Moses Lim Was Allegedly Blacklisted By Mediacorp In The Past Because He Refused To Sign A Contract

By
Shawn Ambrose
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Moses Lim is Tan Ah Teck, Koh Chieng Mun is Dolly, Andrew Lim is Paul, Nicholas Lee is Ronnie, and Venetta Lopez is Denise!

Under One Roof’s theme song isn’t the most lyrically creative out there, but it certainly is memorable.

If you were alive in the 90s and were old enough to process sound and visuals, you’ve probably seen an episode or two of the Singapore sitcom which ran for seven seasons.

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One of its stars, Moses Lim, who told annoyingly long-winded stories in the show, now has a story of his own to tell, and it’s a rather painful one at that.

Moses Lim Claims He Was Blacklisted By Mediacorp In The Past Because He Refused To Sign A Contract

Lim, now 69, claims he was blacklisted for four years by Mediacorp after he refused to sign a contract.

Speaking to Lianhe Wanbao, Lim recounted how he received an invitation from Singapore-born TV producer Robert Chua to record a show in Hong Kong when he was at the height of his career.

The upper management at Mediacorp, however, feared he would “forget about Singapore” after leaving for Hong Kong, and requested him to sign a contract with them.

This, Lim thought, was an absurd request.

“I thought it was ridiculous, I’m just a part-time actor, but they want me to sign a contract,” he said.

“Part-time actors don’t get paid if they don’t have any gigs, I can’t even perform overseas if I sign this contract, how would I support my family then?”

As a result, the media conglomerate allegedly blacklisted Lim for four years.

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Company Were “Unwilling to Listen to Others”

This is when things started going downhill.

After Hong Kong was handed over to China, Lim said he never returned to the country to record any shows. Worse, he couldn’t find any work in Singapore either.

This was a tough time for Lim, as he had a family to support.

“My kids were still young… I only hoped at that time for my family not to get sick, as I had no income at all.”

Even when he received hosting offers, clients would offer low pay as they knew he was no longer in demand.

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He also claims that the management at Mediacorp was not understanding at all.

“As they had a monopoly in Singapore, they demanded others to listen to them, and was unwilling to listen to others,” Lim said.

“Usually, you can reach a compromise with others if you talk face to face, but unfortunately, they were not like that.”

SPH MediaWorks to the Rescue

Fortunately, when SPH MediaWorks was established in 2000, Lim’s fortunes changed.

At the time, Mediaworks was Mediacorp’s rival, until the two merged five years later on 1 Jan.

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Lim said it was the former deputy CEO of Mediacorp,  Chang Long Jong, who had reached out to him after noticing he had been missing from showbiz for “a very long time”.

After a chat with Chang, who he called his “benefactor, Lim got the opportunity he needed.

“Thereafter, I returned to the afternoon shows, before returning to programmes in the prime time slots”.

Lim doesn’t resent Mediacorp anymore, however, as he feels the current management gives actors more space now.

Mediacorp’s Response

In response to queries by Mothership, a spokesperson for Mediacorp said they were unable to comment on the incidents reported, which occurred over two decades ago.

They said they are dedicated to giving their artists the opportunity to work and grow abroad, giving examples such as Pierre Png in “Crazy Rich Asians”.

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The company added that they are “committed to growing the ecosystem of local talent by uncovering and grooming next-gen artistes”.

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]