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CNA
3 days ago
- CNA
The best way to celebrate SG60? A walk along the Singapore River
Recently, I took a long walk along the Singapore River. I've walked the river countless times before, but this time, as a retiree, I could afford to take it slow. What began as a leisurely stroll soon turned into a journey through the pages of our nation's history. And as I walked, I thought: How fitting that I am traversing the river of Singapore's history now, as we commemorate the 60th anniversary of our hard-won independence. My first stop was the Merlion statue overlooking Marina Bay, at what is now known as the Merlion Park opposite The Fullerton Hotel. At 8.6m high, this monument is tied to how Singapore got its name. The fish body represents the island's beginnings as a fishing village called Temasek. The lion's head, however, is less straightforward. As the story goes, a Palembang prince named Sang Nila Utama landed on our shores and named the island Singapura in the year 1299 – more than 500 years before the British arrived, although the actual date is now disputed among historians. "Singapura" is nowadays taken to mean "lion city" in Sanskrit, a literal translation. However, when I was in primary school in the 1960s, our history teachers told us that "singa" meant "lion" in Malay and "pura-pura" meant "false" or "phony". From what they taught, it was said that an aide to Sang Nila Utama had told him lions didn't exist in the region, so he must have seen a false lion – something that looked like a lion but wasn't. Despite the confusion and debate over the true origins of the Singapura name, I still prefer this version of a false lion. Somehow, it feels like something that could have happened. Trivia: The Merlion was designed in the early 1960s by Mr Alec Frederick Fraser-Brunner, the British curator of the former Van Kleef Aquarium who studies fish and aquatic creatures. It served as the corporate logo for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board, now the Singapore Tourism Board, from 1964 to 1997. SINGAPORE'S GLOBAL PRESENCE The Merlion statue was unveiled on Sep 15, 1972, by then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew at what is now the Waterboat House Garden. It was later relocated to its current position in the Merlion Park in 2002. During the 2002 ceremony unveiling the statue at its new location, the prime minister spoke about how no one believed Singapore could become a major tourist destination because we lacked natural and historical attractions. He noted that in 2001, our tourist numbers exceeded 7.5 million – a vast leap from 91,000 in 1964, when the then Singapore Tourism Promotion Board was formed. Since that speech, Singapore has continued to make bold moves and investments to reinvent itself as a tourism destination with the building of billion-dollar attractions such as the Gardens by the Bay and two integrated resorts. In 2024, tourism arrivals hit 16.5 million and contributed almost S$30 billion to the economy. During my walk that day, I saw many tourists at Merlion Park taking photo after photo with the Merlion statue. It was gratifying to see our growth captured in the appreciation and admiration of these visitors. FORESIGHT AND VISION A little further along the riverbank, I came across the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, the British administrator who established Singapore as a port city, on the very spot where he was said to have first landed in 1819. Once Singapore was established as a British trading outpost, the river got even busier. If I had been taking this walk in the 19th century, I would have been dodging and ducking coolies and wagons carrying sacks of produce and goods back and forth between the water and the offices, shops and godowns lining Boat Quay and Clarke Quay. When I first saw the Stamford Raffles statue as a schoolboy, I was struck by his stately pose: arms folded, weight balanced on one leg and eyes steadily looking out into the distance. Looking at it again now, I imagined Raffles looking upon this simple fishing settlement and thinking, "There's a future to be unlocked here." Beyond Raffles, I thought of the early leaders of Singapore – not just Lee Kuan Yew, but others including Goh Keng Swee, who established the Economic Development Board, and S Rajaratnam, who penned our national pledge. How fortunate we are to have had such visionary, forward-looking leaders who saw the bright future Singapore could have despite the many odds against us. THE RIVER AS SYMBOL OF SINGAPORE'S GROWTH During my stroll on this day, I saw crowds of smartly dressed young men and women seated in brightly lit restaurants or walking between shops and offices, chatting with their lunchtime companions. I used to be one of them. Many of them would have grown up in a highly developed Singapore. I wondered if these young people thought much of the living history they were passing through these days. In the 1970s, I would visit the river as a boy and see other boys diving and swimming at the mouth of the highly polluted river. Rubbish and waste covered the surface of the blackish water and a foul smell perpetually stained the wind – until the massive clean-up operation of the late '70s began, transforming the river into a shiny, gleaming waterway. In the late 1990s, I spent several years working in Raffles Place and frequently visiting Boat Quay and Clarke Quay for food, drinks and entertainment. In just a few short decades, the shophouses and godowns had become restaurants, pubs, karaoke joints and discotheques. The bumboats had been replaced by passenger cruises. With similar clean-up and revitalisation efforts extending to other parts of the island, the Singapore River encapsulated the rapid transformation of the whole country from a 'Third World nation' to first. Singaporeans of all ages now enjoy clean, tree-lined streets, orderly housing estates, shiny malls and skyscrapers. Looking at the young people around me now, I wondered: Did they ever think of a time when forex or financial traders bustling through this area were produce or merchandise traders? Or when the streets were narrower, the shophouses shabbier, the river blacker? PAST AND FUTURE SINGAPORE I passed by The Fullerton Hotel, once the General Post Office where I had gone to for postal services in the past – now no longer necessary thanks to the many localised post offices and digital mail services available to us. Next was Clifford Pier, the former landing point for passenger ships coming into Singapore, making it the first place where many immigrants and visitors first set foot in the country. Before me was Marina Bay. This area, with its iconic skyline shaped by the central business district and Marina Bay Sands integrated resort, is often admired by residents and foreigners alike. Google "Singapore" and the first few images you'll see are likely to be of the bay area. However, I found myself looking past the skyline to recall that the water before me was fresh water, not sea water. Since the building of the Marina Barrage, the bay has become a freshwater reservoir – a living testament to Singapore's commitment to safeguarding her water security. TAKE A WALK I am looking forward to our SG60 celebrations and am eagerly anticipating the National Day Parade and fireworks. During this time, there are many other ways for us to engage with our rich history: Madame Tussauds Sentosa has an immersive multimedia experience depicting old Singapore, and on Aug 8, the National Museum will launch Singapore Odyssea, a multimedia showcase taking visitors through 700 years of the nation's history. I applaud these efforts to connect Singaporeans with our past and forge a deeper sense of national identity. However, perhaps there's no better way to remember our humble beginnings and appreciate our many successes than in a simple walk along the Singapore River.
Straits Times
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Facts and myths intersect at the National Museum's new glass rotunda installation
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE – In one popular myth passed down in Malay folklore, tidal changes are explained by a massive crab that resides among the roots of a magical tree named pauh janggi. The tree is above pusat tasek – or 'navel of the ocean', in Malay – and the crab's daily forays in and out of this gaping hole in the ocean floor are said to cause the rise and fall of the seas. This myth will be one of the stories told with the use of animation at the National Museum of Singapore's (NMS) Shaw Foundation Glass Rotunda, which re-opens on Aug 8 after closing in October 2024 for a revamp. The glass rotunda's new permanent exhibition, Singapore Odyssea, traces about 700 years of Singapore's history, culminating in a transition zone between the rotunda and the Singapore History Gallery. In addition to pauh janggi, three other myths are presented in this zone: Sang Nila Utama, the Palembang prince who supposedly named Singapore; the swordfish attack that gave Bukit Merah its name; and Raja Chulan, a Chola king who is said to have explored the waters near Singapore in a diving bell. Multidisciplinary artist Brian Gothong Tan, Singapore Odyssea's creative director, said the display incorporates myths as they are the lifeblood of civilisations. Brian – whose experimental film Waking The Fluorescent Lion was screened in the rotunda as part of the NMS' opening festival in December 2006 – said Singapore Odyssey goes beyond the traditional colonial understanding of the city by mixing ancient maritime history with myths. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business No clarity yet on baseline or pharmaceutical tariffs with US: DPM Gan Singapore Grace Fu apologises for Tanjong Katong sinkhole, says road may stay closed for a few more days Singapore Terrorism threat in Singapore remains high, driven by events like Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ISD Singapore Liquidators score victory to recoup over $900 million from alleged scammer Ng Yu Zhi's associates Singapore Man on trial for raping woman who hired him to repair lights in her flat Sport IOC president Kirsty Coventry a 'huge supporter' of Singapore Singapore Child and firefighter among 7 taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat Singapore S'pore can and must meaningfully apply tech like AI in a way that creates jobs for locals: PM Wong It's 'an expansion of our collective consciousness,' he said. Ms Priscilla Chua, principal curator at the NMS, added: 'Myths have long existed even before history was recorded.' 'Before the written word, this was what communities and people held onto, and what enabled them to understand what's going around them within the region, and help them to understand who they are, in the past and present,' she said. A designer from local animation studio CraveFX working on the designs for pauh janggi, a mythical tree. ST PHOTO: LUTHER LAU Ms Chua said that Singapore Odyssea is designed to be an immersive multimedia experience that creates a 'visually inspiring depiction of Singapore's history', with an emphasis on visuals. 'It's meant to be experiential, rather than artifacts,' said Ms Chua. 'We wanted visitors to have a 30-minute teaser of Singapore's history, before they enter the Singapore History Gallery to see the actual objects that depict the country's history.' The glass rotunda's coming re-opening marks the completion of the first phase of an ongoing overhaul of the NMS' permanent galleries . The Singapore History Gallery will admit its last visitors on Nov 16 before undergoing a year-long revamp, while the five level two galleries closed in September 2023 for a refresh. These galleries are slated to re-open in 2026. Ms Melissa Chan, Singapore Odyssea's art and design director, said the display begins by showcasing Singapore's maritime connections with the world through a new LED-covered sphere that represents the globe. An artist's impression of the new LED sphere in the National Museum of Singapore's glass rotunda. PHOTO: CRAVEFX, GSM PROJECT, KIN PRODUCTIONS AND NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE Referencing the glass rotunda's previous exhibit Story Of The Forest – designed by Japanese firm teamLab and displayed from 2016 to 2024 – Ms Chan said the only major physical change is Singapore Odyssea's new sphere, which helps to highlight the geometry and structure of the rotunda. After passing under the sphere, visitors will make their way down a sloping ramp, alongside projections that depict Singapore's history in reverse chronology. Mr Joshua Tan, the new exhibit's multimedia director, said this gives visitors a sense that they are digging deeper into the past, while their walk downwards on the ramp brings across the idea of excavation. In conceptualising the narrative for this section's projection, creative director Brian said the team looked at 'trauma points' in Singapore's history, such as separation from Malaysia and colonisation. He said that the design of projections here was inspired by temple reliefs in places such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The team that worked on Singapore Odyssea includes (from left to right) National Museum of Singapore principal curator Priscilla Chua, creative director Brian Gothong Tan, art and design director Melissa Chan and multimedia director Joshua Tan. ST PHOTO: LUTHER LAU At the end of the ramp, visitors enter a space within the rotunda where they can view vignettes of Singapore's history, before moving into the transition zone where the four myths are showcased. Multimedia director Joshua said that while the visuals displayed in the zone are animated, artists drew inspiration for them from real-life examples. For instance, he said, the team went on intertidal walks to conceptualise the animations for the transition zone, where the team presented pauh janggi as a mangrove tree, and also incorporated locally-found species into their designs, such as hawksbill turtles, ribbon jellyfishes and gold-spotted mudskippers. This, he said, makes the display a mix of myths and reality, while Brian said that the depiction of wildlife nudges visitors to consider humans' relationship with the natural world, especially as Singapore has lost much of its natural landscape during the colonial era. An original soundtrack that incorporates sound recordings from around Singapore was composed for Singapore Odyssea. Mr Zahin Anwari, the display's lead sound designer, said the soundtrack also includes singers from as far away as Bulgaria and Egypt, who were sought for the tonality and exoticism of their voices. Ms Chua hopes the 'travel back in time' experience that the rotunda offers will pique visitors' curiosity about Singapore's history. 'The concept of time travel has always had the allure of mystery, excitement and adventure and that's precisely the kind of experience we want to create for visitors,' she said.
