What would be the 50 objects that represent Singapore to you?

Back in September, a friend pointed me to this NYT article about a project in New York City that asked historians and museum curators to name 50 objects that could "embody the narrative of New York".



Top of the New York list was a Mastodon tusk. The 50th item was something called a "Meng Political Sign, 2012".

The former referred to the first recorded discovery of mastodon remains in 1858, in a borough in New York city.

The latter turned out to be a political campaign poster of a Ms Grace Meng. She won the Democratic Congressional nomination in Queens borough. That tidbit was a segway to how the city's residents of Asian origin exceeded one million for the first time, as recorded in the 2010 Census.


Inspired by the British Museum's 100 Objects
That project in New York was inspired by the British Museum’s BBC radio series and book, “A History of the World in 100 Objects".

Item One on the British Museum's list was the Mummy of Hornedjitef. The 100th item was a Solar Powered Lamp and Charger.



Detractors might say that was rather presumptuous of any institution to claim that their collections definitively represented "The World's" history. Equally arguable would be that the 100th item should have been a MP3 player or Xbox (dare I say, iPhone?) rather than a solar-powered lamp and charger.

BUT...

I found the concept of a "100 objects" listing -- one that symbolically represent a certain perspective of the world -- a refreshing one. Got to give it to the Brits for such a simple and innovative way to curate and present items from their Museum's collection (notwithstanding the joke about Colonial British plundering and shipping back treasures from all around the globe).

The British Museum has also created an interactive visual browse page (Flash-based), based on time and filtering by other facets.




People's History
The New York example wanted to make their's "a people’s history", to allow for individual perspectives rather than form a definitive list (as implied by the British example):

The “History of the World” was limited to objects in the British Museum’s collection. Like that list, ours “can only be a history” and “not the history.” And because it is a people’s history, we are inviting participation. Tell us what objects represent New York City to you in the comments section.

The New Yorkers invited public comments after an initial list from historians and museum curators. The British Museum didn't solicit public contributions it seemed.

I think to truly make it a "people's list", everyone should be given a chance to create their own right from the start.


A Singapore "100 objects" list?
The article instantly captured my imagination, since the Singapore Memory Project occupied a large part of my work time (and maybe off work too).

I wondered what a "50 objects that represent Singapore's History" would look like. I posted this on Facebook, inviting FB contacts to also name 50 objects they consider to be representative of Singapore's history.



Didn't get very far with that. For what it's worth here's the list, thanks to the contributions from some FB friends (objects are not in any order of importance):

1. Ivan Chew - Rubber seed (I'm thinking of Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley)
2. Walter Lim - A pair of spectacles since we're the most bespectacled nation in the world.
3. Chon Hsing Ng - Air conditioner to symbolise how SG has had to artificially creates my things eg beach, jungle, water, etc
4. Low Hei Chin - Four stones.
5. Hikaru Teo - the rediffusion tabletop radio
6. Dex Khor - A rotan.
7. Bernadette Daly-Swanson - Definitely Pierre Balmain's iconic kebaya and sarong for SIA... Had one made when I was there in 2009. I need to come back for IFLA!
8. Ivan Chew - Adrian Tan's Teenage Textbook
9. Adrian Tan - Chicken rice
10. Dex Khor - The Ultimax 100 SAW. Sold to Bosnia with pride!
11. Alec Ng - Add the merlion...
12. (Alec Ng)... newater
13. (Alec Ng)... and the document on the proclamation of independence for Singapore.
14. Bernadette Daly-Swanson - National Library Board Singapore
15. Ivan Chew - Sintercom
16. Low Hei Chin - ... Stamps and coins from that represent significant events / moments in our history? First day covers? I can only think of dinky toys or toy soldiers (Deetail) that depict WWII.
17. Hikaru Teo - Well the banana note would be a notable representation of life during the Japanese Occupation.
18. Ivan Chew - The POSB logo!
19. Regina De Rozario - I've just gotten into reading excerpts and commentaries on the correspondence between Raffles and Farquhar and I would add the letter written by Farquhar after he was dismissed by Raffles (for not following the latter's town plan and vision to a T).
20. Low Hei Chin - Our national flower!
21. Ivan Chew - The Tembusu tree. Cos it appears on our $5 note.
22. Ivan Chew - Teamy the Productivity Bee.
23. Ivan Chew - Singa the Courtesy Lion.
24. Ivan Chew - The SAF Reservist Booklet (now defunct).
25. Low Hei Chin - Singapore Sling

Ok, 25 items isn't bad. Some items were totally off my consciousness until others mentioned it. Like the Singapore-made Ultimax 100 Section Assault Weapon (SAW).

Some objects -- like the 'rotan' (i.e. cane) -- encapsulates so many things past and present: parental methods in bringing up children, school discipline, criminal code and the penal system, a national event (remember Michael Fay?).

I'm sure each of us can come up with our own list of 50 items. Or at least 20 items easily.

New items would make it to the list, as per recent events. I can think of Amy Cheong. Ok, technically not an "object" (I'm sure you know I didn't mean to say she's an object) but what the heck, it's a 'people's list'. We could flexibly cover Events, People, Places in the same list or separately if we choose.

If there's a representative number of people creating such a list, what I'm really, really interested is to analyse the choice of items on the combined list. The list could reflect the success of certain national brands or campaigns. Missing items might shed light on what else we might need to do (e.g. what if no artwork or artist make it to anyone's list?)

Analysing an aggregation of lists might reveal the psyche of individual citizens. And quite likely our psyche as a nation.

***
Update - New items to the list:

[18 Oct 2012, items 26-29]
26. Low Hei Chin - Meant to write this earlier but did not get around to doing it. How about those khong Guan biscuits with a colorful icing sugar on top?

27. Adrian Tan - I wanted to say, "Kelong!" I think it is unique to Singapore.

28. Peter Pak - Interesting read- can I add Singapore Chinese girls school as an one. It was the first girl school at a time when more forward looking men wanted to reform the social education of girls beyond being home bound

29. @JustinZhuang - Anti-Littering man!

[19 Oct 2012, items 30-32]
30. Dave Chua - I think it's also important to pick out items that show key moments of Singapore in transition. The last copy of the original New Nation newspaper...

31. ...A citizen pass for the casinos.

32. ... WP 2012 flag.

(Folks, feel free to add to the list by commenting. Even if it exceeds 50)

iremember my childhood: Being caned by my father

For the Singapore Memory Project. I guess it's really for myself:

(Original Twitter sequence has been edited slightly)

"@ramblinglib: As a kid, being canned by pa almost every day. For slightest thing. Didn't know why but resolved not to show emotions #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: The caning was so bad I had obvious welt marks. One day in Pri Sch a nurse asked how I got it. I kept quiet #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: In pri sch, when pa came home I'd pretend to be asleep. So that he won't have any excuse to cane me #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: After some time, my strategy was to remain still & let pa cane me. I discovered in doing so, he relented faster #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: One time the caning got so bad I imagined myself going to the tallest block in AMK and jumping #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: Obviously I didn't jump. My left brain got the better of my right #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: I remember being scorned by pa as a kid. He said I was fat and lazy. That hurt. #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: As a teen, I refused to speak to my pa unless i had to. I started to defy & rebel in silent ways #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: Strangely my pa mellowed & took in all my teen defiance with stride. He took it in & gave me space #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: After NS I asked my pa if we had money to send me to study overseas. He asked how much. I told him. He said don't have that money #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: Pa asked if there was another way. I told him how much for local external degree. He wrote me the cheque immediately #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: In spite of being canned by pa & hating him then, one thing he never did was abandon his family responsibilities. Thanks pa #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: Decades later, after i got married, my pa said sorry. Said he also didn't know why he took out his anger on me #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: The day I saw my pa lying in the hospital bed, after a stroke, was the day I couldn't hate him anymore #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: My pa http://t.co/LB9WVUNa He's now 77 #sgMemory”

“@ramblinglib: My pa will probably never get to read these tweets. I'll never have courage to say it to him F2F. This is my catharsis #sgMemory”

Full story:
I suppose it was this tweet that made me remember a particular childhood episode, when I was around 10 years old. Remembering about my father and a period where he seemed to viciously cane me for the slightest reason.

My father used the thin rattan cane (the defacto tool of corporal discipline Asian parents used at that generation). It wasn't just "tough parental love", for the frequency of me being caned was almost daily. My younger brother and sister were spared mostly, I recalled.

I can't remember how long that caning went. I'm not sure when it stopped. I still recall pretending to be asleep when I heard my father come home. So that he won't find an excuse to cane me.

The caning was serious enough to break skin, result in bleeding and noticeable welts. Bad enough that my mum had to apply some ointment to cover up the broken skin. I would go to school with visible cane marks.

When I was 10, my father was in his 40s (he was considered to have married late, for his generation). My father was a strong man. And it didn't help that I was an emotionally sensitive child. At 10 years old, I once even thought of ending my life just to spite him.

My father seemed to have focused his anger on me. I was not naughty as a child at all. I attended school, came straight home, did my homework, never talked back to my elders (kids my generation were spoken of, but not spoken to). OK I cant say I was a perfect child, but I was far from being a bad one.

In truth, my father was not a cruel man. He was generous to his friends, our neighbours, and our relatives. Maybe that was why it hurt me, in more than the physical sense. The 10 year old me never understood why he couldn't be generous and forgiving to his own firstborn.

There were negative consequences, in that I deliberately became a very morose and serious child. I remember "experimenting" with not saying anything to my father for days. Days became weeks. And then it became natural.

In my teenage years, that refusal to talk to my father (other than functional statements) became little rebellious acts. Part of it was the teen angst and the onset of hormonal changes. One time, it occured to me why young lions were chased out of the pride. They would otherwise kill the top male lion, their sire, because there was no room to maneuvour.

My father and I didn't have a destructive relationship but we were never close. I knew he tried to be better towards me, and there was an episode where I was very gateful to him for supporting my contiuning education. But even so, my feelings towards him never quite swung completely towards the good. There was always that shadow of resentment.

It took decades before those childhood scars could truly start healing. One poignant point was when my father said something close to an apology for that childhood caning episode. A self-admission.

I was with my wife and my parents, at a hawker centre eating desserts. My parents were in their 60s by then. I had moved out of my parent's apartment after getting married. It was a home visit with my wife.

We talked about how some things had changed, or remained the same, in the neighbourhood. My father started sharing, with my wife, how I was as a child: that I liked to draw and read. He remembered that I was a good boy, even as a toddler.

Out of the blue, he said how at one point he would come home and cane me for any reason. He was not sure why he was that angry. A part of him knew he had been too harsh. And yet he could not stop himself and he continued to take his anger out on me. He recalled not caning me only when he saw me asleep (when I heard that, I had goosebumps -- and I also secretly congratulated myself for displaying some smarts as a 10 year old).

With his relevation, or confession even, there came an awkward pause.

There was my father, sounding apologetic. All my life, I've not seen that side of him. I looked at my wife. I looked anywhere except at my father. I said nothing then, or after.

I guess this is my way of saying it now.

P.S. Perhaps to you reading this, I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. Strange that I cannot speak of this with my father now. All I can say is that the resentment has been real for much of my life.

It's not so traumatic that I can't talk about it. I just can't talk to my father of it. Or won't. In truth, there is cowardice and irrational fear at work. I fear that I would cry, and he would cry. Or maybe it all doesn't matter now, and I'm merely post this to share a (good) story.

Whatever it is, it's been enough that I know my father knows. And vice versa. That's as good as I wish for things to be.

Remembering ECP McDonald’s

This served as a draft for this blog post I wrote for work, i.e. for the Singapore Memory Project:

"Remembering a place like a fast food outlet is overdoing the whole nostalgia thing, isn’t it?"

No it isn't, IMO.

Not all places are equal in terms of hertiage value. But to think that it is merely about nostalgia is to miss the point.

My colleague, Yeong Chong, said it best in the Colourbars Media clip:

The danger in thinking that a place like McDonald’s is not worth remembering is that these are the places you spent your formative years in. They actually form a stronger foundation for your personhood than a religious or heritage site that you may have only known about through history textbooks.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to remember a McDonald’s outlet.

Nostalgia isn’t about objectivity. It is about us celebrating the personal experiences that make up who we are.

It struck me that in a world that we have less control over, it is some people’s attempt to create despite what is about to be lost, as more important.

So what if it romanticises? Don’t all myths, legends and stories do that?

And I think there is nothing wrong -- and everything right -- in remembering what has been good.

Singapore Memory Project: Focus group session with Memory Corp volunteers

My Digital Engagement team mates and I conducted a series of focus group sessions today. For the upcoming Singapore Memory website.

Here's one with volunteers from the Memory Corp: Tuck Chong (third from the left), James (first from the right), and Philip (not in the picture).



We'll be posting more behind-the-scenes updates regularly. At the official blog, that is (which is also scheduled for a facelift in a few weeks).

Busy busy busy.

When Nations Remember II - 28 Nov 2011

Here's my very belated take on the "When Nations Remember II" event, held on 28 Nov 2011. The event was part of the Singapore Memory Project (mentioned in this 2011 MICA speech; also mentioned in PM Lee's 2011 National Day Rally speech), to thank partners and give various partners and stakeholders a sense of the goodwill and buzz that has been built up in the past months. Also, it was to pay tribute to about 100 volunteer "Memory Corps" members for their support and contribution to this national project.

I took a few notes that day, but got caught up with stuff, i.e. more procrastination. Add a dose of laziness. This largely photo "essay" is the result.

Luckily, there are published perspectives of some people who attended the event. Here's Dexterine, Lizzy and James (see here, here and here). Chun See also blogged about it (he wasn't a Memory Corps volunteer at the time of the event, but glad to say he has subsequently volunteered to be part of the movement).

Of the presenters that day (several interesting ones), the person who stood out was the young lady, Lizzy. I thought she gave a fantastic presentation that morning. Your passion and enthusiasm was very real. I remember thinking to myself, "Listening to a young person like that makes me proud to be Singaporean". Would have wanted to tell her and her friends all what an awesome thing they did with their Unseen/Unsaid series.

Alright then.

My version of a post-event blog post.

Monday morning. Asian Civilisation Museum (how apt!) Colleagues reported at 7am. Quite a few were involved on the rehearsal on Sunday.


Preparations at the registration table.


Another dry-run before the actual stuff.


At the back of the hall was a wall, inviting people to share their memories.




Participants were invited to write their stories on a card and clip it to a clothes line strung across the wall.


Here's mine (fuzzy image from my camera phone). Essentially, I shared what came to mind first. Oddly enough it was about a memory when I was about 10 years old. I remember waking up at 5.30am and walking to school. Staring up at the dark dawn sky, I wondered to myself (I'm not making this up) just how many more years of this routine I've to go through at such unearthly hours. Heh.


At about 9am, guests started streaming in.


Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister MICA, spicing his speech with some of his personal memories.


There was a screening of this video, about the handover of the Gunong Pulai waterworks (see this CNA article). The video featured some of the Memory Corps volunteers like Mr TC Lai (he has some really interesting stories/ personal memories, here and here).


He was given this token of appreciation: a framed poster from Singapore's first ever water campaign. A very apt token, for he was the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (2004 - 2011).


A shot of my colleagues from the 'Engage' division, National Library. They were the division responsible for organising this event.


At the conclusion of the morning's segment, the Memory Corps volunteers were invited to take a group photo. Essentially, the Memory Corps are people who volunteer their time and effort to write memories for the Singapore Memory Project (you can read some of their stories at iRemember.SG). Or they may interview other people for their stories.


A buffet lunch awaits.


Before the start of the afternoon session, I had the pleasure of speaking to Mr Hillary Francis ("call me Francis"). A very nice gentleman, who can be said to be one of the pioneers of the Singapore music scene. BTW, check out his LinkedIn profile.


The afternoon session featured some pretty interesting presentations. One was on the architectural designs of Malay houses in colonial times Singapore, plus dispelling the myths about what a 'Malay Village' should look like. Darn it, where are the YouTube videos?


I had to leave the event earlier, for another work appointment. Managed to snap a few (unfortunately rather badly focused) images of the memories-on-cards that some participants shared on the wall.






The event also saw the launch of the PictureSG web service, pictures.nl.sg (see this CNA article also).

Incidentally, I've recently transferred to the National Library, after a good 12 years in the public libraries. Have joined the Singapore Memory Project and heading the Online Engagement department. Will blog more about the project, and about my new work scope, in the months to come.