The lower two pics were of the Lu Wu Club, also at Club Street a short distance away from Weekly Club. It was empty and appeared to have moved or defunct. A big red no entry sign greeted the visitors at the main entrance. It is now gone, with its stories of the wealthy of the past hidden in the memories of its existing members if they are still around.
Rb : "" The lower two pics were of the Lu Wu Club, ""
ReplyDeleteRb, think it should be read as "Wu Lu".
Means "My Home"
What irony!
Thanks. They read Chinese words from left to right then. Now right to left. At times can be confusing. I will leave my mistake there as a reminder of the changing time.
ReplyDeleteYes it is Wu Lu Club.
Rb: "" I will leave my mistake there as a reminder of the changing time. ""
ReplyDeleteRb, those words of yours above could turn out EPOCHAL one day!
The Chinese words now should be written as " Wu Jiu Lu "
When ONE no longer owns the home, it SHOULD BE CALLED: "" My EX-home ""!!!
Why no picture of our Singapore parliament?
ReplyDeleteIt's also a Millionaires' Club tio bo?
Sori!
DeleteGot to change it to MULTI-MILLIONAIRES.
Each Cabinet Member gets over a million Sin Dollars a year and each term is for 5 years. Many of them are in there for dwcades.
They are our servants, millionaire servants. We pay their salaries.
ReplyDeleteRB, Why did you not take a picture of the latest millionaires (or billionaires) club at the Istana during the Hari Raya open house?
ReplyDeleteGood question. Did not want to go and squeeze with the foreigners.
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha
ReplyDeleteRb, very good reply.
"Open house " can go.
"Open leg" better not.
Some many places nowadays have to "siam" ..... if you know what it means .......
Try going to any public pool nowadays on Sunday ........
OMG!
Many unwitting sinkies may swear never to go near any public pool or touch one with a 10-foot pole on a Sunday if any sinkie ever set foot on one on Sundays nowadays.
Imagine bearing your bodies to your swimming costumes or bikinis in the middle of Little India on a Sunday?
That could be awaiting you in a public pool on a Sunday afternoon/ evening if one unwittingly happen to need a dip or swim ......
At 5.4 million there are so many places already to avoid nowadays on a Sunday. At twice that number (10 million ) and 3.5 times the number of foreigner ( 7 millions ), imagine frolicking in your bikinis in a public pool or squeezing your way through crowds of workers in their popular haunts?
Anybody disagree pls kee chiu!
Maybe some millionaire ministars may like to kee chiu and bring their wives and daughters to frolick in public pools on a Sunday to prove it is VERY LIVEABLE to squeeze 10 millions rats into a small cage and live, work, shit, rest, gamble, co-exist harmoniously ever after?
No worries. We are all living in 30,000 feet cloud scrapping IVORY TOWERS. Realities are 30,000 feet away!
Multi Millionaire Cabinet Members in Sin can easily afford their own Olympic size swimming pools in big mansions. They have Gurkhas to guard, maids to serve them and likely gardeners and others to attend to them.
DeleteWhen do they need to sqieeze with anybody. Maybe during photo shoots for propaganda purposes.
RB,
ReplyDeleteIn the 80's before illegal betting on horse-racing was wiped out by Home Affairs Minister, Jayakumar, Weekly Club hosted the highest stakes of gambling in S'pore & Malaysia.
For 5 cards open poker, each player can draw up to $50,000 each time.
For 13 cards Russian Poker, the highest stake ever played among 4 players was $18,000 for each point.
Two rounds of mahjong one can win/lose up to $100,000 to $250,000.
In the 80's to the early 90's Weekly Club was patronized by all the bookmakers from S'pore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Member of EHH Club.
Hi Member of EHH Club. That's good history lesson. Perhaps if someone wants to do a documentary he can coming looking for you.
ReplyDeleteModern Millionaire Club = PAP Cabinet Minister
ReplyDeleteTrue or not?
Wu Yeah Bor?1920 got so many millionaire meh?I do not believe its a private millionaire club but its a club for gathering for certain women for a special purpose.
ReplyDeleteYou can find more such building built in 1920s in that area.
Few from Bt Pasoh and Keong Siak Street already turn into a hotel.
But thats my thought.Maybe I am wrong.
Sorry,last posting should read as gathering for certain men and women for some special purpose.
ReplyDeleteI propose Lee Kuan Yew be the host of the game show "Who wants to be a Millionaire ... I mean cabinet Minister"
ReplyDeleteRB,
ReplyDeleteSince you're keen to write about millionaires' clubs in S'pore, allow me to enlighten you and your readers about them; some of them are defunct because of lack of new members while the old ones pass on.
Besides Ee Hoe Hean, Weekly and Gor Lor Clubs, there are Iu Tiok (defunct), Tong Lam (defunct), Tanjong Rhu (defunct), Seck Koh, Chui Huay Lim Clubs.
Tong Lam was Hakka Club and its most famous members were Aw Boon Haw & Aw Boon Par while Chui Huay Lim & Seck Koh Clubs were Teochew Clubs and their most famous members include Lien Ying Chow & Teo Soo Suan just to name a few.
Tanjong Rhu was Tan Lark Sai's favourite club and that was where Tay Koh Yat lost his bus company to him over mahjong.
Currently Wee Cho Yaw is still a member of Ee Hoe Hean Club.
In the old days these clubs were waterholes and places for our local successful businessmen to exchange business tips, but as we progressed the young successful businessmen found other form of distractions and as a result many of these glorious clubs had to shut down.
Member of EHH Club
Old Millionaires' clubs.
ReplyDeleteJust like the PAP Millionaire Party.
Becoming obsolete because of lack of young members who have found other forms of more relevant ways to get things done.
Hi Member of EHH. Thanks for the snippets. Yes I have heard of Tanjong Rhu and the famous Tay Koh Yat story when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteIf there is a need, may want to tap on your knowledge of these clubs and the personalities. They will provide another aspect of the social life of the old Singapore and the old rich.
Cheers.
why lidat???
ReplyDeletewhy "dogsnot allowed" not included?
redbean,
ReplyDeleteThese young fellas need to know the history lah. Back in the "old days" practically no "power women" like those assholes who now inhabit AWARE.
Also you should make mention of the many private "gentlemen messes" which the towkays used to have: Apartments and houses where usually a "consortium" of businessmen arranged for gorgeous women to be kept as "companions" for entertainment purposes -- for the businessmen themselves and their clients. The messes also had food and beverages 24/7, and usually some kind of game -- mahjong or cards going on.
I have no idea whether such messes still exist (I suspect they do) but back ithe 1980's and 90's I used to be invited by "uncle" towkays. Wah, these old buggers knew how to live well lah. Salute and respect!
You lucky bum.
ReplyDelete@redeban: And BTW, on a few occasions I have met -- now either retired or dead -- hi ranking MINDEF/ SAF officers and senior civil servants at the messes.
ReplyDeleteI can name names, but I won't ;-)
Like I said, these are true-blue Singaporeans lah. Singaporeans like their material comforts, and I am unashamedly one such type!
Got horny uncle? Sure got one meh!
RB,
ReplyDeleteThe 120,000 sq ft of freehold land at Chui Wah Lim Club located at 190 Keng Lee Road, Newton was contributed by a very prominent Teochew businessman and founder of the Four Seas Communication Bank, Mr Lee Wee Nam which cost him 5,000 Straits Settlement Dollars only.
During my time to join the CHL Club was by invitation only and one had to be a Teochew.
Upon submission of application one's application form is displayed on the Club's noticeboard for 3 months and if any member put up any objection, one's application is null & void.
On the day of approving the membership application, 12 committee members would hold one black & white ball.
If anyone of them placed the black ball on the table, one's application would be rejected.
To gain approval, all the 12 white balls had to be placed on the table.
Today the 120,000 sq ft of land at CHL Club has been divided into two plots, about 60,000 sq ft are sold to Sim Lian Realty with a 99 years leasehold.
For more than 160 years, Teochew businessmen used Chui Huay Lim Club for business networking and recreational activities.
These days any Tom, Dick or Harry can join the CHL Club.
The subdivision was made possible through George Yeo's office while he was a cabinet minister.
EHH Club member.
Matilah,
ReplyDeleteThese messes are still in existence.
Teh Chiang Wan was a regular visitor during every lunchtime at our mess in Pacific Mansion.
Everyday he must get his screw first before his lunch at our mess.
He told us that he could live without regular meals, but not sex.
He wasn't choosy at; just give him any woman no matter how ugly she was.
Are there anymore liked Teh Cheang Wan around?
ReplyDeleteMen are men You know?
No matter how wise and pure they are, the bottom rules the top.
@anon 217:
ReplyDeleteWah. Pechah lobang. Who would have thought an HDB architect was such a horn dog?
Good to know.