Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Jeffrey Eng remembers growing up in a shophouse, which was not only a house but a business premises. For a long time, they used the bucket system. The Singapore River close by was putrid before it was cleaned up and lightermen and coolies worked along the riverfront.

I asked Jeffrey if he can envisage Eng Tiang Huat being at Smith Street, which is being revitalised by the Chinatown Business Association. He said perhaps, but it would have to be a serious cultural venture and not as a souvenir shop for tourists to come and take photographs.

00:00 Growing Up in a Shophouse

05:34 My Father’s Favourite Clogs

14:03 The Bucket System

18:18 The Old Singapore River

26:27 Heritage Businesses & Vanishing Trades

33:21 Can Eng Tiang Huat be at Smith Street?

41:50 Eng Tiang Huat is Not a Souvenir Shop

Eng Tiang Huat on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChineseCulturalShop

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 like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com if you have stories to share.

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Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Quek Siow Kai felt he had hit a technician’s glass ceiling by the mid-1980s; to break it, he obtained an engineering degree from the University of Alabama at Huntsville – an eye-opening experience. He talks about the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, where one could be fired overnight in a downturn, and what he learned from his time with the US giant in Singapore, Texas Instruments.

00:00 Introduction

01:05 Glass Ceiling for a Technician

11:43 Studying Engineering at University of Alabama, Huntsville

21:53 Tool & Die in Semiconductor Industry

28:54 The 1985 Recession in Singapore

35:59 My Experience at Texas Instruments

41:58 Importance of Training

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 like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com 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. Quek Siow Kai joined Gul Engineering and Singapore’s growing marine industry. He learned a lot there, but decided to leave for his own safety. Largely because management wanted to build and repair ships quickly, subcontractors and workers were often not aware of the dangers in a shipyard. This culminated in the 1978 Spyros explosion and fire – Singapore’s worst industrial accident. Nevertheless, there were experienced sifus in what was a Cantonese-speaking industry. They trained new workers and helped the industry succeed.

00:00 Unsafety in the Marine Industry

07:41 The Push for Productivity

09:31 The Role of Management

17:08 Dangers in a Shipyard

25:55 The Spyros Tragedy

32:16 Sifus & Old Hands

43:24 A Cantonese Industry

Inquiry Report on the Explosion and Fire on Board S.T. Spyros, 12th October 1978.

https://www.nlb.gov.sg/main/book-detail?cmsuuid=119cee73-85f5-4555-997c-e73aa4b4ba31

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 like the video and subscribe for future episodes. This will help the channel a lot.

Write to lkshis@gmail.com 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