With his enduring love for magazines, Sam has hinted that he might eventually rehome his store if he finds the right spot. Specifically, one that allows him to openly display his magazines along a walkway.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Education Minister and MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC Chan Chun Sing said he visited Sam over the weekend to explore “possible alternative locations” in the Holland Village neighbourhood.
“Discussions are ongoing between Sam and potential partners. We hope for positive news from them,” Mr Chan told CNA Lifestyle.
Nonetheless, Thambi’s closure shouldn’t be in vain. Admittedly, Singaporeans grieve quickly anytime a heritage icon is uprooted. Once the initial shock dissipates, we tend to process denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance efficiently. By the next news cycle, we’ve sunk into resignation, happy for these icons to be “preserved” as a S$15 pin or S$50 tote bag.
But Thambi’s closure felt more powerful than the loss of any other heritage icon in recent memory, chiefly because Sam was at the helm. In a country often criticised for a lack of character, his unyielding passion for magazines was the wake-up call we needed to take our heritage more seriously, even if he paid the ultimate price.
What do we lose when we lose our heritage? It’s a question I’ve been trying to answer since I found out that Thambi would close.
Like many, I first felt upset, then I remembered we’d – obviously – lost heritage icons before and we moved on. This was just another seemingly unavoidable demise, another statistic, another remainder of olden day Singapore that was bound to make way for modernisation. I was almost fully resigned, immune and indifferent to Thambi’s fate, then I spoke to Sam.
And now I have my answer: At first, it would seem, we only lose our heritage. But if we’re not careful, our soul goes too.
