Page 41 - Stories from our Grandparents

n 9 August 1965, Singapore gained independence from
Malaysia, and at that time, I was only five years old.
Over the years, Singapore gained significant progress As years passed, new and bulky
Ofrom a third world country to a modern city. devices called television sets were

Every weekend, my father would bring my whole family a trend. We were only able to
to catch a movie at the Capitol theatre. After our weekly watch shows in ‘black and white’.
movie, we would definitely go to our favourite street My mother spoke about the new
hawker for a bowl of authentic ‘Bak Chor Mee’. Often, television sets every day.
we would also go to Chinatown to shop for clothes
and dried goods like mushrooms and melon seeds. My aunt living in the next street often called to boast about her
television. She would also talk about how expensive they were
Last time there weren’t any skyscrapers at all,
instead we had shophouses and kampongs. and how hard it was to learn how to use it. After a whole month of
These areas were wide, spacious and peaceful. Families nagging to my father, my father finally gave in to her and bought a
Courtesy of National could co-exist harmoniously with a deep sense of trust. television set. Many people in our kampong were curious about the
Archives of Singapore television shows. Every afternoon, they would crowd outside and
Residents helped each other in times of need and there
was a strong bond among us all. peep into our house. My mother eventually invited them into our
house to chit-chat and watch the show together.
Technology wasn’t as advanced as how it was now.
In the past, it was very troublesome to As time passed, everybody bought their own television and there was no
make a call or to send a letter. Most of longer a crowd in our house. Years passed and one day, the government
us were illiterate; we had to pay letter sent letters to each and every household to inform them that they have to
writers to draft a letter for us. Letters move into flats because the land will be used for other purposes.
took very long to be mailed. Often, we Many people were shocked and they did not want to move. My
will have to wait at least a week to receive family was one of them. After all, we have already stayed in the
our letters. The days felt like years. These kampong for more than twenty years. It was our home. We felt upset
days, we can easily send a text message and that we had to move into new flats. Many complained and protested
a reply can be received within seconds. against the government. However, we did not have a choice. When
we first moved into the HDB flats, everything was new to us. In
Families were poor and many may not be able to afford toys for their kampongs, we did not have toilet bowls and rubbish chutes. I was
children. Instead, children like my siblings and I learnt to be creative by amazed by the toilet bowls because we were able to flush water
making our own toys and interactive games. We sewed pieces of small scrap down. It was more hygienic as in kampongs, we used potties and
cloth and stuffed green bean seeds inside them. This was how our game of spittoons. Eventually, I appreciated the HDB flats.
‘Five Stones’ came about. We also played ‘Zero Point’ by tying rubber bands
together and jumping over them like skipping ropes. These days, children Now, we can only reminisce about the past. I feel that despite our progress
play games using their computers and smart phones. as a nation, one thing we should never change is our kampong spirit. I also
hope that the younger generation will learn to appreciate one another and
be bonded as one nation.
Mr Simon Poh BORN 1960

40 Grandpa Stories Grandpa Stories 41
By Joycelyn Poh
Pasir Ris Secondary School