July/Aug
ust 2012
BACK TO THE ROOTS
P. RAMLEE & HIS MOVIES
Popular Singlish words explained
If you’re from Singapore or Malaysia, you’ll definitely know P. Ramlee, the iconic filmmaker whose heyday spanned from the 1940s to the late 1970s. Here are his top three films, as voted on IMDB.com:
Anakku Sazali (My Son, Sazali) About the turbulent, yet touching relationship between a father and son. Ali Baba Bujang Lapok (Ali Baba and the Silly Bachelors) A retelling of Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves laced with generous twists of Malay humour. Sarjan Hassan (Sergeant Hassan) The story of a Malay soldier set in World War II in Malaya. Ramlee’s only war film.
pages to make you nostalgic
17-24 It’s true, it’s hip to remember. Modern life may be all about progress, but we’re always in search of monochrome memories. Because nostalgia never goes out of style.
Goondu • idiotic, having done something classically stupid: I can’t believe he walked straight into the glass panel, thinking it was the exit. So goondu! Origin: Gundu in Malay for marble or nut Taiko • lucky (sarcastic, because now the chances of contracting leprosy are low): Jenson was so taiko, play the arcade game first time already get high score. Origin: Hokkien for leper Wayang • to pretend, act: Everyone here must wayang in front of their bosses so they won’t give you extra work. Origin: Javanese for shadow puppet theatre performance
THE RETURN OF MAT YOYO Mat Yoyo, and later Aksi Mat Yoyo, was a classic, “live”, Malay-language TV show from the 1980s featuring children dressed up as cats. The lead character, Mat Yoyo, was played by Mat Sentul, who used to be Singapore’s very own James Bond back in the 1960s. He made the movie Mat Bond, an outright parody of James Bond, which was produced by Cathay Keris Films. For those who miss Yoyo, Yaya and the rest of the gang, don’t fret – MediaCorp has recently revived the series in a four-language version.
PUPPET MASTER Victor Khoo remains, even today, Singapore’s most famous ventriloquist. However, it is often his star puppet, Charlee, who gets the limelight. After all Victor is merely the “voice” behind Charlee. The puppet was bequeathed to Victor by his father, who chose him out of his 11 children to make something of “this piece of wood”. Victor and Charlee used to host “Happy Talk”, a “live” talk show for kids on radio every Saturday morning, for seven years. It was probably the only regular radio show in the world that featured a puppet! Today, Victor still performs locally and in the region, and even has two other companions for Charlee, Char Cole and Cha Cha. bit.ly/HgxDW3
DID YOU KNOW? Before Universal Studios, Singapore had its own amusement parks, such as the Wonderland Amusement Park, which operated in the 1970s on the site where the Singapore Indoor Stadium now stands. Old pictures here: bit.ly/HLtVlM and bit.ly/HhrGdj
We do not remember days, we remember moments. The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten. – Cesare Pavese, This Business of Living
L .I .V . I . N . G H . I . S . T . O .R .Y If you’re a history buff, check out the National Heritage Board’s heritagetrails.sg website for a plethora of trails. Here’re some highlights from the Jalan Besar Walking Trail. Central Sikh Temple One of Singapore’s oldest gurdwaras (Sikh temples), constructed in 1921. Syed Alwi Road Look out for a “holein-the-wall” tailor and alteration shop run by Mr Thangavelan, who’s been there since 1953. Abattoirs used to operate in the area. Holy Trinity Church Don’t miss the unique Chinese Art Deco architecture.
Chwee Kang Beo Temple See if you can spot a miniature boat in the temple next to the Tiger God’s cave. It’s a replica of a Mingdynasty vessel, complete with canvas sails and rigging. Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital Founded in 1910 by Cantonese merchants as a free hospital for newly arrived Cantonese immigrants. Visit the administration section where photographs of the founders are displayed.
Petain Road Shophouses Also known colloquially as Keen Chio Kar, meaning “the foot of the banana plantation” in Hokkien. The area has long been known to be a red-light district, even before World War II, and remains so today. Sri Manmatha Karuneshvarar Temple Established in 1888, it was known as the Kallang Gasworks Sivan Temple to its devotees and was first led by the chief foreman of the Kallang Gasworks, A.V. Irullappa Pillay.
our mands... g r o f ail r t A TIP TOP CURRY PUFF
CHIN MEE CHIN CONFECTIONERY Chin Mee Chin, at No. 204 East Coast Road, has been serving up sweet-tasting treats to Singaporeans for over 80 years. Signature items include cream puffs ($0.90) and cupcakes ($0.90), traditional kaya toast ($1.00) and eggs ($0.60).
DONA MANIS CAKE SHOP
s waft Follow your nose and the deliciou lead will s of freshly baked pies and tart 1 of nt eme Bas at you to this hidden gem ries st-t Mu tre. Cen Katong Shopping are its banana pie ($2.00/slice), chocolate tart ($0.70) and cream horn ($2.00).
A pioneer of Ang Mo Kio New Tow n, Tip Top Curry Puff at Block 722 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8 has been handmaking its island-famous curr y puff since the early 1980s. Back then, one curr y puff cost $0.35. While its pric e is now $1.30, there is always a queue of customers ready to grab the curr y puff s the moment they are made.
APP THIS! Walk Singapore: Bras Basah.Bugis takes you to many museums and landmarks in the precinct. Find out more about the National Museum, the Singapore Art Museum or the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator. Download the free app from the iTunes store or Google Play market. sg.sg/sWWpRS
You should know that there is little you can seek in this world, that there is no need for you to be so greedy, in the end all you can achieve are memories, hazy, intangible, dreamlike memories which are impossible to articulate. – Gao Xingjian, Soul Mountain
N SING HO LOONGY BAKER the racks
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BALMORAL BAKERY
This bakery at Blk 105 Clementi Street 12 is well known for its traditional English pastries, Popular items include chicken pies ($1.30), cream pies ($2.20) and mini cupcakes ($0.50).
Q&A
ON THE OLD SCHOOL PLAYGROUND TRAIL Writer Justin Zhuang mapped out 20 original playgrounds on Google Maps that still exist today. Most were designed by Khor Ean Ghee, an interior designer at HDB in the 70s. What led you to document the playgrounds? I’d read about how playgrounds around the world were looking the same because of globalisation. When I checked out the one that I’d grown up playing at, I was shocked that it’d been demolished and replaced by a generic design. This set me on my quest to find out if any old playgrounds still existed, and to learn more about their unique designs. Which is your favourite playground design? The Dragon design, which has become iconic for Singaporeans when you talk about old playgrounds. It’s a very beautiful and functional design by Mr Khor Ean Ghee, who with no experience but just a spark of imagination transformed the dragon’s spine and head into play tools. How did you find the playgrounds? Many people had already taken photos of them. A quick search on Google and Flickr turned up many images. But a common comment I found was, “Where is this?”. Thus I realised creating an online map would be useful; plus it was easy to do. So using information by those who’d captured images of the playgrounds, I visited the sites in my free time to check if they were still standing and to pinpoint the exact location. Also I like to explore neighbourhoods, so I’ve chanced upon one or two old designs that way too. Picture credit: Sam Kang Li Download a free e-book on old playgrounds at bit.ly/oldschoolplaygrounds
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Bibik Josephine Tan shares on JooChatters.com her recipe to make Buah Paya Titek (Papaya Soup), an authentic Peranakan dish.
~ 4-6 buah keras (candlenuts), washed ~ 10 shallots, peeled ~ 5 cloves garlic ~ 1 tablespoon good quality belacan (shrimp paste) ~ about 2 litres water ~ 2 teaspoons white peppercorns, lightly bashed
~ 1 green papaya, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes ~ 20 prawns, shelled ~ about 200g salted fish, cut into cubes ~ handful of daun kemangi (local basil), leaves removed
1. Pound buah keras, shallots, garlic and belacan for rempah (paste). 2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the rempah and peppercorns. Bring to a boil again. Strain for a clear soup and return to stove. 3. Add papaya, prawns and salted fish. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer till papaya is tender. 4. Remove from heat and dish into a serving bowl. Garnish with daun kemangi and serve hot. Recipe from bit.ly/Hhw3p0
It is curious how sometimes the memory of death lives on for so much longer than the memory of the life that it purloined. – Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
FASHION PROCESSION
In the 1920s, cheongsams were worn only by the educated and the privileged, but this has changed over time. In the Mood for Cheongsam, a recent exhibition of 150 cheongsams at the National Museum of Singapore, highlighted how the outfit’s traditional silhouettes reflect the evolution of women’s roles through the years, particularly as modernity gave them a voice in Singapore society.
TEST PATTERN The evolution of TV in Singapore.
Television Singapura, the first local TV station, was launched on Feb 15, 1963. To reach the masses, TV units were installed in public places, such as community centres. Colour TV was introduced to Singapore in 1974. Having more than one television at home became the norm in the 1990s. Cable TV was launched in 1995. Computer screens became another option for watching TV in 1998. Now Singaporeans catch their TV shows on mobile phones or tablets, in trains and buses.
OLD IS STILL GOLD
Not everything needs to be bought from Ikea. If you have older bits of furniture that need some restoration, here are three great places that turn junk into antiques. Bangku Bangku Art Gallery For more ethnic designs, Bangku Bangku has a wide collection of earthy pieces inspired by Indonesian heritage for both indoor and outdoor settings. 317 Joo Chiat Road. (10am – 10pm) Hock Siong & Co Drop by the largest second-hand furniture shop in Singapore to look for pieces that have been lovingly sourced and restored. Junjie Industrial Building, 153 Kampong Ampat, #01-03. (9.30am – 6pm)
Like That One Cheu Koh and Belle Waring, in their own words, “rescue something from the past to create a sense of rootedness, in a city that prizes the new”. Their shop is sensory overload for vintage hunters. Skytech, 2 Bukit Batok Street 24, #01-02. Wed – Sun (11am to 5pm)
WHERE HISTORY MEETS MODERNITY
There is no future in nostalgia and certainly no nostalgia in the future of the past.
Iconic places to check out.
Alkaff Mansion Once the weekend getaway residence of the wealthy Arab al-Kaff family in the 1920s, it has recently been restored and now contains a couple of great restaurants, quickly becoming a favourite spot for weddings and photography. The New Majestic Hotel The building was erected in 1928, and traces of the original edifice remain on the exposed concrete ceiling, but the rooms themselves have been impeccably redesigned as part of a now classy boutique hotel.
White Rabbit This restaurant was once the garrison chapel for the British army in their barracks at Dempsey Hill. Now reopened and serving European comfort food, its lofty interior inspires both romance and awe.
– Arthur Yap, The Space of City Trees POP QUIZ ON SINGAPORE 1. 2. 3. 4.
Where was the first MRT line built? Name Singapore’s earliest mall. What used to stand where Raffles City is today? Who won Singapore’s first Olympic medal?
COLLECTING SINGAPORE MEMORIES A nationwide effort to keep our memories alive. The Singapore Memory Project (SMP) is an ongoing initiative that started in 2011 to build a national collection of content in diverse formats (including print, audio and video), preserve them in digital form, and make them available for discovery and research. The National Library Board, which initiated the SMP, aims to collect 5 million personal memories by 2015. www.iremember.sg
“We ha d no au to fo cu s ca m er as in th e 70 s! Th is wa s ta ke n by m y wi fe ou tsi de ou r liv in g qu ar te rs at M oo n Cr es ce nt , wh ich wa s pa rt of th e Ch an gi Pr iso n co m po un d.” Co nt rib ut ed by Se e Ka y Ch ek .
Letter by letter the words come unstuck from the spine of a history from a continent of mind. – Gwee Li Sui, Titulus
Crucis
A teache r’s record book from the 90s. Contr ibuted by Tan Siew Tong.
S t an d
a ch an c e t o
WIN $50 BOOK VOUCHERS ulum Anima tion equip ment used by the then Curric to Devel opme nt Institu te of Singa pore (CDIS) tional TV create frame -by-fra me anima tion for educa ment in progra mmes . The CDIS phase d out this equip uter comp as such ology techn rn the 1990s when mode Guan. graph ics took over. Contr ibuted by Ang Lay
Share your memories of the Service: tell us how it has evolved through the years, the important moments in your career or even the projects, people or events that shaped you as a public servant. Use the tag “Public Service 2012” for each memory at SingaporeMemory.sg. irememberPublicService is part of the SMP that aims to collect personal memories from officers in the Public Service. Closing date is extended till 31 July
Memory, my dear Cecily, is the diary that we all carry about with us.
th e ic e p o in t at lib ra ry se rv . ile b 67 o 19 m e A t th y C en tr e, C o m m u n it Bu ki t Ti m ah
– Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
“I joined the L i b ra r y i n N a t i o n a l 1971 as a typist. In those d ays, we us ed the manual ty pe w r i te r. I can still recall the pe r s i s te n t ta p p i n g of the typ e w r i te r k e ys as we did our w ork. W hen er rors w e r e s po t te d , w e w ould use a r ubb e r e ra s e r t o make cor rection s. Subsequ e n t l y, t h e e ra s e r was repla c e d by liquid pap e r. B y t h e 1990s, the manu a l t y pe w r i te r was slowl y be i n g r e placed by pe r s o n a l c o m p u te rs.”
Nation al Librar y Board Contr ibuted by Naima h Moha med, Secret ary,
Police Acade my at Thom son Road, 1966. Contr ibuted by Ang Lim Kim
Cul tur e in 197 0. at the the n Min istr y of A pic tur e of offi ce life n Gek Con trib ute d by Lee Boo
at Cha ngi Sec ond ary, h stu den ts of Cha ngk ng Sch ool cla ss pic tur e wit trib ute d by Wo ng Phi ngi 10 mil est one . Con wh ich wa s the n at Cha
Answer: 1. Yio Chu Kang to Toa Payoh, 1987 | 2. Plaza Singapura, 1974 – since rebuilt | 3. Raffles Institution, built in 1823 | 4. Tan Howe Liang, weightlifting, silver, at the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
Because we cannot please everyone, we decided to appeal to those who grew up in the ’80s. (It’s our era.) What are the things you remember from your childhood years? For a longer walk down Memory Lane, read 100 things we love about the ’80s at remembersingapore.wordpress.com.
1.
You grew up watching Transformers, Tom & Jerry, Smurfs, Care Bears, He-Man, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony and T.M.N.T.
2.
You brushed your teeth by the drain in primary school during recess time.
3.
Your English workbook was made of poor quality paper that was smooth and yellow. The textbooks were striped in different colours for different levels.
4.
You got a “Young Scientist” badge when you completed the set of tasks to be a “Young Ecologist”, “Young Botanist”, etc.
5.
SBS bus seats were made of wood and the cushion was red.
6.
Your father shaved with Old Spice before it became fashionable again.
7.
Friends with pagers and mobile phones in secondary school were cool.
8.
You remember the first Chinese serial, The Awakening, being shown on TV.
9.
KFC used to be a high-class place that let you use metal forks and knives.
10.
You shared ice balls with friends after school. The syrup and condensed milk left your fingers sticky and satisfied.
FREE!
Relive your childhood by learning how to play and make traditional toys of yore! Download Lim Qixuan's colourful and cheerfully illustrated children's e-book on "Traditional Toy Making" from the Singapore Memory Project. bit.ly/maketraditionaltoys
NOT FORGOTTEN A number of websites are active in researching, remembering and recording the past and present of Singapore. Check them out! 1. poskod.sg 2. goodmorningyesterday.blogspot.com 3. yesterday.sg
One must have a good memory to be able to keep the promises that one makes. –Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher
Research and writing by Marc Nair / Edited by Bridgette See / Designed and illustrated by Ammanda Choo / ©Challenge Magazine
remembersingapore.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/100-things-we-love-about-the-80s/