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PODCAST

Chronicles of Old Singapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. I’m Dr Loh KS, a people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. Caveat: this is a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable

history

All Episodes

00:51:21

Selamat Kadari – People of Kampong Amber Part 1 |...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/05/18

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Selamat Kadari remembers his old house on stilts at 117 & 117A Kampong Amber, which was demolished in the 1980s to make way for condos. He led a group of five former neighbours – Shirley Soon, Imma, Bah Bah, and Nelson – in a remarkable effort to map the residents and houses of the kampong. In this Malay-majority settlement were the rich and famous, Peranakan, Sikhs and Chinese, as well as the historic Singapore Chinese Swimming Club, Mandalay House and

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00:44:47

Mejar Singh Gill – Soldiering in the Early SAF Part 1...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/05/13

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. LTC (Retd) Mejar Singh Gill remembers his callup to National Service in 1967 and signing up as a regular in the Singapore Armed Forces. Historically-minded as always, he traces his journey to the military histories of the Punjab Empire, the colonial armies of the past and the Singapore Naval Base in Sembawang. He talks about the tough training (he took it well), a little-known group of instructors called the Boxers, and meeting other young men from all walks

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00:56:18

Pamela Sandanasamy – My Roots From Singapore to India...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/05/10

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Pamela Sandanasamy returns to the pod to talk about her roots, her wish to find out about her maternal grandparents and how this took her to India. In 2008, as part of the TV programme Muthal Payanam (First Trip), she travelled to India for the first time. She arrived at the town Pattukottai and the village Anaikkadu in Tamil Nadu. This was where her grandparents came from. There, she met relatives who remembered them.Part 1 | https://youtu.be/4CEY-EMAUMo Part

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00:44:48

Charles Ngui – EDB’s Masters & Apprentices Part 3 |...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/05/06

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. The master-apprentice system was a fixture in many trades in Old Singapore. In the 1960s, it was transitioning as the Economic Development Board’s Light Industries Services was employing sifus to train its recruits in manufacturing.So young Charles Ngui found himself with two masters – Kok Seng and Lee Cheng Kok. As the eager student met his willing sifu, this became one of the main reasons for Singapore's rapid industrialisation in the 1970s.Part 1 |

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00:48:19

Jason Boh – Hainanese of the Naval Base & Sembawang...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/05/03

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jason Boh grew up in a Hainanese family residing in the Medical quarters of the Naval Base. His father was a fitter while his mother was a domestic servant for British families. It was a vibrant, diverse world from ‘Medical’ and the Canberra Asian quarters to the Sembawang Village also called the 14th Mile. Jason’s brother left for Portsmouth when the British forces pulled out, while young Jason played football with Indian boys and picked up Tamil. Part 1 |

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00:27:12

Irene Hoe – Old Dhoby Ghaut & Bras Basah Road |...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/05/01

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Irene Hoe reminisces about old Dhoby Ghaut and Bras Basah Road where she grew up in the ‘50s and ‘60s – bookstores, friends from various ethnic groups and memories – what she calls the ‘Real Singapore’.Ep1 | https://youtu.be/W0Y01qmL3xE Ep2 | https://youtu.be/H21GWCp7GZEEp3 | https://youtu.be/szhMslptfqQ00:00 Mixed Neighbourhood09:50 Rex Bookstore13:49 Second-hand Bookstores18:30 Memories & Lost Heritage21:54 The Real SingaporeWelcome to Chronicles of Old

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00:42:50

P.N. Balji – My Parents, Delhi Road & the Naval Base...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/04/28

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. P.N. Balji recalls the rich cultural life of the Naval Base – the Malayalam plays that his father performed in and celebrations of Onan, the harvest festival. His mother Narayani was very protective of her son and his father’s love of language rubbed off on Balji’s long career in journalism. Balji also talks about his schooldays, the villages of Chong and Sembawang outside the Naval Base and the question of integration with recent migrants from India.Part 1 |

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00:39:00

Rajandeeren Kanayan – Silat & Gan Eng Seng School,...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/04/26

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Rajandeeren Kanayan traces his roots in the old Tanjong Pagar, from his grandparents arriving from India to his father working in the Singapore Harbour Board and then the Port of Singapore Authority. He himself grew up in Queen’s Crescent, Blair Plain and Silat Integrated School after the war. What filled his early years was a sense of adventure, initiative and independence common to many of his generation. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/fnQd1vRvS-Q Part 2 |

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00:46:11

黄信勇 – 甘榜波东巴西第二集 | 旧新加坡记事录 Wong San Yong – Kampong...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/04/21

欢迎来到旧新加坡记事录。黄信勇医师记得当年装修房屋、耕种土地都是靠双手完成的。在70年代，他的家人被迫从波东巴西搬到大巴窑2巷的政府组屋。他和他的兄弟姐妹——他们都接受过华文教育——开始工作谋生。他后来成为美玲街的一名中医，至今仍在行医，同时还教气功。他说，贫穷的出身也有它的好处。Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Physician Wong San Yong remembers how renovating the house and farming the land was done by hand. In the 1970s, his family was evicted from Potong Pasir to a HDB flat in Toa Payoh Lorong 2. He and his siblings – all Chinese-educated – began to work and make a living. He became a TCM physician in Mei Ling Street, which he

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00:46:37

Abdullah Hussain & Saiful Nizam – The Many Styles of...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/04/19

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Abdullah Hussain & Saiful Nizam from the Silat Seni Gayong Naga Bura join me to trace the origins of pencak silat in the Malay world. They talk about how different styles were developed by masters called gurus, passed down by oral tradition and brought to Singapore by migrants. One particular style, the Seni Gayong, emerged on the now-forgotten island of Pulau Sudong during the Japanese Occupation. Abdullah and Hussain recall the demanding training they

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00:23:22

Loh Kah Seng – 20 Years Interviewing Singaporeans...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/04/14

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. I reflect on my oral history work spanning 20 years, beginning with leprosy survivors in 2005 and victims of the 1961 Bukit Ho Swee fire to recent interviews with shopkeepers of Chinatown and TCM physicians. Looking at two very different interviews with leprosy survivors, I discuss how ordinary people offer additional voices to the Singapore Story and new ways of writing history from below.00:00 Introduction00:57 Voice of the Singapore Story02:41 3

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00:39:05

Jamari Ahmari – The Boyanese, DSTS & Sembawang...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/04/12

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jamari Ahmari recalls taking the initiative to learn from his instructors at Sembawang Shipyard. He graduated top of his class and became an estimator, contributing to the shipyard’s commercial growth. Once, though, he ran afoul of the company’s strict ‘no long hair’ policy. He married Jamidah from Jalan Pasir Ria, ran an engineering consultancy for two years and continues to work today. He reflects on the three things that shaped his life: family, work and

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00:47:46

Charles Ngui – EDB’s Masters & Apprentices Part 2 |...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/04/07

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Charles Ngui remembers the 'espionage' in industrial services in the 1970s. The EDB's Light Industries Services made prototypes and did reverse engineering for its clients. Singapore did not need money to industrialise, but industrial expertise. He later joined the National Engineering Services, a government-owned company, as a marketing officer. He talks about its struggles and why it eventually failed.Part 1 | https://youtu.be/6-u7rymWSKk Part 2

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00:40:00

P.N. Balji – My Parents, Delhi Road & the Naval Base...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/04/05

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Veteran editor P.N. Balji traces his memories to the Naval Base and specifically Delhi Road where his family lived. His younger brother was Sivaji, former national coach of Singapore football. Balji tells the story of his father Poravankara Narayanan Nair as a stowaway from Kerala and how he dropped his caste name ‘Nair’ in Singapore. Poravankara Narayanan was involved in the (1956?) Naval Base strike against the Admiralty and when the British forces left,

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00:42:57

Pamela Sandanasamy – My Father & the Naval Base Part...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/03/30

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Pamela Sandanasamy relates how the British military withdrawal in the late 1960s and 1970s divided her paternal and maternal relatives, taking them away from Singapore to Britain, India and Malaysia. We also discuss how the Sembawang community, including working adults in the 20s to 40s, can do to celebrate their lives in and around the Naval Base.Part 1 | https://youtu.be/IV5Z1_YmBK4 Part 2 | https://youtu.be/tInleB6qsl000:00 Farewells from the British

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00:54:58

黄信勇 – 甘榜波东巴西第一集 | 旧新加坡记事录 Wong San Yong – Kampong...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/03/28

欢迎来到旧新加坡记事录。黄信勇医师讲述了他的父母从广东移民到波东巴西，成为菜农。他回忆起五岁时就在农场工作，以及水灾经常冲毁家中菜地的情景。性格内向的他起初并不了解华校的学生运动，也不了解正在动员波东巴西农民的乡村住民联合会。Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Physician Wong San Yong relates how his parents migrated from Guangdong to become vegetable farmers in Potong Pasir. He talks about working on the farm when he was five years old and the frequent floods that swept away his family’s vegetables. An introvert, he initially did not know about the student movement in Chinese schools or the rural

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00:18:42

Leng Ng Tai – Engineering Apprentice from Naval Base...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/03/26

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Leng Ng Tai talks about his ongoing efforts to document the stories of ex-engineering apprentices like him for the Founders’ Memorial as well as those of other older Singaporeans who contributed to the development of Singapore. And along with other members of the Old Engineering Apprentices Association, he is mentoring engineering students from the Singapore Polytechnic. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/GDGLS2sZuJw Part 2 | https://youtu.be/P8ayDbs_HuA Part 3 |

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00:34:37

Jamidah Subardy – Kampongs of Old Pasir Panjang Part...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/03/23

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jamidah Surbardy remembers fondly her childhood and community in Pasir Ria and Pasir Panjang. Three things marked the changes that eventually took her away from Pasir Panjang – getting married at the age of 21, working in the crystals factory of Australian firm Hy-Q International and relocating to HDB flats after the landlord sold the land. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/NP0XnXGpKkg Part 2 | https://youtu.be/Ji58cC_bu1M00:00 Childhood03:11 The Surau07:03 Hy-Q

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00:42:04

Charles Ngui – Apprentice at Light Industries...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/03/22

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Charles Ngui talks about the work of the Light Industries Services, in creating prototypes for local and foreign companies and doing reverse engineering with these clients. He also recounts the efforts of the National Engineering Services, a government-owned company where he was a marketing officer, and why it eventually failed. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/6-u7rymWSKk Part 2 | https://youtu.be/UtyDCpVboNY Part 3 | https://youtu.be/v2eHkDbDJ3Y Part 4 |

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00:37:40

Gloria Kwok – My Granny & Sago Lane, Sei Yan Kai Part...

Chronicles of Old Singapore ·

2026/03/17

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Gloria Kwok recounts her special relationship with her grandmother Sum Yin Yong in the later years till she passed away. If Sago Lane played a key role as a community hospice for the people of Chinatown during the colonial period, Gloria is proud that her grandmother worked for many years in one of the death houses on the street.Part 1 | https://youtu.be/PSDWCwFQ5-g Part 2 | https://youtu.be/-KoBOxSM8-0 00:00 Life on the Five-Foot-Way02:22 Granny & I:

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