(This talk is open to the public.)

Known for their independence, loyalty and devotion, majies (or amahs) were domestic servants who raised several generations of Singaporeans, including former president Ong Teng Cheong as well as the present prime minister and his siblings.

Join us at this talk where historian, Ang Chin Siew will explore the connection between Confucian ideals of “female,” Cantonese patriarchy, the majies links to silk production in the Canton Delta, their resistance to marriage, their roles as female sons, and arrival in Singapore, Penang, and Hong Kong as domestic servants. The speaker will conclude by tracing these links to the death houses that once lined Sago Lane in Chinatown.

Date: Saturday, 13 July 2019

Time: 2-4pm

Venue: Mary’s Kafe, 20 Bendemeer Road, Singapore 339914

Fees: TPAS Members: $15 / Non-Members: $25

Includes tea/coffee and snacks by Madam Mary Gomes, author of The Eurasian Cookbook (2003).

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND THIS TALK.

To register, please email: events@peranakan.org.sg

Closing date: 28 June 2019

NOTE: A minimum of 25 participants is required for this talk to proceed.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Ang Chin Siew recently completed her PhD in History at Nanyang Technological University. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Missouri, USA, where she studied film history.

Her postgraduate work changed to Museum Studies at the University of Queensland. Since then, museum theory is her absorbing interest. Her doctoral dissertation is an interdisciplinary reappraisal of the institutional history of the Raffles Museum, Singapore.

It examines the museum’s founding, spaces, methods, and function against a backdrop of British colonial politics and military fiscalism, its establishment under a program initiated by Thomas Stamford Raffles, his agenda, eighteenth/nineteenth-century ideas of race and racial differences, and British colonial thought and collecting.

The post Female Sons: Silk, Patriarchy, Marriage & The Majie appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Letter from Baba Colin Chee, President, The Peranakan Association Singapore

(This is a monthly column to TPAS members and guests)

Dear Babas and Nyonyas,

THE BABA NYONYA LITERARY FESTIVAL

Late last year, my fellow General Committee member, Nyonya Ngiam May Ling, asked if we should do a Literary Festival around Peranakan literature and writers. I brushed her off. I think I was rather rude.

During that time, the General Committee still busy getting organised and preparing for the Convention in Tangerang, Indonesia. We were studying ways to improve our Association’s constitution to bring in junior members and the AGM was scheduled for end-March 2019.

We were preparing to close our financial accounts for 2018, getting ready for our Christmas Malam Jolly in December and planning events for the first quarter of 2019. We were also busy looking for donors to support us.

I had asked May Ling, “Where are we going to get the money for this? Where are we going to hold it, because we have not done this before?” She quietly went away.

One thing about May Ling: she does not give up. Early this year, during one of our GC meetings, she asked again, “Can we?”

We all relented, because, in spite of our reservations, who could deny it was in fact a good idea. I said, “May, you go form your work team, find your writers, find a venue and we will see how we can fund this without losing money on it.”

One of our guiding principles for events is that they must benefit our members in ways that will help them appreciate our unique culture more. Our events should also be affordable and at the very least, break-even so that the Association does not lose money. The festival had to fulfil this litmus test.

The first hint of good news came from Baba Ray Khoo of The Peranakan restaurant. He asked the Association to support his third annual Peranakan Festival. He generously agreed to sponsor the venue for our inaugural Baba Nyonya Literary Festival in July.

Then just over a month ago, May and her team presented the GC with a stellar list of writers and publishers happy to partner us for just such a Festival. You know them all. They are household names.

Writers, Josephine Chia, Kenneth Chan, Stella Kon, Lee Su Kim, Shawn Seow, Christopher Tan, Sylvia Tan, Vivienne Tan, Walter Woon, Robert Yeo, and Ovidia Yu. And local publishers, Ethos Books, Landmark Books, Marshall Cavendish, and Pansing Distribution.

We are grateful to all them for their support. Their response to May’s idea was overwhelmingly positive. It was just waiting to happen.

When we announced the festival across all our communication channels last week on 25 May, our Facebook post garnered over 15,000 views in 3 days and still continues to be shared.

Tickets to two-day Baba Nyonya Literary Festival have been fully booked, with a long waiting list. We are awaiting payment from those who have made bookings and will release tickets that have not been paid up by a certain date.

We had place for only 110 participants, with priority given to Association members. But it is a lesson for us that, next year, we may have to look for larger premises to meet the demand.

COLLABORATIONS

One of the many intangible rewards about volunteering for any association is renewing friendships with people you may have lost touch with, and making new ones.

I can say this about Baba Ivan Heng of W!ld Rice and Nyonya Violet Oon.

My wife Linda and I have known Ivan for many years, even before W!ld Rice sprung on to the Singapore theatre scene as a little grain.

Our family’s theatre-going diet started with Ivan’s totally entertaining year-end pantomimes and then, later, the serious stuff like Emily of Emerald Hill.

As for Violet, I have known her since our university days at the NUS Bukit Timah campus. We became fellow reporters at the SPH newspapers. When she started her restaurants, I became a regular customer.

It was really good catching up with both Ivan and Violet one late morning in March to see how we could all work together.

Association members: All I can reveal at this point is that we have some good surprises in store for you! I encourage you to please to update us with your current email address so that you will not miss out on all the exciting events and activities we have planned. Please be alert to the emails from your Association, like and follow our Facebook page and check our website regularly.

JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP

The GC would like to thank many of our members for supporting the idea of Junior Membership. Many of you have asked us: When do we start recruiting?

We will start recruitment the day after the Registrar of Societies informs us that it has accepted the constitutional amendments that Association members voted on and approved at our last AGM. This will allow us to recruit junior members from seven to 18 years of age.

We have the membership application forms ready. We have already planned a series of events that will introduce the young ones to our culture in interesting ways, when their minds are still receptive to the diverse palette of our culture.

DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS

It is a matter of deep regret for me to announce that Baba Alan Koh has stepped down as First Vice-President of the Association. He has faithfully served the Association for about two decades.

He had offered to leave the GC as First VP when I finally accepted his invitation to stand for the presidency in April last year. I asked him to stay on for one term to help me and our new team to reorganise the Association. He graciously did, even though he needed to travel to and from Johor Bahru where he now lives.

The GC thanks Alan for his invaluable advice and love for the community and Singapore.

The Association will always need selfless and dedicated volunteers to keep our culture alive. The difficult task is to bond everyone into one working body and mustering and inspiring them to follow the same dream.

As we move into 2020, which is just half a year away, when we celebrate our 120th Anniversary, we will be inviting volunteers into new teams.

They will spearhead and organise our 120th Anniversary Peranakan Ball on 18 July 2020 and the 33rd Baba Nyonya Convention to showcase the region’s cultural best from 20 to 22 November 2020.

More on these in next month’s Letter from the President. In the meantime, keep well, be at peace with yourself, and love much.

Blessings,
Colin Chee
Unity. Stability. Growth
It is not going to be business as usual
31 May 2019

The post Letter from Baba Colin Chee May 2019 appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Starting: Ivan Heng
Directed by: Glen Goei
Written by: Stella Kon

SHE’S BACK!

The Peranakan Association Singapore and WILD RICE present a very special evening for members.

The fabulous Baba Ivan Heng reprises the titular role in this seminal play by Nyonya Stella Kon.

Ivan Heng is one of Singapore’s most acclaimed actors. Glen Goei is one of Singapore’s most celebrated directors. Together, they bring to life one of Singapore theatre’s most iconic characters: Emily Gan, an abandoned girl who overcomes all odds to emerge as the matriarch of a distinguished Peranakan household.

Evoking the golden age of Straits-Chinese culture from the 1930s, this new production promises to be the most immersive version of Stella Kon’s enduring classic yet. Step into the brand new W!LD RICE theatre and become one of Emily’s guests in her opulent, meticulously kept mansion.

Date: 11 Sept 2019
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre @W!LD RICE 
Address: FUNAN CENTRE, 109 North Bridge Road, Singapore 179097

FRIENDS OF THE ASSOCIATION

BE A VOLUNTEER USHER & ENJOY FREE TICKETS TO EMILY!

11 September 2019, 7.30pm
8 ushers are needed for this special TPAS evening to distribute delicious nyonya kueh to the audience. Ushers for this performance are to dress in kebaya and sarong or batik shirt.

4-22 September 2019
6 ushers per show are required for the entire run of EMILY. (24 shows, 144 duty slots.)

Weekday performance daily at 7.30pm.
Weekends: Matinee at 2.30pm, Evening show at 7.30pm.

Ushers to report for duty 1 hour before each performance and be on duty until 1 hour after the show ends.

Do 4 usher duty slots = 1 free ticket
Do 6 slots = 2 free tickets

(Note: The free tickets will NOT be for the show during your duty slot so that you can fully enjoy the performance. You can sign up for as many duty slots as you wish to redeem multiple free tickets.)

To sign up as a volunteer usher during the run of EMILY, email: events@peranakan.org.sg

Please include your:
– Full name
– Contact number
– All the duty dates and times you would like to volunteer for.

(Tickets CANNOT BE PURCHASED through this email. Strictly for usher sign-ups only.)

The post Emily of Emerald Hill appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

The Peranakan Association Singapore (TPAS) has been invited to be a Community Partner of SIJE 2019, to be held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre from 18-21 July 2019.

We have specially arranged the following offers for Association MEMBERS ONLY:

• VIP PASSES, which give you access to the VIP Lounge. Passes can be used throughout the entire duration of SIJE (18-21 July 2019).
• An invitation to the official Opening Ceremony on Thursday, 18 July 2019, 3pm, including a jewelry fashion show and tea reception. (Guests to be seated by 2.45pm). Guest of Honour, Dr Lily Neo, Member of Parliament, Jalan Besar GRC.
• An invitation to VIP tea receptions on two days:
  • Saturday, 20 July – 4pm to 5.30pm (Hosted by Infiniti Jewels)
  • Sunday 21 July – 2pm to 3.30pm (Hosted by SIJE)
• Do drop by our TPAS booth during the Expo. There will be beautiful pieces of silver and gemstone designer jewellery on sale in support of the Association.

TO REGISTER FOR VIP PASSES AND/OR TO ATTEND THE TEA RECEPTIONS:

Please email: events@peranakan.org.sg by 14 July 2019.
(TPAS will not accept any registrations after this date.)

IMPORTANT

In your email, your MUST INCLUDE your:

• Full name
• Contact number
• Which DATES AND EVENTS you are registering for
• Example: 1 VIP PASS, Opening Ceremony on 18 July and Tea Reception on 21 July.

PARKING

For those who drive, FREE VALET PARKING is available on a first-come-first-served basis.
There will be a limited number of valet coupons for TPAS members only.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. Should you need a valet coupon, please indicate in your email the date of your intended visit. Valet coupons to be collected with your VIP PASS on the day. Coupons are good for one-time use only on a single date during the Expo.

To use the valet coupon, please park at the CASINO VALET area (street level), NOT the basement carpark.

FLAT RATE PARKING FEE
If you park in the basement car park, a flat rate parking coupon of $8 per day for WEEKDAYS only is available to purchase when you show your VIP PASS. Coupons can be purchased on the day of your visit at the Marina Bay Sands Concierge in front of Exhibition Hall A.

The post A Special Invitation to the Singapore International Jewelry Expo (SIJE) 2019 appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Letter from Baba Colin Chee, President, The Peranakan Association Singapore

(This is a monthly column to TPAS members and guests)

Dear Babas and Nyonyas,

BEACON OF PERANAKAN CULTURE. SINCE 1900.

At our monthly meeting in May, the General Committee, after much deliberation, decided on a tagline for the Association. Our tagline describes what we are and what we have set out to do.

For us to be a beacon is to be in a prominent position. It is to be aloft on the highest hill, tested by strong winds, yet also calmed by lovely breezes.

It means having a good reputation for integrity, clarity of purpose, and being a cultural champion for our community and society.

We also aim to be a courageous trailblazer and thoughtful gatekeeper, as our culture and community evolve in these fast-changing times.

The Association has achieved much thus far. It is due, in no small measure, to the foresight and inspirations of our founders and General Committees since 1900.

From the days of British rule to self-rule, to being part of Malaysia, and finally to our Singapore becoming a fully sovereign nation.

You will soon begin to see this tagline – Beacon of Peranakan Culture. Since 1900 – below our Association’s logo, when appropriate. Our logo was updated in August 2018.

EVENTS

The Association has taken great care in curating events for members since we started organising them in July 2018. The past and coming events are captured in the list attached below my letter.

The schedule for the second half of 2019 is not yet complete. Members should be alert to our digital announcements through e-mail, the Association’s Facebook page and our website.

Our events have been designed to span from the social to the scholarly. This is to reflect the demographics and interests of our membership.

A few events have even been experimental.

At this juncture, I would like to specially thank Nyonya Gwen Ong, our Head of Events. She has tirelessly coordinated almost all of these events. She achieved this with the help of both GC and Association members who gave their free time. It is a long list of helpers and I will certainly duly credit them in good time.

I count myself extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated team of GC members and non-GC volunteers to run the Association.

I have been described as a “slave-driver”, but they have all willingly put their shoulders to the tasks at hand for the benefit of members. I am sure the same sentiment is shared by you.

I would like to highlight two specific events coming up.

BABA NYONYA LITERARY FESTIVAL

The first is the Association’s inaugural Baba Nyonya Literary Festival to be held on the afternoons of 20 July and 21 July 2019. It was over subscribed within three days of its announcement. Details of this event were set out in my letter last month.

FORUM ON PERANAKAN IDENTITY

The second event is a forum that will be held at the Asian Civilisations Museum’s auditorium on the evening of Friday, 2 August 2019. This will be open to the general public with priority given to Association members. Details and a registration link will be announced soon.

We thank ACM for generously sponsoring the venue. The auditorium should comfortably accommodate the enthusiastic response we are anticipating for this event.

The Peranakan Identity Forum: Who Am I? will kick off with Dr Roger Foo from the Genome Institute of Singapore presenting his peer-reviewed findings from The Peranakan Genome Project – a study of DNA samples from members of the Singapore Peranakan community.

This presentation will be followed by a forum with a panel of scholars comprising Prof Leo Suryadinata (Senior Fellow at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute, adjunct professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies), historian, Prof Seng Guo Quan (Department of History, National University of Singapore), Dr Lim Beng Soon (Head, Malay Language and Literature programme, Singapore University of Social Sciences) and well-known Peranakan author Nyonya Josephine Chia.

My hope is that the sharing at the forum will be thoughtful and civil. Discussing identity, (especially among Peranakans!) has a way of getting people unnaturally riled up and emotional.

But if we treat this forum as yet another step in our exploration of our ethnic roots and cultural underpinnings, and keep an open mind in doing so while recognising that we all share a national identity as Singaporeans, we should be fine.

MEMBERSHIP

Our membership recruitment has been yielding much fruit. Since January this year we have registered 81 new members. Our total tally now stands at 2034 active members, after two members who passed on this year.

We are unable to contact 24 inactive members, based on repeated returned mails and the absence of any other means of contact except home addresses.

We are on target to hit our objective of 100 new members for every year.

Much of the push factor has been due to the fact that priority of registration in our events is being given to members. We would encourage fence-sitters to register soonest possible as our Life Membership fees will be raised from the current $128.

We are also studying the feasibility of limiting non-members’ access to the digital archive of our award-winning magazine, The Peranakan, on the Association’s website.

To date, we have not heard from the Registrar of Societies whether our Junior Membership initiative has been approved. We will continue to check with the agency and update members.

Dear Nyonyas and Babas, thank you for your understanding and continued support. Kamsiah manyak!

Blessings,
Colin Chee
Unity. Stability. Growth
It is not going to be business as usual
30 June 2019

EVENTS CALENDAR 2019

JANUARY
19 January at the NUS Baba House
POTONG KERTAIR MERAH
RED PAPER CUTTING WORKSHOP
Co-organised with NUS Baba House
Hands-on workshop by Nyonya Linda Chee and Nyonyas Samantha and Simone Tan

FEBRUARY
16 February at the NUS Baba House
WHO IS THE GOD OF WEALTH?
Co-organised with NUS Baba House
Talk by Esmond Soh Chuah Meng, a final-year undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History at Nanyang Technological University.

MARCH
15 & 16 March at The Peranakan Museum
THE ARMENIAN STREET PARTY
In collaboration with The Peranakan Museum, before its two-year closing at the end of March for renovation.

17 March
GEM NEW START CENTRE CHARITY GALA DINNER
The Association’s choir, The Peranakan Voices performed at GEM’s Charity Gala Dinner to help raise funds for its many programmes in aid of giving female ex-offenders a new start in life.

25 March at Holiday Inn Express Orchard
The Peranakan MAGAZINE’S SILVER ANNIVERSARY DINNER
An evening to thank past and present contributors, editorial committee members, advertisers friends and donors who have supported the magazine.

31 March at Joo Chiat Community Club’s auditorium
THE ASSOCIATION’S ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

APRIL
13 April at the NUS Baba House
SEMAYANG CHENG BENG
CHENG BENG (清明) FESTIVAL: TALK ON ANCESTRAL WORSHIP PRACTICES
Co-organised with NUS Baba House
Talk by Baba Cedric Tan, President of Persatuan Peranakan Baba Nyonya Kuala Lumpur & Selangor, and Heritage Consultant.

23 April at the Heritage Conservation Centre (HCC)
A GUIDED TOUR OF THE HCC

26, 27, 28 April at Serangoon Gardens Country Club (SGCC)
FOUNDER’S DAY ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
A collaboration with SGCC

MAY
18 May at the NUS Baba House
CHARACTERISING STRAITS CHINESE CUISINE (Talk with Cooking Demo)
Co-organised with NUS Baba House
Talk by food writer, Baba Dr Ong Jin Teong, a retired professor of Engineering at Nanyang Technological University.

25 May at the NUS Baba House
CHRISTIANISED PERANAKAN COMMUNITIES IN EARLY SINGAPORE, CIRCA 1830-1900
Co-organised with NUS Baba House
Talk by Dr Marc Rerceretnam, a historian studying the role of religion within colonial society in Singapore. Also Baba Chan Eng Thai, a practising lawyer and an active member of the Peranakan community in Singapore.

JUNE
5 June at the Istana
BICENTENNIAL ISTANA OPEN HOUSE
A collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Office
The Association, together with Peranakan Indian (Chitty Melaka) Association Singapore, showcased aspects of Peranakan culture in their respective communities in the Istana’s open grounds.

JULY
3 July at the Raffles City Convention Centre
GALA DINNER TO CELEBRATE THE 114TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NUS YONG LOO LIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
The Association will showcase and promote Peranakan culture at the reception and cocktail session through beadwork and Peranakan jewelery displays and demonstrations.

7 July at The Yards
JOO CHIAT 60 FIESTA TO CELEBRATE JOO CHIAT’S 60TH ANNIVERSARY
A collaboration with the People’s Association (PA) and The Yard
The Association has curated a special bazaar and workshops comprising largely specialist food vendors and collectors to complement the various enrichments programmes the Yard has to offer. The PA coordinated the event and also organised an open-air screening of a movie for residents and guests.

13 July at Mary’s Kafe
FEMALE SONS: SILK, PATRIARCHY, MARRIAGE & THE MAJIE
Talk by historian Ang Chin Siew

18-21 July at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre
SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL JEWELLERY EXPO (SIJE)
The Association was invited to be a community partner of SIJE. Members can register to enjoy visitation benefits including VIP passes.

20 July at Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS)
REOPENING OF THE SCHOOL’S HERITAGE CORNER
Collaboration with SCGS
The Association will showcase aspects of Peranakan culture and traditions to help SCGS students and teachers better understand their school’s Peranakan heritage.

20-21 July at The Peranakan Gallery
THE BABA NYONYA LITERARY FESTIVAL
Writers, Readers and Moderators Josephine Chia, Kenneth Chan, Chan Eng Thai, Goh Eck Kheng, Stella Kon, Lee Su Kim, Lim Kay Tong, Shawn Seah, Christopher Tan, Sylvia Tan, Vivienne Tan, Ila Tyagi, Walter Woon, Robert Yeo and Ovidia Yu. And local publishers Ethos, Landmark, Marshall Cavendish and Pansing.

AUGUST
2 August at Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) Auditorium
THE PERANAKAN IDENTITY FORUM: WHO AM I?
Dr Roger Foo of the Genome Institute of Singapore will present his team’s final findings from the The Peranakan Genome Project – a study of Singapore Peranakan DNA. Results from the study will be revealed at the forum. Following Dr Foo’s presentation, Nyonya Dawn Marie Lee, editor of The Peranakan magazine, will moderate a forum on the Peranakan identity. Forum panellists include writer Nyonya Josephine Chia, sinologist Prof Leo Suryadinata, historian Prof Seng Guo Quan, and linguistics professor, Dr Lim Beng Soon.

SAVE THE DATES

Several events are being planned from September to December 2019 and into 2020. Please continue to visit the Association’s FB and website weekly to catch them as they are announced. The events include a series of Dalam Dapor workshops with celebrity chefs, cookbook writers and home chefs; the launch of the Association’s Yeow Kwee Club for foodies; more talks on subjects ranging from culture, communities and societies, craft, collecting and department; and talks for our young members to introduce them tour culture, adat, naming conventions, etiquette and other subjects.

In the meantime, the following events have been confirmed.

SEPTEMBER
11 September with W!LD RICE at the brand new Wild Rice Theatre
EMILY OF EMERALD HILL: A SPECIAL TPAS EVENING
The Association and W!LD RICE present a very special evening for Association members. The fabulous Baba Ivan Heng will reprise the titular role in this seminal play by Nyonya Stella Kon and directed by Baba Glen Goei.

21 September at the NUS Baba House
DRESSING A PERANAKAN HOME WITH IKENOBO (Demo & Worskshop)
Co-organised with NUS Baba House
Demo by Sinsei Leonard Lim, possibly the only Ikenobo Master outside Japan in Asia permitted to present floral arrangements at the school’s founding Kyoto temple.

OCTOBER
Date to be confirmed at Marine Parade Community Club
TEA DANCE
In collaboration with the People’s Association
Joget to live music and song provided by The Merilads and The Peranakan Voices.

NOVEMBER
22 – 24 November in Melaka
32ND BABA NYONYA CONVENTION
Annual convention to be hosted by Persatuan Peranakan Cina Melaka (PPCM) in Melaka. The Association has sold out all delegate places to this convention.

DECEMBER
28 December at Joyden Hall
MALAM JOLLY WESTERN
The Association’s annual Dinner & Dance. An 8-course Chinese dinner will be served. Country & Western theme. Entertainment by Matthew and the Mandarins, The Merilads and The Peranakan Voices.

EVENTS CALENDAR 2020

JANUARY 2020
Date to be confirmed at the NUS Baba House
DONDANG SAYANG
Co-organised with NUS Baba House
By Baba Cedric Tan and Baba Chan Eng Thai

JULY 2020
18 July
THE PERANAKAN BALL GALA DINNER

NOVEMBER 2020
20 – 22 November
The 33rd BABA NYONYA CONVENTION
In Singapore, organised by The Peranakan Association Singapore

The post Letter from Baba Colin Chee June 2019 appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

UPDATE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN FULLY BOOKED. REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. WALK-INS WILL NOT BE ADMITTED.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

The post Peranakan Identity Forum: Who Am I? appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Join us for MALAM JOLLY WESTERN on Saturday, 28 Dec 2019.

Click here to book your tickets today!

The post Malam Jolly Western 2019 appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Letter from Baba Colin Chee, President, The Peranakan Association Singapore

(This is a monthly column to TPAS members and guests)

Dear Babas and Nyonyas,

JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP

I am happy to announce that for the first time in the Association’s history, we will open a new Junior Membership category from age 6 to below 18 years. This is a significant amendment to our constitution. It is a key part of our strategy to give the Association a much-needed dose of longevity and to keep our culture alive!

The Registrar of Societies has given in-principle approval for this amendment, among other changes to the constitution that members had approved at our Association’s Annual General Meeting on March 30, 2019.

We will soon start recruitment. Junior members:

(1)   Must be sponsored by parents, grandparents and guardians who are members of the Association.
(2)   Pay a one-time non-transferable fee of $38.
(3)   Will not have voting rights.
(4)   May convert to Life membership when they reach 18 years, at the rate applicable then.
(5)   Will not receive a hard copy of The Peranakan magazine, but can access the digital version.
(6)   Can join events organised for them as well as those specified suitable for families.

KEEPING OUR CULTURE ALIVE!

“Why do we even bother? We are a dying community. It is only a matter of time before we don’t hear about Peranakans.”

How often have we heard these questions asked and these statements made for as long as we can remember?

Even today, we are still hearing them. Despite a resurgent interest in our unique hybrid culture!

We are experiencing overflowing registrations for our Association’s events. More wayangs are being shown. More sarong kebayas bought and worn. More entertainment by independent Peranakan groups. Baba Malay classes by Gunong Sayang Association. New short stories written in Baba Malay. More Peranakan restaurants to dine in. More Peranakan digital groups on social media – from cuisine to phraseology to material heritage. Not to mention greater interest in our Chitty counterparts as represented by The Peranakan Indian Association of Singapore.

In the month of June alone, Peranakan Sayang’s first-ever pop Peranakan Sayang Concert at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre sold out. Saint Francis Enterprise’s play, Ayer di-Tetak Takleh Putus, starring the inimitable GT Lye, sold out. The Peranakan restaurant’s Kamcheng Peranakan Gala Dinner also sold out.

In July, The Peranakan Association Singapore’s inaugural Baba Nyonya Literary Festival – likely the world’s smallest literary festival – sold out. And our The Peranakan Identity Forum: Who Am I?, coming up on Friday 2 August, is overwhelmingly oversubscribed. Many of us still keenly feel the absence of The Peranakan Museum, closed for a two-year renovation.

Still no interest?

A few weeks ago, I had an animated discussion with Baba Richard Tan of Generasia. He shared with me the flurry of events coming up in the months ahead into 2020. My spirits soared just listening to him.

We may be on the cusp of a cultural renaissance, especially if we are able to excite our young about their heritage. The irrepressible Baba Ivan Heng is equally as exhilarated about the prospect of our Association’s adek Babas and Nyonyas being introduced to world-class theatre at Wild Rice!

As a throwback, the year 2008 must be the turning point for our Peranakan culture and our community. The Peranakan Museum opened its doors on 25 April with ten beautifully and thoughtfully curated galleries.

Suddenly, Peranakan families became painfully aware of the heritage they merrily jettisoned in favour of modern trappings. Even families started to quibble over artifacts that were once never treasured.

Fortuitously, on 25 November the same year, the critically acclaimed drama series, The Little Nyonya, debuted on MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It ushered the universe to our little beautiful world. Within weeks, many otherwise disinterested Babas and Nyonyas started looking a little harder and a little deeper at their roots. Peranakan restaurants mushroomed. Our culture became pop. It also became a business.

It has never been the same since. Last year, the romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians, which showcased elements of Peranakan culture, became a runaway success. Sequels of the film are expected. Peranakan was again on the lips of our community.

Similarly, a consortium of Chinese and Singapore companies has finished shooting a remake of The Little Nyonya for Chinese audiences. Our former GC member Baba Philip Chia was consulted on the aspect of Peranakan cuisine during production. It will fan a fire that will surely reach our shores.

MALAM JOLLY WESTERN

While we are still on food, we have launched the sale of tickets for our Association’s annual dinner and dance on Saturday, 28 December 2019, at Joyden Hall.

An 8-course banquet dinner will accompany this year’s Western-themed dinner. Let us all celebrate and joget and line-dance with Matthew & The Mandarins and our The Peranakan Voices and The Merrilads!

Please buy your tickets soon. Reservations by the table are encouraged. They are likely to go very fast! So, please act now!!!!

God Bless, Good Health and All Things Nice!

Blessings,
Colin Chee
Unity. Stability. Growth
It is not going to be business as usual
31 July 2019

The post Letter from Baba Colin Chee July 2019 appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Come join us to learn CHERKI, the Peranakan card game which was so popular with nyonyas of the past that it even put some bibiks behind bars!

Organised by TPAS members, Nyonyas Benita Fong and Heather Ong, this session will introduce Cherki to beginners.

After a brief introduction about the history of the game in Peranakan culture, participants will learn to play Cherki.

Lucky draw prizes sponsored by Katong Antique House and Nonya Nonya restaurant.

Date: 14 September 2019, Saturday

Time: 10am – 12pm

Venue: Nonya Nonya, 12 Maju Avenue, Singapore 556690 (Serangoon Gardens estate)

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND THIS EVENT.

Places are limited.

To register, please email: events@peranakan.org.sg

IMPORTANT NOTE: Those who register and do not turn up will be barred from registering for the next three TPAS talks/events.

Our talks and events have been very popular and were fully booked in less than 2 days. Unfortunately, there were still a handful of no-shows. This is unfair to the long list of members that we had to turn away because all the places were filled.

The post Mari Main Cherki! appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Co-organised by The Peranakan Association Singapore and NUS Baba House.

Ikebana is the ancient Japanese art of floral arrangement where cut stems, flowers and leaves are skilfully arranged in a vessel to express the harmony between nature and the man-made.

Ikebana master, Dr Leonard Lim, will demonstrate how Peranakan design elements can be applied to the floral art with symbolic flowers and Nyonyaware.

Date: Saturday, 21 September 2019
Venue: NUS Baba House, 157 Neil Road, Singapore 088883
Time: 4.30pm – 5.30pm

(If you would like to explore the Baba House, please arrive just before 4pm.)

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND THIS TALK.

OPEN TO TPAS MEMBERS ONLY.

Places are limited.
To register, please email: events@peranakan.org.sg

IMPORTANT NOTE: Those who register and do not turn up will be barred from registering for the next three TPAS talks/events.

Our talks have been very popular and were fully booked in less than 2 days. Unfortunately, there were still a handful of no-shows. This is unfair to the long list of members that we had to turn away because all the places were filled.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

A practising dental surgeon, Dr Leonard Lim is the Founding President of Ikenobo Ikebana Society, Singapore Chapter. He has written books on Ikebana.

Between 2014 and 2018, Dr Lim studied at the Ikenobo Central Training Institute in Kyoto and was Best Student in every year of study. In 2018, he was selected to perform the floral offering at Rokkakudo Temple at the Ikenobo Spring Festival in Kyoto, a rare honour for a non-Japanese. His official rank, now, is Katoku, or Third Grade Senior Professor and is currently in his second year of a 3-year specialised programme in Kyoto.

The post Ikebana in a Peranakan Home: Talk and Demo appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Letter from Baba Colin Chee, President, The Peranakan Association Singapore

(This is a monthly column to TPAS members and guests)

Dear Babas and Nyonyas,

PRIVACY OF PERSONAL DATA

This Sunday, 1 September 2019, is momentous. It is when strict laws pertaining to the collection, retention and use of members’ personal data come into effect in Singapore.

Your Association takes members’ privacy seriously. Last year, soon after the incumbent General Committee (GC) members were elected on 27 May, we focused on privacy requirements when we began digitalizing our Association’s membership data. The government had already revealed in greater detail its plans to implement the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

Consolidating and digitalizing the personal data of 1,850 members proved to be a mammoth challenge. In light of PDPA requirements, the task had to be handled by only two people to ensure that members’ personal data stayed private.

I have written about this unenviable task in an earlier letter. It was completed by end-January this year, largely by Nyonya Agnes Ng, our Assistant Honorary Secretary. As at 31 August, we have 2,061 Life members.

Concurrently, as members’ data was being streamlined, a small PDPA Technical Team made up of GC members under the able leadership of Baba Philip Yeo, was formed in mid-last year. The team was tasked to better understand the requirements of PDPA and to study cost-effective options of membership identification without using NRIC numbers. Since January 2019, the GC has adopted several recommendations.

We have yet to decide on the best way to identify members at events but have narrowed down the options.

In working all these, our guidance has been:
(1) Ease of use: so that successive committees can pick up the ball and run with it
(2) Cost-effectiveness: to ensure sustainability
(3) Risk-based: so that we do not introduce protocols and systems for the sake of doing so

ANAK BABAS AND NYONYAS

Many members supported the initiative to have Junior Membership which I mentioned in my July letter. The GC received encouraging calls and emails from enthusiastic members.

Mothers and grandmothers are waiting for the chance to register their children and grandchildren as members. Your GC and volunteers realise it is a serious responsibility that we have hoisted on ourselves. But it must be done.

We will launch our Junior Membership drive in September. Please watch out for it.

With members’ understanding and support, we will succeed together in introducing our unique and colourful culture in a fun way to our Anak Babas and Nyonyas.

Keeping our culture alive is a strong motivator for bringing the young into our fold. They have growing minds that are open to ideas. If not them, who can we pass the baton to before we are gone? Will a culture still be relevant to our young if it does not evolve with the times? Should culture stay ‘pure’?

This is a likely formula for our culture to come to a standstill, perched and displayed on a dusty museum shelf or between the browning pages of a heritage book. I believe a living culture has to be lived and relevant to the times. It has to evolve, with a respectful eye to its past. Because change is a norm.

THEME FOR 2020

It is for this reason that our theme for next year – the Association’s 120th Anniversary – will be “Keeping Our Culture Alive”.

There is much to be done – wisely and humbly – and it appears, so little time to do it.

Like it or not, ours is a folk culture that evolved from the ground up and flourished from the mid-19th century to the early 20th when wealthy patrons brought a certain shine to the culture.

It is therefore our community at large that has to decide whether we want our culture to be alive in the generations to come.

The Association must not assume that it is the sole champion of Peranakan culture. Such conceit will surely be our culture’s undoing. However, the Association can certainly be our community’s primary cultural and heritage gatekeeper and resource while being its leading champion.

We need our community to believe that our culture can be sustained and to rally around its champions to keep it alive and thriving. This is why the Association has spread its arms to embrace and work with many partners, including willing members, to organise relevant events that can raise awareness of our culture, and to faithfully and accurately document its past and present. The Association alone cannot achieve this effectively.

My wife Linda and I will be away during the first half of September. We sincerely regret we will not be able to join you on 11 September for Wild Rice’s Emily on Emerald Hill, which we will see later, or engage in Mari Main Cherki on 14 September so kindly organised by members Nyonyas Benita Fong and Heather Ong.

But we will be back in time for Dressing A Peranakan Home on 21 September when Ikebana master, Dr Leonard Lim, will demonstrate several Ikebana floral arrangements with Peranakan themes. Baba Leonard holds the very rare distinction of being possibly the only non-Japanese invited to perform the floral offering at Kyoto’s Rokkakudo Temple, the birthplace of Ikebana arrangement in Japan.

Until then, God bless and thank you for your time and undimmed passion for our culture.

Blessings,
Colin Chee
Unity. Stability. Growth
It is not going to be business as usual
31 August 2019

The post Letter from Baba Colin Chee August 2019 appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

A Peranakan cooking class by Nyonya Violet Oon for The Peranakan Association Singapore

Peranakan chef extraordinaire, Nyonya Violet Oon guides you through the basics of Peranakan cooking and will teach you to prepare four essential Peranakan dishes.

Participants will learn the art of the Pound and Peel – from pounding a great rempah (spice paste), to peeling and slicing cucumber in the finest julienne.

Learn how to pluck tau geh (beansprouts) the seronoh way to impress a future mother-in-law.

You will see, touch and smell the many herbs and spices that are essential in a Peranakan kitchen.

Finally, learn to cook a Nyonya maiden’s first dishes:

• Satay Ayam Goreng
• Ikan Tempra
• Sambal Belacan
• Sambal Timun Nanas

There will be limited hands-on activity with tastings of the dishes taught.

Date: Saturday, 12 October 2019
Time: 9.30 am to 11.45 am
Venue: VIOLET OON SINGAPORE, 881 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 279893
(If you are driving, approach via Cherry Avenue.)
Fees: $150

Places are limited. OPEN TO TPAS MEMBERS ONLY. Fees are payable upon registration to confirm your place.
To register, please email: events@peranakan.org.sg

The post The Art of Peranakan Pound and Peel (or How to Find A Spouse in the Olden Days) appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Guo Pei, speaks about her design philosophy in this video.

The post Resplendently Chinese and Peranakan appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

CHEE YAM CHUAN (CHEE SWEE CHENG’S FATHER)

by Baba Ronney Tan Koon Siang

Baba Chee Yam Chuan was among an elite group of merchants called “the Malacca Chinese”.

They were already successful businessmen and traders – entrepreneurial and adaptable. They were among the early merchants invited by Colonel William Farquhar to come to Singapore to kick-start the fledgling economy.

Born on 24 May 1819, Yam Chuan grew the family fortune and amassed wealth from his engagement in opium farms, trading, property investment, financing tin mines and as a creditor of the royal family of Selangor.

At the age of 21, Yam Chuan was elected head of the Hokkien community in Melaka. After his father Chee Kim Guan died in 1839, he inherited membership in then powerful Keng Teck Whay, a private family benefit society.

Membership in the Keng Teck Whay is restricted to its founding members and their direct male descendants. Some describe it as Singapore’s earliest known Hokkien Peranakan mutual-aid society.

Yam Chuan died suddenly on 28 July 1862, after his brother-in-law fatally shot him at a Chinese wedding dinner for refusing to lend him money.

THE CHEE FAMILY AND THE KENG TECK WHAY

In 1890, Chee Swee Cheng had served as trustee of Keng Teck Whay, a private mutual benefit society formed in 1831 by 36 Melaka Chinese merchants who had spread their business interests to Singapore at the behest of Colonel William Farquhar.

Sir Stamford Raffles had instructed Farquhar to use his good ties with the Melaka merchants to help the new Singapore economy grow.

Trade enabled Singapore to flourish so quickly that by 1840, the island had eclipsed and relegated Melaka to being “a sleepy hollow” until its revival in 1904 fuelled by the rubber boom.

Swee Cheng`s great-grandfather, Baba Chee Kim Guan, and uncles, Chee Teang Why and Chee Kim Sam, were also founder members of Keng Teck Whay. Chee Kim Guan had the distinction of being one of two Chinese merchants who were in the first Singapore Chamber of Commerce in 1837.

Around 1895, when the Keng Teck Whay faced a cash flow crisis, Chee Swee Cheng intervened and saved the day.

Perhaps as a repayment of kindness rendered back in 1895, Keng Teck Whay loaned Chee Swee Cheng $30,000 (Straits dollars) in 1931 at the height of the world financial crisis which hit Ho Hong Bank.

Britain went off the gold standard. This adversely affected the bank’s bottom line. The Keng Teck Whay archives record that Swee Cheng paid interest of $258 on a one-year loan and he fully repaid the principal sum the following year.

To the Babas this was the ultimate “bayar budi balek” (repayment of kindness in full).

The post Chee Swee Cheng: The Man with the Midas Touch appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Nobody knows the reason for the existence of the winged torch emblem on the old Heeren Building, designed by the architectural firm, Keys & Dowdeswell.

It may have simply been a design feature that complemented the Art Deco style 1930s Hereen building. It bears an uncanny resemblance to the Zoroastrian winged emblem, the Faravahar, which some believe is a symbol of protection and blessing.

There is speculation that Chee Swee Cheng could have picked it as an auspicious symbol for the company he founded.

On 11 January 1991, Swee Cheng Management Pte Ltd was incorporated as the management company to manage the assets of the Chee Swee Cheng Group of Companies. A new design of the winged logo at the entrance of the old Hereen Building was created and adopted as the company logo.

Ang Wee Teck of APSA Pte Ltd was instrumental in adding the “CSCC” letters in the centre of the logo, with “CSCC” standing for Chee Swee Cheng Company. The wings were also simplified.

In 1993, however, management reverted to the original intricate wings in its logo, while maintaining the “CSCC” letters in the centre, with the last “C” facing the second last “C”.

LABUAN CLOCK TOWER

The Labuan Clock Tower is a tourist attraction on the island of Labuan, Malaysia. The tower that stands today is an exact replica of the original clock tower built by Baba Chee Swee Cheng in 1906.

It was one of the few structures that survived World War II, but was completely demolished by the British in 1948, and rebuilt by Labuan Corporation in 2002 with funds from the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia.

The Australian War Memorial website noted post-war artist, Donald Friend’s, entry in his diary on 10 June 1945, “…Standing almost alone in a sea of canvas tents, bullet-scarred, the Clock tower apparently at one time embellished the facade of a large public building of which now nothing remains standing after the bombardment.

The arch doorway of the Clock Tower is surmounted by an illegible inscription celebrating the name of the citizen who built it.”

The post The Cryptic Winged Logo of Chee Swee Cheng’s Company appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Baba David Bok shares the many panton composed by Baba Chan Eng Thai for the Chitty Melaka community.

1. PANTON SAMBOTAN

Composed on 19 January 2008 to mark the formation of the Peranakan Indian (Chitty Melaka) Association.

*The late Baba Lee Kip Lee was the president of The Peranakan Association Singapore from 1996 to 2010.

2. PANTON MALAM CHITTY

Composed for Malam Chitty Melaka, organised by the Peranakan Indian (Chitty Melaka) Association on 15 May 2010 at Lagun Sari, Joo Chiat.

*The late Baba Peter Wee was the president of The Peranakan Association Singapore from 2010 to 2018.

3. PANTON CHITTY MELAKA

Composed for the Peranakan Indian Symposium organised by the Peranakan Indian (Chitty Melaka) Association on 4 October 2014 at the Asian Civilisations Museum.

4. PANTON TERIMA KASIH PRESIDENT HALIMAH

Composed in appreciation of Her Excellency President Halimah Yacob as a tribute from the Peranakan Indian (Chitty Melaka) Association Singapore on 6 September 2018.

The post Poetry and the Peranakan appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Join us to celebrate the Association’s 120th anniversary at our fundraising Gala on 18 July 2020.

Bookings are now open.
Email: events@peranakan.org.sg to reserve your tables today.

The post The Peranakan Ball 2020 appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

Alternatively, click here to download and view The Peranakan Issue 2 2019.

The new issue of THE PERANAKAN magazine is out now! THE PERANAKAN, our award-winning volunteer-run magazine is packed with fascinating features and insights about Peranakan culture.

We hope that you enjoy this issue. Send your comments, feedback and suggestions for the magazine to: editor@peranakan.org.sg

The post Issue 2 2019 appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

It is with great pleasure that we call on members of The Peranakan Association Singapore to register their children, grandchildren and siblings aged 6 to 18 years as Junior Members.

We will do all that we can, with your help, to inculcate in our young phoenixes and dragons a love for our community and our unique Peranakan culture.

Sign up for a Junior Membership now!

The post We are now accepting Junior Members! appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.

A happy collaboration between The Peranakan Association Singapore and the Peranakan Interest Group of the Joo Chiat Community Club Management Committee (People’s Association).

Let’s joget to nostalgic songs and magical tunes by The Peranakan Voices and The Merrilads band.

Enjoy a tea time buffet spread and stand to win lucky draw prizes.

Tickets at $10 per person now available from the Admin Office of the Joo Chiat Community Club.

The post Joget Siang: Peranakan Tea Dance appeared first on The Peranakan Association Singapore.