CHEN, Kenneth Koon Lap 陈冠立
Political History of Singapore 1985–2005,
Accession Number 002325
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 12
Total Reels
- Jason Lim (Dr)
Interviewer
- 05:59:43
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
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Reel/Disc 1 of 12
Metadata
- 14 Dec 2001
Recording Date
- 00:30:40
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Early family circumstances in China and India. Impact of his primary education in a Roman Catholic mission school in Hong Kong. Impression of his grandmother and why his father decided to come to Singapore. Arrival at Singapore. Circumstances which led him to enrol at St Anthony's Boys' Afternoon School in 1955. Initial difficulties with language at school. Choices for students in the afternoon schools.
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Reel/Disc 2 of 12
Metadata
- 14 Dec 2001
Recording Date
- 00:30:35
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Reasons why he left St Anthony's Boys' Afternoon School in 1957. Circumstances which led him to enrol at Bartley Secondary School. Struggled with his studies as he had to enrol at a higher level. Reasons for his ambition to be an architect. Recollection of a Geography teacher and his schoolmates. Circumstances which led him to enrol in an architecture course at Singapore Polytechnic. Impression of his two lecturers from South Africa.
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Reel/Disc 3 of 12
Metadata
- 14 Dec 2001
Recording Date
- 00:30:21
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Impression of his two lecturers from South Africa. Reasons for leaving Singapore Polytechnic and enrolling at Perth Technical College. Recollection of his studies at Perth Technical College. Life as a student in Perth. Impression of the Asian students. Believed that the Australian lecturers accepted him as their equal. Worked at Cameron Chisholm & Nicol Architects from 1965 to 1967. Worked at the Singapore office of Goh Hock Guan Design Team as Senior Architect from 1967 to 1969. Participation in a competition to design Jurong Town Hall.
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Reel/Disc 4 of 12
Metadata
- 19 Dec 2001
Recording Date
- 00:30:32
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Resignation from Goh Hock Guan Design Team in 1969. Participation in a competition to design Jurong Town Hall. Circumstances which led him to work for a while in Australia in 1969. Joined Archymanics Architects as an Associate in 1969. Circumstances which led to the demise of Archymanics Architects and the founding of Regional Development Consortium Architects (RDC) in 1974. Missed opportunity to work with I M Pei. Early plans for RDC. Impression that architects do not earn enough money. Development of RDC. Tutored at the University of Singapore from 1977 to 1978.
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Reel/Disc 5 of 12
Metadata
- 19 Dec 2001
Recording Date
- 00:31:03
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Projects carried out by Regional Development Consortium Architects (RDC). Impression that the architecture profession is not stable and has no future. Challenges faced as President of the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA). Work as a member of the Board of Architects from 1984 to 1987. Work as a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC). Work as member of the Standards Council and as Chairman of the Building Materials Product Standards Committee. Role of the Design Panel at the Ministry of National Development. Early involvement in politics.
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Reel/Disc 6 of 12
Metadata
- 19 Dec 2001
Recording Date
- 00:30:54
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Early involvement in politics. Circumstances which led to him standing at Potong Pasir for the People's Action Party (PAP) in the 1988 General Elections. Impression of Chiam See Tong and why he was popular at Potong Pasir. Does not believe that there is more media coverage for PAP candidates. Belief that it is not the work of the PAP to help the opposition. Reason why Chiam was not appointed Advisor to the grassroots organisations at Potong Pasir. Impression that Singaporeans are naive in politics. Recollection of 1988 General Elections, compared to later campaigns.
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Reel/Disc 7 of 12
Metadata
- 21 Jan 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:34
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Impression of the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) concept. Comparison of the People's Action Party (PAP) and the opposition. Response to criticism of the GRC concept. Recollection of the 1991 General Elections campaign at Hong Kah GRC. Impression that the GRC concept also benefited female candidates. Impression that politics was about public perception of the candidates. Importance of the grassroots in election campaigns. Popularity of Goh Chok Tong as Prime Minister. Recollection of Meet-the-People Sessions at Hong Kah East.
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Reel/Disc 8 of 12
Metadata
- 21 Jan 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:24
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
Recollection of Meet-the-People Sessions at Hong Kah East. Managing the grassroots at Hong Kah East. Development plans for the constituency. Anecdote concerning the building of a community centre at neighbouring Yuhua constituency. Dividing his time between his family, his work and the constituency. Greatest satisfaction as a Member of Parliament (MP).
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Reel/Disc 9 of 12
Metadata
- 21 Jan 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:34
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Reasons for taking a low-key approach in politics. Work as Deputy Chairman of the People's Action Party (PAP) Suburban West District in 1995. Importance of the PAP branches. Recollection of the 1997 General Elections campaign against candidates from the National Solidarity Party (NSP). Busy schedule of a Member of Parliament (MP). Retirement from politics in 2001. Impression of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) concept and parliamentary debates. Assessment of the performance of opposition MPs in parliamentary debates.
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Reel/Disc 10 of 12
Metadata
- 5 Mar 2002
Recording Date
- 00:30:36
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
*Belief that proposals in Parliament should be seen in the context of the moment it was suggested. Disagreement on the mode of punishment of criminals. Recollection of his work in the Government Parliamentary Committees (GPC) on the Environment and Home Affairs & Law. Impression of the Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs). Retired from politics in 2001 but helped at Hong Kah East. Impression of his role as a Member of Parliament (MP). Role as Advisor to the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Academic Staff Union and the Keppel FELS Employees Union. Establishment of Dragon Land Limited.
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