When late calligrapher and poet Pan Shou called for NTU to be renamed simply as Nanyang University in 1998, he saw it as a way to “quieten the hearts of many”, reflecting a desire among some Nantah alumni to see the old name of their alma mater brought back.
The remark was made in Mr Pan’s acceptance speech for an honorary degree to recognize his contributions to the arts in Singapore, and to Nantah, which he served as the first General Secretary in its early days.
However, on the same day, both then NTU president Cham Tao Soon and the then Education Minister Teo Chee Hean present at the ceremony told reporters that they saw no need for a name change. They felt that NTU was a name already well-known in the world, and the word “technological” reflected its strength and focus well.
Mr Pan passed away a year later, before he could see current NTU president Su Guanning express plans to drop the “T” in NTU by 2005.
Shortly after taking office in 2003, Dr Su had mentioned in an interview with the Straits Times of his desire to revive the “fighting spirit” in the founding of Nantah by adopting its name.
Yet, in a dramatic turn of events, Dr Su announced a year later that he would put the renaming on hold until NTU becomes a full-fledged, comprehensive university. The matter has not been brought up again.
History of Nantah
Nanyang University, or Nantah, was established in 1955 and merged with the University of Singapore (SU) in 1980 to form the National University of Singapore (NUS).
However, most Nantah alumni saw it as a forced closure of their alma mater. The bitterness ran deep, as the 12,000 Nantah graduates felt marginalised by a society that did not recognize their degrees. Many of them were unable to find jobs, or were given little pay compared to SU graduates.
In addition, Nantah was built using donations from Chinese from all walks of life – including trishaw riders, cabaret girls and washerwomen – to realise a dream of setting up a Chinese university in Singapore. This added to the deep sense of loss Nantah alumni felt when they saw an English medium technological institution set up where their mother school used to be.
Nanyang Technological Institute, which opened on the former Nantah campus in 1981, was expanded to become Nanyang Technological University 10 years later.
Proposed name change stirs alumni
The proposal to drop the “T” by Dr Su Guanning was endorsed by Mr R. Sinnakarupan, president of the then 75,000-member NTU Alumni Club. For more than a year since January 2003, news in the media reported only NTU’s steps in pushing towards reviving Nantah, setting 2005 as the target date.
Yet, it was not mentioned that there were dissenting voices from various alumni, who took to the Internet to voice their objection.
A Nantah graduate, who currently resides in Canada, conducted an online straw poll of 50 alumni, of which all but one saw NTU as a separate entity from Nantah and not a resurrection of the former Chinese university.
The pollster, Dr Choo Eng Ung, also posted a declaration online with three other alumni to state that there is “only one real history of Nanyang University” – that it was shut down in 1980 and has ceased to exist.
The declaration, supported by 72 Nantah alumni, sought to “stop NTU from using the exact name ‘Nanyang University’”, in order to “protect and preserve the integrity of the true legendary history of our alma mater Nanyang University”.
“Most alumni, including me, see Nanyang University as having officially ceased to exist at age 25,” Mr. Chong said.Various Nantah graduates interviewed by the Enquirer, like Mr Chong Wing Hong, echoed the views of the online voices. “Most alumni, including me, see Nanyang University as having officially ceased to exist at age 25,” Mr. Chong said.
“A group of alumni thought that NTU should be ‘linked’ with Nanyang University. But Dr Su tried it, and it didn’t work out,” added the senior writer for Lianhe Zaobao.
“NTU is a new and independent university,” said Mr Tan Hock Lay, another Nantah alumnus. “The cultural, social and academic environment of NTU and Nantah are also largely different, so there is no point in bringing up a name change.”
Another objection to using the name Nanyang University was its historical baggage and the possibility of rekindling old grievances Nantah alumni experienced during the “forced closure”, said Mr Chong, the senior writer for Lianhe Zaobao.
This sentiment is reflected by another alumnus, who wished to remain anonymous. He and his Nantah schoolmates were so unhappy being viewed as NTU Alumni that they “tore up NTU letters asking for donations every year”.
“The Massachusetts University in the USA is still called Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Yet it has a strong humanities and social sciences faculty, and has produced many excellent graduates. To change the name is not an issue.”“There is no harm continuing using the name ‘Nanyang Technological University’,” said Mr Chong. “The Massachusetts University in the USA is still called Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Yet it has a strong humanities and social sciences faculty, and has produced many excellent graduates. To change the name is not an issue.”
President of Nanyang University Alumni Academic Society, Dr. Choong Chow Siong, admitted that he was among the minority of Nantah graduates who also sees himself as an alumnus of NTU.
“There are two types of alumni of NTU – those who graduated from the university itself, the other established under the legislation,” Dr Choong said. Under a parliamentary act in 1995, the Nantah alumni rolls were transferred from NUS to NTU.
“Everyone has already deep set perception about what happened,” said Dr Choong, referring to those Nantah alumni who do not share his outlook as a dual alumnus of Nantah and NTU. “There is no need to actively push for a change in view, because it would be a 180-degrees change, one that is not easy to achieve.”
As for the continued possibility of a name change, Dr Choong said it is an important decision that should be made by stakeholders of NTU and Nantah together.
Name change shelved, for now
In July 2004, Dr Su suddenly announced a change of plan, saying renaming would come only after NTU becomes a full-fledged varsity. The move was backed by then Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan. This time, there was no timeline.
It was unclear whether objections from various Nantah alumni were the cause of what happened. Yet, six years after Dr Su’s proposed name change, it seems as if renaming NTU has already dropped off the radar.
During a global reunion of Nantah graduates in Beijing on 17 October last year, a discussion found that while reviving the “Nantah spirit” continues to be among hopes of alumni, the option of renaming NTU is no longer within consideration.
More importantly, NTU Provost Bertil Andersson said in an interview with The Enquirer that NTU would retain its technological focus, a theme that fit well with what Dr Su said during his speech at NTU’s 2006 convocation.
“Among the three public universities in Singapore, we are the only science and technology university approximating MIT, whose excellence we want to emulate.”“Prime Minister Lee asked if we aspire to be Harvard or MIT. You will not be surprised that the answer is MIT,” Prof Su said as he addressed the freshly minted NTU graduates. “Among the three public universities in Singapore, we are the only science and technology university approximating MIT, whose excellence we want to emulate.”
When pressed for a response on the renaming issue, the university replied with “no comments”, and The Enquirer has been unable to get a response from Dr Su himself thus far.
Perhaps Mr Pan Shou’s wish may never be realized, but it appears a sizeable group of Nantah alumni — who do not want Nantah’s name to be used for what they feel is an unrelated entity — want to keep it that way.
