SINGAPORE – On the morning of Aug 9, 1965, Mr Dileep Nair was with his family at his aunt’s home, a day after her wedding.
That day, at 10am, the proclamation of Singapore’s Independence was announced on radio, bringing to an end a turbulent union with Malaysia, and resulting in the birth of a new nation.
Later that day, Mr Nair – then 15 – watched with his family as founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew broke down during a televised press conference where he addressed Singapore’s separation from Malaysia.
Mr Nair, 75, said the telecast was paused for some time after Mr Lee broke down.
He said: “It was a very significant thing at that point in time, but maybe the import was more on the older generations. (They wondered) whether job security was going to be there, whether there was going to be food on the table, and all these other matters... it was certainly something that will always be remembered by me all my life.”
Stories like Mr Nair’s are being collected by the Founders’ Memorial, as part of a year-long initiative that focuses on Singapore’s founding generation.
Starting in April 2025, the initiative, called Project Citizens – The First Million, has three parts – a programme to engage seniors and collect their stories; pop-up installations; and an exhibition that will open in October.
The stories that are being collected under Project Citizens may be showcased at the Founders’ Memorial, an institution that commemorates the values and ideals exemplified by Singapore’s first generation leaders and is slated to open in Gardens by the Bay’s Bay East Garden in 2028.
Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo, who visited a pop-up installation at Woodlands Regional Library on June 18, said more than 200 seniors have been engaged by Founders’ Memorial volunteers since April, under the senior engagement programme.
These programmes have taken place in locations such as active ageing centres, libraries and community clubs.
Each run of the programme comprises two two-hour sessions, where trained volunteers help participants to recount and record their stories through activities and intergenerational conversations.
More than 140 volunteers have been trained by the memorial to run the programmes, with the goal to have more than 120 runs by the end of March 2026.
Mr Wai Chung Tai, senior assistant director of partnerships and engagement for the memorial, said that Project Citizens will be a permanent display at the memorial, although its exact form has yet to be decided.
During the 13 runs that have been held thus far, participants were invited to share stories on values they held on to during Singapore’s early independence years, such as multiculturalism.
Among the participants was Mr Dennis Tan, 68, who was a primary school student when racial riots broke out in 1964.
Mr Tan, who was then living in a kampong in Balestier, recalled that the riots felt “like a dark cloud hanging over you”.
“There were a lot of rumours... people talking and gossiping,” he said. “Communications between neighbours were through word of mouth, so there were a lot of falsehoods. I didn’t know what to believe and what to expect.”
Nevertheless, said Mr Tan, people of different ethnicities still helped each other despite the tensions, such as by housing others from different races when they were stranded after curfews kicked in at night.
He said that stories like these emphasise “the importance of harmony, unity and community spirit” for younger Singaporeans.
Another participant in the senior programme, Madam Juminah Mohamad Nor, said it was at parties as a student where she learnt to appreciate the differences between different religions, and the importance of respecting differences.
She recalls attending a party in a Chinese household but not being able to eat, because she needed halal-certified food as a Muslim.
Despite this, the 77-year-old said she and her friends enjoyed themselves because they learnt to respect each other and came to appreciate differences in habits between races.
In his speech, Mr Neo said the exhibition to be launched in October will bring to life “the dilemmas and tensions faced by our founding generation in forging one nation out of many people”.
He said visitors will learn about how multiculturalism has been fostered by the Government and Singaporeans, and will be challenged to explore its relevance today.
“We are not mere spectators but active participants forging a culture of multiculturalism that is uniquely Singapore, where everyone can come together and celebrate our unity in diversity,” said Mr Neo.
From now till March 2026, the Project Citizens pop-up installation, which showcases stories from Singapore’s first citizens, will visit various locations such as Our Tampines Hub and Wisma Geylang Serai.
A full schedule is available at www.foundersmemorial.gov.sg/project-citizens
Meanwhile, seniors who are keen to share their stories for the Founders’ Memorial can visit go.gov.sg/sep-registerinterest
Ng Keng Gene is a correspondent at The Straits Times, reporting on issues relating to land use, urban planning and heritage.
Seniors share stories on S’pore separation from Malaysia, racial riots for Founders’ Memorial project
SINGAPORE – On the morning of Aug 9, 1965, Mr Dileep Nair was with his family at his aunt’s home, a day after her wedding.
That day, at 10am, the proclamation of Singapore’s independence was announced on the radio, bringing to an end a turbulent union with Malaysia, and resulting in the birth of a new nation.
Later that day, Mr Nair – then 15 – watched with his family as founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew broke down during a televised press conference where he addressed Singapore’s separation from Malaysia.
Mr Nair, 75, said the telecast was paused for some time after Mr Lee broke down.
He said: “It was a very significant thing at that point in time, but maybe the import was more on the older generations. (They wondered) whether job security was going to be there, whether there was going to be food on the table, and all these other matters... it was certainly something that will always be remembered by me all my life.”
Stories like Mr Nair’s are being collected as part of a year-long Founders’ Memorial initiative that focuses on Singapore’s founding generation.
Starting in April, the initiative, called Project Citizens – The First Million, has three parts – a programme to engage seniors and collect their stories; pop-up installations; and an exhibition that will open in October.
The stories that are being collected under Project Citizens may be showcased at the Founders’ Memorial, an institution that commemorates the values and ideals exemplified by Singapore’s first-generation leaders, slated to open in Gardens by the Bay’s Bay East Garden in 2028.
Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo, who visited a pop-up installation at Woodlands Regional Library on June 18, said more than 200 seniors have been engaged by Founders’ Memorial volunteers since April, under the senior engagement programme.
These programmes have taken place in locations such as active ageing centres, libraries and community clubs.
Each run of the programme comprises two two-hour sessions, where trained volunteers help participants to recount and record their stories through activities and intergenerational conversations.
More than 140 volunteers have been trained by the memorial to run the programmes, with the goal to have more than 120 runs by the end of March 2026.
Acting Culture, Community and Youth Minister David Neo (centre, in blue), along with Mr Lee Tzu Yang (right), co-chair of the Founders’ Memorial Committee, touring the pop-up installation under the Project Citizens initiative at Woodlands Regional Library on June 18.ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Mr Wai Chung Tai, senior assistant director of partnerships and engagement for the memorial, said that Project Citizens will be a permanent display at the memorial, although its exact form has yet to be decided.
During the 13 runs that have been held thus far, participants were invited to share stories on values they held on to during Singapore’s early independence years, such as multiculturalism.
Among the participants was Mr Dennis Tan, 68, who was a primary school pupil when racial riots broke out in 1964.
Mr Tan, who was then living in a kampung in Balestier, recalled that the riots felt “like a dark cloud hanging over you”.
“There were a lot of rumours... people talking and gossiping,” he said. “Communications between neighbours were through word of mouth, so there were a lot of falsehoods. I didn’t know what to believe and what to expect.”
Nevertheless, said Mr Tan, people of different ethnicities still helped each other despite the tensions, such as by housing others from different races when they were stranded after curfews kicked in at night.
He said that stories like these emphasise “the importance of harmony, unity and community spirit” for younger Singaporeans.
Guests touring the pop-up installation for the Founders’ Memorial’s Project Citizens initiative at Woodlands Regional Library on June 18.ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Another participant in the senior programme, Madam Juminah Mohamad Nor, said it was at parties as a student where she learnt to appreciate the differences between different religions, and the importance of respecting differences.
She recalls attending a party in a Chinese household but not being able to eat, because she needed halal-certified food as a Muslim.
Despite this, the 77-year-old said she and her friends enjoyed themselves because they learnt to respect each other and came to appreciate differences in habits between races.
In his speech, Mr Neo said the exhibition to be launched in October will bring to life “the dilemmas and tensions faced by our founding generation in forging one nation out of many people”.
He said visitors will learn about how multiculturalism has been fostered by the Government and Singaporeans, and will be challenged to explore its relevance today.
“We are not mere spectators but active participants forging a culture of multiculturalism that is uniquely Singapore, where everyone can come together and celebrate our unity in diversity,” said Mr Neo.
From now till March 2026, the Project Citizens pop-up installation, which showcases stories from Singapore’s first citizens, will rove various locations such as Our Tampines Hub and Wisma Geylang Serai.
A full schedule is available at
Ng Keng Gene is a correspondent at The Straits Times, reporting on issues relating to land use, urban planning and heritage.
My current Mission is keep wining until S_P 斗/close shop use main & sub method unit 1 unit= $20:
Use main bet as base the rest side bet to add on to max win or more Name it Eye jackpot system 南神眼
betting records at
http://forums.asianbookie.com/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=45&Topic=2112557
Please disable your advertisement blocker!
Sila mematikan Penyekat iklan anda!
请禁用您的广告拦截！
Hãy vô hiệu hóa chặn quảng cáo của bạn!
โปรดปิดใช้งานการป้องกันการโฆษณาของคุณ
ကျေးဇူးပြု၍ သင့်ကြော်ငြာပိတ်ဆို့ခြင်းကို ပိတ်ပါ။
광고 차단기를 비활성화하십시오!
Main Menu >
Gossip Corner >
Seniors share stories on S’pore separation from Malaysia
1
) 
Find all Topics Started by LONGSTER
Find all Posts by LONGSTER
Follow / Unfollow
PM LONGSTER
18-Jun 2025 Wednesday
9:56 PM (6 days ago)
0 Likes
Like
