My Reflections on the Reinvention of Keong Saik Road

By Martha John

At the start of the Writing Marathon, we, the SWI Alumni, were each asked to express what ‘reinvention’ meant to us. I said the first thing that came to my head, “Memories”. Little did I know that the walk down Keong Saik Road would prove to be a walk down memory lane. It would prove to be a walk through time: of people, places, senses, of heritage, roots and a walk in the current reality of conservation and common workspaces.

The current Keong Saik Road screams of hipster cafes, watering holes, business spaces with catchy modern names like ‘Potato Head’, ‘Pasta Bar’ and ‘Butcher Boy’. What’s in a name? Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? The reinvention of these spaces along Keong Saik Road have been elevated by mere nomenclature.

This idea of names caught my attention. This became apparent at the first pit stop, the Keong Saik Bakery. The serving of Coconut Cruffin I had with my Kopi-O spoke of the reinvention of muffin and croissant with the coconut filling reminiscent of the sweet coconut filling my Chetty Melaka grandmother used to put into her ‘Kueh Dadah’. While savouring this fusion of a dessert, I got a glimpse of the history of Keong Saik Road. It felt like I was having a conversation with the past and getting acquainted with the women of yesteryears and the fascinating lives they lived.

I Iearnt about the Majie, women who were sworn into celibacy through a ritual known as ‘sor hei’ at the nearby temple. Females who took the vows had to go through a hairdressing ritual where a comb would run through their tresses while a Taoist priest chanted and officiated at the altar of incense and offerings. Usually dressed in samfu- a two-piece outfit that comprised a top garment and a pair of trousers, their hair would then be styled into a neat bun. These women worked as domestic helpers and forged sisterhoods to support one another and lived together till death. I could only imagine how strong and brave they were. The Keong Saik Bakery even had a pastry known as ‘Sor Hei’!

I must take my hat off to the pastry chefs there who take pains to serve the past in present pastry. One of them, Yuzhong, was an engineer turned pastry chef. He even offered us his new fusion creations! He was leading the reinvented life.

The other group of women that featured in this precinct were those who worked in the brothels which had shifted from Chinatown to Keong Saik Rod, giving its infamous reputation of being a ‘Red-Light District’. These were the underbelly of society then, the marginalised, the forgotten women of the past, who despite their circumstances, forged ahead to eke out a living in the hopes of survival and perhaps, a better future.

In looking at names, I learnt about Mr Tan Keong Saik himself. Only remarkable men could have had roads named after them. I gather that Mr Tan Keong Saik was one such man who left a mark in his community back then in the1880s, 1886 to be exact! A Malaccan-born businessman who owned several properties in Singapore, he was known for his philanthropic efforts to the Chinese community, especially in the areas of education and women’s rights. He gets me there. Any man who has regard and shows basic respect to women and furthermore helps to elevate the status of women gets my stamp of approval. I salute you, Mr Tan KS!

Why am I drawn to Mr Tan KS? Why is my heart strangely warmed? I guess he reminds me of my great grandpa, Mr RB Krishnan, who was a prominent Indian back then who contributed to the Indian community and who, like Mr Tan KS, became a Justice of Peace. This great grandpa of mine almost had a road named after him but he chose to bypass that honour to a certain Mr Veerasamy. Hence today, we have a road named after Mr Veerasamy. Shucks! My almost great grandfather’s road!

I wish I could have had conversations with these amazing characters of the past who in no small way, helped to shape the Singapore we know today through their small but significant efforts.

My walk down Keong Saik Road brought into focus a glimpse of the heritage of my own Indian (Chetty Melaka and otherwise) ancestry, both my maternal and paternal, through the Coconut Cruffin that did not disappoint and the history I learnt about Tan Keong Saik. I certainly did not expect that!

Moving ahead, this walk down the street certainly has got me thinking of my own life and its reinvention. I am not the Pioneer nor the Merdeka generation but am a child of the ’60s. All around me is change which seems to be the constant currency of the day. I have to constantly learn how to navigate this new world to stay connected with my millennial children and nephews and nieces and even the past students taught as well as current mentees and new teachers.

How would I live the reinvented life? Like the pastry chef I encountered at Keong Saik Bakery, I guess, food would be central in my reinvention. Perhaps, I would hold cooking classes to teach women of today how to cook some of my favourite recipes passed on to me by my mother. Or even write a cookbook!

This walk along Keong Saik Road turned out to be more than a walk in the park. This rumination walk has got me thinking and writing about something I did not even expect I would write about. This walk has also got the gears of my thinking in motion, of how to live my reinvented life, especially about my own reality, spaces and places…