1980s – Singapore Changi Airport starts operation, Hotel New World collapses ...
PEN
“This Cross pen was given to me by a school friend in 1981 as a birthday present. It is engraved with my name and date. I wasn’t close to her; I was shy with girls. I decided to keep it and put it in my shirt pocket wherever I go. One time the tip of the pen dropped off somewhere and I had to go to a shop to see if they had a replacement and it cost me S$6! I couldn’t even bargain with the guy. It has sentimental value. I was even talked by a salesperson about replacing it with a Parker pen when I was looking for refills but I kept telling her I wanted a Cross pen refill. Even if I don’t use it, I want it near my heart. Sadly, I have lost touch of her now.” – Abdul Kadir, 64 
COMPUTER GAMES
"These old computer games were developed way before the time of Internet cafés or LAN shops. With the opening of the Internet age, these standalone games were made obsolete. I have around six or seven of them and they are mostly on floppy disk format. When I saw these games I recalled the fond memories while studying overseas. I have kept them for sentimental reasons and also that the software is still good." - Wong Soon Hong, 58 
HOMEMADE MOTHER'S DAY CARD
"My son made this for me. Of course, it is very important. He was the only child that I was able to send to Australia for further studies. He is my youngest son. He sent this to me by mail in the 1980s on Mother's Day to wish me a Happy Mother's Day." - Ng Suan Loi, 77 |
PRIMARY SCHOOL REPORT BOOK
“This is my primary school report book from 1980s. I kept it because it brings back fond memories of my childhood days and school when things were so much simpler and carefree. There was no social media or games so not so many distractions like today. My father was the sole breadwinner supporting three kids. My mum was a full-time housewife who cooked every meal for us. This is not possible in today's Singapore as cost of living is much higher. We never went on overseas holidays but we spent a lot of time as a family. We watched TV together every night in our flat. Our father would bring us to parks, zoo, Haw Par Villa, etc. I remember how thrilled we were when he bought us all a Walkman. In school, I had very caring teachers and they all imparted good values to me especially my form teacher in Primary 4, Mr Yap Pow Thong. He polished my English and grammar as I came from a Teochew-speaking family and English was only picked up when I was in Primary 1. I am very grateful to all of my teachers.” – Dorothy Quek, 42 
GOLD MEDAL
"Singapore launched a Quality Drive by the National Productivity Board (NPB) in the early '80s. Many organisations, both private and public, were encouraged to join in the QCC (Quality Control Circle) or WIT (Work Improvement Team) programme. I was then working for a US company called DuPont. We were very active in these programmes and we participated in some of the national competitions on productivity conducted by NPB. In 1984, my technical team won this precious gold medal and was subsequently invited by NPB to give presentations to some organisations who aspired to succeed in their QCC programme. - Wong Soon Hong, 58 |
COIN
"In 1985, Singapore was at its peak of its economic growth cycle before the recession hit that same year. That year was also Singapore's 25th birthday. Citizens were full of pride for the nation's achievements, hoping to attain Swiss standard of living some day. I got this silver-plated S$5 coin, which was released by the Singapore Mint, when I was at the time volunteering in a Residents' Committee." - Wong Soon Hong, 58 
CELEBRATION COINS
"When Singapore marked its 25th birthday in 1985 (it was the year of the boar), I bought these. The Singapore Mint rolled out a complete set of Singapore coins, from one cent to a one dollar coin. A brief description of the metal contents for each coin were also written." - Wong Soon Hong, 58 |