Where oh where is Old Singapore?

Recently I asked a childhood friend who had immigrated to Australia for many years whether he would consider coming back to Singapore to live. His answer is of relevance to the topic I a writing on. He was full of praise for Singapore, its shopping centres, its mrts and new flats. He also praised the economy and the global outlook of the country. But, no, he would not consider living in Singapore again. "Why?" I asked him.

Not because I am now an Australian citizen he told me but because in his words, "There is no sense of stability, of continuity in Singapore." Not that everything is changing because this is inevitable with progress in a small island but there are no links, no connections with some meaning in my past which would make me feel belonging. All that is gone, swept away bu the steely determination of the country to modernize.

Take a look at Chinatown, that is the so-called Chinatown that are mentioned in the same breath as visitors, shopping and tourists. Sir Stamford Raffles may have intended to mark out a "Chinese Campung" area where the Chinese would be allowed to settle but from that it is a mockery to call the area that has evolved "Chinatown" which is what the National Library does in its information note,

"Chinatown is Singapore's largest Historic District, and the four sub-districts of Bukit Pasoh, Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer and Tanjong Pagar were given conservation status in the late 1980s. Much of the town has changed, but fortunately, some remnants of its colourful past still stand and old traditions still endure. During festivals like the Lunar New Year, there's celebration and special shopping. And as to be expected Chinatown is always dressed for the occasion, colourful, lit up and buzzing with activity, attracting not just Chinese but other locals, and tourists as well."

Nobody who ever lived in Chinatown called it Chinatown. The term was borrowed from "Chinatowns" of San Fransisco, London, Amsterdam and Sydney and apply to Singapore so that tourists would feel comfortable.

In one stroke Singapore old town as I prefer to call it was appropriated and given over to the tourists. Those who lived in it became curiosities to be gawked and pawed over much like the cheap trinkets sold from pushcarts for visitors.

It is important that we respect the life and experiences of our forefathers as they actually were and not turned them into some kind of oriental exotica like what we see in the photograph for the voyeuristic pleasure of tourists.

My aim is to put across in my own limited way a sense of what life meant then for us old Singapore town dwellers.

A gentler, more relaxed and forgiving Singapore.



In any case, in the past people always refer to the place where you live - Geylang, Hylam street, Bukit Pasoh End, Si Beh Lor or wherever you happen to be.

In any case, in the past people always refer to the place where you live - Geylang, Hylam street, Bukit Pasoh End, Si Beh Lor or wherever you happen to be.

So Telok Ayer Street was often simply referred to as Ma Cho Keng Tau Cheng (in front of the Ma Cho Temple) or if you live further down as Guan Soon Kuay (Guan Soon Street).

Similarly Amoy Street was referred to as Ma Cho Keng Hau Piak (back of Ma Cho Temple). Because Amoy Street was near the Cantonese areas in Smith Street and New Bridge Road it was also known as Ha Mun Kai by the Cantonese,

These names have a simple elegance reflecting the community context.