The Mystery of Sarong Island

Librarian Lim Tin Seng rediscovers Singapore’s first island resort getaway and solves various mysteries surrounding it, including where Sarong Island is now.

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About the Guest

Lim Tin Seng is a senior librarian with the National Library, Singapore. He is the co-editor of Roots: Tracing Family Histories (2013), Harmony and Development: ASEAN-China Relations (2009) and China’s New Social Policy (2010). He writes regularly for BiblioAsia.

Resources

Lim Tin Seng, “From Sarong Island with Love: Singapore’s Original Tourist Isle,” BiblioAsia 18, no. 3 (2022).

Mrs Christina Balsara, oral history interview by Patricia Lee, 18 July 2001, MP3 audio, Reel/Disc 4 of 9, 30:28, National Archives of Singapore (accession no. 002542).

“Pleasure Isle for Tourists,” Straits Times, 29 February 1964, 1. (From NewspaperSG)

Parliament of Singapore, Reclamation at Sentosa Island, vol. 37 of Parliamentary Debates: Official Report, 31 January 1978, cols. 254–55. (From National Library, Singapore, call no. RCLOS 328.5957 SIN)

Credits

This episode of 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 Tin Seng for coming on the show.

BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library of Singapore.