SOH Siew Cheong 苏寿昌
The Public Service,
Accession Number 003274
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 5
Total Reels
- Jason Lim (Dr)
Interviewer
- 04:05:54
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
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Reel/Disc 1 of 5
Metadata
- 11 Jul 2008
Recording Date
- 00:58:39
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
(0:00:16) Family background.
(0:01:45) His family owned the only Hokkien restaurant during the Japanese Occupation.
(0:02:14) He was born in 1942.
(0:03:24) Described his life in Chinatown.
(0:04:25) Received free medical care from the colonial authorities.
(0:06:17) Recollection of childhood games he played.
(0:07:46) Gangsters and secret society activities in Chinatown. Recalled that different secret society clans ruled different areas in Chinatown.
(0:11:42) Anecdote concerning the Hungry Ghost Festival in Chin Chew Street
(0:13:29) Recollection of life in Chin Chew Street and the presence of the Samsui womenfolk there.
(0:15:03) Role of the headman as an arbitrator in case there were disagreements.
(0:17:45) Domination of Hokkiens along Chin Chew Street, and how different they were from each other linguistically and in the ways they expressed themselves.
(0:24:33) Talked about his neighbours.
(0:26:39) Recollections of growing up in the area.
(0:30:42) His parents faced peer pressure from his neighbours after they sent him to St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), a Christian school.
(0:33:24) His father was undeterred because he was convinced that sending his son to an English language school was the family’s only way out of poverty.
(0:37:01) Attended a Hokkien kindergarten at Chong Hock School in 1948.
(0:39:19) Recalled that learning and recitations formed a key part of his kindergarten education. Recalled all the words he had to learn in his kindergarten in a year.
(0:42:01) Father taught him the “Three Character Classic”, or sanzijing (三字经) in Hokkien.
(0:43:07) Impressions of Chinese culture and classics and their impact on him later in life.
(0:49:48) Learnt to be a “Good Citizen” (好公民) at kindergarten and why he believed that it was good to return to Confucian values as part of early education.
(0:55:05) He had no correspondence with relatives in China from 1949 to 1958.
*Recollections of his parents. Life in Chinatown. Free medical care from colonial authorities. Childhood games. Gangsters and secret society activities in Chinatown. Anecdote concerning the Hungry Ghosts Festival in Chin Chew Street. Life in Chin Chew Street. Role of the headman. Domination by Hokkiens in the street. Social gatherings. Growing up in the area. Peer pressure from neighbours exerted on his parents after they sent him to St Joseph’s Institution (SJI). Kindergarten at Chong Hock School in 1948. Father taught him the ‘Three Character Classic’ or sanzijing (三字经) in Hokkien. Impressions of Chinese culture and classics. Learnt to be a ‘Good Citizen’ (好公民) at kindergarten. No correspondence with relatives in China from 1949 to 1958.
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Reel/Disc 2 of 5
Metadata
- 11 Jul 2008
Recording Date
- 00:58:38
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
(0:00:14) Talked about the lack of correspondence with relatives in China from 1949 to 1958.
(0:02:48) Impressions of his visit to China in 1977.
(0:04:10) Recollections of his school life at St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) in 1949.
(0:08:55) Anecdote of how kind a nun was to him, but he was terrified of her.
(0:11:39) Why his father transferred him to Pearl’s Hill School, where he studied from 1950 to 1951.
(0:12:48) His impression that Pearl’s Hill School was completely different from SJI.
(0:13:47) Bullying existed among students.
(0:16:16) Subjects he studied at Pearls’ Hill School.
(0:18:37) Description of school life at Havelock School from 1952 to 1956.
(0:20:01) Anecdote of how a teacher shamed him for being too poor to buy hair cream.
(0:23:56) Believed that education was the way to escape poverty.
(0:25:11) Why he had to study at Pasir Panjang Secondary School, Monk’s Hill School and Gan Eng Seng School (GESS).
(0:28:36) He was upset that his school was given up to a Chinese school and went to the Parliament Building to submit a petition to the Minister of Education.
(0:30:19) Recalled the discipline at GESS whenever fights broke out.
(0:32:13) Remembered performing at different places to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
(0:34:09) First ambition was to be a doctor but poverty prevented him from pursuing it.
(0:34:49) Witnessed the killing of chickens and piglets in the family restaurant when he was young.
(0:38:11) Wanted to be an engineer but did not have the means to pursue it.
(0:39:11) Why he made the difficult choice to study engineering at Singapore Polytechnic (SP) instead of continuing to teach in a primary school.
(0:40:51) His family was hit with hard times, but they supported his decision to study at SP.
(0:42:22) His impression of student life at SP.
(0:43:43) He studied hard and was one of the 40 students who were selected for the electrical engineering course at SP.
(0:44:44) He was only 1 of 7 students who graduated from the electrical engineering course.
(0:44:54) Applied for a job at IBM upon graduation. Recalled taking an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test for the first time as part of his job application.
(0:46:08) He was in a dilemma over accepting job offers from IBM or the Public Utilities Board (PUB).
(0:46:21) Why he decided to accept the PUB job offer.
(0:47:33) Impressions of his local and foreign lecturers at SP.
(0:54:39) Believed that there were good lecturers at SP since they trained a lot of Singaporeans for Singapore’s industrialisation programme.
(0:56:05) Recalled his working life as a General Assistant Engineer (GAE) at PUB.
*No correspondence with relatives in China from 1949 to 1958. Impressions of his visit to China in 1977. Recollections of schooling life at St Joseph’s Institution (SJI) in 1949. Why his father transferred him to Pearl’s Hill School where he studied from 1950 to 1951. Bullying among students. Subjects he took. Schooling life at Havelock School from 1952 to 1956. Anecdote regarding hair cream that still affects him now. Belief in the need to study to escape poverty. Why he continued his education in Pasir Panjang Secondary School (1957), Monk’s Hill School (1958) and then Gan Eng Seng School (GESS) from 1959 to 1960. Discipline in GESS. Anecdote concerning a performance to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
First ambition was to be a doctor. Witnessed killing of chickens and piglets in the family restaurant. Next ambition was to be an engineer. Why he chose to read engineering at Singapore Polytechnic (SP) rather than teach in a primary school. Impression of student life at SP. Engineering programme at SP. Job applications after graduation. Why he chose to work in the Public Utilities Board (PUB) in December 1965. Impressions of his lecturers at SP. Working life as a General Assistant Engineer (GAE) at PUB.
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Reel/Disc 3 of 5
Metadata
- 18 Jul 2008
Recording Date
- 00:58:08
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
(0:00:26) Joined the Electricity Department of the Public Utilities Board (PUB) as a General Assistant Engineer (GAE) in December 1965.
(0:01:29) His salary and cost of living allowance.
(0:02:29) Recollection of his first day of work at Pasir Panjang Power Station ‘B’.
(0:03:30) His role as a GAE.
(0:07:29) Emergency procedures at the Pasir Panjang Power Stations.
(0:10:27) Strict operating procedures were observed, and he did not see any fatal accidents in his two years there.
(0:13:58) His training gave him the opportunity to work in different sections at Power Station ‘B’.
(0:15:16) Worked on lighting installations as a GAE in the Public Lighting Division from 1967 to 1968.
(0:18:18) Limited budget meant only cheap public lighting installations were used.
(0:19:46) Lighting theft occurred when parks started to be lit.
(0:20:45) Cost of electricity rose in 1972 due to the oil crisis. This resulted in the replacement of tungsten lighting with energy-efficient fluorescent lighting.
(0:22:40) Laying of cables and power supply.
(0:23:51) The impact of industrialisation on public lighting.
(0:29:34) Difference in the roles of Power Stations ‘A’ and ‘B’ at Pasir Panjang.
(0:34:04) Introduction of the Engineering programme at the University of Singapore in 1967.
(0:35:56) Studied part-time in the Engineering degree programme from 1967 to 1969.
(0:38:27) Impressions of the Engineering programme.
(0:40:10) Lecturers at the University.
(0:42:37) Graduated with Honours in Electrical Engineering in 1969.
(0:44:22) Quizzed over his vision of a ‘magnetic aviation vehicle’ during his interview for Honours. (0:50:19) Impressions of graduates from the overseas universities and the local professionals at PUB.
(0:56:09) Talked about the European expatriates in the PUB.
*Joined the Electricity Department of the Public Utilities Board (PUB) as General Assistant Engineer (GAE) in December 1965. Salary and cost of living allowance (COLA). First day of work as Pasir Panjang Power Station ‘B’. Role as a GAE. Emergency procedures at the Pasir Panjang Power Stations. Strict operating procedures. His movement from section to section at Power Station ‘B’. Worked on lighting installations as a GAE in the Public Lighting Division, 1967-1968. Cost of electricity in the early 1970s. Laying of cables and power supply. Impact of industrialisation for public lighting. Role of Power Stations ‘A’ and ‘B’ at Pasir Panjang.
Introduction of the Engineering programme at University of Singapore in 1967. Studied part-time in this programme from 1967 to 1969. Impressions of the Engineering programme. Lecturers at the University. Graduated with Honours in Electrical Engineering in 1969. Quizzed over his vision of a ‘magnetic aviation vehicle’ during his interview for Honours. Impressions of graduates from overseas universities and local professionals at PUB. European expatriates in the PUB.
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Reel/Disc 4 of 5
Metadata
- 24 Nov 2008
Recording Date
- 00:54:57
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
(0:00:30) Electricity in the 1960s was supplied by either the Public Utilities Board (PUB) or by the city council.
(0:01:28) Local private generators provided limited electricity supply to the villages by installing a diesel generator, which was expensive and unreliable.
(0:02:38) Challenges faced by PUB after Singapore gained independence.
(0:03:42) PUB invested heavily in building Pasir Panjang B Power Station and a new 66-kilovolt transmission network in 1965.
(0:04:20) Involved in the Rural Electrification Programme from 1965 to 1973.
(0:06:52) His impressions of the Urban-Rural Services Committee (URSC).
(0:09:04) Recollection of the “Gotong royong” programme.
(0:12:26) PUB successfully completed the Rural Electrification Programme in 1973, meaning Singapore had an extensive electricity supply infrastructure.
(0:15:16) PUB faced more supply challenges as there was a surge in the demand for electricity due to the rise of cottage industries, and the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) Accelerated Scheme.
(0:17:37) Types of problems that PUB had to solve.
(0:18:57) Impact of the union movement and how the “supply delivery and installation” contract relieved manpower shortages.
(0:21:12) Provided examples of how manpower shortages were solved.
(0:26:15) PUB faced a shortage of skilled manpower, and the Transmission and Distribution Department (TND) solved this by tapping into the manpower resources of the private sector.
(0:27:19) Examples of how the new contracts solved the manpower shortages.
(0:31:05) PUB also solved manpower shortages by using less manpower-intensive equipment.
(0:32:35) Stock inventory was more efficiently managed by standardising the ratings of transformers and cables.
(0:34:03) The positive impact of all these efforts from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.
(0:36:53) Overview of how Singapore’s economy evolved and why this created higher expectations on electrical supply reliability.
(0:38:55) His impression of the reasons that tackling supply reliability was more complex than tackling supply availability.
(0:40:54) Creation of a new electricity configuration network called the “flower network”.
(0:43:34) What was involved in the building of Singapore’s underground piping system.
(0:47:01) Vulnerabilities of the 22-kilovolt system and how the Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS) solved that problem.
(0:50:08) There were issues with power failures in small residential customers, and how the use of affordable miniature circuit breakers solved those issues.
(0:52:29) Overview of the tremendous improvements in Singapore’s electricity supply reliability.
Challenges in the development of electricity supply infrastructure since the 1960s. The cycles of electricity supply - supply availability (1965-1975), supply adequacy (1975-1985), supply reliability (1985-1995), supply quality (1995-2005) and supply pricing (since 2005). Supply availability and the Rural Electrification Programme from 1965 to 1973. Impressions of the Urban-Rural Services Committee (URSC). ‘Gotong royong’ activities. Supply adequacy from 1975 to 1985 with the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) Accelerated Scheme. Impact of the union movement and the ‘supply delivery and installation’ contract. Standardisation of transformers and cables. Supply reliability from 1985 to 1995 and the introduction of a new power control system. Blackouts and the need for a new electricity configuration network. Cable-laying and the Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS). Miniature circuit breakers. Improvements in electricity supply reliability.
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Reel/Disc 5 of 5
Metadata
- 10 Mar 2009
Recording Date
- 00:15:32
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
The need for reliability in electricity supply from 1985 to 1995. The need for a power control system centre such as System Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA). The ‘Flower Network’. Cable-laying and Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS). Improvements in the supply reliability. Corporatisation of Public Utilities Board (PUB) in 1995 to Singapore Power. Latest cycle in electricity supply - the quality and cost of electricity supply since 1995. Working as Senior Advisor to Engergy Marketing Authority (EMA) since 2004. His current work in the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE). Future plans.
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