Retired NUS Professor Says S’pore Turned Into ‘A Real World Power’ With HDBs & MRT System

Retired Professor Reflects On Life In Singapore Since 1961

It’s rare to meet an elderly person who’s still quick as a whip.

Recently, the YouTuber Max Chernov had the chance to speak with 90-year-old Peter Ellinger — a retired law professor.

Mr Ellinger commented on the quality of Singaporean students, lauded the city’s infrastructure, and shared about the nation’s transformation in a nine-minute video.

As it turns out, he came to Singapore in 1961 to teach at a university and never left.

Says two of his most “brilliant” students are from Singapore

Mr Ellinger was born in Vienna and raised in Israel.

He accepted a teaching offer at a Singaporean university and came to the country in 1961.

“I always felt at home in Singapore, [it’s] perhaps the only place in which I felt really at home,” he said.

Having taught in New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore, Mr Ellinger has met all types of students of varying calibres.

However, he seemed to have a good impression of students in Singapore.

I would say the top students I met, I think, at least, there are about five or six. At least two of them are from Singapore.

Speaks highly about local food

Even at the ripe old age of 90, Mr Ellinger still holds vivid memories of the day he arrived in the country.

He recollects the “lovely smell of the hawkers’ food” along the way from the airport to his residence.

Mr Ellinger then shared that his favourite local food is chicken rice — however, he doesn’t think much of laksa.

Having come to Singapore in the 1960s, Mr Ellinger experienced much of what has already been lost.

He looks back on the “very fine food court” in Koek Lane, which is now where The Centrepoint stands.

“Local food was very, very good there, and very cheap,” said the 90-year-old, who then earned a salary of S$750 a month as an assistant lecturer.

Mr Ellinger also candidly shared his experience frequenting a pasar malam along Tanglin Mall and going to Sentosa before there was a road.

What comes next, though, is a more serious discussion about how Singapore has transformed in the last few decades.

Praises PAP for doing “wonders” in developing housing

Back then, Mr Elliger already had the impression that Singapore was a comfortable and advanced place to live in compared to cities like London.

When the interviewer asked him about the transformation of Singapore under the People’s Action Party (PAP), he said the following:

When I arrived in Singapore, the housing was poor. Lee Kuan Yew developed housing — all the HDB blocks that you see.

Mr Ellinger then cites the example of Bedok, which he said “grew up under the PAP”.

“The PAP did wonders, insofar as housing was concerned,” praised the retired professor.

“With the MRT system and the relatively affordable accommodation, I think the city transformed itself into a real-world power”.

To Mr Ellinger, the PAP also “braved the storm” when the British army left, leaving many jobless.

90-year-old retired professor shares views about how city has changed

For the rest of the video, the former professor commented on Singapore’s affordability, safety and how he always felt like he had freedom of speech.

“I never felt that there’s any serious restriction on freedom of speech,” he said.

“I didn’t feel it at all.”

Although he wasn’t born and raised in Singapore, Mr Ellinger is one of the few pioneers left who witnessed the country’s birth as an independent nation.

Thanks to people like him, the younger generation can get a glimpse into how life was and get a new-found appreciation of the island we live on.

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Featured image adapted from Max Chernov on YouTube.