BiblioAsia+. A Podcast about Singapore History

About

BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore stories: some unfamiliar, others forgotten, all fascinating. Does Singapore have a stone age? What’s happened to the murals at the old Paya Lebar airport? Who were the local tennis greats? Find out in this history-focused podcast by the National Library of Singapore.

Listen to All 13 Episodes

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My Grandfather Was a Romusha
After Kosman Hassan volunteered to take his uncle’s place to work on the infamous Death Railway, no one heard from Kosman for three years. But his family never gave up hope.

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Taoist Folk Goddesses of Singapore
Maiden Lim is said to have killed herself after being wrongly accused of infidelity. A shrine to honour her then turned her into a local Taoist goddess. Writer Ng Yi-Sheng talks about Maiden Lim and two other local Taoist deities in this intriguing podcast.

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The Forgotten Murals of Paya Lebar Airport
The enormous murals at the old Paya Lebar Airport were iconic landmarks for travellers. But after the air force took over the airport, the murals vanished.

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Belacan: Caviar or Vile?
Even Munshi Abdullah wasn’t a fan of belacan. He referred to it as makanan yang busuk-busuk (smelly food). During the 19th century, people were fined for illegally storing belacan in the city. Toffa Abdul Wahed sniffs out the condiment’s long history.

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Malaya’s Prewar Tennis Greats
Penang-born Khoo Hooi Hye played at Wimbledon and represented China at the Olympic Games in Paris. Snapping at his heels was Lim Bong Soo, who was so famous he had a tennis racket named after him. These two giants dominated Malayan tennis.

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Stone Age in Singapore
Archaeologists have found stone tools in Tanjong Tajam on Pulau Ubin and Tanjong Karang (now Tuas). Is this evidence of people living in Singapore during the stone age? Maybe. Or maybe not.

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Beyond Firewalking
The Hindu firewalking festival – Theemithi – draws massive crowds every year. But less well-known are the many important rituals that precede Theemithi, some very dramatic, like the sacrifice of Aravan, the chakravarti kottai and the padukalam.

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The Mystery of Sarong Island
How can an entire island appear and then disappear? Especially one that was said to be Singapore’s first island resort? Librarian Lim Tin Seng solves the mystery of Sarong Island.

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The Stories behind the Shrines on Kusu Island
People have been worshipping the shrines on Kusu Island since the mid-19th century. The people said to be buried at Kusu Island, however, haven’t always stayed the same, according to writer and researcher William L. Gibson.

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The Recording Industry in Singapore, 1903–1985
The Crescendos didn’t just rock the airways in Singapore in the 1960s. They changed the entire music recording industry, says sound archivist Ross Laird.

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Lest We Forget: Kranji War Cemetery
Lt Adnan of the Malay Regiment and Lt Col Ivan Lyon of Operation Jaywick are commemorated here. But so are people like Cpl Raymond Lee and civilian fighter Sim Chin Foo, who joined Dalforce. Librarian Janice Loo profiles those buried or memorialised at the Kranji War Cemetery.

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What’s Become of the Seafaring Orang Seletar?
The Orang Seletar used to live on boats that plied the Johor Strait. They were here when Raffles landed in 1819. Today, however, they have settled in kampongs in Johore. Some of the older ones still remember playing in the waters around Seletar island, says writer and educator Ilya Katrinnada.

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The Great Reclamation
The Great Reclamation is a work of historical fiction set in Singapore that has received rave reviews from the New Yorker and the New York Times. A love story, it also took five years of serious research into a variety of topics, including land reclamation, the Japanese occupation, and postwar politics in Singapore. Listen to author Rachel Heng talk about her book and her fascinating research process, including a BiblioAsia article on land reclamation she referred to!

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Credits

BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Gibson Analytics. The background music “Di Tanjong Katong” was composed by Osman Ahmad and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to the guests for coming on the show.