72 and 73 Geylang Bahru, next to Geylang Bahru MRT Station.
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- Dec 6, 2020
An 1836 geopolitical report filed by Scottish diplomatic agent John Anderson (1795-1845), on the sultanate of Perak, Malaya, in the Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register:
In the report, Anderson provided important information about the geography of the region, its villages and populations, and its sovereign the Sultan of Perak, but all for an ulterior motive of course.
The hilly, jungle-filled lands were sparsely populated by peoples “much less civilised than the (Kedah) people”, but Perak was part of “Tin Country”, which meant it was potentially of value to the British Empire. After all, “Perak is the Land of of (sic) Silver”, the “Silver” here being tin, is it not?
As a child, I read extensively about European explorations of foreign, “exotic” (in European eyes) lands. At the time, these stories captivated me. It was only much later that I learned about the nuances of such narratives in the broader context of colonial exploitation and subjugation, but the romance of fearless ventures into the unknown stayed with me. Many a daydream was about me voyaging to distant lands a la Gulliver’s Travels.
That is why even today, reports such as Anderson’s still grab my attention - and fire my imagination. If I had been a European working in Southeast Asia in colonial times, I would have loved to work on compiling reports such as his.
***
One piece of trivia related to modern Singapore: The last place name in the article is “Burnam” - a reference to Perak’s River Bernam; it gave its name to Tanjong Pagar’s Bernam Street, just one of many Malayan place names in the city-state.
- Nov 21, 2020
Last week, Tiak and I visited Golden Mile Complex, one of Singapore’s post-independence architectural icons, designed by local architectural firm Design Partnership (now DP Architects). Today, we looked up another post-independence mixed-use complex designed by the same firm around the same time - People’s Park Complex. Both buildings were completed in 1973.
Almost half a century after the 31-storey building rose above the crumbling, ground-hugging shophouses of old Chinatown, People’s Park Complex remains one of the tallest buildings in the historic area. Its green and yellow colours, with bold red strokes making up its Chinese name which literally translates to “Pearl Lane” (after nearby Pearl’s Hill), are unmistakable from afar.
The complex has its own Taoist temple at its base, which was a pleasant find. Chinatown was undergoing urban renewal when the complex was completed in 1973, so it is possible that the temple had been relocated from somewhere nearby.
The food centre next to the complex.
The lower six floors of the complex comprised shops. Like Golden Mile Complex, People’s Park Complex still retains a strong 1970s / 1980s vibe.
And like in Golden Mile Complex, one can see multiple storeys exposed, like the decks of a ship.
There is a large number of travel agencies and massage outlets.
The top 25 floors are residential, accessible from one part of the ground floor. However, unlike Golden Mile Complex, access was restricted to residents only.
We could only climb up to the sixth floor and squint at the residential floors above us. It was raining heavily by then.
The sixth floor had a void deck which was partially open to the skies, giving us great views of the surrounding city. This was facing east, with the blocks of Hong Lim Complex directly in front.
This was facing southeast. Temple Street is the road in the middle.
A question mark still lies over People’s Park Complex’s future - will the authorities step in and impose conservation guidelines on it before a collective sale goes through, like what happened to Golden Mile Complex, or will it be too late?
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