Openly celebrating the tiger in the Lion City? My, my, that would be like sacrilege, wouldn’t it? But hey, the Year of The Tiger is here, and every 12 years we give this cool cat some loving; that’s right, for 12 months we put our beloved lion and his much maligned, sometimes loved, but always made fun of distant cousin, the Merlion, back in the den … and this year is no different. What’s more, it’s 2010: we’re crouching out of a recession and hoping to get busy growling—reclaiming our position as a soaring, forward-leaping Tiger economy. In this festive season, and amid the raucous din of the lion dance, let’s give it up for the tiger, which, as we’ll show you here, holds quite a special place in this land dubbed the Lion City.

Tiger Town?

Sang Nila Utama probably didn’t see a lion
It’s perhaps apt that the first Hollywood film to be shot entirely in Singapore has a scene in it that questions the very notion of Singapore as a “Lion City”. In Peter Bogdanovich’s Saint Jack—based on ex-Singapore resident Paul Theroux’s book of the same name—the main character, Jack Flowers, becomes loose-tongued and postulates the theory that the ancient founder of Temasek, Sang Nila Utama, couldn’t tell the difference between a tiger and a lion when he first set eyes on this land of ours—“where the sand glistens like gold dust”, cooed Sang Nila Utama.

And so he mistook the roaming tiger on our shore for a lion and the rest … well … you know what they say. Lest you think Hollywood is a dubious source, then let’s hear it from the academics, whose studies show that lions, not even Asiatic lions, never lived in Singapore; whereas tigers were just about everywhere.

Like all tigers, the Malayan tiger was an excellent swimmer and would often cross the narrow straits to get here—probably for a weekend of drink and debauchery; the place was not called Sin-Galore once upon a time for nothing, you know. Hmmm … wonder what a half tiger, half fish would look like. To know more: Head for the National Library (100 Victoria St., 6332-3255) and borrow the book; or buy the DVD from Amazon (www.amazon.com/dvd).

Chillin’ in Ubin

Pulau Ubin tiger sightings
But wasn’t the Choa Chu Kang tiger the last of our roaming wild cats? Perhaps not. In 1997, quarry workers and a resident on Pulau Ubin spotted what looked like tigers prowling about the place (maybe they came for a bit of seafood and cycling, like the rest of us).

The sightings were credible enough for the police to issue a travel advisory to Pulau Ubin (stay away unless you want to be tiger chow, they hollered) and told residents (around 600 of them) to stay indoors.

Although zoo experts challenged the veracity of the witnesses’ claims, tigers were known to have swum to Pulau Ubin quite frequently (see above story) back in the days gone by. After all, if a wild elephant could swim over in 1992 from Johor and mosey around Pulau Ubin before getting trapped by expert elephant catchers, why not the tiger?

To know more: Get on the No.2 bus from town (actually you can take it from opposite the National Library) and head to Changi Point, where you can catch the bumboat to Pulau Ubin. That’s right … nothing like getting under the skin of the (or any) rumor than by heading for Ground Zero and investigating it for yourself.

Prowling in Bukit Timah

Tigers back in the day
So if the tigers were here so much, where did they hang out? Well, the first mention of tigers was found in the Singapore Chronicle in September 1831, after a tiger had mauled a local Chinese man.

Such incidents soon began to increase as the population grew, especially in the Bukit Timah and Choa Chu Kang districts, which were then covered in thick, virgin rainforest.

Bukit Timah was once dubbed Tiger Resort, as many of these vicious predators lurked by the plantations and fed (yup, afraid so) on the workers. In 1857 alone, 390 people were reportedly killed by tigers, with the figure probably higher as many deaths went unreported.

Tiger hunting soon became very lucrative—the government offered up to $100 (a helluva sum in those days) for every tiger killed, and soon (naturally) the threat diminished.

But the famous tale about the very last wild tiger in Singapore being killed under a billiards table at the Raffles Hotel in 1902 is slightly untrue. There was a tiger alright, and it was certainly killed. But it was by no means Singapore’s last wild cat. That honor goes to one poor fella shot in Choa Chu Kang, then a thriving cluster of farming villages, in 1932.

To know more: Amble to the National Library (100 Victoria St., 6332-3255), head for the reference section on the 10th floor where you’ll find C.B. Buckley’s An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore 1819-1867.

Eye in the Sky

Tiger Sky Tower
The openings of Universal Studios and the casino at Resorts World Sentosa are the big happenings on our favorite resort isle this weekend. But the Tiger Sky Tower still offers plenty of thrills and killer views—it is Singapore’s highest observation tower (131 meters) after all—affording views of Indonesia and Malaysia (might even catch an actual tiger wading in via the Johor Straits) on a clear day.

To know more: Visit the Tiger Sky Tower, Imbiah Lookout, 1800-736 8672.

Beery, Beery Good

Tiger Beer
Singapore’s iconic beer is one of the country’s best-known and best-loved exports. And like (or so it seems) every great product, it might never have come to be but for a quirk of happenstance. A chance meeting between a Heineken representative, who was on his way back from the then Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) after failing to secure a deal to start a brewery, and representatives from local soft drinks giant Fraser and Neave led to the two companies setting up Malayan Breweries, which rolled out Tiger and Anchor beers.

Now known as Asia Pacific Breweries, its majority shareholder continues to be Heineken, which owns 42.5 percent of the company.

Anthony Burgess, who before penning his most famous work, A Clockwork Orange, wrote Time for a Tiger, a title inspired by Tiger beer’s long-running slogan, “It’s Time for a Tiger.”

He once wrote to Fraser and Neave asking for some Tiger Beer memorabilia, but was turned down—we don’t do freebies, they said.

Years later when Burgess became a very famous author, Fraser and Neave told him that he could drink free Tiger beer whenever he was in Singapore. But he declined, as he claimed he had already become a gin convert by then. Not bitter then, huh.

To know more: Experience the glory of Tiger by going on a Tiger Brewery Tour which gives a tour of the brew house, packaging hall and ending with a very popular “sampling of the goods” session at the Tiger Tavern. Mon-Fri; four tours are conducted daily at 10:30am, 2pm, 4pm and 6:30pm. (Prior booking is a must). 459 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim. Log on to www.apb.com.sg for booking information. $10.70.

Tank the Tiger

Esso Singapore
Why is it that a country with no oil ranks as one of the biggest petroleum exporters in the world? Well, we have our off-shore oil refineries to thank for that; converting crude oil from the Middle East and Brunei among others.

All the big players are here and among them is ExxonMobil, which has its global centre of operations in Singapore. ExxonMobil, of course, owns Esso, which until recently had the adorable world-famous Esso Tiger as its lovable mascot—who can forget the famous slogan “Put a Tiger in your Tank”?

To know more: We’d like to point you in the direction of Jurong Island, but you need a special security pass to get there and unless you can prove you’re there on official business, they aren’t going to let you in.

Soothe your ills away … and the 10 Courts of Hell

Tiger Balm and the Tiger Balm Gardens (Haw Par Villa)
Great for all sorts of ailments (and no it doesn’t contain tiger parts, sorry) from mosquito bites to stiff shoulders, Tiger Balm—containing camphor, menthol and dementholized mint oil—is one of Singapore’s great gifts to the world. The iconic herbal ointment however had its roots in Burma in the 1870s when a former imperial court herbalist from China, Aw Chu Kin, opened a small shop in Rangoon selling the stuff.

Later on, his sons Aw Boon Par and Aw Boon Haw brought the product to Singapore, where it soon hit the big time. In 1937, the brothers opened the Tiger Balm Gardens in Pasir Panjang (they had earlier opened one in Hong Kong), which till today houses over a thousand statues and 150 dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese folklore, legends and history.

It is most famous for its gruesome portrayal of the 10 fiery courts of hell, where all kinds of torture, violence and torments are depicted—which always make for a fun day out in the park.

To know more: Head for Haw Par Villa (take SBS no.51 from Chinatown), 262 Pasir Panjang Rd., 6872-2780.

Spare Parts, Anybody?

The illicit tiger trade
Until recently, the illegal trade in tiger parts was a lucrative business in Singapore. In 2003, animal welfare group Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Acres) and The New Paper collaborated to investigate the hitherto thriving trade in tiger products.

Tiger bones, paws, penises and pelts from Sumatra were brought in by unscrupulous traders here, who then sold it to traditional medicinal stores in Chinatown and elsewhere in the region. Thankfully, stricter policing on the part of the authorities have since curtailed the growth in this sinister trade.

To know more: Get in touch with Acres, 91 Jln Lekar, 6892-9821, www.acres.org.sg.

White Out

Dem Tigers at the Zoo
The Singapore Zoo’s white tigers are as big as mini-vans and a million times more intimidating than your average hantu. In 2008, they hit the headlines after a cleaner waded into their enclosure and laid down for them to maul him. They duly obliged and the horrifying incident was caught on video by hordes of camcorder-wielding visitors.

White tigers have a recessive gene which causes their distinct coloration and are thus prone to a host of ailments—poor eyesight, club foot and reduced fertility—which do not blight the regular orange tigers.
To know more: Visit the tigers and say hello at 80 Mandai Lake Rd., 6269-3411.

The Balestier Tigers

Balestier Khalsa Football Club
The longest-running football club in Singapore, Balestier Khalsa, has donned various guises and survived numerous trying phases, but yet endures as one of Singapore’s best-loved footballing outfits.

It began life in 1898 as Fathul Kharib Football Club in the Farrer Park area before renaming itself Balestier United in the mid ’70s. Based at the Toa Payoh Stadium, it later changed its name to Balestier Central (in ode to the nearby Central Expressway) before undergoing another name change in 2003, when it merged with Sikh-based club Clementi Khalsa.

Incidentally the Sikhs strongly associate themselves with the lion. But the club isn’t as fierce as either wild animal; it’s a perennial struggler (it has finished last on three occasions since the S-League began in 1996) and has even hit the headlines in the past for failing to pay its players on time.

To know more: Visit the Toa Payoh Stadium at 297 Toa Payoh Lorong 6 to catch a Tigers game. For schedule, check the S-League website at www.sleague.com for details.

The Tiger of Malaya

General Tomoyuki Yamashita
In World War II, General Yamashita of Japan was known as the Tiger of Malaya. He led the Japanese forces on a whirlwind march through the Malayan peninsula and down to Singapore, capturing the two British outposts in record time. The swift conquest and his infamous ferocity earned him his famous nickname. He was hanged in Manila in 1946.

To know more: Visit Memories at Old Ford Factory, 351 Upper Bukit Timah Rd., 6462-6724. The site of the British surrender to the Japanese on February 15, 1942, the Old Ford Factory is now a museum dedicated to Singapore’s darkest years. Archival footage will show you a brutish Yamashita thumping his fist and demanding the British to make an unconditional surrender.

Up, Up and Away

Tiger Airways and the Budget Airline Revolution
Tiger Airways began life in 2003 and encountered a bit of turbulence soon after. A company operating vintage planes in the UK, also named Tiger Airways, sued the Singapore-based budget carrier for using the name—its “owners” had not previously registered the trademark.

The company however, grew from strength to strength—adding routes, operating from a separate (cheaper) terminal and recently launched the first initial public offering by an Asian carrier in five years. But there is another side to the coin. The airline scooped the title of Australia’s worst airline in August last year when it registered a 55 percent customer satisfaction score in a survey organized by consumer magazine Choice.

To know more: Check www.tigerairways.com for budget airfares galore.

Tiger Woods

He has never played here. And after the scandal that was, he’s almost likely to never set foot here.

Tiger Traits

Born in the Year of the Tiger? Here’s a quick breakdown of the tiger psyche
• Tigers are extremely generous—they are not motivated by power or money.
• The tiger personality is one that’s charming, expressive and trustworthy.
• Those born in the Year of the Tiger are smart and highly adaptable.
• While Tigers will never bore their partners, they tend to have dominant personalities.
• They are known to be workaholics.
• Most suitable careers: actor, writer, pilot and travel agent.

Famous Tiger Personalities

Ho Chih Minh—Revolutionary Vietnamese leader, renamed Saigon after him.
Jay Leno—Unfunny, big-chinned, American TV host.
Jim Carrey—Actor, famous for playing a whacky pet detective.
Kate Moss—Pouty waif who makes a living with her face
Karl Marx—Credited with founding communism.
Penelope Cruz—Spanish raven haired actor and beauty.
Queen Elizabeth II—Erm, the Queen…of England.
Matt Lucas—One half of Little Britain, aka the bald fatty in the wheelchair.
Victoria Beckham—Moody (erstwhile) spice girl and David’s missus.
Marco Polo—Italian explorer, walked too far and ended up in China.
Demi Moore—Cougar.
Charlotte Church—Has-been lil’ diva.
Richard Branson—UK’s Tony Fernandes.