Tan Peng Ann, Danny (2E4 Karina's maternal granddad)

I am Karina Chan and I interviewed my maternal grandfather, Tan Peng Ann Danny on

9/7//06 in his house. He is currently living in Ghim Moh in a HDB flat.

            My grandfather, Tan Peng Ann Danny, was born on 6^th of April 1941 in Kandang Kerbau

hospital. He became the only child after his elder brother died at a very young age. His

father was Tan Cheng Lim and his mother, Low Ah Hoe. They stayed in Chin Swee Road in

a shop-house. His father worked as a clerk and his mother was a housewife. As their

income was very low, my grandfather helped to give tuition to earn money. His

relationship with his parents was very good. When he was young, he played with stone

marbles, “chapteh”, rubber bands and caught spiders. On weekends, he would either

go swimming, jogging, attend parties, or go to the movies with cousins. At that time, when

technology was not so advanced; the movies were shown at an open space, covered with

some canvas. Ssome people did not pay but climbed in under the canvas.

            My grandfather was very mischievous and did not want to study so his mother

would cane him. World War Two was from the years 1942-1945 and my grandfather was

only one to three years at that time. So, he could not remember much about that period

except that he drank condensed milk and ate porridge almost everyday. After the war, the

British came back and took over Singapore again. Then, schools resumed and my

grandfather attended Pearl’s Hill Primary School, which was located in People’s Park. At

around the age of ten, he went swimming and while he was walking, he slipped and fell

and broke his two front teeth. After completing primary school education, he went on to

Outram Park Secondary School and studied English, Math, Chinese, Science and

Humanities. He also joined the Boys’ Brigade. He then managed to complete his O levels

in his school. At that time, he was a free thinker. After 19 years of staying in the shop-

house, he moved to Tanglin Halt, into a HDB flat with 2 rooms and stayed there for four years.

The house was rented.

            At the age of 21, he married my grandmother, Esther Pang, whom he had met at one

of the parties. They had a simple wedding at Great World restaurant. When he was 22,

my grandmother had my mother, and two years later, my first uncle, Roger Tan came.

Then after another year, my second uncle, Alan Tan came. Then, they moved to Holland

and lived there for close to eight years after which they moved to Ghim Moh, his

current house. On weekends, they would go to swim at the seaside as a family. He started

to attend church with his friends but was non-committed for around 26 years. At 

around the age of 45, his wife died of cancer and the church was praying for her, so he

accepted Christ then. Her death was a great blow to the family. It was hard getting over

the incident. My grandfather then started spending more time with his children and learnt

to cook for them. Before that, he had travelled with his wife to a few countries. His first trip

was in 1978 to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Taiwan, Indonesia and Philippines. In 1990, he

then married my current grandmother, Alley. They were match-made.

            My grandfather also recalls the disasters, strikes, unrest, riots and politics in the

past. There were floods all over Singapore as there was no good/proper drainage because

at that time, it was under David Marshall’s government and they did not bother about the

people. They did not provide proper drains and there were no government housing

schemes. People only stayed in “attap” houses and shop-houses. It was only until Goh

Chok Tong came into power, then there were more privileges and Singaporeans were

taken care of. There were medical benefits for senior citizens and compulsory primary

school education. Lee Hsien Loong’s government is also fair.

            There was also an incident in Bukit Ho Swee in 1961. There was a big fire in

that area. It started off with gangster fights. They started burning things and

eventually, the whole place was burnt down. At that time, there were also racial riots

and the threat of  Communism. The Malay and Chinese rioted because of racial politics. 

Singapore wanted to join Malaysia, but Indonesia did not want it to happen, so they caused 

trouble.The Chinese people also wanted to take over the country and follow Communism. 

There were also Labour Riots. People fought for their rights, and fought for higher pay. My

grandfather witnessed one of the riots from his window. The people burnt everything in

sight. They also threw stones everywhere. So during that time, there was a curfew 

until the riots were over.

            Being under the British rule, Singaporeans had to listen to their anthem every

morning and Singaporeans had to obey them. Under Lim Yew Hock’s government from

1956-1959, things were horrible. The government was corrupt. They did not take care

of the people. They did not care if there were gangster fights or if someone got killed, the

murderer will bribe the police and get away scot-free. Then, being under Malaysia,

Singapore faced Confrontation. The Malaysia government wanted to control Singapore,

so we broke off and became independent. PAP then became in-charge  and they cleared the

roads and built HDB flats. Until today, Singapore has been improving in everything and

my grandfather is still enjoying his golden years.

                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                   Karina Chan (2)

                                                                                                                   2e4