Part III: Mr Michael Ho Hian Teck

MICHAEL: I think the area is so big, it has a calming effect. I mean, you go there, there’s lots of wind, you know, you can’t find it anywhere in the city where you literally can lie down somewhere along the platform, you can feel the wind blowing. And it’s covered because of the train. So it’s fun, it’s nice. And then I literally ever walked on top of the ceiling also. You know the ceiling right? INTERVIEWER: Yes. MICHAEL: The platform upstairs. INTERVIEWER: Yes. MICHAEL: Because the station hotel is connected there. We can actually walk on top of the roof. INTERVIEWER: Oh, so open-air roof. MICHAEL: Is open-air roof. INTERVIEWER: Wow. And what did you see when… MICHAEL: Is actually nothing. Is just – is good, I mean, like I’ve said, open, lots of wind. These are some of the so-called privileges that we have because we know the station owners, hotel owners. So they literally sometimes “Come. Let’s go up there and walk.” INTERVIEWER: Wow. And you could see the view of the line and the carpark and everything. MICHAEL: Yah. INTERVIEWER: It’s a 360 degree view. Was there anything else up there that… MICHAEL: Nothing. Is actually just a cover. INTERVIEWER: Cover, so nothing. MICHAEL: Nothing. Of course, the station hotel itself have a lot of scandals, which I think I – which is more private in a way, you know, that’s why… INTERVIEWER: Nothing that can go on record. MICHAEL: Yah, yah, so it’s a bit of fun that we know the owners of that, I mean, they’re close friends like I’ve said. INTERVIEWER: And you guys were in on all the inside stories and the things that go on there. MICHAEL: Yah, yah. INTERVIEWER: Wow, ok. Was there anything you did not like about the railway or the train station or anything? MICHAEL: No, there’s nothing that I don’t actually dislike. I have fond memories there, definitely, you know. We grew up there literally and then – yah, I love the railway station. INTERVIEWER: So you liked it about its openness, its calming effect, was there anything else you liked about it? MICHAEL: Well, I guess is the history of my mum, you know, bringing us up, literally at the place there from young right up to, you know, our adulthood. Or I don’t say adult but maybe, you know, early 20s. Even my National Service, I was still there. INTERVIEWER: Oh, what were you doing in the National, during your National Service? MICHAEL: I mean when I do National Service, I come back, I still go to the railway station to take (inaudible; 39.42). Literally we were brought up there, I mean, 7 years old, primary 1 right up to when I am in secondary school. I’m always in the railway station. We were at the railway station. INTERVIEWER: And so, that’s wonderful. I mean, in the sense that it plays such a large part in your life and it’s great that you actually have such fond memories of it. MICHAEL: I mean, literally my sister if you ask her, she’ll remember one of her so-called adventures there. Because she was also, like I’ve said, schooling, we were all in school. So one day, she came back to have lunch there and one of the Indian guys, you know, thinking that she’s somebody who has nobody there, wanted to molest her. And he got into real s*** from my uncle. My uncle literally beat him up. INTERVIEWER: When, which year was this? How old was she? MICHAEL: I think she’s in secondary school. INTERVIEWER: Secondary school. So this was in the 70s or 60s? MICHAEL: In the early 60s I think – late 60s. So my sister – yah, should be late 60s. INTERVIEWER: So he tried to molest her and of course, he got caught by your uncle. MICHAEL: Yah, because – no, he actually got caught, my sister walked in and complained, said that this guy, you know, trying to touch her. My uncle went out there and say who, who is this guy. So you know, they were workers with us, you know. INTERVIEWER: So they were your employees. MICHAEL: Yah, they’re employees. I mean the Indian guy is not our employee but our employee and my uncle went out to look for him and then got beaten up by – beat him up and then call the police. Yah, he chose the wrong target. INTERVIEWER: Wow, that’s one story which I’ve not, I’ve not often heard in all these interviews. Did the police do anything to your uncle for beating him up? MICHAEL: No, nothing. It was the first one. The second one again involved one of my brothers, who drove a car in, and then I think one of these people there didn’t like, maybe, possibility my brother was driving the car maybe too close to him, you know, so he wasn’t very happy. So he came into the platform where we parked our cars. And then he go and broke my brother’s antennae. So it was unfortunate because he thought that my brother was going there to pick up people or what. He didn’t know that our office is there. So he broke the antennae, of course some of them saw it, say ,“How come you go and…” So that guy got beaten up and then got kicked. INTERVIEWER: Was this the 60s or the 70s? MICHAEL: Yah, it’s also I think. INTERVIEWER: Oh, so many things in the 60s. Speaking of the 60s, since we are on the topic, did you recall the mood during the race riots in Malaysia, ’69. MICHAEL: No, I don’t recall anything. I think it was fairly quiet. Not much happening, I mean, the race riots literally doesn’t involve… INTERVIEWER: Involve you guys. So there were no tensions in the station itself, with Malaysia-Singapore and stuff like that. MICHAEL: Because we are very close with the Malaysian customs, the immigrations, we know literally each other. So in that way, even the station administration itself, where you go and buy your tickets. So sometimes our friends will want us to go and buy tickets for them during Chinese New Year. So they’ll tell us to go and book for them so we will book for them. INTERVIEWER: Would you guys be – and because you knew them, you are able to… MICHAEL: Yah, we could get the tickets first. INTERVIEWER: Get the tickets first. And – did you, so I assume you didn’t have to queue up to get tickets. MICHAEL: No. INTERVIEWER: You just tell them, you can go to the between the counters and you can say. MICHAEL: Yah, yah, correct. INTERVIEWER: Wow. MICHAEL: So of course, we don’t misuse. Is only these close friends that told us to get them. INTERVIEWER: Because, yes, I remember people telling me during Chinese New Year, the queue is very long. MICHAEL: The queue is very long. INTERVIEWER: And then the booking system, there was no booking system… MICHAEL: Yah, booking system is very terrible. One of those old-school Malaysian old way where you literally have to book. And the tickets are all… INTERVIEWER: Paper right? MICHAEL: Very old-school. Yah, paper kind of thing they tear out. You had to keep it. You lost your ticket, you cannot go in, go into the carriage. INTERVIEWER: Did you ever keep any tickets? MICHAEL: I don’t travel that much on the train. No, I don’t think I have any of those tickets. INTERVIEWER: Did you keep any other memorabilia from the station and its time like photographs or things like that? MICHAEL: I think I have but I’ve got to look it up. Seriously, I’ve got to look it up where… there should be. Especially in the dark scene where we took the railway photographs or such things. I really don’t know. I’ll probably call Paul or my brother or Dennis and see whether they can, have got all those photographs. INTERVIEWER: That will be fantastic. Actually that will be very interesting for an exhibition. Ok, would you like to see anything – what, now that the railway and the station and the railway have moved back into, now owned by the Singapore government, personally speaking, what would you like to see being done to the station and the railway? MICHAEL: Well, I think the main hall itself, the main station itself where you come in to buy your tickets and then you wait for the train to go, to go into the train, that hall is very beautiful. It’s a waste, you know, if the government were to tear down. Because the murals on top of the ceiling there is so beautiful, is very nice. I don’t think you can find in any part of Singapore to have that kind of murals. So it’s going to be, I should say tragic, if the government were to tear down and built something new. Well, I guess they can turn it into a place where you can eat – I don’t want to say too high-end of thing, where Singaporeans cannot afford to go in but a bit of here and there cafes, restaurants. And the platform can be used for, for so many things – modeling, you can walk the whole stretch, you know. So these are the things, hopefully the government will think about it. INTERVIEWER: But you think that the station should be open to all in the sense that… MICHAEL: To all. INTERVIEWER:It shouldn’t be exclusive, that kind of exclusive place. MICHAEL: No, it should be open to all. You know, if you end up somebody tendering to have a high-end restaurant there or something, then I think it defeat the purpose. INTERVIEWER: And the purpose being? MICHAEL: Being like you know, Singaporeans will miss all the things, the history that is there. Because if you – ok, first thing, you went into the railway station, it’ll become so private that you can’t park your car there because somebody has taken the, you know, place there. And then what’s the point? I mean if you, being a Singaporean, if you cannot even look at your whole so-called railway station, we have a lot of history, then you have to pay for it to go in. Something is workable. And like I’ve said, you know, is meant for the people. INTERVIEWER: Meant for the people. It’s great. How about the line, the actual railway line from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands. What you know, some people have said, there’ll be some suggestions of turning it into a green corridor or some have wanted to develop it into condominiums or things like that. Whatin your opinion, what do you think should happen? MICHAEL: Ok, there are some stages of the railway line, which are actually interesting. I don’t know whether you’ve been to the Bukit Timah side. INTERVIEWER: Yes, the small station. I mean I haven’t personally been there but… MICHAEL: Yah, it is beautiful. So that place shouldn’t be taken out. If you were to go inside, which I did many times, that place is really good for wedding photographs. I’ve been, myself have been going there to take wedding shots for my friend’s wedding. I’ve actually literally recommended them there to take and they were very happy because it’s a different scenery altogether, where you can stand onboard the train and take photographs of this and that. I don’t know whether the train carriages is still there. If not, then the openness of the tracks there, that one shouldn’t be taken out. But of course, along the way, like from Bukit Merah that one stretch, that part may be able to take out for some other use, I’ve got no idea. And then, but railway station itself, the railway line, like I’ve said, there’s lots of things you can do there. So it should not be taken out. Unless, like I’ve said, the government is so keen on redeveloping the area, it’s going to be a waste. I think our government should think many times, you know, trying to pull down the station or what. They should not do that. INTERVIEWER: Was it ever talked when you were there, was it ever talked about pulling down the station? MICHAEL: No. INTERVIEWER: So it’s always about, so I mean, there’s always a sense of preservation? MICHAEL: Yah, so far, you know, the government is leaving it empty. But then, I’ve heard, of course, they want to tender out for some other use. INTERVIEWER: Right. MICHAEL: So hopefully, you know, like I’ve said, the next owners they do it well. Not, not to keep Singapore out or to make money but to make sure that Singaporeans are able to go there to enjoy a bit of green, like the openness. It’s very hard to find, that kind of area. INTERVIEWER: True, especially openness and space. Ok, do you have any final comments? Anything else that you remember that you would like to tell, like you would like to put down for posterity? MICHAEL: Like I’ve said, I enjoyed my younger days there. I’m, I should say, one of the privileged who’s able to know what’s life in there. And I’ve seen, ok, just to let you know, I’ve seen a person commit suicide there, run over by a train. So it’s really grisly. Don’t ever go run over by a train. INTERVIEWER: When was this? MICHAEL: Also my early, maybe during the 70s. INTERVIEWER: But you were out of school already. MICHAEL: Yah, I’m out of school already. I’ve literally seen the mangled body of this – is horrible. Don’t ever be run over by a train. INTERVIEWER: Was this in the platform itself? MICHAEL: In the platform itself. INTERVIEWER: So the train was coming in? MICHAEL: Yah, the train was coming in. INTERVIEWER: The person just jumped in there. MICHAEL: Jumped in there. INTERVIEWER: At the platform? MICHAEL: Yah. INTERVIEWER: Were there other people that saw it? MICHAEL: Of course, they were also, I mean, they all waiting for passengers coming in and then… INTERVIEWER: Did it traumatise you? MICHAEL: You know, usually, you know, when the train comes in, there are a lot of people waiting for, for their relatives or friends and this is what happens. But fortunately the place, where that thing happened, is not where, you know, there’s a customs and a immigration. So those people there are waiting here, cannot go in. INTERVIEWER: The gate was still closed? MICHAEL: Not, not, the gate is open. But until a certain point, where in front of our office there, our office, you’re still able to go there. Because after that, it’ll be the customs and immigration. So that point. INTERVIEWER: Right. MICHAEL: So that thing happened is on the way in. One of those near the platform there. INTERVIEWER: While the train was still travelling in? MICHAEL: While the train was travelling, coming in, no, coming, slowing, already coming in and speed maybe slowing down. The guy just jumped. INTERVIEWER: You saw the whole thing? MICHAEL: I saw the mangled body, of course, not the whole thing. INTERVIEWER: You didn’t see the… MICHAEL: I didn’t see the actual jump. So is not nice, running over by the train. INTERVIEWER: I can imagine. MICHAEL: There’s another incident, you will not believe. This guy, he came in with his girlfriend and then the wife was there waiting for him because the wife found out that he was having a mistress somewhere. INTERVIEWER: When was this? Was this 70s as well? MICHAEL: Yah, 70s and then – it was a catfight because the wife was so angry, literally fought with the woman after the immigration, you know. Because the wife was probably hiding somewhere and then when the husband and the girl – after immigration has passed through right, the wife came out and confront the husband, the husband got shocked. It was literally in front of our office. INTERVIEWER: So she ambushed him outside the office? MICHAEL: Yah, yah. INTERVIEWER: And then outside the office? MICHAEL: Yah, and then she pulled the woman’s hair, tear the woman’s passport. For doing that, she was arrested because she cannot tear somebody’s passport. INTERVIEWER: Yes, I can imagine. MICHAEL: Then the police tried to hold her, then she shouted at the police, “You dare to touch me, I will charge you for molesting!” I remember that very well. So police won’t dare to touch her, they call a policewoman to come. INTERVIEWER: Oh, to restrain her. So many stories! Anything, any other stories? Any other interesting stories? MICHAEL: Yah, just take a lot of things to, to think about it. It’s fun. INTERVIEWER: So I imagine, I mean, you had your childhood, you had suicides, you had barfights, catfights. That’s a, that’s, I think yours is probably one of the richest histories that I’ve actually interviewed anyone on the station. Well, I mean, if there’s anything else you remember and you like to tell us, feel free to contact us or other things or maybe you write it down or something like that. MICHAEL: Yah, maybe I’ll call you if I can remember. I was actually – last night and this morning, I was trying to find on my old album, I couldn’t find my old album so I literally couldn’t – where I put my old album. INTERVIEWER: Oh, maybe in the future perhaps we can contact you and then we can maybe chat with your mother as well if she’s willing to. MICHAEL: I’ll probably check with her. INTERVIEWER: Ok, thank you very much, Michael. It was a fantastic interview and compilation. And we’ll be in touch. See you again. MICHAEL: Sure.