SG History Unauthorised
A personal voyage into Singapore's history
Wednesday, 7 October 2026
Mahathir Said Singapore Shouldn’t Exist.
In 2022, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad suggested Malaysia “should demand not just that Pedra Branca, or Pulau Batu Puteh, be given back to us, we should also demand Singapore as well as the Riau Islands, as they are Tanah Melayu (Malay land)”.
Thursday, 26 March 2026
The Split of Malaysia Singapore Airlines (MSA) 1972
M'sia hoped to focus on domestic flights, SIA's first chief had global ambitions: Why S'pore-M'sia Airlines split
January 26, 2020

Speaking Truth to Power: Singapore's Pioneer Public Servants is a compilation of oral interviews with 11 of Singapore's pioneer public servants.
Edited by Loe Hoke Yong, the book features their personal accounts of the civil service's transition from the colonial era, their relationship with the political leaders of the time, and the rationale underlying the early years of Singapore's development.
Here, we reproduce an excerpt from the book featuring the perspective of J.Y. Pillay, the first Chairman of Singapore Airlines.
Pillay assumed his role in 1972, when Malaysia-Singapore Airlines split into Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines. He held the position until 1996. From 2005 to 2019, he was Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers.
Speaking Truth to Power: Singapore's Pioneer Public Servants is published by World Scientific and you can get a copy of it here.
January 26, 2020

Speaking Truth to Power: Singapore's Pioneer Public Servants is a compilation of oral interviews with 11 of Singapore's pioneer public servants.
Edited by Loe Hoke Yong, the book features their personal accounts of the civil service's transition from the colonial era, their relationship with the political leaders of the time, and the rationale underlying the early years of Singapore's development.
Here, we reproduce an excerpt from the book featuring the perspective of J.Y. Pillay, the first Chairman of Singapore Airlines.
Pillay assumed his role in 1972, when Malaysia-Singapore Airlines split into Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines. He held the position until 1996. From 2005 to 2019, he was Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers.
Speaking Truth to Power: Singapore's Pioneer Public Servants is published by World Scientific and you can get a copy of it here.
Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Thursday, 30 January 2025
Why Singapore banned Chewing Gum
[News Article from 2015 by BBC News Magazine.]
IMAGE SOURCE,THINKSTOCK
Why Singapore banned chewing gum
28 March 2015
IMAGE SOURCE,THINKSTOCKBy Elle Metz
BBC News Magazine
Lee Kuan Yew, who died on Monday at the age of 91, is famed as the man who turned Singapore from a small port into a global trading hub. But he also insisted on tidiness and good behaviour - and personified the country's ban on chewing gum. What was it about gum he so disliked?
BBC News Magazine
Lee Kuan Yew, who died on Monday at the age of 91, is famed as the man who turned Singapore from a small port into a global trading hub. But he also insisted on tidiness and good behaviour - and personified the country's ban on chewing gum. What was it about gum he so disliked?
Sunday, 26 January 2025
Opium in Singapore - the history and background
Video: Hikelopedia's [Singapore and the "Scourge of the Chinese"]
Thursday, 22 February 2024
Hotel New World 1986
1986 seems not very long ago.
But it is almost 40 years ago (as of this writing in 2024)
Wednesday, 1 November 2023
"Operasi Pukul Habis" - National Day 1991. Malaysia plays a prank on Singapore
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