Quek Siow Kai – A Chinese-Ed. Engineer in Alabama Part 2 | Chronicles of Old Singapore

Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. After Texas Instruments, Quek Siow Kai joined the famed German company, Motoren- und Turbinen-Union. Going back to his machinery roots, he found his place there. He also talks about the rise of China into an economic giant and the loss of engineering expertise in Singapore. Finally, as one from the Chinese-educated group, he relates how many others went into business and did well, but also the need for a better balance between English and Chinese among the local Chinese. Part 1 | https://youtu.be/lPqCj1oXvXQ Part 2 | https://youtu.be/nYwtw8w2tsY 00:00 Joining Motoren- und Turbinen-Union 08:35 Difficulties for SMEs 18:00 Rise of China 27:29 Engineering in Singapore Today 33:04 The Chinese-educated in Business 39:35 Need for Balance Between English & Chinese I’m Dr Loh KS, the people’s historian. I’m interested in the history of Singapore and the lives of its people. In Chronicles of Old Singapore, I speak to people about their memories of Singapore before it became a global city today. We discuss three topics: 1. People and places. 2. Change and continuity. 3. The importance of heritage. As a historian, I try to stay true to the oral history method on a video format and social media platform. I let the interviewee speak, as the ‘voice of the past’ as Paul Thompson put it. No clickbait, no BS, no posturing. The aim is to canvas a wide range of voices on various aspects of Singapore history and heritage – physical, social, cultural, economic. Do like the video, share your memories below and subscribe to the channel for future episodes. Write to me if you have questions or thoughts on Old Singapore or want to come onto the podcast: lohkahseng@chroniclesresearch.com Support Chronicles of Old Singapore on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ChroniclesofOldSingapore Follow the channel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551786759344 Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/loh-ks TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lks992002 Chronicles Research & Education is my research consultancy on the history of Singapore: https://www.chroniclesresearch.com/ Caveat: this is above all a podcast based on personal memory. As has been well-documented in oral history, memory is not always reliable and what is recalled here should not be taken as fact. However, as Alessandro Portelli noted, the subjectivity of oral history is also its great strength, and what is inaccurately remembered may point to how deeply meaningful the past is to people. #singaporehistory #memory #heritage #nostalgia #oralhistory #socialhistory #history #singapore