Page 53 - Stories from our Grandparents

Mr Johnny Fung BORN 1943
am originally from Singapore
By Rebecca Louise Yong I
and used to stay in Geylang
Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School
Serai. In 1977, I moved
I One of the most memorable
to Bedok.
was born in Singapore in 1943 during the Japanese
Occupation. My parents were servants, and I grew
up in the servants’ rooms of their employer’s house,
experiences during my childhood
surviving the Japanese Occupation with barely
sufficient amounts of food and water drawn from a days was the encounter with a flood
well. The bedrooms of the servants’ rooms had no during Hari Raya in the 1960s.
flooring, and I remember sleeping on the bare floor, dirt I happily swam in the water
staining my clothes and shivers running up my spine. with my siblings and friends.

I started school when I was 9 years old at Sembawang School and Despite the difficulties we faced Telecommunications Officer. Then,
then went on to study at Raffles Institution, playing rugby, hockey that year, we were still able to there was a van that took my
and soccer for the country. During those early years of pre- celebrate Hari Raya with my family colleagues and me to the field.
independence, the prominent languages were English and Chinese, members after the flood cleared. There, we dug the ground to put
and seeing people defecating on the streets due to the lack of up the pole and run the wire. Part
proper sanitation was not an uncommon sight. I remember the lack of public of our responsibilities also included
transportation in the early years repairing the phones.
I distinctly remember the term “night soil” being used as a of independence for Singapore.
euphemism for the method of human waste disposal at that I came from a poor family. My These days, I think that Singapore
time, which was collecting excrement in buckets. siblings and I had to walk two to is too crowded because the
highways are always full of cars
three miles to school every day.
Post-war Singapore was constantly changing around me. I Our mother would give us ten and the shopping centres are
transitioned from being a British citizen to a Malaysian citizen cents per day or no money would packed with people. I also miss the
when I moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1965 for work, taking on jobs be given when the family was on a warmth and friendliness between
as a clerk, typist and an insurance assistant to provide support tighter budget. I had to drink the neighbours. People are always
for my family. I earned about $300 monthly, sending most public tap water on the days when too busy these days. My hope for
of it home to my mother in Singapore and using the rest to I was not given a daily allowance. the future generation is that they
pay my rent. In that year, Singapore separated from Malaysia My current occupation is a contribute meaningfully to make
and became an independent state and I moved back home, Taxi Driver. I used to work as a this world a better place.
becoming a Singaporean citizen.
Nowadays, Singapore is so much more different compared to the 1950s, the
drastic change evident in Singaporeans’ modern way of living. In a multicultural
society where technology is ever-evolving, I have one piece of advice for the
Mr Sulaiman Bin Sarip BORN 1952
next generation of Singaporeans: always be prepared for change.
By Nur Riqqah Aqilah Binte Muhammad Noh
52 Grandpa Stories
Ping Yi Secondary School