Page 79 - Stories from our Grandparents

WIP

y Grandmother is 79 Years old and she was
born in 1939. She was only 3 years old when
the Second World War started and when Mdm Lee Hock Kee
Mthe Japanese invaded Singapore in 1941.
By Chua Kim Teck
“When she was born, my great grandfather was a ITE College West Born 1939
“towkay” of a fishery port who owned several fishing
boats. During the Japanese occupation, my great
grandfather was worried that his family would be harmed
and he decided to use his fishing boat to ferry his family My grandmother shared that after Singapore’s independence in 1965,
the public transport was only by bus and a few private cars for hire,
and some of the other villagers to Malaysia’s Kukup to which were usually very costly. To save money, my grandmother and her
seek safety.” friends will usually take the bus from “Chap Buey Gor” (Tuas) to “Dua-
Bor”, which is Chinatown now for the weekend to watch movies. My
After the war, they returned to Singapore in 1946. When they returned, grandmother got her jobs through newspaper advertisements, which is
the war refugees went their separate ways with some deciding to stay unlike now where we could easily find job information online. She was a
as neighbours where they settled down in Jurong “Chap-Buey Gor” machine operator in a production company and retired at the age of 67
(Eighteen District), which is Tuas now. They stayed in a kampong where in 2006 after working for 26 years.
they reared livestock such as pigs, chickens and ducks for food.
My grandmother shared that we should be thankful that Singapore is a
Life was good until the housing flats slowly replaced the good place to live with a nice living environment unlike the home she
kampong from the 1960s. The livestock was sold to the stayed in 70-80 years ago where the roof actually leaked when it rains
government to be slaughtered as they cannot be brought heavily. I learnt from grandmother that I should be appreciative of
along to the housing flats provided by the government what I have now and to know that it is through the pioneers’ struggles
then. My grandmother’s best memory was when she met that we are enjoying what we have today.
my grandfather in 1961. They dated for a year before they
married and that was the happiest day for my grandmother.