The Historyogi Podcast

In 1965, Singapore separated from Malaysia, shattering the hope of a shared postcolonial future. The new country needed as many friends as it could get. The man who led the effort to secure Singapore’s place on the global stage was S. Rajaratnam, our first Foreign Minister. Today, we speak to Irene Ng, author of The Lion’s Roar, which is the second of a two-part biography on Rajaratnam. While he is best known for drafting the National Pledge, Rajaratnam also helped establish Singapore’s foreign policy principles and tackled some of the country’s major challenges during the early years.

In this episode, we discuss the execution of Indonesian marines for the MacDonald House bombings, the settling of Japan’s blood debt for wartime atrocities, the crisis after the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, Rajaratnam’s views on multiracialism and national identity, and the PAP Old Guard’s collective efforts to build Singapore.

Singapore’s short film industry is a small but vibrant one. With limited budgets, filmmakers aim to spotlight events and issues that rarely surface in more mainstream platforms. One such filmmaker is Leon Cheo, who has directed short films that focus on Singapore’s history. Today, we speak to Leon about his films Two is Enough (about the Stop at Two population control campaign in the 1970s) and 302 (about gay servicemen in the army in the mid-2000s). We also discuss the challenges in finding props and locations that accurately depict the past in a highly modernised city like Singapore.

Most of us are familiar with famous intelligence agencies such as the American CIA, the British MI6 and Israel’s Mossad. But did you know Singapore has its own spy agency known as the Security and Intelligence Division (SID)? Its first chief was Tay Seow Huah, who helped build Singapore’s early intelligence capabilities during the height of the Cold War and was involved in handling the Laju terrorist incident. Today, we speak to his son Dr Simon Tay, Chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, about his new book, Enigmas, which describes his father’s life and unusual career. 

The Singapore Heritage Fest this year celebrates our nation's rich built heritage. One of the most striking examples of this are the public housing estates which dominate Singapore’s urban landscape. How did we remake the island’s colonial era urban spaces into Singapore’s earliest HDB estates? How did rehousing Singaporeans change our lifestyles and hopes for the future? What does the kampong spirit mean when we think about the past? To answer these questions, we speak to Dr Loh Kah Seng, author of the book Squatters into Citizens. In this special episode, let’s learn about the history of public housing and urban redevelopment in Singapore.

Please note that the map referenced in this episode can be found here.

When we study and discuss history in Singapore, we usually focus on the social and political history of this country. However, the people’s relationship with this island’s natural environment also tells a rich story of its own. Today, we speak to Associate Professor Timothy Barnard from the National University of Singapore about his new edited book, Singaporean Creatures. We discuss environmental history during the colonial era from his previous book and how early national development policies regulated and restructured Singapore’s relationship with animals.

When we think about the history of Indians in British Malaya, their work in the rubber estates usually comes to mind first. But Indians also helped construct, operate and maintain the Malayan Railways that stretched across the peninsula and connected Singapore as well. Along with the tracks came numerous Hindu temples and shrines that shaped Malaya’s religious landscape. Today, we speak to Professor Vineeta Sinha from the National University of Singapore about her new book Temple Tracks. We discuss the history of Indian labourers in the Malayan Railways, their role in religion-making via temple construction, and how these railway temple stories symbolise the contributions of Indians in developing colonial Malaya and independent Malaysia.

When we think about Southeast Asia during the Cold War, we usually think just about Indochina and the Vietnam War. But British counterinsurgency strategies and engagement with nationalist elites in Malaya and Singapore also influenced America’s anti-communist policies in the region. Today, we speak to Associate Professor Ngoei Wen-Qing from the Singapore Management University about his book Arc of Containment. We discuss why Britain and America shared ideas on containing communist threats in Southeast Asia and how Singapore and Malaya managed the transition from British imperialism to American hegemony during the Cold War.

Before he was President of Singapore, Yusof Ishak was the Yang di-Pertuan Negara which directly translates to “He Who is Made Lord”. Singaporeans generally know little about this role, other than it was the predecessor of the current presidency and a symbol of self-government. But in fact, the British, Federation of Malaya, and Singapore leaders all actively struggled to define the Yang di-Pertuan Negara’s powers and symbolism so that the office would align with their political vision for the island. Today, we speak to Muhammad Suhail, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, who has authored a new book on the Yang di-Pertuan Negara. We discuss the intense debate over Singapore’s future constitutional arrangements in the 1950s, the British desire to keep effective control over Singapore, Malaya’s fears of communist influence, and Singapore’s demand for a public symbol of true autonomy.

NTUC FairPrice is such a household icon in Singapore that it’s more famous than the union movement itself. But how did NTUC come to operate a supermarket chain in the first place? Today, we speak to Sue-Ann Chia, co-editor of a new book titled “The Price of Being Fair” which chronicles FairPrice’s 50 years in business. We discuss FairPrice’s beginnings during heavy inflation, the pivotal decisions and costly mistakes it made, the supermarket wars, and its crucial role in national supply chain resilience.

In 1996, an Ang Moh arrived in Toa Payoh to start a new life. He loved Singapore’s idiosyncrasies so much that he decided to turn his humorous observations of everyday life here into a series of books. Today, we speak to Neil Humphreys, author of Notes From An Even Smaller Island (2001) and numerous other titles, about his take on 1990s Singapore, kiasu behaviour, colonial history and what he considers most unique about this little island.