Singapore History

Everyone knows Singapore as the Lion City and the story behind of a Palembang prince, Sang Nila Utama, sighting a lion on this island that was first published 200 years ago in John Leyden's translation of the Malay classic Sejarah Melayu. But few people have actually read the Sejarah Melayu to realise the fairytale-like claims of Singapore's supposed medieval founder as a descendant of Alexander the Great, and the son of an Indian king who tried to conquer China and a princess from underwater; or that the creature he purportedly saw was not described as a lion, but a chimera with a red body, black head, white breast, and was a little larger than a he-goat. And barely anyone remembers the days when respectable residents of Singapore scoffed at suggestions that Singapore's name has anything to do with the Felis Leo.


Decoding Sejarah Melayu daringly challenges the assumption that the Sejarah Melayu records Singapore's pre-modern past, which has been held since Sir Stamford Raffles arrived in 1819 and declared himself at the "ancient Capital of the Malay kings". It seeks to grasp what is the Sejarah Melayu and how its accounts of Singapore as Temasek and Singapura were written, critically re-examines key historical text such as the Malay epic Hikayat Hang Tuah, Tomé Pires' Suma Oriental and 14th century Chinese travelogue Daoyi Zhilue, and makes an expansive study into other sources in Malay, Javanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Siamese, Arabic, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and the English language to discover clues to ancient Singapore's long hidden past. This is a book that will profoundly change understandings of Singapore's history and identity.

Examines convict life when Singapore was a penal colony between 1825 and 1873 and the unusual convict system where prisoners were their own warders. The magnificent buildings and construction that still stand today are a legacy of their enduring contributions.

Singapore's status as a trading hub is probably as old as the settlement itself. In earlier times its history was tightly knit to the development and prosperity of its port. Today's global trading hub, however, is broadly conditioned by its position within a global communications regime that includes various modes of transportation by sea, land and air, as well as electronic forms of communication such as telephony and the internet. Transport and telecommunications infrastructure are certainly prerequisites for success, but Singapore's rapid rise in becoming a global trading hub cannot be explained by these factors alone: the hub is backed by an array of industries that directly or indirectly support transport and trade at large, ranging from warehousing to finance and trade. All these activities, moreover, are regulated and driven by policies that have been carefully formulated and put into place over the past five decades. Then there is Singapore's greatest asset today: its people. In the context of this introduction, it is of course impossible to give a detailed or even comprehensive overview of the historical developments that have evolved and today underpin the global trading hub. What is possible, however, is to single out some of the developmental highlights as well as explain their historic relevance and interdependence. In the following sections I shall do so with an eye cast on history and chronological development as well as moving from the larger picture to the particular. As the SG50 celebrations move into the past, the Republic will begin to look toward 2019, the bicentennial of the British colonial settlement's founding. Like SG50, the bicentennial will offer a unique opportunity to look back and take stock, though the time horizon taken on during the bicentennial will be rolled back well beyond 1965 to the beginning of the 19 th century or perhaps even before. There will be a fresh, vigorous debate about what makes Singapore a special place. One question is likely to feature prominently: Just how much of Singapore's historic success is locationally pre-conditioned?

The Singapore government has traditionally invested heavily in, and focused on, the development of the hard sciences since gaining independence in 1965. This bode well for the fate of sustainability studies as the state, in the initial decades, focused heavily on performance legitimacy, emphasising issues of survivability and economic progress. With the country now at the top of global charts on many rankings on economic prosperity, the city-state has steadily begun to examine issues of nation-building rather than state-building. This can be attributed, in part, to the paradox of soft authoritarian regimes that invest heavily in human capital, because in the long run, an educated electorate will want, as active and informed citizens, to participate effectively in politics. The social sciences are slowly evolving to look at the Singapore model from a comparative perspective, moving away from the dominant narrative of “Singaporean exceptionalism”, which overstates the uniqueness of the city-state.

The Changi story is synonymous with suffering, hardship, and the Australian prisoner-of-war experience in the Second World War. It is also one of ingenuity, resourcefulness, and survival. Combining prisoners’ cartoons, paintings, photographs, and essays, The Changi Book provides a unique view of life in the camp: medical innovation; machinery and tools made from spare parts and scrap; black markets; sports and gambling; entertainment; a library and university. Seventy years after its planned publication, material for The Changi book was rediscovered in the Australian War Memorial archives and appears here for the first time along with insights from the Memorial’s experts, providing unique historical insights into some of the stories and characters behind its rich Changi collection.

Housing was the first major facet of social change which Singaporeans experienced in the making of a modern nation-state. Between the 1950s and 1970s, large numbers of middle- and low-income families moved from the unauthorised wooden housing of kampongs to the modern, usually multi-storey flats of public housing estates. This paper explores ways to cultivate the key historical skills of imagination and empathy in source-based studies in the secondary-level History curriculum. The paper argues that examining a range of historical sources which offer differing perspectives, including official documents, oral history interviews and photographs, can help students understand and analytically appraise older Singaporeans’ experiences of a momentous social transformation in our recent past. By drawing from a small-size study in a local secondary school, the paper discusses the use of sources on two main themes: official and residents’ views of kampong life; and former kampong dwellers’ responses and adjustment to public housing.

In the course of this paper I want to gain an understanding of historical piracy on and around the island of Singapore – hereby I was especially interested in the period before which Raffles found the British settlement. During my research not only did I learn about the tenuous body of source material but more importantly about the indigenous sea people and the eventful nineteenth century piratical activities.

Assessments of Singapore’s history invariably revolve around Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival in 1819. Before this date – we’ve been earlier told – “nothing very much appears to have happened in Singapore”. Pre-1819 Singapore was a sleepy, historically insignificant fishing village, little more than the “occasional resort of pirates”.
This ambitious book, co-written by four of Singapore’s foremost historians, offers an assertive re-evaluation of that view, firmly situating Singapore’s starting point seven hundred years ago. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary range of archival, textual and cartographical records, as well as the latest archaeological discoveries, the authors cast a singular historical trajectory for Singapore over the past seven centuries, animating its history like never before.
Written in a compelling and accessible manner, and richly illustrated with more than 200 artefacts, photographs, maps, art works and ephemera, this volume builds upon the foundations of an earlier book, Singapore: A 700-Year History. Extensively rewritten to incorporate ground-breaking research findings, Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore widens the historical lens and offers a vital new perspective on the story of Singapore.

COVID-19 is a global pandemic (Jaihah) that brings hardships (Haraj). This has affected all aspects of our life. The United Nations Development Programme reported that uncertainties due to this global pandemic are manifold. Under a 'High Damage' scenario, the world could see a staggering 251 million people driven into extreme poverty by the pandemic, bringing the total number to one billion by 2030. The Singapore government had made swift and comprehensive response by forming multi-ministry task force and galvanise various organisations, at all levels, including faith-based institutions to manage and address the multiple challenges in hands. This paper highlight the 3Rs approach adopted by the government through their policies, measures and actions on various aspects of sustainability including climate and social changes and how the rest of the stakeholders come together for greater impact, with specific focus on the response from the Muslim community.

A Sinophone version of Networks beyond Empires: Chinese business and nationalism in the Hong Kong–Singapore corridor,1914–1941, translated by the author in her Chinese name, 郭慧英, edited by 鄺健銘 (Kwong Kin Ming), published by the Monsoon Books, Taiwan

While numerous books and articles have been written about the Japanese Occupation in Singapore and Malaya, there is a considerable absence of the study of collaboration during the Japanese Occupation in Singapore and Malaya. This absence is even more jarring in the Singapore story, where the Japanese Occupation is treated as a defining moment when people of all races suffered under the hands of the Japanese. This paper will thus attempt to examine the issues of collaboration during the Japanese Occupation in Singapore and Malaya, from the eyes of the Chinese community in Singapore and Malaya, which was divided into two distinct groups, the Chinese who were in anti-Japanese resistance groups such as the Malayan People Anti-Japanese Army and those that were not. This thesis will attempt to argue that the Chinese who were in active resistance group viewed and defined the act of collaboration and collaborators much harsher than the Chinese who chose not to join such groups by examining the reaction towards the act of collaboration and collaborators during and after the Japanese Occupation. This thesis will also argue that labelling someone as a collaborator and a traitor is extremely problematic especially in the context of Malaya and Singapore where both territories were occupied by the Japanese military. It is hopeful that this study on collaboration in Singapore and Malaya during the Japanese Occupation will result in a fuller understanding of the complexities in Malayan and Singapore society during the Japanese Occupation.

The evolution and modern value of Singapore’s urban canals underlies its developmental history and future. As Singapore pursues increasingly ambitious development goals, the City in a Garden’s urban canal system continues to evolve to address new challenges including population growth and intensifying land limitations. Singapore faces many water-related vulnerabilities ranging from flooding to supply scarcity that stem from the city-state’s rapid urbanization, population growth, biophysical limitations, and other political circumstances. Singapore uses its urban canal system as a vehicle to mitigate these vulnerabilities and ensure water does not limit the young nation’s economic growth. To understand the past and future of this crucial enabler of development, this paper seeks to 1) provide background on role and hydrodynamics of urban water, 2) describe the history of the canal network, 3) identify the effects of urbanization on water resources, 4) describe contemporary programs (specifically the ABC and 3P programs) which seek to enhance the canal system, and 5) use a value framework to identify the potential values urban canals offer. This effort is informed by first-hand observations recorded during three weeks of travelling in Singapore and interacting with relevant decision makers; additional information is drawn from publications of governmental bodies and academia. Overall, this paper aims to provide insights into the past, present, and future trajectories of Singapore’s canal system and its path toward implementing a sustainable land-use planning model.

Mrs W.E. Kinsey's "The 'Mems' Own Cookery Book" published in 1920 gives insights to the conditions of colonial cooking in Malaya, explores the state of colonial meals and the skills of local cooks, and provides insights to adaptations of colonial meals and recipes of Malayan food consumed by expatriate families. A brief profile of this talented housewife, her a civil-servant husband based in Malaya and his family is included

Singapore is a mythic nation, where our ‘reality’ and ‘common sense’ are conditioned by a group of influential myths. Our main myths are examined in this collection of essays and thoughts on the social ramifications of myth-making: The Singapore Story (that our nation has a singular story), From Third World to First (our story of success), Vulnerability and Faultlines (the threats we still face despite success) and A Deficient People (the threats exist because people remain immature).

Myths build social consensus but also marginalise crucial stories, perspectives and possibilities that don’t fit the main narrative. Should we teach our students to be good citizens by telling them one unifying narrative of Singapore, or many varied narratives? Have we always said no to social welfare, or to the casino? Is liberal democracy necessarily a threat to social stability? Have Singaporeans historically been apathetic, ignorant or irrational?

The contributors to this book believe that knowing, and debating, how we live with myths will help us to better understand Singapore today, and to imagine its future. Here they share the robust discussions and debates which took place from 2014 to 2015 even as Singapore celebrated 50 years of full independence.

"In post-World War II Singapore, the vast majority of Singapore’s population communicated using Chinese, forming a distinct social, cultural and political sphere that existed autonomously from, but occasionally interlinked with, the dominant English language world of the colonial elite. The historian needs to access this Chinese domain to fully understand the transformations taking place in Singapore between 1945 and 1963. A study of the Chinese newspapers offers insight into this domain in several ways. Firstly, how important events were reported affected public perception. Secondly, the opinions and views expressed in the newspapers’ editorials and articles were influential in Chinese society, and the public responded in various literary forms. The back pages of the newspapers formed a space for public debate. Thirdly, the newspapers existed as
cultural artefacts. Standing at the nexus of the political, cultural, and social spheres, it was on the pages of the newspapers that many new ideas were put forward, and traditional concepts were contested. The newspapers acted as mediators between the old and the new, developing the new concepts and language of decolonization and independence. The evolution of Chinese thought in Singapore can be traced within the pages of the newspapers."

A working paper developed from research on the subject of
Śrīvijaya, specifically in the context of its reference from the vantage point of Singapore. The paper’s proposition is that Śrīvijaya and its reference in aesthetic practice may be read in relation to a number of issues, such as regionalism,
multiculturalism, cultural transmission, and the historical narrative.

Off icially est abl ish ed in 1878, the natural history collection—originally housed at the Raffles Museum—now has more than 560,000 specimens in its care, one of the largest collection of Southeast Asian plants and animals. Dedicated to scientific research and education, the museum was reincarnated as the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in 2015, closing the loop on its remarkable 127-year history. But beneath the sleek exterior of the museum’s new, modern building lies a saga of struggle and change. That the collections survived at all—through the multiple challenges of the nineteenth
century, the disruption of World War Two, and its potential disintegration in the face of Singapore’s modernization—is nothing short of miraculous. This book is not only an institutional history of the museum but also recounts the frustrations, tenacity, and courage of the numerous individuals
who battled officialdom, innovated endlessly, and overcame the odds to protect Singapore’s natural history heritage

Tourist guidebooks provide an important source of information on places. Different guidebooks are written for different types of visitors to better meet their individual travel needs. This is demonstrated through a content analysis of four guidebooks written for Singapore in the early 1980s. Two of the guidebooks represent variations on mainstream, mass travel interests. The third source presents the long-term expatriates perception,
while the fourth source presents the alternative or youth tourist view of Singapore. Urban tourism is shown to be multifaceted, allowing for a diversity of travel motivations, experiences, and behavior.

Keywords: travel literature, urban tourism, content analysis, environmental perception, Singapore.

Given the paucity of scholarship on SG architecture, and I consider this something I do because I was asked to more than what I prefer to do, I have uploaded this paper in its proof form. Go get the book chapter, the proof version has some unedited errors of text and names of Chennai and Kolkata but otherwise, I hope it helps other scholars in this area. There is very much original material in this chapter - this is the first proper account the Armenian church, of MacPherson's/McNair's training, the plagiarism of George Guillaume's work for St Andrew's etc; and I say this as you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of serious scholars in this area. If you wish to get the 19c source material, catholic, crown colony, Armenian - contact me, I would be happy to send you copies if you are a serious scholar.

齋姑，在早期新加坡華人史中，是相當重要卻又少被關注的女性群體。她們帶髮修行、持長齋奉佛、守貞，大部分居於先天道齋堂，也有一定數量活動於私人佛堂或早期佛寺，具有別於僧團、道姑的宗教主體性，往往有意識自我標榜齋姑身份。齋姑逝後，其訃告往往強調她們潛心帶髮修行、精勤修持、為一代善女人之典範。在東南亞各地，「齋姑」遊移於多重身份，積極運用自身的社會資源，營造獨立的女性空間及互助網絡，以道脈、同鄉連結、方言群為組織依歸，組成跨地域的「姐妹會」。她們也走入社區，廣行善業，參與文化活動，實踐自給自足的經濟生活。 齋堂除了是傳統的宗教敬拜空間，也是教眾行醫、議事、交換消息、經營生意網絡的場所，是一個不斷被塑造的宗教暨社會空間。本文利用歷史文獻和口述資料，結合歷史視角與當代田野觀察，勾勒19世紀末、20世紀初期至今新加坡齋姑群體的身份面貌及信仰網絡，並透過梳理齋姑積極營造的社會資源，討論其如何助益於宗教姐妹會的拓展。

If drowned cities are one likely future, island fortresses are another. As a wealthy nation with a tradition of environmental engineering, a strong centralized government, and the technological capacity to adapt, Singapore’s artificial technonature might provide a glimpse of the future for those lucky enough to survive the rising tides. Th is essay considers the possibility that Singapore is a model, as many scholars (e.g., Chua B. 2011) have claimed, but for very different and potentially conflicting practices: climate adaptation, sustainable urbanism, national greenwashing, and eco- authoritarianism.

Cinema-going was the most popular form of entertainment in 1930s' Singapore, with an estimated 8000 viewers filling 20 screens each night in the city by 1936. About 70% of films screened were American and many large Hollywood studios had distribution offices in Singapore. A entire supporting field consumption shaped by film fandom culture emerged, from film magazines to sales in gramophone records and wireless broadcasting of popular soundtracks and live performances in dance halls at entertainment parks, called the ‘Worlds’—such as Great World and Happy World. There were diverse reactions to this social phenomenon from different quarters. The colonial government was alarmed at the perceived influence of decadent Hollywood films on a native audience in terms of moral vices and crime. Religious bodies and older members of the local non-European community were brought in to sit on the Cinematograph Films Censorship Annual Committee. Drawing from the Anglophone print media, this paper aims to document local audiences' voices in the highly-debated topic of censorship. The existence of a large corpus of English-language publications produced in inter-war Singapore for a local, non-European audience is testimony to the depth of the domestic, English-language public sphere, which cut across diverse ethnic backgrounds and was based upon a common framework of English-language education and cultural references. This paper will argue that America films played a crucial role in influencing social changes in Singapore, particularly amongst young people and women, as well as in shaping the identity of Singapore as a distinctly modern city.