Operation Snip Snip, half-tank rule among historical nuggets in Causeway centenary exhibition
SINGAPORE – As part of a 1970s campaign against “hippie culture” and its association with drug use, men with long hair, beards and floral shirts were denied entry into Singapore at the Woodlands Checkpoint.
The country’s aversion to men with long hair then led to Operation Snip Snip, which saw long-haired men being refused entry into Singapore. Those who really wanted entry would get a quick haircut in Johor before crossing the Causeway.
This was one of the historical nuggets documented in a new travelling exhibition that marks the centenary of the Causeway, the land link used by over 300,000 people travelling between Singapore and Malaysia each day.
The Causeway: A Century Of Connections exhibition by the National Heritage Board (NHB) was launched by Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong and Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi at Woodlands Civic Centre on June 28.
Exactly 100 years ago to the date, the Causeway was officially opened in 1924 by Straits Settlements Governor Sir Laurence Guillemard, with Sultan Ibrahim of Johor gracing the ceremony.
NHB’s exhibition traces the story of how the Causeway came to be, and milestones that followed, including its fate during crises such as World War II, and its development alongside the post-war growth of the region.
One historical nugget close to the hearts of motorists was the implementation of the “half-tank rule” of 1989. This required Singapore-registered vehicles to have at least half their fuel tanks filled, in a move to curb the Republic’s losses in fuel duties as motorists headed over the Causeway to buy cheaper petrol. This was revised to the “three-quarter tank rule” two years later.
Interspersed throughout the exhibition are stories of its users – women who would cross the Causeway from Johor to Singapore to shop in the 1970s and wear their new outfits home, for instance, and workers who were stranded on either side when the Causeway was closed in March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among the personal anecdotes featured in the exhibition are those of Ms Isabel Chang, 20, who lived in Johor Bahru but went to primary and secondary school in Singapore.
Between 2011 and 2020, she had to get up at 3.55am to catch a bus that would bring her across the Causeway from Johor to Singapore, where she attended Woodlands Primary School and then Christ Church Secondary School. She later continued her tertiary education in Malaysia, and is currently doing her undergraduate studies in public relations in Kuala Lumpur.
After averaging about five hours of sleep per night in her own bed, the bus rides between home and school were spent catching up on sleep, or conversing with friends and even the bus driver on days when they found themselves stuck in a traffic jam.
Retired public servant Adam Mohamed Amin’s memories are also featured in the exhibition.
The 71-year-old recalls carrying produce such as bananas, coconuts and mangoes from his relatives’ hometown of Benut in Pontian back home to Khalsa Crescent in Woodlands, where he lived between 1960 and 1970.
As a teenager, he would cross the Causeway to catch movies in Johor cinemas, which he said were covered and thus superior to outdoor cinemas in Woodlands and Marsiling.
Speaking at the launch event, Mr Tong said the Causeway is “a reminder of the profound, shared connections that bind our countries together”.
Sharing that his parents were from Malaysia and that his mother was born in Perak, Mr Tong said: “Often, when I was much younger, I used to look forward to going up the Causeway because it meant it was a holiday for me.”
Citing how it facilitates travel for work, school and social and family visits, Datuk Onn Hafiz said life without the Causeway would be “unthinkable”. “It has come to represent the enduring, robust and special relationship we share,” he said.
Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong (right) and Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi at the launch of the Causeway: A Century Of Connections exhibition on June 28. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
The National Library Board (NLB) has also launched a website (go.gov.sg/causewaycentenary) with archival records of the Causeway’s 100-year history, including photographs, videos, and interviews with people sharing their memories of the land link.
NLB is also organising two talks: On July 4, National Archives of Singapore archivists Hamizah Ibrahim and Yong Jing Jing will highlight social activities centred on the Causeway, while the second on Sept 19 by geographer Tim Bunnell distils some of the ways scholars have studied the linkway.
NAS director Julia Chee said she hopes the curated website and public talks will reflect strong bilateral relations between Singapore and Malaysia, and “inspire more to share their own stories of this special link the Causeway has offered us”.
The exhibition will remain at Woodlands Civic Centre until July 27. It will then be at the National Archives of Singapore in Canning Rise from Sept 16 to Oct 16, and City Square Mall from Oct 17 to 31.
NHB is in discussions to have the exhibition also make stops in public libraries, schools, and possibly other public venues.
Remote video URL
[video_shortcode_youtube src="/media/oembed?url=https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DJEVpqzZBfP8%26ab_channel%3DTheStraitsTimes&max_width=0&max_height=0&hash=8po2xv9VRMOp0ZqfK8vToZGC4dWwhtWxz-PUo-TBoP4" itemprop="image" content="/media/oembed?url=https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DJEVpqzZBfP8%26ab_channel%3DTheStraitsTimes&max_width=0&max_height=0&hash=8po2xv9VRMOp0ZqfK8vToZGC4dWwhtWxz-PUo-TBoP4" data-src="/media/oembed?url=https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DJEVpqzZBfP8%26ab_channel%3DTheStraitsTimes&max_width=0&max_height=0&hash=8po2xv9VRMOp0ZqfK8vToZGC4dWwhtWxz-PUo-TBoP4"]