Page 132 - Stories from our Grandparents

I I
was four when there was war. Though I did not
face many horrors, I remember that my older
sisters bore cropped hair, and wore shapeless
clothing to hide their true form from the Japanese.
My father was the editor of a Chinese newspaper, thus,
our family was deemed valuable and kept alive. Still,
unannounced, Japanese officials would knock on our front
door. My elder brothers and sisters would fly to their pianos or
begin to sing charming melodies. Providing entertainment was
how we were spared.
The Kempeitai set a bounty on my eldest sister’s head,
determined to catch her and her allies in a resistance
force. It seemed like the whole of Kuala Lumpur knew who
wanted her dead. To escape death, our father married her
off to a rich and handsome young man, who brought her to
Singapore soon after the wedding. I could not imagine my
sister as a bride at the age of 17.
I started to wonder, what would happen to me? Unlike my sister, I
married only in my 30s and after the war. I married a man who hid in
the Malaysian jungles during the Japanese Occupation.
“I married a man who never allowed sweet potatoes or
tapiocas to be served on the dining table.”
White rice was his favoured staple. I could see why. To him, sweet
potatoes left the sour taste of deprivation on his tongue. Tapioca only
unearthed the roots of his hardships when war broke out. We moved
to Singapore. There, I taught secondary school students the Chinese
language and raised three children in the heart of Serangoon Gardens.
Life grew increasingly busy. I just hoped that, my duty as a mother
would not include shipping my children off to a foreign land in order
to ensure their survival.
Mdm Lau Lim Chee
Born 1935
By Laetitia Choo Yan Yee
74 Grandma Stories Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School
came to Singapore from South
India, Tanjore District in 1972.
I was married in India and came
to join my husband here. Back
then, majority of Singapore was a
village with only a few HDB blocks.
My husband and I lived in a small
rented one-room flat in Toa Payoh.
Mdm Bathurunisa Bte Born 1949 I had a few relatives in Singapore
Mohd Ismail
then and many of them were living
Ping Yi Secondary School
By Al-Farveez Mohammed in the kampong houses. When it
rains, the houses were flooded
and the roads were muddy.
When I first came to Singapore, I had very few friends and
relatives. I would usually stay at home and the only few places that
I visited were Haw Par Villa and Little India. I relish visiting Haw Par
Villa which was previously known as the Tiger Balm Gardens as
there were many huge sculptures and figurines. They illustrate the
Chinese moral stories and vividly depict the Chinese
folklore and punishments accorded to people who
failed to be morally upright. Next, I am fond of
going to Little India. I will purchase my groceries
and have a meal with my husband. Whenever I am
homesick, I would visit Little India. It was nice to
meet people from my village.
“One aspect I remember very vividly which has changed a lot
now is the wet market. Last time, we would be able to buy
live chicken in the market. They sold live poultry in the wet
markets. The butcher would slaughter and remove the skin
of the chicken for the customers. The curry made from fresh
chicken was very delicious. I miss them.”
Singapore has advanced vastly over the past 46 years and I’m very
proud to be a Singaporean. I would like to tell the future generation to
study hard and to help to advance Singapore’s future even further.
Grandma Stories 75