Singapore flag.
I am a Singapore Permanent Resident and in Singapore I travelled to Pasir Ris Elias Community Club for a Toastmasters International club contest. I was impressed by the bright modern building with seasonal displays in the hallway where people were photographing each other.
Pasir Ris
I got to wondering about the name, Pasir Ris Elias. Pasir Ris is Malay for white sand (sand white).
Elias
What of Elias? I vaguely remembered learning about the Elias family and other Jews in Singapore in the last century and earlier when I was a member of the Friends of the Museum. In addition to free lectures on Singapore history and Asian history on Monday mornings, they had study groups. I was a member of at least two study groups. On one occasion I investigated the Soong sisters in China. On another occasion, I gave a morning lecture on the Jews of Singapore, with photos of Singapore buildings bearing their names or stars.
In February 2019 I looked up the Elias family. The prime mover was David Elias, a man who was the eldest of several siblings. That is often the case with successful people. The oldest child, gets the most attention when he is born with no rivals,no siblings competing for parental attention.
Then he bosses around the younger siblings, acquiring the confidence and habits which last a lifetime. This enables him (or her) to run a business, be an entrepreneur. In the USA many presidents are firstborn sons.
Elias was involved in the opium trade. I am at first horrified. A devout Jew, involved in drugs! Then I recall that opium, before the rise of prescription drugs, was the equivalent of aspirin, a gin and tonic, the cinema, a cup of tea, not just legal, but a trade encouraged and taxed by the government of the day.
Not only Jews, the Chinese leaders and the Chinese majority were sellers or buyers of opium. Opium was a commonly grown and traded plant, in Singapore, then part of Malaysia, as well as all over Asia then (and now). Opium was and is the source of codeine as well as other drugs used in medicine, and by the public, .
Not just Jews. Christians, Moslems, Chinese, Malays, everybody was involved
Elias and his family were not only involved in opium. The enterprising Elias was involved in many of the enterprises of the day including frozen food, eventually selling his company to Cold Storage which is still around in Singapore today. Elias was also involved in the cinema, and built many fine buildings, some of which have disappeared. others can still be seen today. A few more have left behind their names, Elias and Amber.
Heritage Plaques
If you are visiting Singapore, notice the heritage plaques in historic areas such as Chinatown and Little India.
Community Clubs
Other Community Clubs to notice in the area, even if you don't go inside, include Tampines West with its twisted spiral clock tower.
Getting there
To Pasir Ris Elias Community Club:
MRT to Pasir Ris on the green East-West line. (If you are on the blue Downtown line, change at Bugis or Tampines.
Walk a short distance from the MRT station exit to the bus interchange which is signposted.
Pasir Ris Community Club
93 Pasir Ris Drive 3
Singapore
519418
Useful Websites
LANGUAGE
To learn Chinese (Mandarin), Malay (almost the same as Indonesian), or Hebrew, go to the free internet language website, duolingo
duolingo.com
TRAVEL
singaporeair.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changi
Singapore landmarks
David Elias Building on Middle Road
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_274_2005-01-05.html
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have written other posts on Pasir Ris, Malay language, Jews of Singapore, Jews and WWII, and other cities worldwide. Please share links to your favourite posts.
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