Panthers & elephants & ghosts!
Oh, my!
By Ng Tze Yong
November 09, 2009
THE mundane and quirky are some of the unlikely candidates saved for posterity, in a new book documenting Singapore’s history through 50 years of old newspaper reports.
In Chronicle Of Singapore, launched by President S R Nathan on Friday, stories of escaped panthers and people killed by falling coconuts take pride of place alongside socio-political biggies like merger and separation.
‘Life’s like that. Life is made up of not only the big events, but also the mundane and trivial,’ said Mr Peter Lim, the 71-year-old former editor of The Straits Times and The New Paper, who headed the project team.
Raw
Unlike conventional history books written with the benefit of hindsight, Chronicle Of Singapore gives readers a raw, first-hand look at events through the eyes of reporters caught in the thick of the action.
The book, published by Editions Didier Millet and on sale for $59.90 (inclusive of GST), features more than 2,000 stories on topics ranging from politics to entertainment.
It casts a poignant, and sometimes humorous, look at bygone days.
Through the macro and micro, it also gives us a look into a young nation grappling with rapid change.
Here are our favourites.
‘Some of the stories have been edited for length
15 Jun 1959
Rock ‘n’ roll, jukeboxes and pin-tables get the thumbs-down
The Singapore Amusement Service Association asked the Minister for Home Affairs Ong Pang Boon to explain his ‘sudden and unexpected’ ban on jukeboxes and pin-table machines on 12 Jun.
Meanwhile, a delegation from the Asia Novelty Emporium, a big pin-table arcade in Geylang, called on the Minister for Labour and Law K M Byrne, saying that the ban meant job losses for 3,000 workers and indirectly affected another 10,000.
The attempts to lift or postpone the ban were futile and jukebox and pin-table saloons were to remain closed.
Ong explained that these saloons were not as innocent as they looked.
Secret societies operated a number of them, and they were often the settings for fights and murders. Some saloons also showed obscene films, he said.
1 Jan 1960
Don’t use National Anthem to sell goods
The Ministry of Culture has noticed that certain record shops have been playing the National Anthem to ‘advertise goods or attract customers’.
Under a law passed in November that year, those misusing the anthem could be fined up to $1,000. The law applied also to people who failed to stand up, as a mark of respect, when it was being played.
23 Apr 1960
New park for Hong Lim Green
The park at Hong Lim Green, complete with an open-air theatre, was opened by Culture Minister S Rajaratnam.
The $173,000 stage-cum-cinema was provided with changing rooms, and the central screen could be adapted for Cinemascope.
12 Nov 1960
New library building is severely criticised
The new Raffles National Library at Stamford Road, expected to be completed in December, got a thumbs-down from Singapore architects. They criticised it as ‘too severe’, ‘intimidating’, ‘gaunt’ and ‘heavy-looking’.
The building was designed five years earlier by a Public Works Department senior architect, in consultation with the then chief librarian. The two had since left Singapore. The library was officially opened by Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yusof Ishak.
7 Dec 1962
No Twist ban while it remains a dance
It’s okay to Twist, the Government said in response to a query from the public, as long the craze sweeping through cabarets and nightclubs remained a healthy dance.
The dance had not been and would not be banned so long as it did not become ‘sexually or morally depraved’.
Twist films had yet to be shown in Singapore. It was believed that, due to their ‘sexual or moral depravity’, a number had not made it past the censors.
Pages from the past
15 Feb 1963
TV arrives-and so does a baby
This was not just another test transmission. It was for real, the clock on the black-and-white television screen ticking away the last few seconds before 6pm. Then the clock faded out and the Singapore state flag came on to the accompaniment of the National Anthem Majulah Singapura. TV had arrived in Singapore!
Inside the Victoria Memorial Hall, 300 invited guests watched the inaugural programme on 17 TV sets, lasting an hour and 40 minutes. It captivated tens of thousands watching sets placed outside the hall, along Princess Elizabeth Walk on the seafront, in community centres and in homes and offices.
Then came a locally produced documentary, TV Looks at Singapura, followed by cartoons, the news, a newsreel, an imported comedy and a local variety show. All four of the country’s main cultural streams made an appearance, as did a newborn baby. Announcers gave a summary of the next day’s programmes.
5 Feb 1964
Shaw heir kidnapped in broad daylight
The son of cinema magnate Run Run Shaw was kidnapped by armed gangsters. Oxford graduate Shaw Vee Meng, 31, had been on his way to work in the morning when the car he was in was stopped by a van a few hundred yards from his Andrew Road home.
Witnesses saw armed men overpowering Shaw’s driver Mundari Iklal, 45. Within 25 minutes, all police posts were notified. The two victims were eventually freed along Bukit Timah Road after 12 days.
Mr Shaw revealed in newspaper interviews that he and his driver had been blindfolded throughout the ordeal and were given only watery porridge for meals.
By 1 Mar, police announced that several suspects had been successfully rounded up.
3 Dec 1964
Cool trishaw rider meets Satchmo
Jazz great Louis Armstrong visited Singapore, to the delight of his fans, but his trishaw rider was not impressed. As the singer/trumpeter posed for a photograph outside the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board in Raffles Place, the trishaw rider remained above it all.
5 Mar 1966
Millionaires, more or less
Singapore’s exclusive ‘millionaires’ club’ grew and then shrank between 1959 and 1963.
According to the Inland Revenue department, the numbers went from 11 in 1959 to 17 in 1961 and back down to 14 in 1963. Millionaires were defined as individuals earning over $200,000 a year.
11 Apr 1967
In 38 years at cinema, he never saw a show
Mr Ghasita Singh, who had been working as a watchman at the Capitol Theatre for 38 years, was finally persuaded to retire by his children.
The 79-year-old had become a watchman in 1929, when the building was under construction.
1 May 1968
Bulgarian numbers game for Singapore
A Bulgarian-style numbers game would be introduced in Singapore in June of that year.
The betting system, to be run by the newly registered Singapore Pools Ltd, would be based on a numbers system. Seven Bulgarian experts helped the Government set up Singapore Pools.
23 Nov 1970
Bomoh ends Taman Ho Swee ‘haunting’
A famous ‘bomoh’ laid to rest a spirit believed to have been haunting residents of Taman Ho Swee.
The spirit was thought to be that of Ong Tiong Lye, a 17-year-old newspaper vendor killed in a gangland slaying on 26 Sep.
Several residents said they had seen the ghost, who appeared as a bloody apparition. Many others, including the boy’s mother, said they had heard his moans and weeping.
Following the visit by T Samy – also known as Bomoh Taha – residents said that they no longer heard eerie noises.
24 Nov 1971
Lydia sweeps stick-man Wong Sa off his feet
Popular Hong Kong comedienne Lydia Sum, arriving for a charity show at the National Theatre, was welcomed by local comedy stars Wong Sa and Ya Fong.
In an unexpected reversal, the robust Sum swept the rail-thin Wong off his feet into her arms, with help from Ya.
She laughed off this feat, joking – ‘Oh, he’s pretty lightweight’.
7 Mar 1973
Panther sparks huge hunt
A black panther on the loose set off a massive hunt in the Seletar-Mandai Road area.
The three-year-old panther, acquired from Thailand just six days earlier, was one of three at the zoo which was scheduled to open the following month. It was reported missing the previous evening.
The police hunted in teams of five and eight.
Just before noon, one police party opened fire when it spotted movement in the jungle along the zoo boundary. But the animal turned out to be a bear that had also escaped from the zoo a few days earlier.
19 Feb 1975
Porn in a pen
It was a pen with a view-of pornographic pictures, that is.
Made in Denmark, the pens, which cost between $10 and $15, were reportedly a hit among school children and factory girls.
Five coloured pornographic pictures could be viewed by peeping into a small round hole at the top of the pen and turning a knob.
1 Mar 1980
ACS told to cut out the snobbery
The Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) came under attack for social snobbery.
Senior Minister of State for Education Tony Tan said the school’s emphasis was not on its Christian commitment, but material success.
ACS then issued 13 rules for the students. Expensive watches, jewellery, cameras, cars and racing bicycles were banned. Community service was made compulsory.
1 May 1980
The great parking-coupon confusion
Confusion and frustration – and lots of fines. On the day when the new parking-coupon system became official, 1,404 motorists were booked for failing to display the coupons, and 55 for overstaying.
The new system required motorists to shade circles and squares on the coupons showing the starting time and date of parking.
The system had been introduced in February by the Urban Renewal Authority on a three-month-trial basis, and most motorists had found it confusing and troublesome.
Motorists preferred the old system, even if they had to look for an attendant to pay the fee.
The biggest complaint both then and on the day when the scheme became permanent was it was difficult to know how long they needed to park, as they might have to attend business meetings or might be held up in a queue.
19 Apr 1981
Traffic standstill on bridge with a view
The newly opened East Coast Parkway viaduct was the perfect lookout point for those who wanted a scenic view of the waterfront and business district skyline.
Scores of motorists who took their families out on a Sunday evening drive, stopped and took out cameras and binoculars to capture the moment.
The result was a traffic jam which stretched from Fort Road to Beach Road.
Two days later, traffic police announced that motorists who obstructed traffic along the viaduct would be summoned.
25 Aug 1981
Hit a jackpot in the air
Fly Singapore Airlines (SIA) and end up richer.
The Vegas-style jackpot machines were to be SIA’s exclusive inflight entertainment feature aboard its fleet of 16 Boeing 747s until early the following year.
Six seats were removed from the back of the economy-class cabin to accommodate the machines.
25 Sep 1982
Mooncake madness
A frenzy ensued at the 60-year old Tai Chong Kok shop on Sago Street even before opening time.
Shop assistants at the mooncake shop had to use poles to split the massive crowd into groups so that counter staff would not be overwhelmed by the onslaught.
The day before, Tai Chong Kok’s mooncakes had been voted the best by The Sunday Times Better Buy panel, and with a week before the Mid-Autumn festival, it had been selling up to 10,000 mooncakes daily.
15 Jan 1985
Boy hero saves children
Hisham Norzali Yusuf, 6, did not hesitate to rush into a neighbour’s blazing eighth-storey flat in Toa Payoh to rescue three young children.
Hisham was considered for the Guinness Stout Effort Award, given for outstanding acts.
14 May 1987
Where are the missing boys?
Exactly a year earlier, 12-year-old schoolboys Keh Chin Ann and Toh Hong Huat had gone missing.
Despite a huge police search, a poster campaign, a $100,000 reward and a feature on television’s Crime Watch programme, nothing had emerged which would explain their disappearance.
The two Primary Six students of Owen Primary School were last seen on their way to school.
The search for them was extended to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
30 May 1990
SAF’s jumbo-sized problem on Pulau Tekong
Three wild elephants, which were believed to have swum for 1.5 kilometres across the Strait of Johor, had taken refuge on Pulau Tekong, an island used by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as a training ground.
Expert trackers from the Malaysian Wildlife Department’s Elephant Capture and Translocation Unit captured the elephants on 7 Jun.
The following day, a six-man team and two trained elephants arrived to help guide the animals onto a lorry for the journey back to Malaysia.
23 Aug 1992
Cruise ship sinks in 15 minutes
A luxury cruise ship carrying many Singaporeans collided with a Taiwanese trawler in the Strait of Malacca in the early hours of the morning.
Within 15 minutes, the cruise ship, the bigger of the two vessels, had sunk. All 516 passengers and crew were rescued.In all, it was carrying 337 passengers and 179 crew when the collision occurred. Of these, 256 were believed to be Singaporeans.
It was later revealed that three people died as a result of the collision.
One was a male Singaporean who was travelling with nine family members.
2 Aug 1995
Kitaro gets to keep a date – and his long hair
Eleven years after his first attempt to perform in Singapore was derailed by his trademark flowing locks, Japanese synthesiser maestro Kitaro agreed to return to the Republic and put on a show.
Years earlier, in September 1984, Kitaro had been scheduled to perform in Singapore, but officials at Changi Airport had refused to let the artist enter the country unless he cut his long tresses.
Kitaro politely refused, cancelled the show and caught the next available flight back to Tokyo.
During the intervening years, rules on long hair had been relaxed.
6 Jul 1996
Filipino-maid ban lifted
Philippine president Fidel Ramos lifted the ban on the deployment of domestic helpers to Singapore after relations between the two countries had been normalised.
The ban had been imposed after maid Flor Contemplacion was hanged in Singapore in March 1995.
Contemplacion had admitted to murdering a Filipino maid and a Singaporean child, but most Filipinos believed she was innocent.
The NewPaper