Page 70 - Stories from our Grandparents

ingapore has changed drastically. If you had seen what Singapore am the youngest member in my family
was like in the past, you would not believe it to be the same
Singapore today! During the 1950s and 60s when I lived in the
Skampong, my community was very close-knit. The children would
always play together and the neighbours treated each other like family.
“We shared food, our joys and our pains. We had a
flourishing tradition of “gotong-royong”
where everyone would share the load and help whenever
they could. When there were weddings, there was such
grandeur in the celebrations. The whole kampong would
come to watch, bless and pay their respects to the
newlyweds. We had a lively kampong community
which I really miss.”
When the People Action Party (PAP) formed our first government after
independence, they built high-rise flats for us to stay and we were told to
move out of our kampongs and into those flats. Imagine! What a change for
us! To forego our rustic communal life and adapt to new technologies in our
daily lives. The modern amenities had eased our way of life. During the early
years of independence, the PAP focused a lot on Singapore’s future and
kept encouraging us to have forward thinking and to innovate. During hard
times, these were the key principles that kept Singapore striving.
Although Singapore rapidly progressed into a very modern country,
our culture and traditional practices persevered and we kept it alive.
For example, there was still a sense of kampong spirit when everyone
interacted with one another, although we lived in flats.
I think I am lucky to have witnessed
Mdm rahmah Bte our nation’s transformation because
I can truly appreciate what a long way
Sulaiman Born 1938 we have come.
By Amirah Haziqah
ITE College East
12 Grandma Stories
Mdm Sanserany
I By Eshwer Gunaseelan Born 1948
with five siblings. My mother hailed
from Malaysia and my father from ITE College East
India. After the World War II, they
decided to settle in Singapore. Since
my father worked for a British firm, we
had the privilege of living in one of the company’s quarters. After my birth,
my father decided to go back to India and never returned. His whereabouts
were not known and soon, our life was plunged into a state of darkness.
My mother had no clue how to raise her six children as a single parent.
With some financial assistance from one of my maternal uncles, we
moved to a rental house in a kampong in Sembawang. My eldest
brother went to work at a very young age to support our family.
Despite all the hardship we faced, there was never a single frown on
my mother’s face. She was a role model to her children.
She lived the proverb – ‘The hand that rocks the
cradle, rules the world’.
In the past, we were happy with what we had and accepted life the
way it was. Today, people are blessed with a comfortable lifestyle –
online shopping and credit card options attract teenagers to shop for
products that are far beyond essential needs. Instead of saving for
their child’s future, young parents shower their kids with lavish gifts.
I met a five-year-old boy who owns a cell phone so that
he can talk to his parents while they are at work.
Isn’t that bewildering?
“No matter what we have and who we are today,
let us live in harmony with the spirit of generosity
and compassion to give back to the society. We
must learn to respect our parents and thank
them for their kind deeds. What we are
today, is only because of their sacrifice and
blessings.”