years ago, the stretch from Keppel Road to Teluk Blangah Road was very unsightly; being a container port, there were many giant cranes and container trucks.  Going further back in time, the sight was boring because the waterfront was dotted with warehouses, docks and ship-repairing activities.

 Photo 1: Jardine Steps (c 1980)

Teluk Blangah Road only assumed a more commercial outlook after the World Trade Center (WTC) was built by the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA). The WTC was modeled after its American namesake in New York.  WTC had a special members club at one corner of the building on the top floor.  It was a privilege to be an invited guest. 

When Singapore hosted big Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) events, there were none available like what we have today at Marina Sands, SUNTEC City or at the Singapore Expo.  The only place with “column-free” space was at Jardine Step where original warehouses (then called exhibition halls) were refurbished and additional ones built.  For some of us we might remember the popular international orchid shows were held at Gay World Stadium, trade fairs at Kallang Park and the Great World Amusement Park.

Photo 2: Publicity materials for Miss Universe Pageant (c 1987)

In 1987, Singapore hosted the world-renowned Miss Universe Pageant.  The event was held at one of the “exhibition halls”.  More memories kept flowing once you can recall the Miss Universe Pageant.  It was an international beauty show televised “live” on national television and beamed to the rest of the world.  Whilst Singapore saw it “live” during daylight hours, the rest of the world saw Singapore in the night.   James Tann vividly recalled it was held at Exhibition Hall 3 because he was one of the ushers.  Wanting to have a close-up look at the beauties, I took leave from the office but for those who had to work, many had to turn to the company’s audio-video room or the canteens. 

Photo 3: The main stage of the Miss Universe Pageant (1987)

I felt somewhat awkward when I sensed a “script” to hard-sell Singapore.  Just listen to the slogan “Surprising Singapore” or watch the multi-racial cultural dance show-pieces.  Then there was the giant sphinx-like lion at center stage to remind us of our mythical origins.  How about the time when the Miss Singapore, Marion Teo, was asked by the American MC what she would tell the world about Singapore?  

The event proper began with sixty-eight beauties dressed in national costumes descending the two staircases singing the theme song from the pop group Wang Chung, "Let's go, baby, let's go, baby...come on!!...a party all over the world!!"  Each time you tuned into the English radio station, that song was surely the one you often hear.  When you drive, you tap your feet or your hands on the steering wheel. 

The Parade of Nations follows with quite a few memorable costumes but already bookies were placing bets that one of the Latinos from Miss Venezuela, Miss Colombia, Miss Chile, Miss Paraguay or Miss Puerto Rico  could be crowned as the winner.  Asia’s best bet was Ms. Philippines.  

How did the bookies and the guys come to the conclusion? 

Are you aware that the demographics of the Miss Universe Pageant winners follow certain practices?  Some years the winner emerges from Asia, most times from the Americas.  Also some years the trend is for fair-complexion and other times for chocos.

We got to see the pre-recorded swim suite parades but felt the Asian beauties “lost” because of the lack of stage presence – physical height and assets.  No one doubted Miss U.S.A. had a pair of solid gold which in itself was hard to beat.  When Miss Singapore got to the semi-finals, we were not certain Singapore stood a chance.  Reviewing the interview video clip, you can make your own conclusions.

Photo 4: Vivocity today

After a couple of more years of intensive use as a MICE site for computers and heavy machinery, the exhibition halls were eventually torn down and rebuilt.  So now you have it, the story of one great event at Jardine Step before it became Vivocity.

Official Launch of the C3A Portal

Earlier this month, I attended the official launch of the Council for Third Age web portal and their new logo. It was held at the National Library Building at Victoria Street. After the official speeches by the guest-of-honour, Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Heng Chee How, and the Chairman of C3A, Mr Gerald Ee, and the explanation-cum-demonstration of the features of the new portal by Mr Paul Hidalgo, Senior Manager (Communications), myself and another guest from the National Library spoke briefly.

While Ms Valerie Siew, Assistant Direct, Public Library Services, spoke about the collaboration between the National Library and the C3A, I basically shared my views of the new portal and my experience in nostalgia/heritage blogging. I found this new portal very senior-friendly and encouraged the seniors present to share their memories there – which ultimately will also be deposited at the Singapore Memory Project, I suppose. I liked the very bright and cheerful appearance of the C3A site. The feature I liked most was the ability to increase the size of fonts with just 1 click. In fact, all the menus and buttons can be open with a single click. Check it out for yourselves here.

I met some old friends and made new ones at this event. Here are some photos.

This is the new logo of the Council for Third Age.

The two VIPs launching the new portal officially.

Me giving my presentation.

Me with Paul Hidalgo.

Met my good friend Dick Yip and we decided that the C3A Portal needed a ‘relaunch’ by 2 very thick-skinned FOYers (Friends of Yesterday.sg).

I chatted with the minister after the launch, and the first question he asked me was whether or not I knew James Seah. I told him that James was a fellow Foyer and Memory Ambassador of SMP. Those who have read my book, Good Morning Yesterday, would also know that he contributed three stories. Too bad he was not able to attend the event.

News reportof the event

SG Bloggers Trip to Macau - Day 1

During my recent 4D/3N trip to Macau, I took a few hundred photos with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 camera kindly provided (on loan) by our sponsors. My favourite photo is this one of a night scene of the Ponte De Sai Van or Sai Van Bridge, one of 3 bridges linking Macau to Taipa Island. It was taken from the waterfront at the outdoor plaza of the famous Macau Tower. We were there to enjoy the beautiful fireworks display by teams from Korea and Thailand, two of the 10 countries taking part in the 24th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest. This was one of the highlights of our itinerary.

Although we have our own fireworks display here, in Singapore, every year during the National Day celebrations, I have never seen one live, for the simple reason that I did not want to jostle with the crowds. However, on this occasion, our delegation was accorded VIP treatment by the organisers. We were given "the best seats in the house" in a fenced off area just next to the judges' table. Even the Chief Operating Officer of Macau Tower, Mr Rutger Verschuren, came out to bid us a special welcome. Here are two photos of the Macau Tower by night. The 2nd photo shows a courageous guy who had just bungy-jumped from the top of the tower. 

Earlier, our team was given a tour of this tower and hosted to a sumptuous buffet dinner at the 360° Cafe at the top of the Tower. We were briefed on the array of activities visitors could enjoy such as the Bungy-jumping, Skywalk X and Mast Climb. We also enjoyed the panoramic view from the observation deck. What a glorious experience it was to enjoy dinner and savour the fantastic view of the surrounding from 223 metres above the ground.

Finally, here are some photos that I took of the grand finale of our first day at Macau; the fantastic fireworks display choreographed to beautiful music. I should apologize because my poor photographic skill did not do justice to the Panasonic GF5.

For more stories by my fellow bloggers; check out the Surprising Moments in Macau website.

You can view a video clip of the our tour of the Macau Tower and Fireworks display here.

Singapore Childhood: Our Stories Then and Now - Sharing Session

Recently, the Singapore Children’s Society published a book titled, Singapore Childhood: Our Stories Then and Now. This book traces the political, economic and social changes that have taken place over the past six decades and how they have transformed the childhood of children in Singapore. It comes in both an English and a Chinese version. The author of the English version is Ms Jaime Koh. 

I attended the launch of the book on 11 August at the National Library Building in Victoria Street.

This coming Saturday, I will participate in a Sharing Session to help to promote this book. Details are as follows:

Date/Time:   Saturday, 25 August, 11am to 1pm

Venure:   Woodlands Regional Library Programme Zone (Level 1), 900 South Woodlands Drive, Woodlands Civic Centre #01-03

Together with two other panellists, Mrs Elizabeth Peeris, a retired nurse, and Ms Zhang Tingjun, Director & Co-Founder of The Chain Reaction Project, we will be sharing sections of the book and relating them to our own experience of our childhood. The moderator is Channel News Asia’s Mr Steven Chia.

Do hope that you can attend this event which is open to the public. In the afternoon, there will be a similar session in Mandarin for the Chinese version of this book.

The Day It Rained On Our Parade

PART ONE – BY PETER CHAN

Since 1966 I have been following the “live telecast” of National Day Parades (NDPs) on August 9 in the clean comfort of my living room.  It was no different in 1968 and as usual my late father would be in the row of VIP Guests closest to City Hall. 

For most NDPs, we would have good weather with a strong breeze and sunny skies.  However NDP 1968 was an exception because it was marred by bad weather; the heaviest downpour in what would have been otherwise a happy third anniversary following separation from Malaysia.  Spectators, guests and participants were drenched in the rain.  My father came home with his formal suite drenched and his Leica camera rendered useless.

Photo 1: Sunny skies at the second NDP on the Padang (c 1967)

The argument that the rain during NDP 1968 united Singapore as one appears to be over-blown in my opinion.  If you were to believe in that, then you miss out on other more compelling reasons.

When the rain continued to drag on, the Parade could have been delayed into the late evening or worse called off and re-scheduled to another date.  Imagine the disarray when participants run to seek for shelter from the rain.  If that had happened, it would have been a loss of national pride, especially when we left Malaysia under acrimonious circumstances.  For those older, you would recall our then military capabilities and the shocking British announcement in January 1968 of an early military withdrawal from Singapore, how could one have the confidence that this motley crowd of people would be able to defend Singapore?

What exactly do I mean by that?

On parade, our military contingents were drawn from the two regular military Singapore Infantry Regiment (SIR) battalions, the voluntary People’s Defence Force (PDF) and the newly trained National Service (NS) conscripts.  Our citizens-army was not very well equipped – officers carried pistols and the others carried Enfield 7.62mm SLRs or carried no weapons.  When it came to military hardware we had Land Rover jeeps pulling WWII 25 pounders and those “handed-me-down from the British” Bedford trucks.

Things really looked bad but when they do, Singapore always looked on the bright side of life. 

We showed the world we had great resilience against hardships and surprises; the rain was the least of our setbacks.  It was the national will to survive. The Parade did not stop.

Was our loyalty only confined to NDP 1968?

Photo 2: Military contingent marching past City Hall (c 1968).  Source: MICA

Photo 3: One of the entertainment items on the Padang (c 1968).  Source: MICA

For us still in school, we had our own special ways to prove our loyalty to this country.  Our school organized the National Defense Fund (NDF) Carnival in April 1968.  Coming together as one school and one nation, it was our way for us to show our patriotism.

Photo 4: Bad news: The first British military asset to be handed over to Singapore - Sembawang Naval Base (Dec 1968)

Being students meant the focus should have been on books because this was the one facet of a complete education, besides school extra-curricular activities.  Then we learnt something new called NS which was introduced in mid-1967.  Whilst many of my seniors in school were drafted into the Special Constabulary or the Vigilante Corp after lessons were over, we answered the national call to raise funds to finance weapons purchase and training for our new citizen-army.  Fund raising projects for charitable and social organizations by our school usually yielded a few thousand dollars but never of a magnitude for the NDF.  It was the largest donation to the NDF by any Singapore school, even matching that of the larger commercial firms and labour unions.

Photo 5: The test of loyalty: National Defence Fund Carnival held at Bras Basah Road (April 1968)

The NDF was the government’s S$10 million target set-up to raise civic and national consciousness among the people, especially the youths when it came to national conscription - a less than popular subject then.  The public, schools, guilds, companies, cultural societies and labour unions were the main contributors.  There were examples of humble professions like the trishaw riders and dance hostess who donated their earnings to the NDF.  NDF made loyal Singaporeans feel the need to pull society together to be one people with a common purpose.

Coming to this year’s NDP 2012, it is so much better.  The spirit of national patriotism was not lost on that white or blue dress code, but in red and white, like the colours of our national flag.  That’s why I call this country home.

PART TWO – BY LAM CHUN SEE

Like Peter, I too have been invited by Mica – the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts – to blog about this special day in our history. But unfortunately, I don’t recall much about this event; and hence, I think I will just ride piggy-back on Peter’s story. 

1968, by the way was a significant year for me. I was sixteen and in Secondary 4, which meant of course that I would be sitting for that all-important Senior Cambridge Exam (O-levels to the younger generation). It was also the year they announced the setting up of Singapore’s first junior college, the National Junior College, and I had decided to apply for admission to the pioneer batch in 1969.

Coming back to the parade, of course I remember watching the live telecast of NDP 1968 on television. I believe practically every Singaporean who had access to a TV set watched the NDP in those days, when television was still a novelty to newly-independent Singapore, and when very few programmes were ‘live’. I was quite fascinated by the military bands, the soldiers doing the route march and the display of military hardware. I guess it was because I knew that, before long, I would be drafted into the army for my National Service. Yes, in 1968, compulsory national service had just been introduced in Singapore, and the most unpopular man in Singapore – at least as far as the male teenagers were concerned - was Dr Goh Keng Swee, our Minister for Defence.  I also remember the rains and the subsequent news that many school children fell sick and did not go to school.

Until recently, I have watched every single NDP on TV, except for the three occasions when I participated in the parade. The first time was probably in 1967 when I took part in the mass drill as part of the contingent from ACS (Anglo Chinese School) – I think it was together with other schools. Details are rather hazy, I am afraid. I remember going for the practice sessions in Jalan Besar Stadium. The second time was when I was part of the University of Singapore’s contingent. The third time was when I was doing my national service. I did not actually participate in the parade, but was part of the army team helping out in traffic control. At that time they had adopted a decentralized format, and I was assigned to Mei Ling Street in Queenstown. (Photo below, from the National Archives' Picas collection, shows the NDP at Queenstown Sports Complex).

I am shy to admit that nowadays I seem to have lost interest in the NDP. Not sure why. Must be age. I find today’s format too 'showy' .... too 'Hollywood', and so I seldom sit through the entire show. Anyway, it is apparent that the young people enjoy it, and that's what matters most; don't you agree?  


PART ONE – MICA's CAMPAIGN

MICA, the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts has launched a campaign to (in its own words) “tell the story of a defining moment in Singapore’s history – where Singaporeans at the 1968 National Day Parade braved the heavy rain and stood as one”. Among the highlights:

A Facebook App will launched on Mica’s Mysingapore.sg  Facebook page @ www.ndp68.sg on 27 Aug. This App will feature,

1) An interactive comic-book style interpretation of the “iconic day”,

2) Story-telling from the point of view of 7 characters, and,

3) Exclusive pictures from the actual 1968 NDP.

They have also produced a four-part drama series which will be shown every Saturday at 10.30 pm on Channel 8 (4-25 Aug) as well as a documentary which will air on Channel 8 and Channel News Asia on the 2^nd and 28^th of September respectively.

Iremember goes to Toa Payoh

Last night, I was at the Iremember goes to Toa Payoh event organized by the Singapore Memory Project team. They had kindly permitted me to display my new book, Good Morning Yesterday, at the venue. Visitors to the carnival were encouraged to share their memories of Toa Payoh via a variety of means.

Actually, I have lots of memories of Toa Payoh to share with them. I lived in a kampong in nearby Lorong Chuan up to 1974. Travelling along Braddell Road almost daily, I had literally seen Toa Payoh take shape before my eyes. Also, I had worked in the Philips Audio Factory in Lorong 1, Toa Payoh for 5 years up to 1984; and hence had many memories of Toa Payoh during that period; especially the eating places. But because I had to man my ‘station’ – since my book distributors were not able to attend – I did not have a chance to do it last night. But never mind; I will do it later at the SM Portal. In any case, I prefer to write my posts in an systematic manner. But I did share some memories verbally in front of the video camera because most of the visitors were too shy to do so.


Below are a couple of photos taken at last night’s event. The first photo is taken with my fellow nostalgia bloggers and Memory Corp members, James Seah and Jerome Lim. You can see lots of old photos of Singapore at James’ blog, Blog to Express, and Jerome’s Facebook page, On a Little Street in Singapore.

The second photo is taken with the Guest-of-Honour, Minister for Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen. I presented him with a copy of my book. In this photo, I was directing his attention to page 168 of my book which was about National Junior College. I remember seeing his name in the college’s Hall of Fame. He was probably a few years my junior in NJC. (I just learnt from Widipedia that he was also from ACS).

Congratulations to the Singapore Memory Project team for an excellent programme. They must have worked really hard to organize such an event. For those who missed it, I heard from reliable sources that the next one will probably be in Tampines or Jurong.

50plus Expo

Dear friends. I will be giving a talk at the above event tomorrow. Details as follows:


Date – Saturday 24th March 2012
Time – 5pm
Topic – C3A Portal and Your Memories
Venue – Forum Room – A, Singapore Expo, Hall 7

For more details, visit the Council for Third Age website. See you there.

I have also contribute an article at the C3A website about the Cross-Country track @ MacRitchie. You can read my article here.

Prime Minister’s Visit

In the Straits Times today, there is a section devoted to our former prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew – High 5 for LKY: Five essays on former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s places in history.

One of the essays was about community centres. It reminded me of his visit to our kampong, Lorong Kinchir in 1962. As I was only ten years old then, I cannot recall much other than the usual fanfare. But I do know that my father was involved in the welcome party. My father, as one of the few residents who could speak English, probably played a big role in liaising with the authorities. Furthermore, he, together with our village chief, a Mr Low Thiam Aik represented our kampong in the Serangoon Gardens CCC (citizens’ consultative committee).

I was very happy to be reconnected with one of Mr Low’s grandchildren, Eng Leong, who had read this blog. Just two days ago, I met up with him and we spent almost an hour at a Yishun coffee shop trying to recall the people and places of our kampong. He shared some of his family photos and gave me a spare copy of this classic which I had been searching high and low for. It was taken at our kampong’s community centre during the prime minister's visit.

Besides my father who is seated on the extreme right, my Seventh Uncle who is seated on the extreme left and Mr Low who is on PM Lee’s left, I could not identify any other faces even though many of them looked familiar. You would notice that besides PM Lee, there is one other person not wearing a ribbon on his chest. He is seated second from the right. Hence, he is likely to be a visitor with PM Lee’s entourage and not from our village.

Question. Who is this gentleman?

Related post: Remembering September 11th

Great Moments at City Hall by Peter Chan

How many great events took place here? The easiest to know are our National Day Parades (NDPs) which are always celebrated with much pomp. Except for a time when there were the decentralised NDPs or a switch to the National Stadium, NDPs would always be at City Hall. In recent times, the Singapore F1 night GP ran passed City Hall as the backdrop.

Photo 1: City Hall on race day.

Wait! Let’s rewind the clock and see what else we could have over-looked. A memorable event for me was in 1962 when we were taught by teachers to sing a special jingle because Singapore was going to be a part of Malaysia, together with the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and British North Borneo. This jingle was broadcast on the air-wave and became an instant hit with listeners. To celebrate the occasion Malam Malaysia was held at City Hall and there were thousands of people on the Padang. That night, we heard for the first time Malaysia Forever. People of my generation would surely know these catchy lyrics.

Photo 2: This jingle was sold as a 45 rpm record although Radio Singapura (predecessor of Mediacorp) sold the long playing record version comprising 6 Malay and 6 English songs about Malaysia. The choir was from Marymount School.

Chorus:

Let’s get together, Sing a happy song, Malaysia forever, Ten million strong.

Land of the free, Marching as one. Ready to share in every way, So let’s get it done!

We’re all in the same boat, Steady as you go. Let’s pull together, Everybody row – row, row, row.

It’s right, It’s the answer ,There’s no other way, To be good neighbours, Everyday Malaysia Forever.

Evermore more, United for liberty, Land of the happy people, Just you wait and see.

We’re ready for merger, Let’s open the door, To Malaysia forever, Ever more!

Photo 3: Public entertainment on City Hall Steps. City Hall was transformed into a stage and the spectators sat or stood on the Padang.

Just for December 1959 alone, City Hall achieved a number of milestones. It was the site for the inauguration for the first local-born Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State) - the first Yang di-Pertuan Negara was a British. There was the new Singapore flag and the new Coat of Arms. That night, Singapore heard a strong 300 school choir sing our Majullah Singapura when we would have traditionally sang God Save the Queen. I think that was the first time we heard loud shouts of Merdeka throughout the Padang.

To achieve a new spirit of co-operation and national will in a post-colonial Singapore, the new Ministry of Culture was created; bringing together the departments which had hitherto been under different authorities in a Colonial Singapore. The ministry launched the Aneka Ragam Ra’ayat (People’s Outdoor Concert series) and the one at the City Hall certainly dwarfed everything else.

Photo 4: Student activists demanding education reforms

In later years, there was even a student-led disturbance at City Hall. Are you familiar with the history of Ngee Ann Polytechnic? This Poly could well have been the third university like Nantah and University of Singapore, if not for the Thong Saw Park Report. In November 1966, Ngee Ann College students clashed with the police and several people were hurt or arrested. What else can you remember?