Chronicles of Old Singapore

Loh Kah Seng
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Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. I’m Dr Loh KS, a people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. Caveat: this is a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable and what is recalled here should not be taken as fact.

  1. Loh Kah Seng – Albert Winsemius, Adviser Extraordinaire Part 2 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    1D AGO

    Loh Kah Seng – Albert Winsemius, Adviser Extraordinaire Part 2 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. In Part 2, I assess the most intriguing part of Albert Winsemius’ work in Singapore, which never made it to his United Nations report. Privately to Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, he urged that political action must precede economic reforms if industrialisation were to succeed. First, the statue of Raffles must not be removed. Second, the government must eliminate the communists. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/hE4GDHUNWMM Part 2 | https://youtu.be/s65-wpq0dfo 00:00 Recap of Part 1 02:03 Industrialisation as a Political Issue 05:11 Winsemius & Lee Kuan Yew 06:59 Unions & Strikes 10:53 Workers in Family Businesses 12:58 Labour to be Patient 14:22 Foreign Employers the Best 15:02 The Leftists 15:48 The UN Report 17:40 Political Advice 1: Keep Raffles 18:56 2: Eliminate the Communists 19:41 The PAP Split 21:34 Operation Coldstore 22:59 Politics was Overriding 24:23 Other Experts in Singapore 27:22 The Most Consequential Expert Loh Kah Seng, ‘Albert Winsemius and the Transnational Origins of High Modernist Governance in Singapore’, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-1556-5_4 Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city. Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot. Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344 Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

    29 min
  2. Marc Sebastian Rerceretnam – Early Roman Catholics & Peranakans Part 2 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    6D AGO

    Marc Sebastian Rerceretnam – Early Roman Catholics & Peranakans Part 2 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Marc Sebastian Rerceretnam continues on the history of the Roman Catholic community in colonial Singapore. The Chinese converts rejected cultural norms such as wearing the pigtail while a mix of religious, cultural and economic factors led to the 1851 riots against the Catholics. But what continues to be relevant for Singapore today is how the Roman Catholics married people of different ethnicities, creating an early form of multiracialism during the colonial period. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/ssEaCj88qnk Part 2 | https://youtu.be/k0PDhV-Ivik 00:00 Philanthropy 09:50 Two Interracial Couples 15:47 Power Dynamics 18:24 Adoption 23:29 Cut off Our Pigtails! 25:29 1851 Anti-Catholic Riots 34:37 Bridging Racial Divides Marc Sebastian Rerceretnam, A History of Immigrant Roman Catholics and Converts in Early Singapore 1832-1945 (2012). https://www.amazon.sg/Immigrant-Catholics-Converts-Singapore-1832-1945/dp/0645236403 Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city. Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot. Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344 Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

    39 min
  3. Jamari Ahmari – The Boyanese, DSTS & Sembawang Shipyard Part 1 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    MAR 8

    Jamari Ahmari – The Boyanese, DSTS & Sembawang Shipyard Part 1 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jamari Ahmari talks about two halves of his roots. His parents were Boyanese. His father lived in a pondok (a community shelter for Boyanese migrants) at Upper Dickson Road before marrying his mother, who came to Singapore from Muar. He worked as a chauffeur for Soon Peng Yam and lived in the servants’ quarters at 19 Gilstead Road. Jamari attended Monks Hill Primary School and Dunearn Secondary Technical School, where he was taught by Singapore’s champion sprinter, C. Kunalan. Classes at DSTS deepened his early interest in making things so and he decided to learn a trade. He enrolled in the apprenticeship programme at the newly-established Sembawang Shipyard as the British forces vacated their bases and Singapore’s industrialisation took off. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/WUuy2BrXGps Part 2 | https://youtu.be/YO6X7r-EgGs 00:00 Introduction 00:54 My Father from Bawean 05:57 Boyanese Jobs 10:24 The Pondok at Upper Dickson Road 12:58 Soon Peng Yam at 19 Gilstead Road 20:49 Monks Hill Primary School 25:39 Dunearn Secondary Technical School 32:14 Learning a Trade 40:10 Apprentice at Sembawang Shipyard Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city. Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot. Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344 Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

    49 min
  4. Soh Weelian – A Boy from Kampong Potong Pasir Part 2 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    MAR 5

    Soh Weelian – A Boy from Kampong Potong Pasir Part 2 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Soh Weelian recalls the ponds, shops and hawker food of Kampong Potong Pasir, including having a delicious plate of char kway teow by a pond, the kindergarten he attended and a frightening flood in 1978. Interestingly, Weelian seems to be more nostalgic about the brief kampong life he experienced than his parents – a sign that documenting and conserving the past also matter to younger Singaporeans like us. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/Ds6fcU4k_BI Part 2 | https://youtu.be/mAfSUvwSj2c 00:00 More Photos of Potong Pasir 07:40 Houses & Shops 16:51 Potong Pasir Kindergarten 19:19 People were Friendly 23:04 The New Flats of Potong Pasir 28:03 The 1978 Flood 37:26 My Mother’s Working Life 44:28 Preserving Memories Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city. Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot. Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344 Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

    50 min
  5. Kan Seng Chut – Engineering Apprentice & Sailing the Seas Part 3 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    MAR 3

    Kan Seng Chut – Engineering Apprentice & Sailing the Seas Part 3 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Veteran marine engineer Kan Seng Chut reflects on how ex-apprentices like him from the Old Engineering Apprentices Association can inspire tomorrow’s young engineers to sail. He relates two stories where his personal experience helped him solve complicated engineering problems. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/0uBWysUostU Part 2 | https://youtu.be/dDXJqIZEsnU Part 3 | https://youtu.be/F877qyiKwWA 00:00 Persuading Engineering Students to Sail 09:02 The OEAA 12:37 The Engine That Wouldn’t Start 24:18 The Student Became the Instructor 34:13 Charity Work & Health Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city. Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot. Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344 Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

    41 min
  6. Loh Kah Seng – Albert Winsemius, Adviser Extraordinaire Part 1 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    MAR 1

    Loh Kah Seng – Albert Winsemius, Adviser Extraordinaire Part 1 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Albert Winsemius was Singapore’s most successful foreign expert, advising the government on economic policy for twenty years. I look at his first contribution to Singapore in 1960-61, explaining why he succeeded when so many experts failed. His main then was to convince the government that Singapore could pivot from entrepot trade to secondary industry against a backdrop of political, economic and social troubles. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/hE4GDHUNWMM Part 2 | https://youtu.be/s65-wpq0dfo 00:00 Introduction 01:44 More Than a Lane? 05:21 Failure of Foreign Experts 07:28 Questions of Strategy & Markets 14:17 Human & Political Dimensions 20:43 Winsemius was No. 11 25:24 Singapore’s Self-Belief 30:20 Private Vs. State Capital 33:43 Winsemius’ Economic Influence 34:35 The Common Market 35:15 Independence & Pullout Loh Kah Seng, ‘Albert Winsemius and the Transnational Origins of High Modernist Governance in Singapore’, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-1556-5_4 Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city. Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot. Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344 Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

    37 min
  7. Pamela Sandanasamy – My Father & the Naval Base Part 1 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    FEB 26

    Pamela Sandanasamy – My Father & the Naval Base Part 1 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Pamela Sandanasamy comes onto the podcast as our youngest guest yet and with a strong love for conserving the past. She takes us through numerous old photos of the Naval Base where her father Sandanasamy – an avid photographer – studied, lived and worked. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/IV5Z1_YmBK4 Part 2 | https://youtu.be/tInleB6qsl0 00:00 Introduction 05:33 Conserve Our Heritage 11:45 Grandparents in Singapore 19:20 Sandanasamy & Family in Photos 24:39 Work & Retraining? 31:08 Father’s Siblings 37:41 Schooldays 45:56 At Work 51:51 Love for Photography Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city. Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot. Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344 Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

    56 min
  8. 郭绍愷–学生与社会 | Quek Siow Kai – Students & Society | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    FEB 24

    郭绍愷–学生与社会 | Quek Siow Kai – Students & Society | Chronicles of Old Singapore

    欢迎来到旧新加坡记事录。郭绍愷讲述了新加坡工艺学院中文协会的成立过程，以及其成员在 60 年代和 70 年代对社会问题的浓厚兴趣。 Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Quek Siow Kai recounts how the Singapore Polytechnic Chinese Language Society was set up and how its members were keenly interested in social issues in the 1960s and 1970s. 第一集 Part 1 | https://youtu.be/R3bFzaTkeX0 第二集 Part 2 | https://youtu.be/eUA9zPBVqH8 00:00 互相帮助英语 Helping One Another with English 04:44 社团注册 Registering the Society 09:17 杜进才 Toh Chin Chye 11:31 学生与新加坡的工业化 Students & Singapore’s Industrialisation 15:30 中文协会角色的演变 Evolving Role of CLS 18:50 学生的社会责任 Students’ Social Responsibility Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. This is Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian, and I speak to people on their memories of Singapore before it became a global city. Do like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot. Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have any of these stories: • Old places or kampongs. • Communities – their way of life & culture. • Childhood & schools. • Work or business. YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344 Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

    23 min
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About

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. I’m Dr Loh KS, a people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. Caveat: this is a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable and what is recalled here should not be taken as fact.

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