Accidental Tourist of Singapore - 2015 - Visit to the Peranakan 峇峇娘惹 Museum- Great Peranakans: Fifty Remarkable Lives Exhibition

Peranakan 峇峇娘惹 Museum- Great Peranakans: Fifty Remarkable Lives Exhibition 

I was in for some local culture immersion so I took a ride down to Peranakan Museum to join its 1 hour tour with their volunteer guide who walked through the highlights of the exhibition that showcases the achievements of 50 men (and women) for past 200 years. Those ladies and gentlemen were instrumental in  Singapore's life and culture by contributing to the arts, culture, education, business, governance, and public service. 

The Peranakans were very successful as traders as they often acted as middlemen between the British and the local Chinese and Malays because being mostly English educated, they were able to bridge the communication gap by speaking two or more languages.

It turns out that being linguistic during those early years was advantageous with a fair number of Peranakans gaining wealth through opium, land, gambier, setting up of shipping and banking conglomerates. I will strongly recommend that if you want to head down to the exhibition, you will be able to get the most from the exhibition if you pair the visit with the walking tours.

During the tour, I was given very interesting titbits about these greats and their relations for example, I realized that our current President Tony Tan's lineage is way back to his maternal grandmother is the daughter of the notable Peranakan Tan Jiak Kim (http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1846_2011-10-13.html?s=tony tan).

Quick info about who were President Tony Tan's ancestry who were featured in this same exhibition: 

• Tan Jiak Kim (1859-1917) is known as the Colonial Peranakan as he is a strong ally of the British who attended the coronation of George V on 1911. He is the grandson of Tan Kim Seng and son of Tan Beng Swee. More info available at http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1136_2009-06-29.html?s=tan jiak kim
• Tan Jiak Kim's grandfather Tan Kim Seng was also featured as one of the 50 Great Peranakans. He was a prominent merchant and philanthropist in 19th century. There is a Tan Kim Seng Fountain at the Esplanade Park to commemorate Tan Kim Seng's contributions to the first public waterworks in Singapore. He had donated generously towards the construction of MacRitchie Reservoir in the 1860s, one of the 4 main reservoirs of Singapore.

Here's a snap of what this all means graphically:

Another interesting tidbit was the fact that President Tony Tan's grandmother was buried in Bukit Brown cemetery. Here's a copy of the letter that was sent to the President by the people that were trying to protect Bukit Brown: http://blog.bukitbrown.org/post/44373443203/a-plea-to-the-president-discover-your-roots-I. You can see some of my thoughts about Bukit Brown in this earlier posting: http://accidentalsingaporetourist.blogspot.sg/search/label/Bukit%20Brown

Another interesting fact was that 4 out of the 10 cabinet officers in 1965 were Peranakans i.e. Lee Kuan Yee, Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee and Yong Nuyk Lin. 

Here's some photos to showcase the exhibits: 

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!

Accidental Tourist - the Singapore Bukit Brown Battle has been lost....

Announcement in the news on Aug 5, 2013 casts a heavy shadow over the plight of Bukit Brown and its surrounding area. It is now confirmed that the Land Transport Authority has awarded a tender to build a new road linking Adam Road, the MacRitchie Viaduct and Thomson Road via Bukit Brown Cemetery (with little mention of any impact on the land areas occupied by premier exclusive country club, Singapore Island Country Club) at a cost of S$134.7 million. The winner of the tender is local contractor Swee Hong, which is expected to complete construction by end 2017. 4,153 graves will be affected by or are in the vicinity of the new road. This news is just too sad but I find this in sync with the overall lunar 7^th month ghostly feel that started on 7 Aug.

For those who want to know what the fuss is about, please drop by my earlier blog posts: 

• http://accidentalsingaporetourist.blogspot.sg/2013/06/accidental-tourist-tale-of-2-greens.html
• http://accidentalsingaporetourist.blogspot.sg/2012/03/mixed-feelings-walks-around-bukit-brown.html

Until the next time, onto the world and beyond. 

Accidental Tourist - Tale of 2 greens.... Bukit Brown vs. Bishan Park

I had an opportunity over the recent Vesak Day weekend to enjoy 2 different experiences in 1 day - morning visit to the "soon to be destroyed" natural environment of Bukit Brown followed by an afternoon sojourn to the new Bishan Park under the brief drops of rain. 

Over on one side was the largely untouched natural wonder of Bukit Brown which is slated to be drastically destroyed in the coming weeks/ months so that new roads can be built to cater to the ever-growing car population of my small city. Largely left to its own devices for about a century, Bukit Brown is a pristine landscape haphazardly manicured by nature with overgrown tree barks bending and aching from its own weight. I had previously lamented on the loss of Bukit Brown in an earlier blog post (http://accidentalsingaporetourist.blogspot.sg/search/label/Cemetery) but I realise that this visit will likely be the last few (if not the last one) that I will be able to undertake during my lifetime. On the other side is the newly opened Bishan Park - with trees evenly spaced out amongst beautiful manicured gardens where grass areas and ponds are placed just to maximize the man-made serenity of the place. 

I cannot help but look at our generation of folly where we will be responsible for destroying something that is naturally created only to turn around to build landscapes that suit and match our idea of what nature should look like. 

It is sad that only after we burn the last green will we realize that we cannot re-build what we have destroyed. Till the next time, onto the world and beyond. 

Accidental Tourist - Mixed Feelings walks around Bukit Brown

Walking around a cemetery is unheard of in Asia - especially one that has been around since 1830s (over 180 years old!) but it was with mixed feelings that I undertook both walks (once with Nature Society & another with Heritage Singapore) held at Bukit Brown Cemetery. This is because the local Singapore government has decided to cut a 8-lane road across the cemetery. A lot of news, both local and international, (Economist & Wall Street Journal amongst others) have been reported regarding this episode (much like the one involving the KTM Tanjong Pagar Railway that was closed in 2011). 


Someone mentioned that we Singaporeans only throng to an old place when the government wants to do something to it - I agree with this statement but would also want to state that in a modern city, we can only count the number of old places that are being left alone. For me, I strongly believe that if I don't record or experience the place as it was before redevelopment, there will NEVER be another chance and as such, I continue with my quest to visit these old places. Someone else chimed that the long necks of the construction cranes is Singapore's national bird - a fact that my city country develops at an incredible (sometimes alarming) speed. 



I have only spent a short amount of time at Bukit Brown - however, the tranquility and the peace that only a place filled with tombstones can  provide will be missed. The trips actually brought me back to my younger days when I would go with my grandmother to visit my grandfather's grave when it was still at Paya Lebar area. 


For those with better knowledge, the imminent loss of those graves in Bukit Brown equals a loss to future generations as with the exhumation of graves, the clues to the past concerning funeral rites, material usage, architecture and last but not least the impact on flora and fauna will be lost and irrecoverable.  I believe there is a Chinese saying that goes something along this line...."if you take care of your ancestors, your future will be protected" which for those making way for the highway, is a foregone conclusion. 



A sad song is playing in my head as I write this entry & I think it will continue playing in my mind for some time.....

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!