Franklin and his Map of Singapore

 

The map above was drawn by James Franklin, the Assistant Quarter-Master General of the Bengal Army in Kolkata (Calcutta), What was the Assistant Quarter-Master General of the Bengal Army (Kolkata) doing drawing maps of Singapore?

The Tiger of Malaya - Tomoyuki Yamashita

 

The man who defeated the British in Malaya and Singapore. The general with 70,000 men, who defeated 138,000 and took Malaya and Singapore in weeks with a smaller force than the defenders.

This is his story.

Kwa Geok Choo

Simon Tan

Published May 13, 2021

Whatever your political affiliation, I really find the love story between Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo to be truly romantic - the life-long kind of love that's so rare these days. He would not have been who he ended up being, if not for her unwavering, caring love and support. And he was never the same after her passing.

Here are excerpts from his eulogy for her, which I've merged with a little bit from an article on how LKY was like in the time after. Full sources cited below.

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"My wife and I have been together since 1947 for more than three quarters of our lives. My grief at her passing cannot be expressed in words. But today (Wednesday), when recounting our lives together, I would like to celebrate her life ...

As a young man with an interrupted education at Raffles College, and no steady job or profession, her parents did not look upon me as a desirable son-in-law. But she had faith in me. We had committed ourselves to each other... We gradually influenced each other's ways and habits as we adjusted to and accommodated each other.

“People Weren’t as Bothered” — Seniors Recall Separation From Malaysia

by Sean Lim

August 9, 2022



Rice Media

It was Monday, 9 August 1965 when Separation was announced. In Singapore, pockets of residents went about very ordinary affairs across the island. Couples were on dates watching Clarence The Cross-Eyed Lion at Lido Theatre. At the same time, over at Gay World Stadium, spectators gathered to witness the final match of the Singapore amateur open boxing championships.

Why Lee Kuan Yew (SG History Personalised I)

 The video above covers the history of Singapore from the founding by Raffles. 

From 11:39 in the video, the narrative is typical of a Western-influenced perspective of Lee Kuan Yew, the Dictator.

Which is "forgiven" because LKY was on the whole "benevolent" and he succeeded in making Singapore a success. And success can forgive many things. And forget some things.

Lee Kuan Yew - a short video biography

Comment on the video:

This is good. I would have veered into hagiography. This is more balanced. Some thoughts: 

Born in tears

[This was originally posted on Facebook on National Day, 2010.]

While other countries had to fight and struggle for their independence, Singapore had independence thrust unwanted upon her. Well sure, we wanted independence, but as part of a greater federation of states, for economic viability as well as strategic strength.