Page 14 - Stories from our Grandparents

was a four year-old kid when was in secondary four when Singapore separated from
the World War II commenced.
My family lived at the Boat
IQuay area during that time.
I remember my parents yelling –
‘run towards the kampong’ (near
Mr Goh Leng Chwee BORN 1937 Jurong area) to escape from the
Japanese Army. Every day posed
By Bernice Tan new dangers and all parents were
worried about their children’s
ITE College East
safety. Food and water were
scarce and had to be rationed.
I studied in a government school for my primary education and attained
my highest educational achievement of Secondary 3 from a private school.
I spent most of my time in school playing basketball with my friends. When
I was ten, my parents made it clear that I should be ‘independent’ in life.
I began my career as a car salesman. I was not interested
in the job and the income was not adequate to support my
family. Years later, I chose to be a ‘Taxi driver’ which I enjoyed
much better because I could meet people from all walks
of life. I met many interesting professionals like doctors,
engineers, lawyers, teachers, and scientists.
In comparison with my childhood days, Singapore has transformed
significantly. We have fabulous infrastructure and our children are
smart, well-educated and bold. However, one observation worries me
a lot - the bond between children and parents is dwindling.
Many ambitious career-minded parents are busy chasing
their own goals without realising that spending quality time
with their children is important. At the same time, there
are some who over compensate for lost time by being too
friendly with their children without instilling discipline.
While I agree that parents need to communicate
with their children on friendly terms, it is
important to teach children to respect their
parents and elders.
Malaysia in 1965. I did not know anything about politics.
I
Although we had families and relatives in Malaya, my
parents decided to make Singapore their home.
My family was very poor then and my only dream was to complete
my GCE ‘O’ Level and start work so that I could support my big
family. I have eight sisters and one brother and I was the eldest.
Immediately after secondary four, I started doing odd jobs just to
make sure that I could support my family.
During my younger days, I often visited my uncle who lived
at the Royal Air Force (British RAF) Changi quarters and had
always been fascinated by the aircrafts at Changi Air Base.
Eventually in 1967, I joined the Singapore Air Force. It was one
of the proudest moments of my life. My parents and siblings
were overjoyed. It was a dream come true.
At the Air Force, I was assigned to the Logistic Unit. Over the years, I
was deployed to various units in Singapore, Thailand and Philippines.
My duties range from logistic maintenance, provision of supplies, to
housekeeping of the specialised units and general stores.
My first pay was $200, which was a considerable
amount back then. As we have twelve mouths to
feed in the family, luxury wasn’t within our reach even
with my considerable high monthly pay. We had to
live frugally to ensure that my $200 can last through
the month.
Today, I feel that young people have more
opportunities to pursue their career goals. In fact,
they are spoilt for choice as there are so many
varied pathways that they can choose from.
Mr Kishen Kumar Nanda
BORN 1947
By Hareen s/o Saravanan 15
ITE College East Grandpa Stories