SINGAPORE, MAR 20: Dhoraisingam Stephen Samuel, the revered historian who illuminated Singapore’s Indian-origin Chetti Melaka community and preserved the nation’s heritage, passed away on March 14 at age 101, weekly tabla! reported Friday.
A prolific author of seven books, Samuel’s 1991 Singapore’s Heritage: Through Places Of Historical Interest cataloged 180 key sites, while his 2005 Peranakan Indians of Singapore and Melaka chronicled the Chetti Melaka—Indian traders who blended cultures in Singapore and Malaysia from the 1800s-1900s. In 2008, he founded their association in Melaka, fostering identity and unity, as former ambassador K. Kesavapany noted: “The community suddenly found itself post-publication—this was his greatest achievement.”
Born in 1925 in Kuala Selangor, Malaya (now Malaysia), Samuel taught at Victoria and Bartley schools in the 1950s, advocating fiercely for students. He collaborated with ex-Deputy PM Goh Keng Swee and anchored interfaith harmony via the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO). Tributes poured in: IRO council member Ameerali Abdeali called him “humble, gentle, and generous with knowledge”; ex-student Arun Mahizhnan of the Institute of Policy Studies deemed him “deeply inspiring.”
Samuel is survived by three daughters and a grandson.
