A Carefree Childhood (2E5 Lin Xueqi's Father)

My dad, Lam Koon Pang, was born on the 4^th of September 1959, was the youngest of nine children. They lived in Strathmore Avenue and stayed on the ground level. Whenever it rained, it attracted a lot of worms and rats into the house. Therefore, kerosene was used to kill and to prevent such pests from crawling into the house. My grandmother was a thrifty person, so instead of using kerosene, she used a rolled up newspaper to get rid of all the worms. Blackouts occurred frequently but my dad enjoyed them a lot as that was when he could scare his siblings using a torch light and making funny faces and noises.

From Farm Boy to Coast Guard (2E5 Marcus Mah's Maternal Grandfather)

Interviewer: Grandson

Name: Marcus Mah Kang Yuan Gerard

Date of Interview: 26/07/06

Location: Interviewee’s house

Interviewee: Grandfather

Name: Gerald Ong Kim Soo

Present Address: Block 81 Commonwealth Close 

D.O.B: 11/1/1931

Place of Birth: Singapore

                                          Present Age                                          Present Age  

Brothers: Ong Kim Joo         (82)              Sisters: Ong Joo Huay      (81)

               Ong Kim Yeow      (76)                           Ong Joo Hiok      (80)

               Ong Kim Luck       (74)                           Susie Ong            (68)

Background Information of Interviewee’s Parents:

Parent’s Name: Ong Teng Cheng (DECEASED)  Lin Sye Chong (DECEASED)

Occupation:  Director of Post & Housewife respectively

               My grandfather was born in Singapore. In the year 1936 when he was five, he moved to Sabah, Malaysia, via steamship.

              During his childhood days, life was very simple and enjoyable. My grandfather was a very active and sporty person. He would usually play soccer with his friends of many other races, getting very dirty playing in muddy fields. Other games for example, would be “hide-and-seek” and “catching the thief”. During his holidays, he would just help his father out in the fields watering the crops under the blazing sun. My grandfather was a very obedient boy; his obedience due to his father’s strict upbringing, scolding him for the slightest mistake. My grandfather’s responsibilities were very simple; it was just to study hard in school and get a good job to start a family. His father did not want him to follow in his footsteps to be working in the fields the whole day under the sun not earning much money.

Of Weddings and War (2E5 Celine Soh's grandmother)

I interviewed my grandmother on July 15, 2006. My grandmother named Tan Chin Tee, was so glad to take up this offer of an interview. She was born in Singapore in April 1934. She used to live at Bukit Ho Swee. Not being born with a silver spoon, she lived in a squatter settlement. But all that did not stop her from enjoying her childhood. My grandmother loved to play games such as hide-and-seek. She also enjoyed skipping and riding the bicycle. She was given the chance to receive an education. However, she was not willing to study because of certain reasons. So instead of going to school like everyone else her age, my grandmother stayed at home and helped out with the housework such as fetching water from the well to and from home which was quite a distance away.  She would also pass her time sewing.

Growing up in post-war Singapore (The Koh Triplets' Mother)

My name is Koh Zhi Wei. I interviewed my mother on 26 July 2006 at home. My mother's name is Sherry Lim Poh Lay. She lives at Choon Guan Street. She was born on 3 June 1958 at Kandang Kerbau Hospital. My mother has three brothers. The eldest is Lim Teh Hian , born on 20 October 1956. My mother is the second child. The third is Lim Teh Keong, born on 1st April 1960. The youngest is Lim Teh Yeong , born on 1st October 1962. My grandfather's name is Lim Sai Phiow. He is a chef. My grandmother's name is Ong Wee Chan. She is a housewife.

In her childhood, my mother used to play with skipping ropes, five stones, tops and catapults. She and her family spent their holidays in Johor Bahru. My mother was a filial and obedient child. She has never been punished by her teachers or parents nor been up to mischief.

Surviving the Khmer Rouge (2E5 Vanna's Maternal Grandmother)

Interviewer: Chhay Vanna

Date of interview: 14-7-2006

Location of interview: grandmother’s home

Interviewee: Leng Huoy

Present address: West Coast Drive

Birthdate: 20th October 1940

Place of birth: Kandal, Cambodia

This is a life story of my grandmother during the Communist government called Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

          On 20^th of October 1940, my grandmother, Leng Huoy was born. She was brought up in a rich family. She has six siblings consisting of three males and three females. They lived in a villa in a serene village.

At the age of six, she was registered for primary one. She was a very playful little girl. She loved playing tricks on her father. Everyday after school, she would quickly eat her lunch and rush to the river side and play with her friends. Her hobbies were playing hide and seek, swimming in the river, fishing, hunting for insects and playing catching. She  did well in school despite all her mischievous behavior. But unfortunately, she dropped  out of school at the age of eleven for no particular reason. At the age of twenty, she went through a match-making session and later was married to her husband, Tan Jiat Chong who was twenty-three years old. A few weeks later after their marriage, my grandmother opened a provision shop but her business came to a standstill. She decided to sell vegetables instead as it was better and easier. She gave birth to seven children, three boys and four girls.

In 1975, on the morning of 17 April, a civil war broke out as there was a dispute between the high-ranking officials.

A Village Girl (2E5 Suriani's Mother)

Madam Chumanis live through the racial riots that happened in 1964. Then, she was only 18 years old. As a typical village girl, she did not know anything that happened outside her own front door. My grandmother would then tell her the news. Here is some information about my mother. Her birthday is on 24 of October 1947. She was born at  home in a village known as Bukit Cermin. She is a Singaporean. She has two sisters and four brothers. My grandfather was originally from Java and my grandmother was born in Selangor and later came to Singapore. My grandparents lived at Bukit Cermin at that point of time. My grandfather worked as a farmer and owned a farm. They led a simple life; being neither poor nor rich.

My mother spent her childhood playing games with friends. The games she played were five stones, hop scotch, cooking, dolls and a lot more. All the games were home-made.

No Childhood Games (2E4 Audrey Lee's maternal grandmother)

My maternal grandmother, Margaret Lee, was born to Hor Jiu Liang and Lee Bor Tek on the 29^th October, year 1926, in Singapore. She was the third and youngest child in the family. Her siblings, a brother and a sister, were also born in Singapore. They were named Lee Woon Seng and Lee Woon Jiao respectively.

Her parents were actually from Fujian, China but, like almost everyone else who wanted to try their luck at earning a better living, they migrated to Singapore. Here, her father worked as a labourer, hopping from one job to another at times, while her mother, worked as a maid who went to clean the houses of other people, probably those belonging to the wealthy family category. Family income wasn’t high due to the jobs her parents had gotten as for the fact that they knew not a single soul when they first stepped foot in Singapore. Her mother worked for very long hours and also, since there was no one to take care of my grandmother properly in her tender years due to her siblings being busy with school and her parents working, she was taken under the care of a babysitter and could only go home at night when her mother had returned from a hard day’s work. This continued until my grandmother was five or six years old as it was then her mother stopped working. Childhood for my grandmother wasn’t anything like what young children nowadays experience.

A Man From Canton (2E4 Zhi Jian's Grandfather)

MY GRANDFATHER’S STORY

My grandfather, Lee Yuen Yooi, was born in 1932 in a small village in Canton, China. He was the only child in the family. During his childhood days, the games he played included marbles, throwing copper coins, and catching fish in the pond. Whenever he was mischievous, his mother would sit on his back and whack him with a cane. At home, he would help his mother to grow vegetables, water them and bring them to the market area to sell.

He only studied for five years and for every year he studied, he had to change school due to the war. He remembered a teacher during his school days who would often stare at the jackfruit tree outside the classroom as he wanted to eat the jackfruit. My grandfather’s CCA was Boy Scouts. He only studied three subjects which were Maths, Chinese and General Knowledge. Besides Chinese lesson, all other subjects were taught in Cantonese. At the beginning of each Monday morning’s assembly, all the students would read Prime Minister Sun Yat San’s will. Instead of paying school fees, he paid by giving rice during the war time. My grandfather came from a Christian family. During peace time, he would go with his mother to church.

My grandfather came to Singapore when he was 16 years old as he wanted to find a job to feed his family.

A Taxi Driver's Story (2E4 Sherlyn's Dad)

Toh* Hua Lam, my Father was born on 13^th April 1950. He has five siblings, in the order of Zhou Qiang, the eldest son, followed by  Zhou Qing.  Zhou Xiuling and Zhou Pohlan are his sisters and he’s the fourth child in the family having 2 elder brothers, one elder sister and one younger.

This is my father’s story as he told it to me.

My father was a vegetable seller. His name was Zhou Ya Xin and my mother, Lee Quan. My mother helped my father out. Being poor, they lived in a kampong like many other people.

My primary school was Nanshan primay. I remember my primary one teacher, Chen Zhou Le. I was frequently beaten on the palm of my hand by her. At that time, school only had about three to four subjects, Civics and Moral education, Chinese, Mathematics and Science. Due to my family being poor, I only studied up to primary three, hence I had a very low level of education. During my school days, I was notorious. I did not like to go to school hence I skipped it a lot. I frequently fought with the other children at school. My favorite childhood games was spinning tops and ‘go-li’ (marbles).

A Flowermaker (2E4 Nazreen's Maternal Grandma)

My lovely grandmother whom I adore so much is named Zubaidah (A Bedah) bte Hashim. She was born in the year 1928. Her NRIC states that she was born on the first of January but my mother told me about my grandmother having lost a few important documents. Ever since she has grown older and is suffering from senility, she couldn’t remember much about her past and also her birthday. So in order to gather information about my darling grandmother, I asked my mother and my eldest auntie for help. Thanks to them, this is what I have learnt about my grandmother’s life.

I know that my grandmother has gone through World War 2 and racial riots during her young adult years. She can’t remember anything about major events like the Maria Hertogh riots and other riots that happened in Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s period. Her love story and everyday life is the only thing I could find out from my auntie and my mother. My grandmother was married to Abdul Karim Bin Mohd, her first husband. He was actually an actor from the entertainment industry in that era and was known to have flung a motorcycle with his teeth. He was a very strong man indeed. Together they had four children: Mohd Abdul Katir, Fatimah Bibi, both who passed away, Salmah Manap (Eldest auntie) and Abdul Rashid. But my grandfather’s time had come for him to rest in peace. My grandmother was truly heartbroken but she moved on with her life, bringing up three children by herself.

From Hainan Island (2E4 Cassandra's Granddad)

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.

Mr Lim Jit Meng (2E4 Fang Yi's Father)

My Father's Story

            My father's name is Lim Jit Meng. He lives at West Coast Crescent. My father was born on the 30^th of January 1959. He was born in Singapore and has two brothers and a sister. His brothers are Jack Lim Jit Khiang and Lim Jit Heng, his sister is Dora Lim Yuen Sueh and he is also the youngest in the family. His brothers were born on the 23^th of October 1954 and 7^th October 1955 respectively, his sister was born on the 31^st of October 1953. My father's parents’ names are Yeo Whee Keng and Lim Teng Poh. They currently live with us. My grandfather used to work as a Ford Motor foreman and my grandmother was a housewife. My father's life with his parents was peaceful and uneventful.

            My father used to play football using a volleyball. During the holidays, he went hiking with his National Cadet Corps friends. Once, my grandmother bought a chick for my father. After rearing the chicken for about four months, one day my father came home from school to find that my grandmother had slaughtered the chicken and cooked it. When my grandmother offered a piece to him, he refused to eat it and cried. In school, my father had always come in first for examinations, but once he got second in class, my grandmother scolded him and hit him with a cane.

Growing up in Johor Bahru (2E4 Billy Ng's Mother)

    My mother was born in the year 1956 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. At the age of eight she had to wake up at 5am to work in the rubber plantation along with all my aunts and uncles except for my two youngest uncles, who were good in their studies. Every day they cycled to the plantation and each of them had to collect rubber sap, using the machine available to make the sap into rubber sheets which they brought home. According to my mother, at the plantation there appeared to be blue or green lights floating around in a distance whilst they were working and birds sometimes pecked  her on the shoulder giving her a fright. Sometimes when they were heading home, their bikes slipped on the moist soil and they fell. But the saddest part is that the rubber sheets fell into the ditch they had fallen into and were damaged. The rubber would be torn, as it was quite thin and could not be sold. Each fortnight a lorry would arrive and buy the rubber sheets from them.

Abdul Salam Bin Mohd Kunhi (2E4 Fatimah's dad)

      My father, Abdul Salam Bin Mohamed Kunhi, was born on 28 December 1952 to Fatimah Binte Hassan and Mohamed Kunhi. He was the eight child of ten siblings, six boys and four girls (including my father), the oldest being Abdul Kadir followed by the rest, Rokiah, Halimah, Abdul Salim, Hashim, Abdul Salam (passed away shortly after birth), Rahyah, my father, Fawzia and the youngest Ashraf. My grandfather is from Kerala. Kerala is a state on the tropical Malabar Coast of southwestern India while my grandmother, whom I was named after, was born in Singapore but her father originated from Southern India too. Kerala is a Muslim-populated state, that is why my father (including me) are Indian Muslims. 

A Tailor's Son (2E4 Xinyi's father)

    My father, Chiu Joon Fook was born in KK hospital on 28^th November 1963.We live in West Coast Drive, Hong Leong Garden Condominium. My father does not come from a wealthy family. He has five siblings. He was the second in his family. His elder brother, Chiu Yoon Keong  was born on 26^th February 1962 which was one year earlier than my father. His brother, Chiu Joon Loy was born on 15^th May 1965 which was the year Singapore became independent. Chiu Joon Hooe was born on 23^rd June 1966. His youngest sister, Chiu Bee Ling was born on 8^th April 1975.

    His father, Chiu Kee Fatt was a tailor in the past. He taught my father the trade and passed the business to him after his death on 26^th March 2000. His mother was a very capable housewife as she looked after a total of six children on her own without anyone’s help. They lived in Pasir Panjang, 5th milestone, #207, S’pore 5. My father’s life with his parents was excellent.

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.

A Life of Many Journeys (2E4 Harisan's great-granddad)

Blue= Females

Red=males

This is the story of my great grandfather and his family. His name is Abdul Kadir and he lived in Bengkalis, Indonesia. He was born in 1900.  He traveled to Thailand where he got married to Esah Bte Sarman, my great grandmother. There, they were blessed with 3 children, Sakyah Bte Abdul Kadir, my grandfather’s older sister, Shamsuddin bin Abdul Kadir, my grandfather and Subri bin Abdul Kadir my grandfather’s younger brother. They were a happy family.

In 1941, before the Japanese entered/conquered Indonesia, tragedy struck, the family received news that my great great grandfather Atan Jambul had fallen very ill. Thus, the family went to Bengkalis where Atan Jambul was. By the time they reached their destination, it was too late, Atan  had already passed away. They stayed for the funeral and while they were there, Esah gave birth to another child named Jariah bte Abdul Kadir By that time, the Japanese had taken Indonesia therefore the family could not return to Thailand as the passports they had were invalid.

Mdm Lim Pian Tee (2E4 Xiuhui's maternal granny)

My Story 

My maternal grandmother, Lim Pian Tee, was born in China in the year of 1931. Her parents gave birth to a total of ten children. She has five brothers and four sisters, and she is the fourth in the family. Her father worked as a farmer and he was the only breadwinner in the family. Her father would set up a stall along the street and sell the vegetables to the villagers. Whenever they were free, they would help their father by taking care of the stall. Her mother was a housewife, who did the chores and took care of the children.

At the age of eleven, my grandmother attended a Chinese-speaking school, and decided to pursue her dreams in studies. They studied Chinese, Malay, and Buddhist Scriptures. She remembered a male teacher, Mr. Wang, who gave money to the students who had financial problems, and my grandmother was one of them. He also gave his students remedial for the subjects they were poor in. If they were found talking during lesson time, they will be beaten by the teacher with a ruler, and the teachers would throw the chalk at them. Unfortunately, she stopped schooling at sixteen, as her parents thought that girls at that time should do the housework and take care of the siblings.

Welcome to the history book that never was (History Project 2006)

These oral histories were done as part of cross-curriculum learning at Kent Ridge Secondary School in 2006. For an English and History project, students had to interview a relative, preferably a grandparent, and type a 700-1000 word biography.

It was an enriching experience for all three classes of Secondary Two Express students who learnt more about their relatives and the hardships they had faced in their lives. Many students expressed a deeper appreciation for their relatives and had grown closer to them.

I had the intention of printing a booklet but never got down to it. I have written consent from the relatives giving permission for their life stories to be published. So here they are...belatedly...on a platform that is accessible by anyone around the world.

This is "My Story". Other voices from the Singapore Story. Enjoy.

My Story

You have studied key events of Singapore’s history from Settlement to Nation, 1819-1971. You are encouraged to interview an older relative about what life was like in the past. The interviewee should be a grandparent or grandaunt or uncle, if possible. If you are close to someone who is not a relative, who lived through these events, you may also interview them.

If possible, you should get a simple tape recorder or an MP3 player to record the interview.

Format: Preferably typewritten or neatly handwritten. This will be your family heirloom!! You can pass this story to your children.

A: Interviewer (When possible, this information should be placed on the tape before the actual interview.) Your name Date of interview Location of interview B. Interviewee Full Name (also Maiden) Present address Birthdate Place of birth Names and birthdates of brothers and sisters C. Background information of interviewee's parents Parents' Names Residence Occupation Family life with parents D. Childhood Days Games played Holidays Mischief and pranks Punishments Responsibilities - eg. Duties around the home E. School Days Name of schools attended and location Teachers remembered School activities Subjects taken F. Religion Place of worship Type of worship G. Courtship-Marriage What were the rules of courtship?      2.   What was your wedding(s) like? H. Community activities Committee positions Political positions Volunteer services I. Housing     1.   Village/Squatters/Houses     2.   Public Housing (HDB)

J. Social Life Weddings Funerals Parties Gatherings Shopping/Relaxation K. Hobbies/Interests L. Sports M. Trips and vacations N. World War I or 11 OR National Service from 1967 Where were you when this event happened? How were you/your family affected? 3.   What was life like during this period? O. Disasters Storms/Floods eg. Bukit Timah     2.   Fires eg. Bukit Ho Swee Fire1961 P. Strikes, Unrest, Riots      1. Maria Hertogh Riots 1950      2. Student Strikes and Labour Riots 1950s      3. Racial Riots 1964, 1969      4. Indonesian Confrontation 1963-4 Q. Politics      1. What was being under the British rule like?      2. What was being under the Japanese rule like?      3. What was being under David Marshall's              governement from 1955-6?      4. What was being under Lim Yew Hock's         government like from 1956-9?      5. What was being under Lee Kuan Yew's govt         like from 1959?      6. What was being under Malaysia 1963-5 like?      7. What was being under Goh Chok Tong's         leadership like?      8. What is being under Lee Hsien Loong's govt         like? R. Any words of advice, personal creed or motto?