Episodes

  • 欢迎来到旧新加坡记事录。郭绍愷讲述了过去大专学府华校生的一个普遍问题:英文基础薄弱。这就是为什么新加坡工艺学院中文协会在1962年成立的宗旨之一,协助华校生融入新的学习环境并帮助克服课业上的难题。他在1972年加入该协会,参与戏剧组的活动、也参加协会主办的假日营及对外文娱演出。会员对当时的社会问题也给予关注。

    Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Quek Siow Kai relates a common problem of Chinese-stream students in higher education in the past: poor command of English. This was why the Singapore Polytechnic Chinese Language Society was established in 1962 to help these students in their studies. He joined the CLS in 1972, becoming involved in its drama group and holiday camps at a time when the members were also keenly interested in social issues.

    00:00 介绍 Introduction

    00:52 中文协会两本书 Two Books by Chinese Language Society

    03:29 协会成立理由 Reason for Forming the CLS

    16:31 英语的困难 My Struggle with English

    24:51 戏剧组 Drama Group

    30:04 假日营 Holiday Camps

    40:52 社会问题 Social Issues

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    Write to [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Maria Yap was in the education service from 1973 to 2023. She recalls her early struggles as a beginning teacher and how she learned to manage students. She gives her views on the streaming policy and teaching students from the Normal stream, whom she found to be very intelligent.

    00:00 Introduction

    01:54 Joined Teaching in 1973

    08:18 I Loved to Learn

    17:33 Institute of Education & Her First Classes

    23:28 Managing Students

    28:27 Streaming & Mother Tongue

    32:20 Teaching Normal Students

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    Write to [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Missing episodes?

    Click here to refresh the feed.

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Dr Edmund Monteiro was the Medical Director of Middleton Hospital & CDC from 1980 to 1993. He remembers the first time he stepped into the hospital with his family during the Japanese Occupation. An Indian boy his age welcomed him at the gate and asked him, is the water here safe to drink, and can you swim?


    00:00 Introduction
    02:53 Earliest Memory of Middleton Hospital
    11:38 The Houses & Wards
    20:55 My Father Ernest
    28:56 My Mother Una
    38:51 The Japanese at Middleton
    42:47 Posting to Middleton


    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.
    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.
    Write to [email protected] if you have stories to share.
    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG
    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks
    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/
    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore


  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Maria Yap remembers unforgettable places in Old Changi Village like the cinema, the beach, the creek, and the sea. The village diminished when the British forces left and her family moved to Chai Chee Estate. But Maria and her husband still visit Changi Village today for its unique charm.

    Memories of Changi Village:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/358860330966889

    00:00 Changi Cinema & Other Places

    08:09 The British & RAF Changi

    12:17 The British Pullout & Moving to Chai Chee

    14:41 Decline of Changi Village

    16:10 Changi Beach

    24:04 The Memories of Changi Village Group

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    Write to [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Maria Yap recalls her tough but memorable childhood growing up in Old Changi Village before the British vacated RAF Changi. Her father was a cobbler in the village and her mother a washerwoman in the airbase.

    Memories of Changi Village:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/358860330966889

    00:00 Introduction

    02:40 Moving to Changi Village

    08:32 Father’s Shoe Shop

    15:13 Our House at Jalan Bekukong

    22:55 Mother was a Washerwoman

    28:36 Childhood Friends

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    Write to [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Brian Richmond takes us back to the ways football was played, strategised and refereed in the past. He tells us his best game and what an honour it was to captain the Singapore team. He pays tribute to the greatest team in Singapore football and considers the Lion City’s football heritage.

    00:00 Tactics & Formations in the Early Days

    04:15 Strict Referees & Great Referees

    10:04 My Best Game

    17:00 The Kallang Roar & the Malaysia Cup

    22:28 Taking Care of the Body

    27:12 Tribute to the Greatest Singapore Team

    30:46 The Problem of Corruption

    32:16 Singapore’s Football Heritage

    36:09 Local Teams

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    Write to [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Yeo Hong Eng remembers illegal wine distilling and secret societies in Kampong Chai Chee, as well as how the villagers tried to maximise their compensation when they were resettled in the 1970s. His sisters worked in the Rollei factory at the new Chai Chee Estate, and he became an avid collector of Rollei cameras.

    00:00 Moonshining in Kampong Chai Chee

    06:42 Secret Societies

    11:49 Avoiding the Authorities

    13:34 Rehousing & Compensation

    24:23 Rollei at Chai Chee

    28:18 My Collection of Rollei Cameras

    Mr Yeo can be contacted at yeohongengATyahoo.com.sg

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    Write to [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Brian Richmond, the beloved voice of Singapore football, talks about a lesser known side of his romance with the sport – his early playing days from the 1950s to 1971. He represented the Singapore/Malaysian youth teams before being promoted to the Singapore national team. He recalls some great players and coaches he met in his playing days and afterwards.

    00:00 Introduction

    00:58 My Football Story (in Short!)

    17:22 Early Romance with Football

    22:17 The 1966 Singapore Football Team

    26:42 Uncle Choo Seng Quee

    32:49 As a Versatile Player

    37:42 The Great Players

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    Write to [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. American geographer Jack Humphrey looks at his old photographs of Kampong Potong Pasir and recalls its houses, residents and flora. We talk about the resettlement of the kampong in the early 1980s and the politics that happened during that time.

    00:00 Potong Pasir’s Houses

    10:39 Malay Fishermen

    16:05 Resettlement

    20:07 Politics & Chiam See Tong

    27:19 Ingenious Uses of Space

    39:28 Conservation of the Kampong

    In his research, Jack conducted a preliminary survey of Kampong Potong Pasir before it was demolished. The report has not been published though Jack hopes to do so. His students from the NUS Department of Geography conducted research on Potong Pasir for their Honours theses:

    • Lee, Hoong Cheng. Kampong Potong Pasir: A Survey of its Existing Economic Activities 1979.

    • Lee, Lye Hoon. Resettlement of the Potong Pasir Community: A Study of Attitudes and Destinations. 1979.

    • Heng, San-san. Mental Mapping of Potong Pasir. 1977.

    • Jebamoney, Ebenezer. The Use of Space in Potong Pasir: Two Micro-studies. 1976.

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    Write to me [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Yeo Hong Eng, a retired teacher, wrote two books on the places of his childhood – Tanah Merah Kechil, which was part of Bedok Village, and Kampong Chai Chee. He talks about both kampongs and working on his family’s farm in Chai Chee.

    00:00 Introduction

    07:11 Tanah Merah Kechil & Bedok Village

    13:28 Moving to 262-B Peng Ghee Road

    19:56 The Family House

    30:21 Working on the Farm

    36:27 Floods

    40:21 Peng Ghee School

    Mr Yeo can be contacted at yeohongengATyahoo.com.sg

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    Write to me [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jack Humphrey was an American geographer who conducted a study of Kampong Potong Pasir in the late 1970s with his Singaporean students. He talks about its layout, origins and multiracial population. He found that unlike what people had told him, Potong Pasir was not a bad slum, but a safe and friendly community. It was also being demolished but people were determined to stay.

    00:00 Introduction

    04:19 Coming to Malaya & Singapore

    11:17 Fieldwork in Potong Pasir

    20:10 Map of Potong Pasir

    29:25 Misconceptions

    37:27 Potong Pasir’s Origins

    44:07 Ethnic Groups

    51:36 Houses & Structures

    In his research, Jack conducted a preliminary survey of Kampong Potong Pasir before it was demolished. The report has not been published though Jack hopes to do so. His students from the NUS Department of Geography conducted research on Potong Pasir for their Honours theses:

    • Lee, Hoong Cheng. Kampong Potong Pasir: A Survey of its Existing Economic Activities 1979.

    • Lee, Lye Hoon. Resettlement of the Potong Pasir Community: A Study of Attitudes and Destinations. 1979.

    • Heng, San-san. Mental Mapping of Potong Pasir. 1977.

    • Jebamoney, Ebenezer. The Use of Space in Potong Pasir: Two Micro-studies. 1976.

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes. Write to me [email protected] if you have stories to share.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jean Ang remembers setting up a games stall at Duxton Road when she was young and moving out to a HDB flat at Lengkok Bahru. She talks about the different jobs she concurrently held in the hospitality industry, and why it is important for seniors to continue to ‘look up over the rainbow’.

    00:00 I was a Stallholder at Duxton Road

    07:05 Gangsters & Brothels

    13:17 Moving to a HDB Flat at Lengkok Bahru

    17:34 The Conserved Shophouses

    22:51 My Job & My Many Gigs

    31:32 Always at the Front of the Class

    35:19 Looking Up Over the Rainbow

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. As a teenager in the early 1960s, Jean Ang and her mother went to the wharves to work as longsai, a corruption of the word ‘alongside’. Jean describes how they cleaned the insides of ships, braving the dangers of work that was done by women. Jean lived at Duxton Road and her mother was previously a samsui woman.

    00:00 Introduction

    02:24 The Longsai, or Ship Cleaners

    08:20 Cleaning the Ship

    15:32 Hazards & Accidents

    20:50 My Mother was also a Samsui Woman

    24:29 The Samsui Woman Painting

    27:23 My Schools

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Rey Pereira remembers growing up in a kampong at Jalan Wijayay (now expunged), part of Kampong Kembangan. He also loves collecting mementos. One fateful day in 2008, he felt Singapore has changed so much that he decided to set up a Facebook group and a blog called Nostalgic Singapore to share memories of Old Singapore.

    Nostalgic Singapore:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/48000673979/

    https://nostalgicaboutsingapore.blogspot.com/

    Rey Pereira’s book on Uncle Choo:

    https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/13203#t=aboutBook

    00:00 Introduction

    05:16 Collecting Mementos

    11:38 Jalan Wijaya

    18:53 Kampong Kembangan

    25:37 Communal Kampong

    28:15 24 Jalan Wijaya

    36:08 My Childhood Friends

    45:26 Sussex Estate

    50:01 Nostalgic Singapore

    01:01:12 My Book on Uncle Choo

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Charmaine Leung talks about the community at Keong Saik Road and her struggle to find her identity after moving out. She wrote her book with her mother’s agreement and was overwhelmed by the response. The heritage of Keong Saik Road, she says, should include the lives and struggles of the women who worked there.

    Charmaine Leung, 17A Keong Saik Road: A Personal Story,

    https://www.ethosbooks.com.sg/products/17a-keong-saik-road

    Take Charmaine Leung’s audio tour of Keong Saik Road:

    https://www.klook.com/activity/117053-untold-stories-singapore-red-light-district-keong-saik-road/

    00:00 Stigma & Shame in the Singapore Story

    09:10 Leaving Keong Saik Was Painful

    15:49 The Hungry Ghost Festival & the Community

    23:21 Shaping My Character

    26:07 Writing the Book

    32:49 The Overwhelming Response

    38:59 Keong Saik Road’s Women and Its Heritage

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, the people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Irene Hoe remembers her childhood at Old Dhoby Ghaut. She recalls the two businesses her mother Wu Chuen Chuen ran – Stamford Café and a hairdressing salon. I was surprised by her story of how her mother gave her up for adoption when she was very young so she could have a better life (though she returned home soon), and how she obtained closure over the matter years later.

    00:00 Introduction

    02:00 19 Dhoby Ghaut

    08:22 Rex Bookstore

    12:15 Our Hairdressing Salon

    19:57 My Mum as a Businesswoman

    27:45 Stamford Café

    50:20 My Parents & Siblings

    55:12 My Adoption

    01:04:30 What Girls Did in Those Days

    01:09:47 Second-hand Bookstores

    01:14:28 Heritage & the Real Singapore

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, a people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Charmaine Leung grew up along Keong Saik Road in the 1970s and early 1980s, her house next to the brothel which her mother operated. She tells us about the pei pa zai who worked in the entertainment houses, the transition to a red-light district after the war and some of the women who worked in the brothels.

    Charmaine Leung, 17A Keong Saik Road: A Personal Story,

    https://www.ethosbooks.com.sg/products/17a-keong-saik-road

    Take Charmaine Leung’s audio tour of Keong Saik Road:

    https://www.klook.com/activity/117053-untold-stories-singapore-red-light-district-keong-saik-road/

    00:00 Introduction

    02:30 15A & 17A Keong Saik Road

    11:04 Pei Pa Zai & Entertainment Houses

    19:21 Transition to A Red-Light District

    26:02 The Sex Workers

    34:18 My Parents

    38:48 The Brothel Business

    42:45 Finding Out & Coming to Terms

    I am Dr Loh Kah Seng, a people’s historian. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city.

    Do give us a like and subscribe to the channel for future episodes.

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. I didn’t realise that when I asked to interview Ronald Chng, Singapore’s golden judoka of the 1970s, he would take to the podcast to highlight the connection between sports and work. His fighting spirit helped him succeed as an engineer even though he faced discrimination from some companies that frowned upon his training and competing in judo.

    00:00 Introduction

    01:10 Judo for Self-Defence

    09:51 My Fighting Spirit

    17:45 Self-Belief in Judo and Work

    26:18 A Bad Time at Diethelm

    35:05 Du Pont: The Company That Supported My Judo

    38:51 Switch to F&N & Soft Drinks

    42:01 Working in Myanmar & Vietnam

    57:53 The SEA(P) Games

    01:03:19 Judo in Singapore

    01:14:47 Training Elite Athletes

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Irene Hoe recalls having non-Chinese friends during her childhood in Dhoby Ghaut, as well as Indian, Eurasian, Chinese, and Malay classmates at CHIJ. She organised a three-day reunion party for old girls in 2006 and tells us why she feels CHIJ’s heritage and memory have not been adequately documented.

    00:00 The Curriculum

    06:27 The Malay Class

    08:12 My Non-Chinese Childhood in Dhoby Ghaut

    21:40 The 2006 Reunion

    30:14 CHIJ’s Heritage

    36:53 Multiracial, Multicultural CHIJ

    42:05 The Campus in Toa Payoh

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore

  • Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Wilson Tang & Elsie Fong tell the story of Ren Ren Desserts, from his parents’ zi char business to studying at the Hotel & Catering Training Centre and then working at Hyatt Hotel as a chef. He explains the decision to run the desserts stall at the Chinatown Food Street with Elsie in 2001.

    They also talk about Yat Ka Yan 一家人 and Hup Ka Foon合家歡 – two popular desserts businesses today by their younger relatives – as well as what could be done to make the new Smith Street a success.

    Order from Ren Ren 仁仁Desserts: https://www.renrendesserts.com/

    00:00 Introduction

    02:08 My Parents’ Zi Char Business

    06:43 二姑糖水 Second Aunt’s Desserts

    12:36 Effects of the Hotel Boom

    20:13 Hotel & Catering Training Centre

    27:40 What Shatec Can Do at Smith Street

    36:07 Culinary Teachers from the Hotel Industry

    42:02 Ren Ren Desserts at Smith Street, 2001

    50:12 Learning to Make Cantonese Desserts

    59:14 Moving to Katong Shopping Centre

    01:04:52 Running Ren Ren Together

    01:08:30 Success of Yat Ka Yan & Hup Ka Foon

    YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@ChroniclesOldSG

    Spotify | https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks

    Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/61551786759344/

    Patreon | https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore