Page 100 - Stories from our Grandparents

She had seven siblings and she was a child during
Mdm Indrani Born 1949
By Yoghavarman s/o Saravanan A
Millennia Institute
or this story I am going to give a recount of my grandmother’s
life due to her being born as a Chinese in Singapore during
World War II. During World War II, the Singapore Chinese
Fgave a lot of money, arms and troops to both the KMT and
the Chinese Communists to fight the Japanese. A large percentage
of the resistance funds came from the Straits Chinese.
“When the Japanese successfully took Singapore from the
British, they began a series of massacres against the local
Singaporean Chinese called the “Sook Ching” massacre.”
The other races fared a lot better as the Japanese were keen to try and
show that they were “liberators” of the local populace instead of aggressors.
Throughout the Japanese occupation, the Singaporean Chinese were
more brutalized than any other race due to the support given to China in
the war against the Japanese. Some Chinese parents were fearful of their
children’s lives and surrendered them to Indian and Malay families. My
great grandparents gave up my grandmother to an Indian family to attempt
to safeguard her life. My grandmother was hence, brought up by an Indian
family and she did not grow up with her biological family. It was only in
later years that she managed to track her biological family and managed to
interact with them.
When I heard her story and saw how emotional she had gotten, I realised
the significance of World War II and how ‘real’ it was only when I heard her
personal recount due to the peaceful life I am living in at the moment, where
the thought of war in Singapore seems like a far-fetched reality.
The Japanese Occupation was a significant period in Singapore’s
history. More importantly, these experiences likely led to a
heightened awareness of nationalism in Southeast Asia, and
played a significant role in making the idea of nationalism and
independence attractive to many people after the war.
42 Grandma Stories
M y grandmother’s name is Chew Kah Cheow.
the Japanese invasion of World War Two.
“She frequently had to hide in the house to avoid
being captured by the Japanese. She remembers the
many loud explosions of airstrikes and fearful shouting
of men and women civilians in Singapore warning each
other about the coming of the Japanese army.”
It was a nightmare. Especially so when her father, one of the bosses of a
local company was captured by the Japanese soldiers as they feared that
the bosses would rally their men and rebel against the Japanese. He was
never to be found again. Her mother was left to care for my grandmother
and her seven siblings.
A few years after, the invasion ended and the Japanese
left, peace reigned and everyone rejoiced. My
grandmother remembered that it was one of the most
enjoyable times of her life as she finally could play
fireworks outside the house and visit the local frog pond.
She was happy.
But the hardships that she faced had not stopped there. My grandmother
had to leave school at Primary three as her mother could not afford
education. Her oldest sister went the furthest in education even though
she stopped schooling after graduating from primary school, the rest went
to work. My grandmother went to work as a printer with her mother when
she was 13. After many years of hardship, she fondly remembers the times
when she attended Lee Kuan Yew’s rallies by herself via free government
transport. She was 34 then. She remembers that the peacefulness of
everyday life was admittedly mundane but was cherished as she was able to
spend much time with her loved ones without living in fear of the Japanese.
Mdm Chew Kah Cheow
Born 1943
By Tan Kuan Xuan, Dexter
Millennia Institute Grandma Stories 43