A group of Nanyang Technological University students launched a website last week to give an insight and intimate look at Mr. Chiam See Tong and his legacy at Potong Pasir. The website, www.mykindoftown.sg, was the product of their final year project from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.
The Facebook page for My Kind of Town has around 900 ‘likes’ now, and the group of four undergraduates might just get closer to accomplishing their multimedia feature project goal – to “educate people on Singapore’s history and inspire them to create similar projects in the future.”
The Online Citizen caught up with the team of undergraduates and asked them about My Kind of Town.
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Tell us a bit about yourselves. Who are the people behind the project?
We are a group of final year students from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information. This multimedia feature is part of our final year project. Cara Chiang is the producer and the sound engineer. Basil Edward Teo is the photographer and second videographer. Sulaiman Daud is the writer, chief editor and the main interviewer. Wong Kar Weng is the main videographer and video editor.
What was your goal in producing this project?
We hope to document the stories of Mr. Chiam and share them with our fellow peers. Hopefully, we can educate people on Singapore’s history and inspire them to create similar projects in the future.
How long did it take to complete the production of the project?
The actual production started around the end of August. The entire editing was finalised by End March. So we took about 7 months.
Why Potong Pasir? There’s got to be other towns with similar character.
After the 2011 election, Potong Pasir has been passed over to a new political party. Therefore, it is currently an estate in transition. We would like to document its stories before things change too much.  The face of the estate is changing, for instance, the old street soccer court will be demolished soon.
What inspired you to do a final year project on Mr. Chiam See Tong?
While other politicians have had their contributions and stories recorded in the history books through multiple journals and documentaries, veteran opposition politician Chiam See Tong has yet to have an in-depth book written about his career. We felt that he was an important part of Singapore’s political history and his stories deserve to be remembered.
You interviewed a lot of people, it seems. Tell us a bit about your personal experience with the Potong Pasir residents.
The residents generally are quite friendly and welcoming. There were a couple of memorable incidents. Mr. Sumith’s birthday party at Blk 107 was a fun and unique experience, as people don’t usually socialise much with their neighbours any longer.
There was a Christmas Eve/Christmas morning encounter with Aunty Wong, the cardboard collector featured in our project. We had stayed overnight in Potong Pasir to look out for night time communities, and met her instead. She was quite a character, and fortunately she was willing to speak to us.
In addition, a number of our interviewees were apprehensive about being interviewed due to the political nature of our topic. We’re grateful for the ones who agreed to speak to us.
What are your impressions about Mr. Chiam? Did you learn more about him from the residents than you have read or heard?
(Sulaiman’s personal opinion) Personally, I only knew about Mr. Chiam through the news before. I knew that he was an opposition politician who had served in Potong Pasir for a long time. But I was surprised to see the level of respect with people when they spoke of Chiam. Chiam himself was very friendly and approachable when we met him. He had a sense of humour during our interviews and meetings with him, and seemed cheerful despite his ailing physical health.
Did you come across any obstacles during the production?
Yes, one of them was mentioned earlier, with regards to convincing residents to appear on camera to talk about Mr. Chiam. Another obstacle includes the issue of access to Mr. Chiam. During the start of our production period, Mr. Chiam was still recovering from his hip injury. Therefore, it was not convenient for us to interview him then.
Tell us your views about the physical town itself.
Potong Pasir is a small estate where everyone seems to know each other. It’s a peaceful, quiet place with a few good kopitiams to try out.
When Mr Sitoh Yi Pin took over in 2011, he promised to make some changes to Potong Pasir. Do you think that is what the residents want, and do you think that is what the town needs?
If you refer to the residents’ quotes in our walkway photo montage, the residents have differing views on this matter. But generally, a number of residents welcome the upgrading and renovations.
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You can view the project by Cara, Basil, Sulaiman and Kar Weng at their website, www.mykindoftown.sg. The team’s video snippets have also been uploaded to their YouTube channel. If you like what the team has done, “like” their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/mykindoftownsg.
And for the moment, we bring you a couple of their many videos that captured the spirit of Potong Pasir and Mr Chiam’s legacy.

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