Live Your Dream: The missing link between the dead and the living

Live Your Dream: The missing link between the dead and the living

SINGAPORE - "We are not makers of history, we are made by history." Yet, how many of us are aware of our ancestry? 52-year-old Raymond Goh's dream is to help everyone trace back their lineage.

Raymond loves getting his hands dirty. The director of a pharmaceutical company's favourite pastime is none other than digging graves.

Raymond, together with his brother Charles (50), founded the Asia Paranormal Investigators (API) back in 2005. Their main goal is to locate and identify graves, and from there, take a deeper look into Singapore's history.

Throughout the years, the brothers have rediscovered many graves of Singapore's pioneers whose names adorn our roads and buildings, such as Joo Chiat and Boon Lay. They also offer to help families locate the resting places of their ancestors, completely free of charge. Their meticulous work have since earned them the title of "Tomb Hunters".

Recognised for his heritage work, Raymond was even shortlisted as an Outlook Inspiration by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and eventually made it to the top 15 among 50 inspiring people from around the globe.

"Every stone tells a story," is what motivates the brothers' quest in leaving no grave undiscovered.

The Dream

For four years, Raymond dedicated his free time to finding the tomb of one of the first Chinese pioneers in Singapore back in the 19th century - the tomb of Mr Neo Chan Guan.

Mr Neo Chan Guan was the main contractor behind the national monument Chong Wen Ge. The pavilion in Telok Ayer, believed to be built between 1849 and 1852, was gazetted as a national monument, along with the Chinese Temple, Thian Hock Keng .

After four years of effort, Raymond finally discovered the 164-year-old tomb in Bukit Brown. He hopes to find the descendants of Neo Chan Guan and bring them to their ancestor's grave.

The Question

It is known that Neo Chan Guan was one of the founding members of Keng Teck Whay. Unfortunately, Keng Teck Whay does not hold any information regarding his direct descendants.

Host Ken Low even resorted to publishing the story in the newspaper to broaden the search.

Can Ken beat the time and solve the century-old puzzle? Watch the video to find out.

"No dream is too big and no dreamer too small." If you have a dream waiting to be fulfiled, email "Live Your Dream" team at zbevents@sph.com.sg.

For more stories on "Live Your Dream", please visit: www.zaobao.com/zvideos/live-your-dream

About "Live Your Dream"

"Live Your Dream"(完成一个梦) is one of 10 SPH-produced short-form digital video series as part of a pilot Public Service Broadcast initiative. In this 13 episode series, host Ken Low Yong Kian (Digital Content Producer, Chinese Media Group Digital) will try his best to fulfil people's dreams no matter how challenging it may be. All episodes come with English subtitles. This series is also available on zaobao.sg website, as well as the mobile app.

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