1. Singapore had a national campaign in the late 1960s to encourage people to switch from rice to wheat. The purpose was to save hard currency because the cost of rice imports was rising. So, Singaporeans were encouraged to eat more bread, roti, youtiao, buns, etc.
https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-19/issue-3/oct-dec-2023/eat-more-wheat-campaign/
2. Before NS became mandatory, Singapore tried to build a reserve force, the People’s Defence Force, that was similar to the British Territorial Army.
To encourage volunteers to sign up, the younger ministers and many MPs volunteered for officer training which was conducted on the weekends. Even Othman Wok, who was then 42 years old and the minister for social welfare, gamely signed up for it. The ministers for labor and education (Jek Yeun Thong and Ong Pang Boon) also signed up to get tekaned.
Goh Keng Swee, who was too old and had no time to do this crap, promoted himself to colonel.
https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=c010bd60-282c-4703-8e7f-3aeaa6e60cfe
Goh Keng Swee was in the Singapore Volunteer Corps, the colonial-era forerunner of the PDF and SAF. This made him one of the very few members of the first-generation leadership (maybe the only one) with a military background.
We also do not have a constitutional right to property. One can argue whether this is good or no good - with the gahmen of the day deciding against such a right to facilitate land acquisition and redevelopment into modern day SG
Actually our highest court has found that the right to vote is part of our Constitution, either as a matter of construing it as a whole or as a matter of necessary implication. Daniel De Costa Augustin v Attorney-General [2020] SGCA 60.
1. Young Chinese girls were left at the doorstep at Chijmes for protection during World War 2. The nunnery there would shelter them.
2. KK hospital stands for Kandang Kerbau Hospital. It means "bull pen" hospital.
3. Dhoby Gaut is named what it is because there used to be a river there (Sungei Brass Bassa) and Dhobis (washermen) would wash clothes at the Ghaut (riverbank).
Someone already mentioned Disneyland, but here are a few more extras related to that:
1. It was meant to take the entirety of the Seletar area, including the reservoir. This would allow the castle to be built be the waters, similar to the Disney fanfare we see before every Disney show.
2. The Disney MRT line would come from in between Khatib and Yio Chu Kang, which is why for the longest time it was such a long journey.
3. The deal fell through because Disney wanted to OWN the land, and the Singapore government doesn’t sell land but instead leases it. This was a non-negotiable and so Disney pulled out.
The 3rd point is ironic because Disney wound up building a theme park in HK in the 90s with a 50 + 50 year land lease (in HK, the only land that is freehold is a cathedral).
Our still-existing Chinese Newspapers, the Lianhe Zaobao and Shin Min Daily News, have interesting histories.
The Lianhe Zaobao was formed from a 1983 merger of two older newspapers, the Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh (these two newspapers still exist independently in Malaysia).
The Sin Chew Jit Poh's masthead was written by Chiang Kai-shek.
The Shin Min Daily News was founded by Louis Cha (Jin Yong) who wrote and published a few chapters of his wuxia novel (The Smiling, Proud Wanderer; 笑傲江湖) first in the newspaper, even before the rest of the Chinese world got to read it.
It was albeit only for a few months in 1967 when the HK Riots grew violent against the colonial rule (in HK) and the anti-communist stance of Louis Cha was making him a prime target, but it was also a sign that Singapore back then was still quite supportive of Chinese culture, which was sustained by the existence of Chinese education and Nantah.
In the 1930s to 1960s, Hong Kong and Singapore (as part of the larger Nanyang Chinese culture) were probably the closest cities in terms of development and histories and culture, and the rich Chinese of HK and SG shuttled between the two cities. Some examples include the Shaw Brothers (Shaw Runme and Run Run Shaw), Aw Brothers (Aw Boon Haw, Aw Boon Par), Eu Tong Sen, Loke Wan Tho, etc.
One interesting tidbit about the (rather tiny) Shanghainese population in Singapore that came before the 1960s is that a lot of them came to SG via HK.
I remember there is this channel 8 show with plot of guy supposed to have dance with girl, but end up being late because he forget of the timezone change and the girl told him about the time in the new time zone.
Our "natural" timezone should be about UTC+7 so that we have sunrise at 6am, solar noon at 12nn and sunset at 6pm.
One of the reasons why kids always struggle to wake up in the dark to get ready for school. They should be waking with the sunrise.
This brought Singapore timezone same as Hong Kong’s. Goal was to open stock market at the same time. But later on as China became even more important, this became very convenient for trade with China.
No we did not change our time zone because of Hong Kong.
We changed back our time zone after WW2 in 1945 to be the same as Malaysia's because of business & travel schedules. Then when Malaysia decided to change again in 1982 to synchronise the clocks between east & west Malaysia, we also followed again.
this is totally random but this was a plot a famous episode on a old live action nickelodeon show - The adventures of pete and pete about daylight savings.
WW2 tidbits.Japan was actually not confident that they could take SIngapore before they ran out of resources and was ready to deploy 2 of their Kongou class battlecruisers to aid the invasion. Infact, they were running out of supplies, and had the british not surrender, the japanes invasion would had fizzled as they were dagerous low on supplies.
The first allied force to enter SIngapore post Japanese invasion was a De Havilland Mosquito, whic accidentally landed in singapore after the announcement of the surrrender of japanese forces. Apparently the plane was refueled and left Singapore.
Had japan not surrendered earlier, the British had actual Plans to invade and take back Singapore.
If I'm not wrong, the japanese also left Takao and ashigara Heavey Cruisers in SIngapore as AA defence, though bothe were too damaged to be used.
>Takao
This reminded me of the city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
Kaohsiung is written in Chinese as 高雄 (Gāo xíong), which the same characters are pronounced as *Takao* in Japanese. (This 2 *Takao*s are referring to different things btw.)
The reason why the Japanese (who occupied Taiwan from 1895 to 1945) called the city as *Takao* was because the Minnan Chinese name for that area was called Takau (written as 打狗), and at the same time they were naming it for a City Ward in Kyoto.
The reason why the Minnan Chinese called the area as Takau is because the original, Aboriginal name of that area is Takau.
So the city of Kaohsiung has a very unique etymology, that kinda transcends many languages.
It was the Myoko actually. Can't remember what happened to Ashigara. I was in Seletar camp and till date I'm still amazed at the historical connection between the camp and the IJN WWII.
Another tidbit is that Singapore and the surrounding Indonesian islands were quite an important area for the IJN during WWII, with almost all of their Combined Fleet units (except Yamato and Musashi) having stopped by or visited at some point during the war for repairs or fuel.
Thanks for additional info!
IIRC there's also a few IJN shipwrecks nearby as a few ships were sunk close to the end of the war, IJN Haguro is one I remembered
Charlie Chaplin got married here ( his 3rd marriage I think ) , Johnny Depp and Amber Heard honeymooned here and the great Einstein visited friends here
I read that that's the reason they shifted from Bukit Timah (where the Law Faculty is currently) to Kent Ridge. They had massive gatherings back in the Bukit Timah days.
Haw Par Villa once had a great sea view.
The same with Telok Ayer area.
You can compare old and new maps of the Singapore coastline to see how it changed in the last 200 years.
and that place has lots of hills and used to house military camps. makes sense as there's a masjid in near nus area called masjid tentara diraja. and precolonial districts are different from now.
We used to have a refugee camp for Vietnamese boat people up until the early 90s
This one's possibly well known now but Taylor Swifts mom grew up in Singapore and spent some time studying in Singapore American School, while staying in a Colonial Bungalow at Ridout Road/Seletar area ( featured in the Marjorie music video)
Peter Crouch spent a couple years in Singapore in his infant years, while Terry Butcher and Kygo were born here
We're supposed to have a Disneyland at where lower seletar reservoir is at, but plans fizzled out and we ended up becoming the Disneyland with a Death Penalty instead
Hawkins Road Camp! Was closed by 1997 and located along Admiralty Road West a bit further down from where SSDC is currently.
This also reminded me of a fighter pilot, [Phạm Quang Khiêm](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%E1%BA%A1m_Quang_Khi%C3%AAm) who escaped with his family on a stolen C-130A from South Vietnam in 1975 and landed the plane at Paya Lebar Airport.
https://www.newyorkupstate.com/southern-tier/2020/04/wings-and-a-prayer-vietnamese-pilots-escape-before-the-fall-of-saigon.html?outputType=amp
Is it the road that is now closed with a barrier or the one where we can enter and see the heritage looking houses? My and my friend used to jog around that area and we were wondering what those houses were.
Hawkins Road has been expunged.
The road closed with a barrier is View Road which was beside Hawkins Road and the other road is either Keramat Road or Dahan Road which were opposite Hawkins Road.
Before Tanjong Pagar station was built, the KTM (then-FMSR) railway line used to run along where Dunearn Rd is today to near where Fort Canning MRT is today. There were stations at Mandai, Bukit Panjang (near today's Hillion), Bukit Timah (a different station, near the Shell petrol station at Beauty World), Holland Rd, Cluny Rd, Newton (near today's Newton MRT), and Tank Road (Fort Canning).
In 1900s-1910s there were even stations at Chinatown (Peoples Park) and and today's Labrador Park.
Some of the traces of this railway is still visible - Duxton Plain Park follows the route of this old railway, as well as a linear park behind the row of shophouses along Emerald Hill (but most of it had become CTE)
All Malay Singaporeans were initially not required to serve National Service when it was first introduced because it seems that there may be issues of loyalty. Suddenly, the policy changed and Malay Singaporeans were required to serve with the exception of those male Muslims who were studying in Madrasahs.
Sometime in 2022, I have a Singaporean friend who studied in a Singapore madrasah and graduated from an overseas university. He was asked by his employer to make a Statutory Declaration to submit to HR to the effect that he doesn’t need to serve NS, which surprised me. According to what I recall from talking to him, if a male Muslim who had studied in a madrasah wants to serve in NS, that person must first ask for permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs (where the answer could be either yes or no).
Yes all my friends tt studied islamic studies overseas (middle east) were not called for NS, dk if it’s intentional or not, and if they studied after NS, they are not called for reservist at all. Not sure about islamic studies from oxbridge tho.
What are your friends thoughts? Are your friends happy that they don’t need to serve? Do they feel like they can’t be trusted as a fellow citizen despite the fact that they are born and bred here?
I don’t think they need to proof themselves thru NS persay. But there’s pros and cons to it i guess? I believe some company like SQ offer different base salary for people who went thru NS (extra $200) so tt’s definitely a disadvantage. Thru NS (depends on vocation and position), I’d believe you’d learn skills that’s transferable to your workspace or everyday life. For eg: leadership skills etc. Esp for an adult in early 20s or late teens where it’s a fresh full time “job”before starting uni/full time career. Otherwise, they’re living a pretty normal life.
excluded in what way? they are working normally in a blue collared job just like many other singaporeans and not even in the field tt they learnt. Some of them choose the country bcse of the cheaper uni fees! I don’t think they are exluded/ feel excluded or feel the need to be excluded!
Excluded from NS. I am curious about this from an academic point of view. This is because it’s been drilled into our society that we gotta defend ourselves and every male Singaporeans must accept sacrificing close to 2 years of their lives for this, amongst other things. So to some folks, they may wonder why are folks like your friends getting special treatment to not be required to waste close to 2 years of their lives in NS plus no need to serve reservist. Then to other folks, they may rationalise that it’s best that folks like your friends don’t serve NS because of their madrasah education background (maybe due to them being a potential national security risk since NS folks are generally trained for our nation’s security). So regardless of how your friends can contribute to Singapore’s society through other means and just focusing on the aspect of NS, I am wondering whether your friends think they should be excluded from serving NS because they accept that they shouldn’t for whatever reason that may be.
I honestly don’t know but a quick google brings up an old Mothership story published in 2016 highlighting another Redditor’s personal story. In that Mothership article, they recounted that a question was posed to Mindef (seems to be the same as yours) and they highlighted that the response by Mindef in 2011 didn’t answer the question. I guess the public will never know.
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Fengshui masters told LKY that constructing MRT tunnels under the city centre would harm Singapore's "dragon vein", unless large numbers of Singaporeans owned baguas (octagonal shaped symbols in Taoism).
Since Singapore is a diverse country and it wasn't possible to convince everyone to get a bagua, they decided to make the $1 coin octagonal
I did know about the part where LKY wants every Singaporean to carry a bagua to make sg wealthy, but didn’t know that it was to combat against bad luck.
~~"if you don't shut up we will use whatever you say against you" applies universally... basic law enforcement~~
nvm sorry I misread - yeah if police ask questions you have to talk, you can't stay silent, else it's an offence
Lol you try then tell us how it is.
I'm sure our pol pol have tricks up their sleeves to combat that
Also no immediate right to lawyer. You ask for lawyer, the police can just say no or ignore your request.
Unfortunately most Singaporeans don't give a shit enough to want that repealed. Until....
>yeah if police ask questions you have to talk, you can't stay silent, else it's an offence
I thought it wasn't an offence, but the silence can be used as evidence to draw negative inferences against you?
There were only 10 Arab families in Singapore .Traders from Yemenand Saudi Arabia and they had many Malay slaves , yes slaves whom they intermarriage and converted to Islam
There used to be a ban on men having long hair in the 60-70s to stop what was perceived as hippie culture. Discrimination measures included fining / firing them from civil sevice positions or having last priority to be served by gov agencies.
https://mothership.sg/2019/03/singapore-long-hair-1970s-campaign/
Singapore had a eugenics-based program in 1984 that encouraged university-educated women to give birth.
Apparently, poor and uneducated parents can receive major subsidies for voluntary sterilisation.
Link to [Jstor article](https://www.jstor.org/stable/40230009) and a [Straits times article](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/did-mr-lee-kuan-yew-create-a-singapore-in-his-own-image) that discusses this.
The native name of Singapore’s main island is Pulau Ujong .
Wang Da Yuan the Chinese seafarer recorded in his travel annals the name of the island at the end of the Malay peninsula as 普罗中 （Pu Luo Chong) in the 3rd century AD . However this is debatable amongst historical scholars.(source Wikipedia)
We got Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin , Pulau Blakang Mati , Pulau Hantu and…. Pulau Ujong !
Search up graduate mother scheme. Smart women (criteria: going to university) were expected/forced to have children. Dumb women cannot have children, and had to get sterilised ie let their blood die. Both sides unhappy. Thankfully, it didnt last long.
Ignoring moral and ethics, in theory it could work. However humans are far more complex genetically and socially than other species who have been selectively bred (animal eugenics) so there's alot of unknowns and unpredictable factors. For instance, two very educated parents can, and many times, have produced a child with special needs like autism. Other times, you go to university campuses (LKY's definition of smart) and find plenty of undergraduates who are children of people who did not get proper education. I for one had a jc classmate now studying medicine but both her parents were uneducated cleaners.
Social factors matter too. If u put a genetically smart kid in a lazy environment, maybe they will not realise their potential and the genes go wasted. You put a dumb kid in a smart environment, they could buck up and maybe not be the smartest, but definitely educated enough. So it shows that genetics alone does not determine outcome
There are also insufficient studies to prove that playing the eugenics game will only produce "good genes", or any genetic deforms.
The Malaysian beef patty that Ramly sourced from is from [India](https://www.you.co/sg/blog/where-to-get-ramly-burgers-in-malaysia/), which the then-AVA did not recognise as legitimately safe.
There's an article (link below but in Mandarin, can google translate) mentioning a bronze bell that was found in Thian Hock Keng (completed 1842) that was from the Qianlong era (1735-1796).
The article was written by someone who found anecdotal evidence for Chinese people living (and buried) in Singapore from before 1819. The dates on the tombstones were reportedly dating to the Qianlong era and that cemetery was located to the south of SGH. There was an old temple (Heng San Teng) that belonged to the cemetery, but burnt down in 1992 and was never rebuilt. It was reportedly built around 1824 or earlier and used to be the Hokkien Huay Kuan before Thian Hock Keng was built.
http://www.iedusg.com/show-54-19041-1.html
Technically it was. We have first hand account of Singapore when Raffles came. Munsyi Abdullah from Melaka accompanied Raffles & wrote a detailed description of the area around Singapore river
singapore had always been multiracial. there were chinese, malays(native to this region), indians(specifically tamils have a very long history. they were here even before Europeans colonise this region), arabs, jawa, bugis etc. chinese were successful traders and helped build many things. chola era tamil king invaded peninsular south east asia and built forts and temples and significant influence in terms of language. this is even before colonial British entering in indian waters. (unfortunately its not talked about), native malays and org asli having significant contribution in malay kingdoms and royal courts, arab trading and religious preachers etc. is thanks to british generalising based on skin color and colonial administration changing the entire order of how things were you have present day cmio and minimal artefacts about pre colonial singapore.
So, there were Chinese people present before Singapore came under British rule? If that's correct, it might challenge what I've assumed about Malays being the only indigenous group, as I thought Singapore only became diverse with the influx of people from China, India, and other places once it became a trading port.
During the Ming dynasty in the 1400s, an unnamed Chinese girl was married off to the Sultan of Malacca. Rumoured to be a Chinese princess, with many followers and attendants accompanying her so not surprising that Chinese presence had been there longer than Raffles.
Cool, do you have any book on this, I wanna dig down this rabbit hole..
It could be the Malays were here all the while, and the Chinese were here on a visitor basis.
Or our nation has all the while been a multiracial place with no one race claiming this area (this would be a very wholesome tale to tell our kids)
Speaking about this, what would you define a Malay? Yo me a Chinese is someone whose ancestry stems from China and an India similarly. Where does the Malay ancestry stem from?
This is very exciting, I do not know what I might find
Not sure if there are books but there are articles on this Chinese woman of questionable rank. Legends say she was a princess, others say she was a commoner.
https://www.nst.com.my/news/2017/04/228020/search-hang-li-po
It doesn't change that the Malays were here way before anyone else, except maybe the Orang Asli. But the settlement area did grow bigger after the British came over, moving out of the town area back then and towards the Lim Chu Kang area.
You should find Melacca royal history instead of finding Singapore history because then, you will find the real history on how and why temasek was founded. Definitely not bcse of merlion lol.
You should read up royal oak / melacca royal history or malaysia/indonesia history on NLB or southeast asia history thesis online if you’re interested!
Sang nila utama which was Iskandar Zulkarnain/ Iskandar shah (it’s a debate bcse it’s written differently in China history and Malaysia history) after reverting founded temasek in 1299 and we were a part of Temasek/johor/melacca/riau/penang as a state. But in 1400s the 3rd/4th gen to him i believe married to an indian princess from Keling, Chinese princess and indonesia(not sure riau/palembang etc) princesses to connect all the dots for import/exports (ming dynasty was to offer protection from the siamese war) before the English settlers (1399 in melacca) which came way later in 1800s (sg) so you’re right and wrong! “indonesian” founded temasek…
anw i don’t really care abt who founded who but i was deep diving in history to find the lineage of the malacca king thus i found all these history tt wasnt taught in school lol.
Merlion is a Singapore Tourism Board creation to boost tourism in Singapore. Not some myth affiliated with our founding.
[https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=f9c0fd6c-acfa-4eb0-8585-2aa155c1d74d](https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=f9c0fd6c-acfa-4eb0-8585-2aa155c1d74d)
Oh and this why we are all mixed, it’s bcse of our ancestors! Tts where peranakan came from! And there were many Chinese settlers tt came and bcame architects tt helped to build the royal istana in SG and JB. Namely Wong Ah fook! But these were during and post british era in 1700-1800s! It’s fun when u read up from the royal history instead of the “legend of tales” tt we were thought in school!
It doesnt challenge the point about malays/orang asli being indigenous. Because regardless of how far back we go, Chinese people never SPAWNED on the land per se. The records only show they migrated to the land earlier than what the British claim
A long time ago, singapore was the largest trading outpost for Japanese businesses. As business thrived, “working girls” came along, some did not survive here and got buried.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/japanese-cemetery-park
There is a form of "Baju Kurung" people wear in Johor/Singapore that's called Teluk Belanga. It was named after Telok Blangah, the old capital of Johor in Singapore
There was an attraction call 唐城 and there is a scary ass haunted house that made use of headphone and 3d sound effect and it scares the hell out of me.
I remember going for the haunted house, and being nonplussed by the experience. Cos' there was a little girl in our group who got spooked way before anything scary happened and started shrieking at random moments.
[The Albatross File](https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/files/pdf/vol-15/v15-issue2_Beg.pdf) shows a more “nuanced picture of events” that is contrary to the common perception that Singapore was “expelled” from Malaysia.
Contrary to popular descriptions of Singapore having been "expelled" by Malaysia, our leaders themselves played a part in proposing and facilitating the separation, alongside Malaysia's leaders, at least a year before 9 August 1965 when LKY broke down on live television.
Sentosa was previously known as "Pulau Blakang Mati (绝后岛)".
It was a former military base before it was being renamed to "Sentosa" for tourism purposes.
If only my numerous friends that had their wedding banquets there knew!!!!
Also, besides Forts Siloso and Imbiah, there were also Forts [Connaught](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sentosa-fort-dating-back-to-the-1870s-opened-for-rare-public-tours-to-mark-singapore-s-fall-in-wwii) and [Serapong](https://thesmartlocal.com/read/fort-serapong/)
Sarangapani, the founder of Tamil Murasu(Tamil Publication just like Lianhe Zaobao for the Chinese and Berita Harian for the Malays) abolished casteism in Singapore. If anyone is familiar with politics in India, we know how casteism is still rampant and alive there whereas local Singaporean Indians do not know or care about their caste for generations now because Sarangapani thought we should focus our energies on inter-racial efforts instead of infighting. He also married a Peranakan-Chinese lady which was very forward in the 1930s.
I tried to google only to see that it opened a branch in 1905, as compared to The Chartered Bank that opened a branch in 1859 and HSBC which opened in 1877.
[https://www.smart-towkay.com/blog/view/280-the-history-of-banking-in-singapore](https://www.smart-towkay.com/blog/view/280-the-history-of-banking-in-singapore)
"It may come as a surprise to most people that Singapore has been hosting many foreign banks since the 19th century when we were a British colony. The Union Bank of Calcutta (a precursor to the present State Bank of India) was the first bank to begin operations in Singapore in 1840."
Ooooooh actually!!
Originally, the singapore navy was filled with Malays and Orang Laut who could read the tides, layout of the straits etc. Government booted them out and filled them with Chinese only.
Most of the early Chinese migrant women came here as prostitutes/sex workers, so SG is technically a country of sex worker descendants!
Ironically the modern day SG girl is kind of the polar opposite, iykyk...
Singapore became a member of the ASEAN (Aug 8, 1967) even before it established diplomatic relations with Indonesia (Sept 7, 1967), Philippines (May 16, 1969), Vietnam (Aug 1, 1973), Laos (Dec 2, 1974), Brunei (Jan 1, 1984), and East Timor (May 20, 2002).
Sophia Road, Selegie Road, Prinsep Street and Short Street once had a sizable Jewish population in SG. today one of the few historical reminders left in the area are the 1. David Elias Building (beside Rochor tau huey) with its prominent Star of David symbol and 2. Maghain Aboth synagogue at Waterloo street.
many of the Jewish community during those times attended St Andrew's School, with prominent personalities like David Marshall, Jacob Ballas, Harry Elias
in more recent times, Andrew Lim (from Under One Roof days) converted to Judaism in 2002, adopted a Jewish name (Ethan Eliyahu Avraham)
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The word Bugis refers to a race.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugis#:\~:text=The%20Bugis%20people%2C%20also%20known,third%2Dlargest%20island%20of%20Indonesia.
A few countries banned delivering sand to Singapore because we reclaimed too much.
https://www.sg101.gov.sg/infrastructure/case-studies/sand/#:\~:text=Singapore%20has%20stated%20that%20we,all%20sand%20exports%20to%20Singapore.
Singapore was under the Tamil empire called the Chola Empire, a technologically advanced sea faring civilisation 1000- 1500 years ago
The original name was Singapuram which is actually a Tamil name . The suffix "puram" in Tamil city names typically refers to a place or a town. It is commonly used as a suffix in South Indian city names to denote a settlement or a locality. For example, *Kanchipuram* refers to the town of Kanchi, and *Ramanathapuram* refers to the town of Ramanath.
[Chola dynasty and Singapore ](https://sea.mashable.com/science/8195/singapore-possibly-had-connections-with-indian-chola-dynasty-1000-years-ago)
Kanchipuram
Ramanathapuram
Singapuram
Singapore used to have a prison on an island called Pulau Senang back in 1960 but failed horribly after 3 years with a massive riot that led to the death of the superintendent.
Very interesting piece I recently learnt from CNA: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/singapore-prison-without-walls-1960s-riot-island-pulau-senang-3235821
1. Singapore had a national campaign in the late 1960s to encourage people to switch from rice to wheat. The purpose was to save hard currency because the cost of rice imports was rising. So, Singaporeans were encouraged to eat more bread, roti, youtiao, buns, etc. https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-19/issue-3/oct-dec-2023/eat-more-wheat-campaign/ 2. Before NS became mandatory, Singapore tried to build a reserve force, the People’s Defence Force, that was similar to the British Territorial Army. To encourage volunteers to sign up, the younger ministers and many MPs volunteered for officer training which was conducted on the weekends. Even Othman Wok, who was then 42 years old and the minister for social welfare, gamely signed up for it. The ministers for labor and education (Jek Yeun Thong and Ong Pang Boon) also signed up to get tekaned. Goh Keng Swee, who was too old and had no time to do this crap, promoted himself to colonel. https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=c010bd60-282c-4703-8e7f-3aeaa6e60cfe
Chad GKS, funny how his name is associated with higher military studies even though he had none (?)
Goh Keng Swee was in the Singapore Volunteer Corps, the colonial-era forerunner of the PDF and SAF. This made him one of the very few members of the first-generation leadership (maybe the only one) with a military background.
David Marshall served in the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force during WW2. Was a POW in Japan.
Goh was almost 50 when they formed the PDF. How to do the standard obstacle course?
Can do, he can always go around obstacles lol
At his rank he can command the obstacles to be brought around him.
The right to vote is not in the Constitution.
We also do not have a constitutional right to property. One can argue whether this is good or no good - with the gahmen of the day deciding against such a right to facilitate land acquisition and redevelopment into modern day SG
Actually our highest court has found that the right to vote is part of our Constitution, either as a matter of construing it as a whole or as a matter of necessary implication. Daniel De Costa Augustin v Attorney-General [2020] SGCA 60.
This is something new. Not like Singapore's constitutuion is anything sacred because one party holds supermajority anyways.
1. Young Chinese girls were left at the doorstep at Chijmes for protection during World War 2. The nunnery there would shelter them. 2. KK hospital stands for Kandang Kerbau Hospital. It means "bull pen" hospital. 3. Dhoby Gaut is named what it is because there used to be a river there (Sungei Brass Bassa) and Dhobis (washermen) would wash clothes at the Ghaut (riverbank).
The national anthem’s lyrics are inscribed onto the back of the S$1000 note in microprint.
and that's only if u have a $1000 note,since they arent in circulation anymore
aren't in circulation anymore... right... \*laugh nervously in indonesian money laundering
Waiting for the day that school teachers pass around $100 note for kids to learn the National Anthem instead of the lyrics printed on A4 paper.
Someone already mentioned Disneyland, but here are a few more extras related to that: 1. It was meant to take the entirety of the Seletar area, including the reservoir. This would allow the castle to be built be the waters, similar to the Disney fanfare we see before every Disney show. 2. The Disney MRT line would come from in between Khatib and Yio Chu Kang, which is why for the longest time it was such a long journey. 3. The deal fell through because Disney wanted to OWN the land, and the Singapore government doesn’t sell land but instead leases it. This was a non-negotiable and so Disney pulled out.
Thank goodness this didn't happen. We wouldn't have any green areas at all
The 3rd point is ironic because Disney wound up building a theme park in HK in the 90s with a 50 + 50 year land lease (in HK, the only land that is freehold is a cathedral).
Singapore is the only country with different flavours of Yakult (whoever drink vitagen we can't be friend)
I dont understand who the eff can like Vitagen The taste is horrid.
But Yakult has an aftertaste
Thats for the old receipe. i realised current one does not have the aftertaste.
Noted will buy some tomorrow
tastes like soap
Used to drink Vitagen before they reduced the sugar level, but then it became not as nice alr
Vitagen has free gifts though
Might as well just buy the gift if you r going to throw the vitagen away anyway.
Yakult also have
Our still-existing Chinese Newspapers, the Lianhe Zaobao and Shin Min Daily News, have interesting histories. The Lianhe Zaobao was formed from a 1983 merger of two older newspapers, the Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh (these two newspapers still exist independently in Malaysia). The Sin Chew Jit Poh's masthead was written by Chiang Kai-shek. The Shin Min Daily News was founded by Louis Cha (Jin Yong) who wrote and published a few chapters of his wuxia novel (The Smiling, Proud Wanderer; 笑傲江湖) first in the newspaper, even before the rest of the Chinese world got to read it.
I enjoyed this fun fact, thanks for sharing!
Is the jit poh related to the jit poh building at tanjong pagar?
According to [NLB](https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/image-detail?cmsuuid=629bb773-d42b-492a-b925-67d172b813c2), it is
Much interesting
Wow totally did not know Jin Yong lived, worked and published in Singapore!
It was albeit only for a few months in 1967 when the HK Riots grew violent against the colonial rule (in HK) and the anti-communist stance of Louis Cha was making him a prime target, but it was also a sign that Singapore back then was still quite supportive of Chinese culture, which was sustained by the existence of Chinese education and Nantah. In the 1930s to 1960s, Hong Kong and Singapore (as part of the larger Nanyang Chinese culture) were probably the closest cities in terms of development and histories and culture, and the rich Chinese of HK and SG shuttled between the two cities. Some examples include the Shaw Brothers (Shaw Runme and Run Run Shaw), Aw Brothers (Aw Boon Haw, Aw Boon Par), Eu Tong Sen, Loke Wan Tho, etc. One interesting tidbit about the (rather tiny) Shanghainese population in Singapore that came before the 1960s is that a lot of them came to SG via HK.
Our timezone has been UTC+8 only since 1982. We were on UTC+7.5 previously.
we are basically robbed of 30 mins.
That’s why I feel half asleep
30 min offset timezones are super annoying tho.
I remember there is this channel 8 show with plot of guy supposed to have dance with girl, but end up being late because he forget of the timezone change and the girl told him about the time in the new time zone.
Our "natural" timezone should be about UTC+7 so that we have sunrise at 6am, solar noon at 12nn and sunset at 6pm. One of the reasons why kids always struggle to wake up in the dark to get ready for school. They should be waking with the sunrise.
On the flipside, we sleep later into the morning, as the sun rises later as well, and we also get more daylight after work. I think it evens out.
If I were born before 1982 does this mean I am suddenly magically 30 minutes older
And we changed it 6 times since 1905!!
This brought Singapore timezone same as Hong Kong’s. Goal was to open stock market at the same time. But later on as China became even more important, this became very convenient for trade with China.
No we did not change our time zone because of Hong Kong. We changed back our time zone after WW2 in 1945 to be the same as Malaysia's because of business & travel schedules. Then when Malaysia decided to change again in 1982 to synchronise the clocks between east & west Malaysia, we also followed again.
this is totally random but this was a plot a famous episode on a old live action nickelodeon show - The adventures of pete and pete about daylight savings.
WW2 tidbits.Japan was actually not confident that they could take SIngapore before they ran out of resources and was ready to deploy 2 of their Kongou class battlecruisers to aid the invasion. Infact, they were running out of supplies, and had the british not surrender, the japanes invasion would had fizzled as they were dagerous low on supplies. The first allied force to enter SIngapore post Japanese invasion was a De Havilland Mosquito, whic accidentally landed in singapore after the announcement of the surrrender of japanese forces. Apparently the plane was refueled and left Singapore. Had japan not surrendered earlier, the British had actual Plans to invade and take back Singapore. If I'm not wrong, the japanese also left Takao and ashigara Heavey Cruisers in SIngapore as AA defence, though bothe were too damaged to be used.
>Takao This reminded me of the city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan. Kaohsiung is written in Chinese as 高雄 (Gāo xíong), which the same characters are pronounced as *Takao* in Japanese. (This 2 *Takao*s are referring to different things btw.) The reason why the Japanese (who occupied Taiwan from 1895 to 1945) called the city as *Takao* was because the Minnan Chinese name for that area was called Takau (written as 打狗), and at the same time they were naming it for a City Ward in Kyoto. The reason why the Minnan Chinese called the area as Takau is because the original, Aboriginal name of that area is Takau. So the city of Kaohsiung has a very unique etymology, that kinda transcends many languages.
It was the Myoko actually. Can't remember what happened to Ashigara. I was in Seletar camp and till date I'm still amazed at the historical connection between the camp and the IJN WWII. Another tidbit is that Singapore and the surrounding Indonesian islands were quite an important area for the IJN during WWII, with almost all of their Combined Fleet units (except Yamato and Musashi) having stopped by or visited at some point during the war for repairs or fuel.
Thanks for additional info! IIRC there's also a few IJN shipwrecks nearby as a few ships were sunk close to the end of the war, IJN Haguro is one I remembered
Imagine if the Royal Navy recommissioned Takao and later transferred it to us during their withdrawal in 1972.
Once upon a time, couples were penalised for having more than the state sanctioned number of babies.
Free MOE school only for first 2 kids, was it? 3rd kid pay from pocket?
Wiki "population planning singapore". Its quite draconian. Stuff that would lead to riots if it happened today.
Or more like government are practically begging our population to grow lol
Not only Taylor Swift but Justin Trudeau, the current Canadian Prime Minister has ancestral ties to Singapore.
Related to Colonel William Farquar through his mother side of the family tree
Yup!
Charlie Chaplin got married here ( his 3rd marriage I think ) , Johnny Depp and Amber Heard honeymooned here and the great Einstein visited friends here
Paul Theroux taught at NUS and Somerset Maugham lived here for a bit.
I knew this one >: )
NUS campus is very hilly (pretty much no flat land until the U-Town was built) so that there isn't enough open space for mass gatherings...
I read that that's the reason they shifted from Bukit Timah (where the Law Faculty is currently) to Kent Ridge. They had massive gatherings back in the Bukit Timah days.
Its even worse now compared to 10 years ago with many of the corridors converted to office & other rooms
Oh wow.
Haw Par Villa once had a great sea view. The same with Telok Ayer area. You can compare old and new maps of the Singapore coastline to see how it changed in the last 200 years.
https://libmaps.nus.edu.sg/ Fun website to toggle between the years to check what has been changed
>great (sea) view This is actually the meaning of Buona Vista (good view).
and that place has lots of hills and used to house military camps. makes sense as there's a masjid in near nus area called masjid tentara diraja. and precolonial districts are different from now.
We used to have a refugee camp for Vietnamese boat people up until the early 90s This one's possibly well known now but Taylor Swifts mom grew up in Singapore and spent some time studying in Singapore American School, while staying in a Colonial Bungalow at Ridout Road/Seletar area ( featured in the Marjorie music video) Peter Crouch spent a couple years in Singapore in his infant years, while Terry Butcher and Kygo were born here We're supposed to have a Disneyland at where lower seletar reservoir is at, but plans fizzled out and we ended up becoming the Disneyland with a Death Penalty instead
Hawkins Road Camp! Was closed by 1997 and located along Admiralty Road West a bit further down from where SSDC is currently. This also reminded me of a fighter pilot, [Phạm Quang Khiêm](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ph%E1%BA%A1m_Quang_Khi%C3%AAm) who escaped with his family on a stolen C-130A from South Vietnam in 1975 and landed the plane at Paya Lebar Airport. https://www.newyorkupstate.com/southern-tier/2020/04/wings-and-a-prayer-vietnamese-pilots-escape-before-the-fall-of-saigon.html?outputType=amp
Incredible history. Thanks for sharing
Is it the road that is now closed with a barrier or the one where we can enter and see the heritage looking houses? My and my friend used to jog around that area and we were wondering what those houses were.
Hawkins Road has been expunged. The road closed with a barrier is View Road which was beside Hawkins Road and the other road is either Keramat Road or Dahan Road which were opposite Hawkins Road.
Oh ya, Keramat Road is the one we saw with the heritage looking house. Whose house are those? Sorry abit kaypoh haha
Before Tanjong Pagar station was built, the KTM (then-FMSR) railway line used to run along where Dunearn Rd is today to near where Fort Canning MRT is today. There were stations at Mandai, Bukit Panjang (near today's Hillion), Bukit Timah (a different station, near the Shell petrol station at Beauty World), Holland Rd, Cluny Rd, Newton (near today's Newton MRT), and Tank Road (Fort Canning). In 1900s-1910s there were even stations at Chinatown (Peoples Park) and and today's Labrador Park. Some of the traces of this railway is still visible - Duxton Plain Park follows the route of this old railway, as well as a linear park behind the row of shophouses along Emerald Hill (but most of it had become CTE)
All Malay Singaporeans were initially not required to serve National Service when it was first introduced because it seems that there may be issues of loyalty. Suddenly, the policy changed and Malay Singaporeans were required to serve with the exception of those male Muslims who were studying in Madrasahs. Sometime in 2022, I have a Singaporean friend who studied in a Singapore madrasah and graduated from an overseas university. He was asked by his employer to make a Statutory Declaration to submit to HR to the effect that he doesn’t need to serve NS, which surprised me. According to what I recall from talking to him, if a male Muslim who had studied in a madrasah wants to serve in NS, that person must first ask for permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs (where the answer could be either yes or no).
Yes all my friends tt studied islamic studies overseas (middle east) were not called for NS, dk if it’s intentional or not, and if they studied after NS, they are not called for reservist at all. Not sure about islamic studies from oxbridge tho.
What are your friends thoughts? Are your friends happy that they don’t need to serve? Do they feel like they can’t be trusted as a fellow citizen despite the fact that they are born and bred here?
I don’t think they need to proof themselves thru NS persay. But there’s pros and cons to it i guess? I believe some company like SQ offer different base salary for people who went thru NS (extra $200) so tt’s definitely a disadvantage. Thru NS (depends on vocation and position), I’d believe you’d learn skills that’s transferable to your workspace or everyday life. For eg: leadership skills etc. Esp for an adult in early 20s or late teens where it’s a fresh full time “job”before starting uni/full time career. Otherwise, they’re living a pretty normal life.
I see. Then do your friends think that they should be excluded?
excluded in what way? they are working normally in a blue collared job just like many other singaporeans and not even in the field tt they learnt. Some of them choose the country bcse of the cheaper uni fees! I don’t think they are exluded/ feel excluded or feel the need to be excluded!
Excluded from NS. I am curious about this from an academic point of view. This is because it’s been drilled into our society that we gotta defend ourselves and every male Singaporeans must accept sacrificing close to 2 years of their lives for this, amongst other things. So to some folks, they may wonder why are folks like your friends getting special treatment to not be required to waste close to 2 years of their lives in NS plus no need to serve reservist. Then to other folks, they may rationalise that it’s best that folks like your friends don’t serve NS because of their madrasah education background (maybe due to them being a potential national security risk since NS folks are generally trained for our nation’s security). So regardless of how your friends can contribute to Singapore’s society through other means and just focusing on the aspect of NS, I am wondering whether your friends think they should be excluded from serving NS because they accept that they shouldn’t for whatever reason that may be.
why do male muslims who were studying in Madrasahs have exception? im just curious
I honestly don’t know but a quick google brings up an old Mothership story published in 2016 highlighting another Redditor’s personal story. In that Mothership article, they recounted that a question was posed to Mindef (seems to be the same as yours) and they highlighted that the response by Mindef in 2011 didn’t answer the question. I guess the public will never know.
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damn, thanks a lot
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Fengshui masters told LKY that constructing MRT tunnels under the city centre would harm Singapore's "dragon vein", unless large numbers of Singaporeans owned baguas (octagonal shaped symbols in Taoism). Since Singapore is a diverse country and it wasn't possible to convince everyone to get a bagua, they decided to make the $1 coin octagonal
Our road tax disc also looked octagonal… but it could just be coincidental.
Wasnt this one a myth? Any sources?
I think reporter asked LKY about this and he said, rumours sometimes are better not to be addressed, let them hear what they wanna hear
This is very interesting! Thanks for sharing
I did know about the part where LKY wants every Singaporean to carry a bagua to make sg wealthy, but didn’t know that it was to combat against bad luck.
The right to remain silent does not apply in Singapore if you are arrested
~~"if you don't shut up we will use whatever you say against you" applies universally... basic law enforcement~~ nvm sorry I misread - yeah if police ask questions you have to talk, you can't stay silent, else it's an offence
The phrase “cooperating with the police” is an euphemism for “taken in for questioning”
You can always say “I don’t recall”.
Lol you try then tell us how it is. I'm sure our pol pol have tricks up their sleeves to combat that Also no immediate right to lawyer. You ask for lawyer, the police can just say no or ignore your request. Unfortunately most Singaporeans don't give a shit enough to want that repealed. Until....
>yeah if police ask questions you have to talk, you can't stay silent, else it's an offence I thought it wasn't an offence, but the silence can be used as evidence to draw negative inferences against you?
The Singapore flyer changed direction in 2008 due to fengshui
And indeed the streak of bad luck which plagued it seems to have turned for the better since
There were only 10 Arab families in Singapore .Traders from Yemenand Saudi Arabia and they had many Malay slaves , yes slaves whom they intermarriage and converted to Islam
We used to be able to pay up HDB early and still had enough for retirement.
Kek
Kek is a dialect you don’t hear anymore do you?
My partner used kek with me the other day, so presumably I was being somewhat witty at the time… 😬
#fax
There used to be a ban on men having long hair in the 60-70s to stop what was perceived as hippie culture. Discrimination measures included fining / firing them from civil sevice positions or having last priority to be served by gov agencies. https://mothership.sg/2019/03/singapore-long-hair-1970s-campaign/
Maybe this gives inspiration to the Die Hippie Die episode of South Park.
The HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales sent by Britain to defend Singapore during WW2 weren't shabby ships.
Too bad they were sunk by the Jap's "flying coffins".
"flying coffins" were the Brewster Buffalos which were outmatched by the Japanese
Singapore had a eugenics-based program in 1984 that encouraged university-educated women to give birth. Apparently, poor and uneducated parents can receive major subsidies for voluntary sterilisation. Link to [Jstor article](https://www.jstor.org/stable/40230009) and a [Straits times article](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/did-mr-lee-kuan-yew-create-a-singapore-in-his-own-image) that discusses this.
The native name of Singapore’s main island is Pulau Ujong . Wang Da Yuan the Chinese seafarer recorded in his travel annals the name of the island at the end of the Malay peninsula as 普罗中 （Pu Luo Chong) in the 3rd century AD . However this is debatable amongst historical scholars.(source Wikipedia) We got Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin , Pulau Blakang Mati , Pulau Hantu and…. Pulau Ujong !
Our government once offered women without degrees a token sum to sterilize themselves so that only undergraduates can reproduce.
Yes our infamous state-sanctioned eugenics program
They should bring this back for people who stay in 1 room flat, rely on financial aids and still have more than 5 kids..
Is there a source? Wld love to read it
Search up graduate mother scheme. Smart women (criteria: going to university) were expected/forced to have children. Dumb women cannot have children, and had to get sterilised ie let their blood die. Both sides unhappy. Thankfully, it didnt last long.
does eugenics work though
Ignoring moral and ethics, in theory it could work. However humans are far more complex genetically and socially than other species who have been selectively bred (animal eugenics) so there's alot of unknowns and unpredictable factors. For instance, two very educated parents can, and many times, have produced a child with special needs like autism. Other times, you go to university campuses (LKY's definition of smart) and find plenty of undergraduates who are children of people who did not get proper education. I for one had a jc classmate now studying medicine but both her parents were uneducated cleaners. Social factors matter too. If u put a genetically smart kid in a lazy environment, maybe they will not realise their potential and the genes go wasted. You put a dumb kid in a smart environment, they could buck up and maybe not be the smartest, but definitely educated enough. So it shows that genetics alone does not determine outcome There are also insufficient studies to prove that playing the eugenics game will only produce "good genes", or any genetic deforms.
I heard of this through my parents, right now the only thing I can find on it is this https://www.jstor.org/stable/40230009
Wow I just read the damn article and it’s so shocking. I’m relieved that they let that program die. I’m just appalled.
Thank u!!!
TIL that the meat party used in Ramly burger in Malaysia is banned in Singapore. The Ramly burger patty used in Singapore is made entirely locally.
Any idea why it’s banned?
AFAIK, it's just the source of meat, wherever they sourcing their meat from, Singapore ain't too happy about it
The Malaysian beef patty that Ramly sourced from is from [India](https://www.you.co/sg/blog/where-to-get-ramly-burgers-in-malaysia/), which the then-AVA did not recognise as legitimately safe.
It was Lim Yew Hock that did what David Marshall cannot do. Obliterate the Strikers. Even PAP protest his brutal methods.
The national anthem we sing is not Zubir Said's original.
There's an article (link below but in Mandarin, can google translate) mentioning a bronze bell that was found in Thian Hock Keng (completed 1842) that was from the Qianlong era (1735-1796). The article was written by someone who found anecdotal evidence for Chinese people living (and buried) in Singapore from before 1819. The dates on the tombstones were reportedly dating to the Qianlong era and that cemetery was located to the south of SGH. There was an old temple (Heng San Teng) that belonged to the cemetery, but burnt down in 1992 and was never rebuilt. It was reportedly built around 1824 or earlier and used to be the Hokkien Huay Kuan before Thian Hock Keng was built. http://www.iedusg.com/show-54-19041-1.html
Yes, the usual meme about Singapore being a mere backwater fishing village before 1819 is nonsense.
Technically it was. We have first hand account of Singapore when Raffles came. Munsyi Abdullah from Melaka accompanied Raffles & wrote a detailed description of the area around Singapore river
singapore had always been multiracial. there were chinese, malays(native to this region), indians(specifically tamils have a very long history. they were here even before Europeans colonise this region), arabs, jawa, bugis etc. chinese were successful traders and helped build many things. chola era tamil king invaded peninsular south east asia and built forts and temples and significant influence in terms of language. this is even before colonial British entering in indian waters. (unfortunately its not talked about), native malays and org asli having significant contribution in malay kingdoms and royal courts, arab trading and religious preachers etc. is thanks to british generalising based on skin color and colonial administration changing the entire order of how things were you have present day cmio and minimal artefacts about pre colonial singapore.
So, there were Chinese people present before Singapore came under British rule? If that's correct, it might challenge what I've assumed about Malays being the only indigenous group, as I thought Singapore only became diverse with the influx of people from China, India, and other places once it became a trading port.
I mean Peranakans existed since the 1600s
During the Ming dynasty in the 1400s, an unnamed Chinese girl was married off to the Sultan of Malacca. Rumoured to be a Chinese princess, with many followers and attendants accompanying her so not surprising that Chinese presence had been there longer than Raffles.
Cool, do you have any book on this, I wanna dig down this rabbit hole.. It could be the Malays were here all the while, and the Chinese were here on a visitor basis. Or our nation has all the while been a multiracial place with no one race claiming this area (this would be a very wholesome tale to tell our kids) Speaking about this, what would you define a Malay? Yo me a Chinese is someone whose ancestry stems from China and an India similarly. Where does the Malay ancestry stem from? This is very exciting, I do not know what I might find
Not sure if there are books but there are articles on this Chinese woman of questionable rank. Legends say she was a princess, others say she was a commoner. https://www.nst.com.my/news/2017/04/228020/search-hang-li-po
It doesn't change that the Malays were here way before anyone else, except maybe the Orang Asli. But the settlement area did grow bigger after the British came over, moving out of the town area back then and towards the Lim Chu Kang area.
You should find Melacca royal history instead of finding Singapore history because then, you will find the real history on how and why temasek was founded. Definitely not bcse of merlion lol. You should read up royal oak / melacca royal history or malaysia/indonesia history on NLB or southeast asia history thesis online if you’re interested! Sang nila utama which was Iskandar Zulkarnain/ Iskandar shah (it’s a debate bcse it’s written differently in China history and Malaysia history) after reverting founded temasek in 1299 and we were a part of Temasek/johor/melacca/riau/penang as a state. But in 1400s the 3rd/4th gen to him i believe married to an indian princess from Keling, Chinese princess and indonesia(not sure riau/palembang etc) princesses to connect all the dots for import/exports (ming dynasty was to offer protection from the siamese war) before the English settlers (1399 in melacca) which came way later in 1800s (sg) so you’re right and wrong! “indonesian” founded temasek… anw i don’t really care abt who founded who but i was deep diving in history to find the lineage of the malacca king thus i found all these history tt wasnt taught in school lol.
Merlion is a Singapore Tourism Board creation to boost tourism in Singapore. Not some myth affiliated with our founding. [https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=f9c0fd6c-acfa-4eb0-8585-2aa155c1d74d](https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/article-detail?cmsuuid=f9c0fd6c-acfa-4eb0-8585-2aa155c1d74d)
Oh and this why we are all mixed, it’s bcse of our ancestors! Tts where peranakan came from! And there were many Chinese settlers tt came and bcame architects tt helped to build the royal istana in SG and JB. Namely Wong Ah fook! But these were during and post british era in 1700-1800s! It’s fun when u read up from the royal history instead of the “legend of tales” tt we were thought in school!
It doesnt challenge the point about malays/orang asli being indigenous. Because regardless of how far back we go, Chinese people never SPAWNED on the land per se. The records only show they migrated to the land earlier than what the British claim
Yes, some came over from Dutch Batavia.
A long time ago, singapore was the largest trading outpost for Japanese businesses. As business thrived, “working girls” came along, some did not survive here and got buried. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/japanese-cemetery-park
Singapore holds the only Revere Bell outside the United States. Donated by American war of independence hero Paul Revere’s daughter Maria.
Wife of Joseph Balestier
There is a form of "Baju Kurung" people wear in Johor/Singapore that's called Teluk Belanga. It was named after Telok Blangah, the old capital of Johor in Singapore
There was an attraction call 唐城 and there is a scary ass haunted house that made use of headphone and 3d sound effect and it scares the hell out of me.
Omg yes I still remember it despite going as a really young child
i remember going too! it was super hot!
I remember going for the haunted house, and being nonplussed by the experience. Cos' there was a little girl in our group who got spooked way before anything scary happened and started shrieking at random moments.
Google “Habib Nuh Al-Habsyi”
[holy hell!](https://www.google.com/search?q=habib+nuh+al-habsyi#HiImABot,MyJobIsToMakeEasierForPeopleToGoogleThings,IfThePersonIRepliedToUsedMeInAnInappropriateWayPleaseLetMeKnowByDMingMe,TheUserIRepliedToIsU/EmptyTie5008)
"In 2022, a teenage student was arrested for, among other things, planning to blow up Habib Noh's tomb on account of its being "un-Islamic"." Omg
This is such good historical info, ty. needs to be higher!!
[The Albatross File](https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/files/pdf/vol-15/v15-issue2_Beg.pdf) shows a more “nuanced picture of events” that is contrary to the common perception that Singapore was “expelled” from Malaysia. Contrary to popular descriptions of Singapore having been "expelled" by Malaysia, our leaders themselves played a part in proposing and facilitating the separation, alongside Malaysia's leaders, at least a year before 9 August 1965 when LKY broke down on live television.
It is both hilarious and dismaying that the reply above yours doubles down on the "kicked out" narrative
Inside is considered not within for Singapore
Sentosa was previously known as "Pulau Blakang Mati (绝后岛)". It was a former military base before it was being renamed to "Sentosa" for tourism purposes. If only my numerous friends that had their wedding banquets there knew!!!!
岛＊
Oh yea. My bad. Hahahah.
If the wife finds out husband is cheating, go home confirm "blakang mati"
Also, besides Forts Siloso and Imbiah, there were also Forts [Connaught](https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sentosa-fort-dating-back-to-the-1870s-opened-for-rare-public-tours-to-mark-singapore-s-fall-in-wwii) and [Serapong](https://thesmartlocal.com/read/fort-serapong/)
Sarangapani, the founder of Tamil Murasu(Tamil Publication just like Lianhe Zaobao for the Chinese and Berita Harian for the Malays) abolished casteism in Singapore. If anyone is familiar with politics in India, we know how casteism is still rampant and alive there whereas local Singaporean Indians do not know or care about their caste for generations now because Sarangapani thought we should focus our energies on inter-racial efforts instead of infighting. He also married a Peranakan-Chinese lady which was very forward in the 1930s.
We have a giant church bell called the Revere Bell which is one of the few that exist today outside of New England in the US
it's also the only revere bell outside the US
Oldest bank in Singapore is actually… Credit Agricole!
I tried to google only to see that it opened a branch in 1905, as compared to The Chartered Bank that opened a branch in 1859 and HSBC which opened in 1877.
Oh definitely my bad – typed too soon!
[https://www.smart-towkay.com/blog/view/280-the-history-of-banking-in-singapore](https://www.smart-towkay.com/blog/view/280-the-history-of-banking-in-singapore) "It may come as a surprise to most people that Singapore has been hosting many foreign banks since the 19th century when we were a British colony. The Union Bank of Calcutta (a precursor to the present State Bank of India) was the first bank to begin operations in Singapore in 1840." Ooooooh actually!!
There is still one remaining kampong left in Singapore: Kampong Lorong Buangkok, which is located next to a canal and is near Buangkok Square Mall.
Originally, the singapore navy was filled with Malays and Orang Laut who could read the tides, layout of the straits etc. Government booted them out and filled them with Chinese only.
The quiet genocide...
First plane that landed in Singapore was on Race Course Road, which is today's Farrer Park area.
Most of the early Chinese migrant women came here as prostitutes/sex workers, so SG is technically a country of sex worker descendants! Ironically the modern day SG girl is kind of the polar opposite, iykyk...
Some people think Singapore left Malaysia voluntarily. She didn’t. She was kicked out of it.
There are 6 merlion statues in Singapore
The current RI plot was billed as Bishan JC in the initial stage of construction.
Singapore became a member of the ASEAN (Aug 8, 1967) even before it established diplomatic relations with Indonesia (Sept 7, 1967), Philippines (May 16, 1969), Vietnam (Aug 1, 1973), Laos (Dec 2, 1974), Brunei (Jan 1, 1984), and East Timor (May 20, 2002).
Sophia Road, Selegie Road, Prinsep Street and Short Street once had a sizable Jewish population in SG. today one of the few historical reminders left in the area are the 1. David Elias Building (beside Rochor tau huey) with its prominent Star of David symbol and 2. Maghain Aboth synagogue at Waterloo street. many of the Jewish community during those times attended St Andrew's School, with prominent personalities like David Marshall, Jacob Ballas, Harry Elias in more recent times, Andrew Lim (from Under One Roof days) converted to Judaism in 2002, adopted a Jewish name (Ethan Eliyahu Avraham)
Singapore is one of the few countries to have had a Jewish Head of Government (David Marshal)
And even rarer, a Baghdadi Jew. Other notable ones in Asia are Lord Kadoorie of Hong Kong, the tycoon and the Sassoon family.
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The word Bugis refers to a race. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugis#:\~:text=The%20Bugis%20people%2C%20also%20known,third%2Dlargest%20island%20of%20Indonesia.
A few countries banned delivering sand to Singapore because we reclaimed too much. https://www.sg101.gov.sg/infrastructure/case-studies/sand/#:\~:text=Singapore%20has%20stated%20that%20we,all%20sand%20exports%20to%20Singapore.
Singapore was under the Tamil empire called the Chola Empire, a technologically advanced sea faring civilisation 1000- 1500 years ago The original name was Singapuram which is actually a Tamil name . The suffix "puram" in Tamil city names typically refers to a place or a town. It is commonly used as a suffix in South Indian city names to denote a settlement or a locality. For example, *Kanchipuram* refers to the town of Kanchi, and *Ramanathapuram* refers to the town of Ramanath. [Chola dynasty and Singapore ](https://sea.mashable.com/science/8195/singapore-possibly-had-connections-with-indian-chola-dynasty-1000-years-ago) Kanchipuram Ramanathapuram Singapuram
Singapore used to have a prison on an island called Pulau Senang back in 1960 but failed horribly after 3 years with a massive riot that led to the death of the superintendent. Very interesting piece I recently learnt from CNA: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/singapore-prison-without-walls-1960s-riot-island-pulau-senang-3235821