'Battleship' is the new way of saying 'steam boat' in Singapore

By Jalelah Abu Baker, The Straits Times, 7 Apr 2015

After Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared on his Facebook that his late father Mr Lee Kuan Yew once used the word "battleship" to mean "steam boat", many in Singapore have taken his lead.

Social media was abuzz with people asking their friends whether they wanted to have "battleship" for dinner, and even sharing photos of steam boat meals with the hashtag #battleship.

Was amazed to find this old telegram when sorting through my father’s things at home. My parents had kept it all these...
Posted by Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday, April 5, 2015

The late Mr Lee had used the word in a telegram informing his family of his return to Singapore from Sarawak, Malaysia, in 1958. PM Lee found the telegram while going through his father's things and shared it on his Facebook on Monday.

PM Lee explained in a caption accompanying the photo of the telegram: "He wanted steam boat for dinner, but as 'steam boat' was two words, and telegrams were charged by the word, he wrote 'battleship' instead, to save words and money!" Sadly, his family did not have steam boat for dinner that night because they did not understand the message, PM Lee added.

Extremely honoured to have these personal items of the late Mr. Lee on loan for the memorial exhibition. We are...
Posted by National Museum of Singapore on Tuesday, April 7, 2015

PM Lee Hsien Loong shares on Facebook Mr Lee Kuan Yew's old documents from the 1950s
By Jalelah Abu Baker, The Straits Times, 7 Apr 2015

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday shared on his Facebook photos of two documents from the 1950s belonging to his late father Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

One document, dated February 11, 1952, was from the Director of Posts informing Mr Lee that the British government had no objections in him representing the union.

Another document dated April 13, 1953, was a letter from Mr Lee's employer John Laycock, the founder of one of the first law firms in Singapore. Mr Lee was then a lawyer in the firm.

"We have come to the conclusion that we must not take on any more of these wage disputes. They can never be short, we fear, because they are always preceded by lengthy negotiations," the letter said.

A year before he got the letter, Mr Lee had represented postmen and assured them that they could go on a legal strike to ask for their rights to a salary revision.

The letter added that Mr Lee was not to take on any wage disputes, unless a special case arises, and if that happens, that he has to give the firm full information before taking on the case.

PM Lee added in his post that he would share these documents with the National Heritage Board for their exhibition on the late Mr Lee at the The National Muesum of Singapore.

A spokesman from the National Museum of Singapore said: "We are honoured to receive these significant and also very personal objects of history on loan from PMO. Displaying it together with the other items will give visitors a richer look into Mr Lee Kuan Yew's life and his work. We are working on displaying it as soon as possible and will keep our visitors informed."

On Monday, PM Lee also shared a telegram that his father sent home in 1958 about arriving from Sarawak, Malaysia. The late Mr Lee had written the word "battleship" to replace "steam boat" to signal that he wanted to have steam boat for dinner but wanted to save on words as telegrams were charged by the word. However, no one understood what he meant and so the family did not have steam boat for dinner that night.

The word "battleship" has since become a buzz word on social media as people shared photos of steam boat meals with the hashtag #battleship.