Hotel New World 1986

1986 seems not very long ago.

But it is almost 40 years ago (as of this writing in 2024)

And there was the disaster that was Hotel New World.

"Operasi Pukul Habis" - National Day 1991. Malaysia plays a prank on Singapore

 

Comments on the video:

Flashback 1931 - Adopting Convent Children

[From Aug 2018]

An application to adopt a young English girl whose father has abandoned her and her brother, and whose mother has passed away due to "consumption" (Tuberculosis).

Singapore's First Tanks... and the story behind them

 

(Photo: Yusof Ishak Collection, Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore)

Why Did Singapore Fall (1942)

On the 15th of February 1942, Lt General Arthur Percival signed the largest surrender in British history at Singapore. The city was supposed to be a fortress, but his force of 85,000 men had been defeated by just 35,000 Japanese troops.

Little over 2 months earlier Japanese forces had invaded Northern Malaya. Thanks to their advanced tactics and training, the Japanese advanced with incredible speed pushing the unprepared British back to Singapore in a so-called 'bicycle blitzkrieg'. When they crossed the Johore straits and captured the Bukit Timah heights above Singapore itself, Percival was forced to surrender.

So how did the Japanese defeat a numerically superior force? Why wasn’t Singapore an impregnable fortress? And could the British have held out?

Commentary: What the release of Goh Keng Swee’s Albatross File means for Singaporeans

Parts of the Albatross file on display at a special exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore in 2015.
Raj Nadarajan/TODAY

EDMUND LIM

March 27, 2023


Our past has an impact on our present and also future. As Singaporeans, we should be open to enhancing our understanding of our national history.

On Feb 28, it was reported the Government has agreed to declassify and release documents in Dr Goh Keng Swee’s “Albatross File”, along with specific cabinet papers and Dr Goh’s notes of his conversations with the Malaysian leaders.

The Great Hokkien-Teochew Riot of 1854

Today, Hokkiens and Teochews in Singapore are almost indistinct, mainly because everyone speaks English or Mandarin.

But in 1854, dialect groups were "badges" of identity and easily divided the respective groups, enough for them to take sides against the other:

What I found ironic about Teochews fighting Hokkiens is that this riot had to be contained with Indian soldiers (Sepoys), Ang Mos (Royal Marines, and Europeans recruited as Special Constables), and even Malays (from the Temenggong of Johor). 

In modern Singapore, can you imagine Teochews and Hokkiens rioting, and you need foreign workers from India, Malaysian workers and volunteer Ang Mos to contain the rioters?

We have come a long ways... I hope.