Page 36 - Stories from our Grandparents

any things happened
during the World War Two.
Mr Toh Yiew Yong BORN 1930 Mwant to forget what had
People would very much
By Jadalyn Ang happened. However, I will remember
Pasir Ris Secondary School my experience during the World
War as if it happened yesterday.
My experience during the war was very harsh, just like most people.
I was only 10-12 years old, studying in primary school when suddenly, I saw
airplanes flying above. Bombs started dropping from the sky and it led to
chaos. Many people were running around, trying to get to safety, including
me. I ran home from school, as quickly as my legs could carry me in the
search of my family. It was disastrous. A few days later, the schools closed
and I could not go to school. My parents could not go to work as well.
Everyone lived in fear and terror. Some people, like my friends’ parents, got
tortured very badly by the Japanese soldiers in order to keep their family
safe. As people needed food to survive, they decided to look for jobs.
I faced many struggles during the war and the main struggle was the
shortage of food. Shops were closed and we did not have sufficient
money to buy food to feed my family of 6. Thus, at the age of 10, I had
to look for a job. I looked around to observe what the people were
doing; they were repairing shoes, packing foods and making clothes.
I had to learn the required skills to get hired. Fortunately, I got
hired by the Japanese as a tailor. They paid me 30 cents per
day. 30 cents at that time was worth more than it is today. I
would use the money to buy sweet potatoes as they
were commonly sold in the market. Meat and other
kinds of food were less commonly sold.
Furthermore, the Japanese would give out rice to us once or twice a
month. They would give us a cup full of rice that would last us the whole
month, including a few sweet potatoes which i used my salary to buy.
Rice was also sold in only limited quantities like 15 grams. My family
could not eat much as my salary was still too low to afford more food for
my family to eat. I would often keep food for my family and go to sleep
hungry. Then, I would work the next day to earn some more money.
36 Grandpa Stories
was thankful and relieved that their days of suffering and torture had come to
After three long years of suffering, the Japanese finally surrendered. Everyone
an end. However, there was still a lack of food. I decided to quit my current
job and find a new one with a better pay. My boss tried to bribe and persuade
me to stay in his company by offering me a pay of $100 per month, which was
a lot more compared to the other workers who received $50-60 per month.
I still turned down the offer as i felt that other jobs would still have a better
pay. In fact, my boss owed me more than $100 but I decided to leave and
start a new job. Thankfully i found a new job as a tailor again, better working
conditions and a higher pay which helped me to provide sufficient food for my
family. Eventually, after a week or so, there were different parties that called
for election of leadership roles. Most people voted for Mr Lee Kuan Yew to
be our Prime Minister. Under his leadership and rule, he led and changed
Singapore to be a successful nation today.
When Singapore separated from Malaysia and became independent,
I was happy about it, but scared at the same time. I was happy
that Singapore would not be ruled by Malaysia but instead stand
as a country on its own. This could give us the chance to be
independent and grow as a country. However, I was worried as if
anything happened to us, Malaysia would not be there to help us
and we would have to deal with our problems on our own. “What
ifs” were constantly replaying in my head and I was worried. We
could only hope for the best. Thankfully, Mr Lee Kuan Yew knew
how to run things strictly and handled things well.
My childhood life is not the same as compared
to the children from this generation today. Yes,
World War Two was tough and many people
struggled and lives were lost. Apart from that,
lessons such as acquiring skills as a tailor,
working and queueing up early in the morning
to receive the rice rationed by the Japanese
with my friends were unforgettable. They
taught me a very important value called
responsibility and appreciating little things
in life.
Grandpa Stories 37