Page 23 - Stories from our Grandparents

y grandfather clearly he Japanese occupation in Singapore during World War II
remembers the date took place from 1942-1945. Sulaimi Bin Adnan,
(7 December 1941) from his my grandfather was born in 1930, therefore
Mfather’s stories when the The was only 12 years old at that time.
Japanese leaders were poised to make
an audacious surprise attack on Pearl He always says that the Mr Sulaimi Bin Adnan BORN 1930
Harbour. But little did people know, Japanese invasion was his worst
an hour before the historic moment, Mr P Namasivayam nightmare. He told me that life By Haziqa Bte Mohamed Noor
Japanese troops landed first on Pantai was harsh. There were limited Millennia Institute
Sabak to invade Malaya. It would By Tharnee d/o Subramaniam BORN 1942
prove to be the moment when the war Millennia Institute food supplies.
in Europe became the actual world
war bringing Asia and Malaya firmly My grandfather’s family was big as
into the theatre of World War Two. he had a lot of siblings.
Therefore, at times, he had to
These days there is nothing in Pantai Sabak that points towards its historic sacrifice his meal for his younger
significance or the remarkable stories of the war and hardship that would brothers and sisters. Since my
follow in the years to come. No plaques, no monuments, nothing to remind grandfather was not from a rich
the younger generation of the blood that was spilt here. family, they were unable to afford
food. To sum up, the cost of living
I interviewed my grandfather about the stories that his father shared was very high. He also emphasised
with him as a little boy. “I think the war was a period where I grew up that every grain was precious.
so carefree and wild. I had so much independence and that is what
gives me so much resilience to overcome obstacles.” In addition, school fees had also soared. My grandfather did not
manage to get any education. He was actually relieved about it
WW2 has brought out one class of people - a generation that because he managed to escape from learning the Japanese language.
has resilience and has been able to overcome all odds. My grandfather’s mother worked as a tailor. Before the Japanese
occupation, she had a lot of loyal customers and she managed to earn
“That was actually the good part of the war,’’ he added. My great some income for their living expenses.
grandfather added this as he had dreams of becoming a policeman
back then and how his experiences helped him to be tough and However, during the Japanese invasion, when the economy was very bad,
eventually helped him to grow as a man. He would share these she had no choice but to increase the price of making clothes. Customers
stories with my grandfather to always be confident about whatever stopped coming and there was no income for my grandfather’s family. The
they did. It was a cold hard fact to confront but within the next only source of money they received was from his father who was a bus driver.
few decades, there would be very few survivors of the Japanese My grandfather felt sad that their living conditions were very bad. He could
Occupation around to tell the incredible personal stories that came not work because he was still young and his parents did not allow him to do
straight out of a movie. so. While he was telling me these stories, I felt sad for my grandfather.
My father always told me how my grandfather was very strict regarding
food wastage.

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