My grandfather, Lim Yem Foung was born
on March 26, 1922 in China, Hainan Island. He is currently staying at Ang Mo
Kio. He has been staying there for almost 30 years.
His parents were farmers living in
China, Hainan Island. They mainly led a life of a typical farmer. He mainly played games like hide and seek and
river games. The only punishment he and his siblings got was caning and mending
things around the farm.
In China, he lived in houses made of
wire mesh. At school in China, they taught them the “san zi jing “and
basically, the humanities subjects.
His uncle brought him to Singapore,
with his brother, at the age of 15. They stayed in a rented house at Cairnhill
Road.
In Singapore, he studied at Ai Tong
Primary, where he then moved on to Zhong Zheng High School. He remembers a teacher
named Mr. Zhang who left a deep impression on him. Mr. Zhang was a very good
teacher who never failed to encourage them to pursue for themselves a better
life in whatever they did. He remembers one incident where Mr. Zhang actually
brought them to his house to give them extra coaching at his own time. Mr.
Zhang is one teacher he will never forget.
While in school, my grandfather also
actively took part in sports. He played basketball, table tennis and swam. His
secondary school days are one of the happiest times of his life.
My grandfather was a devoted Buddhist,
who often visit the “Guan Yin” Temple at Waterloo Street.
At the age of 31, he was matched-made
to my grandmother who was then, only 23, by their parents in China. So my
grandfather flew back to China to marry my grandmother. Getting married was a
joyous occasion for the village. Almost everyone from the village was invited
and they slaughtered chickens and ducks to celebrate the joyous occasion. As a
tradition in China, getting to eat meat
was a big event. They even lit firecrackers as they think it is auspicious and
it adds to the atmosphere. After going through the customary wedding, my
grandfather and grandmother got to know each other for one month before my
grandfather came back to Singapore to work. It was only five years later, my
grandmother came to Singapore all by herself to find my grandfather.
During my grandfather’s working life,
he worked from morning till night. The only time that he was able to spend his
time with his family is only during the Chinese New Year holidays.
His hobbies and interests were cycling
and swimming. He used to go cycling and swimming once every week, but now, as
he is getting older, he seldom does that. Now, he just goes walking in the park
once in a while to keep healthy. Reading is also one of his favourite pastimes.
He likes to read Chinese Literature and can write very good calligraphy.
When the Japanese Occupation started in
1942, my grandfather was then, only 20 years old. He was working in a shophouse
in Singapore as a shopkeeper. Under the Japanese rule, life was harsh and they lived
in fear. Poverty could be seen all around. One incident that happened was, that
on one occasion when the Japanese were dropping bombs from aeroplanes, one of
the bombs landed right in front of my grandfather’s shop, straight into a
man-hole. The whole building shook. And luckily someone told him of the
dropping of the bombs, my grandfather was then able to take shelter before the
bombs exploded.
One day, while
he was working in his shop, some Japanese soldiers came in and took my
grandfather away to interrogate him. The Japanese soldiers slapped my
grandfather when they got nothing out of him. As my grandfather persevered in his
stand, he was then later locked up for a couple of hours before he was
released. The Japanese solders believed him that he was not anti-Japanese and
let him go.
The countries that he has been to
before are Beijing, Hong Kong and a tour around China for business purposes and
back to Hainan Island to visit his relatives.
During the Racial Riots that happened
in 1964 and 1969, he could feel tension when he went to the ‘New World
Entertainment Park’. There were groups of Malays holding weapons of all kinds;
waiting to waylay any Chinese that passed by. Near where he stayed at
Cairnhill, he was nearly beaten up by a group of Malays, if not for his uncle
who pulled him back into the house.
Under the British rule, only people
with high qualifications could get a job. Being the breadwinner of the family,
my grandfather had no time to know the details of the political changes in his
time. As long as any political party could bring stability jobs for the people,
the people were happy. Vaguely, what my grandfather can remember from the David
Marshall, first Chief Minister of Singapore, and Lim Yew Hock’s time is that,
there were some happiness and unrest. Happiness being David Marshall was the
first Singaporean Eurasian to be elected as chief minister. Lim Yew Hock’s time, there was a lot of
corruption. He sold our land – Christmas Island, to Australia. (Editor’s Note: this is a popular misconception. Christmas Island was
actually under the administration of the Straits Settlements of which Singapore
was the headquarters. Christmas Island, which was a British protectorate was
transferred to the jurisdiction of Australia under Lim Yew Hock’s tenure.)
Life
gradually became better under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew of the People’s
Action Party(PAP). Although poverty still exists, Lee Kuan Yew and his team have
tried their best to improve the living conditions of fellow Singaporeans.
When
Singapore merged with Malaysia, there were some who were happy and some who
were not. As for my grandfather, it did not affect him at all, because life
practically was still the same.
As
my grandfather always says, we are very lucky to be born in Singapore. We must
strive for the best.
Cassandra
Lim (9) 2E4
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