Yishun

Yishun is the Mandarin romanization of Nee Soon, named after the "pineapple king" and rubber magnate, Lim Nee Soon (b. 1879).

Lim Nee Soon was also a banker, contractor and general commission agent. He was the first general manager of the Bukit Sembawang Rubber Company Limited, formed in 1908. Nee Soon and Company was formed in 1911.

Nee Soon was one of the pioneers that opened up Sembawang. Nee Soon served on the Rural Board from 1913 to 1921 and was also appointed a Justice of Peace. In the field of education, he was one of the founders of Chinese High School and also a member of the Raffles College Committee. Nee Soon Road was officially named in 1950 by the Rural Board to facilitate postal services. Nee Soon also owned a large plot of land in the area and several roads in this area are named after his business concerns and family members. Nee Soon was a leading member of the Teochew clan association poit ip huay kwan, and was a close friend of Dr Sun Yat Sen.

The name Nee Soon was one of those changed at the height of the campaign to replace dialect names with Mandarin ones. While the government later revoked some of its decisions and reinstated names like Bukit Panjang (for Zhenghua), Yishun remained unchanged and is now the name attached to streets, roads, parks and a well-known cineplex within Yishun New Town, Golden Village Yishun.

Read more about Yishun:  Industrial Activities, Educational Institutions, Residents