Shedding Some Light: Time and Tide

Story and pictures by Kevin Lee
This story was first published at the MyStory portal, an initiative by the Public Education Division of the National Heritage Board.
I allowed Sang Nila Utama safe passage to Singapore after he yielded his crown as tribute. At that time, the island was called “Temasik”, but he renamed it “Singapura” or… »

A Singapore History Proposal: Reminiscing the Singaporean Identity

by Andrew Cai

My proposed documentary would be entitled “Reminiscing the Singaporean Identity”. As suggested by the title, it aims to challenge Singaporeans to consider whether the Singapore’s identity is really constant and unchanging. The onslaught of globalization has led to the creation of an increasingly borderless world and foot-loose “global citizens”. Hence we need to… »

A Singapore History Proposal: Finding Local Stories

by Inoue Ikuyo
The history of Singapore has always been a controversial issue among academics and politicians alike, as various questions inevitably arise regarding the content, viewpoints and themes of a history of Singapore. When should Singapore’s history start – the fourteenth century or 1819? Should we write Singapore’s history as viewed by the Europeans or… »

A Singapore History Proposal: A Tale of Connections

by Ling Kai Xin Shauna

The plot of the documentary features how Singapore as a global city-state has always been linked to a larger entity. The documentary portrays an internationalist instead of a nationalist history because Singapore’s evolution from an emporium to a city-state has always been shaped by global forces.
The two characters in the… »

A Singapore History Proposal: Diverse Perspectives

by Shiela Carelnina Winata
When Singaporeans talk about Singapore history, too often what comes to mind is the Singapore Story taught in the education system through Social Studies lessons: the amazing development of a sleepy colonial outpost into a thriving nation, which has triumphed over many hardships. We start with Raffles’ landing in Singapore and learn… »

A Singapore History Proposal: Where We Came From

by Janice Tan Siew Hong
Standing on a gangplank latched to one side of the pier is the lone figure of a girl. The Chinese junk that took her here has already left. They told her that this is Nanyang, the Chinese name for the Southern Ocean. It was Singapore, 1911. Her fellow passengers on board… »

A Singapore History Proposal: Lim Chin Siong-The Other Side

by Ivan Toh Chun Siong

Singapore’s history, as it is “fashioned by the heroic vision of its founding fathers”, has produced an orthodox doctrine we know as the Singapore Story.[i]However, the Singapore story is problematic; embodying a “complexly nuanced historical…interpretation of the past that (was) manufactured for political reasons…a tactical selection of facts: those that are… »

A Singapore History Proposal: Singapo[RE]education

by Lim Shu Hui
Dear Producer,
The title of my proposed documentary is History: Singapo[RE]education. I would like to explain my title using my personal experience and knowledge of Singapore history syllabus. As a student of Singapore history, I have been exposed to a considerable variety of literature and other media forms about the said topic.

For instance,… »