Moses Lim recalls how he was blacklisted from TV for 4 years after Under One Roof's success

[UPDATE: SEP 9, 10.22AM]

A Mediacorp spokesperson said in a statement: "We are unable to comment on the incidents reported in the Wanbao article that was said to have taken place more than 25 years ago.

"Mediacorp would like to emphasise that we are dedicated to supporting our artistes' growth with both cross-border and cross-channel opportunities. These include drama series such as The Bridge (Seasons 1 & 2) by VIU starring Rebecca Lim, and Falling Into You, to be broadcast in Taiwan later this month, featuring Desmond Tan.

"Mediacorp artistes have been featured in international and regional movies such as Crazy Rich Asians (Pierre Png), 100 Yards (Rebecca Lim), and the upcoming The Fatekeepers (Ayden Sng and Regene Lim). Viewers will also be familiar with recent Mediacorp cross-channel projects like Code of Law.

"We are also committed to growing the ecosystem of local talent by uncovering and grooming next-gen artistes through national initiatives like Star Search, Anugerah, Yaar Antha Star, and SPOP. As Singapore's first local Multi-Channel Network (MCN) in partnership with YouTube, we aim to nurture digital content creators with training, resource support and monetisation opportunities."

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As the head of Singapore's funniest TV family, local actor-comedian Moses Lim played a crucial role in making Under One Roof one of the most loved and memorable English shows in Singapore.

However, there were strong objections when he was cast as Tan Ah Teck in the 1995 Channel 5 sitcom.

After the series gained accolades and awards, he was also blacklisted when he declined to sign a contract with the broadcasting company — then known as the Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) and one of the predecessors of Mediacorp.

The 69-year-old revealed his ordeal for the first time in a recent interview with Lianhe Wanbao: "I was the first Chinese-educated (actor) to cross over to an English show on Channel 5. Maybe some people were jealous about it and thought it was unfair, and so they tried to pressure me."

He added he could not agree with how the management team worked at that time.

Moses explained that he was working on Channel 8's Comedy Night — helmed by Jack Neo and made stars out of Mark Lee and Henry Thia — when he was approached by the Under One Roof team to play Tan Ah Teck.

It stirred some disagreement. According to him, the broadcaster's management spoke to the people at Channel 5: if Moses were to act in Under One Roof, then the broadcaster might not air the sitcom.

There weren't other broadcasters, cable TV stations, or streaming platforms in Singapore in those days.

The team behind Under One Roof was not deterred. According to Moses, they showed a snippet of the show to advertisers, who enjoyed it. And Channel 5 got the green light to continue filming the sitcom with Moses.

Ironically, the show's popularity inadvertently played a part in his downfall.

Blacklisted for 4 years

He became so popular that acclaimed producer Robert Chua invited him to Hong Kong to work. But the Singapore broadcaster, worried that Moses would forget his roots and the Singapore market, wanted him to sign a contract that prevented him from working overseas.

Moses said: "I thought it was strange. I was only a part-time actor and they wanted a contract with me. Part-timers don't get paid if they don't work. If I signed that contract and I couldn't go overseas to work, how could I support my family?"

He declined the offer, which, according to him, led to him being blacklisted by the broadcaster for four years.

During that time, he stopped going to Hong Kong to work after the 1997 handover, and with no work on Singapore television, he fell into a slump.

'I could only swallow my tears'

"My children were still young then. It was very painful, I could only swallow my tears and hope none of my family members fall sick as I didn't have an income [to pay the medical bills]," he recalled.

Companies would also cut his event hosting rate, seeing as how he wasn't in demand.

The blacklist was lifted only when MediaCorp — the next incarnation of TCS — had a change in management.

"Chang Long Jong (then one of the head honchos at MediaCorp) realised I was out of the public eye for a long time and had a chat with me. I returned to hosting afternoon programmes before moving to primetime shows. He is my benefactor," Moses said.

kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com