The Decolonisation Projection

Tour guide: Ladies and gentlemen, what do you hear around you now? Let me put it to you that it is not silence. Because all around this river are voices - silent voices, condemned voices, voices they say are not worthy to meet our ears, voices that were cast aside for a better tomorrow which never came. It is my hope that this tour has shown you the different planes of existence of this island - little worlds which could have flowered and blossomed if not trampled by those who sought to crush them. But they can’t. And perhaps they never will. Because no matter how many cheesy speeches a tour guide gives, the world will not just be as we want it to. We - all the high, upper middle-class sort, I see - will go back tonight, and weep into our bubble baths [laughter from tourists] , and wake up tomorrow, and see that absolutely nothing has changed.  But we can hope, still. Because what else is there but hope?

TWO              Thud. Thud. Thud. In an instant, he is pulled from the depths of sleep back into the real world. The soft, solid sound of flesh and bone knocking against wood, vibrating through the walls and bedframe, is vaguely comforting to him. He knows someone is calling him to the door, but as he sits up, he pauses and turns to gaze out the window. It is a pleasantly cool, starry night. Outside the window, rows of clothes hanging outside shophouses on long bamboo poles sway as gusts of wind come by. Far away are the riots, the protests, the political speeches which fill these streets with the scent of battle by day. Far away is his job as a trade unionist, where he organises strikes to fight for the rights of the common worker. Amidst the hot headiness of a nation waiting to be born, who can refuse to savour this moment? The knocking grows impatient, harsh, rattling the door in its frame. As it rises into a command, he knows he must go, though as...

Tour guide: Okay, before we start, some notes on this exhibit…. All dialogues were translated from Chinese dialect to English. While both word for word substitution and meaning-based translation techniques were utilised, certain Chinese phrases have multiple interpretations and may carry different connotations when translated. Missing/damaged pages in certain manuscripts have also made it difficult for us to piece together a coherent account of the resettlement programme. We have tried to rectify this by deducing certain details through corroboration with our (limited supply of) other sources, but this account may still come across as fragmented and, at times, not make chronological sense. Without further ado, I’ll start. ONE  The crowing of the rooster is her favourite time of the day. Whenever she rises from her small, thin mattress she feels a certain sense of comfort in this seemingly unimportant daily occurrence; perhaps it is nature’s way of offering solace to a lonely soul ...

Tour Guide: Welcome to our second destination, Suku Gelam. Did you know that long before Stamford Raffles came, it was the Orang Laut who were the earliest inhabitants these sorts of areas in Singapore? Want to know more about this indigenous group? Let’s begin. Part 1: 1769 Ramrah laid on the floor of the inner room in her house which stood on stilts over the sea. Her mother Yang, her sisters and other women from Teluk Nipah gathered by her side. Suri, the midwife, performed several rituals to ward off birth demons. Looking at the reclining imminent mother, she stepped across the woman's belly and started a swaying motion by repeatedly alternating her own weight from one foot to another. This, silently, a “jampi sarat” (a powerful spell). Then, she used kapor (a white powder) to draw a white cross onto the hands of the expectant mother and on the doorstep of the room.  On the other side of the island, the sampans glide stealthily amongst dots and sparks of water droplets and rain...

Tour Guide: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the mouth of the Singapore River, or Tanjong Rhu, now one of the affluent residential neighbourhoods of Singapore. As you all may already know, the Singapore River was a bustling port in colonial Singapore, boasting traders from around the globe. Here, sit back and relax as I tell all of you a story, a story about a Bugis Trader. There once lived a man named Tuan Ahmad Idris Yacoob, a prosperous Bugis trader in Singapura who lived in a small and modest wooden hut near a river. It is morning, when the sun has yet to rise and the rooster is fast asleep, Tuan Yacoob is preparing breakfast, unwrapping a burasa, waiting for the Fajr prayer. Presumably, 1 September 1846, as it says on the British Calendar at the Open Square .  They were never really concerned with the date anyway, thought Tuan Yaacob as he munched on his  suhur . It had been 27 years since the British landed in Singapore, and now, there was barely any use for the Hijri ca...

  (For a more immersive experience, listen to the sounds of the river  while on this tour. There will also be various instances of music, so keep your headphones 🎧 on!) Welcome aboard the  Decolonisation Projection,  an online guided tour to Clarke Quay and the Singapore River . Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore, situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River and Boat Quay. The Singapore River has been the centre of trade since modern Singapore was founded in 1819. The river has catalysed decades of economic progress in Singapore and remains at the crux of commerce in Singapore even today, as it is situated along the Central Business District.  As the leading tour guides of the Singapore River, we will bring you through a detailed, historical tour of the river and the quay through 4 main sections as we meander along the tranquil waters of our Singapore River. Please click on the link below to find out more! Destination 1...