It was after school when I met this Chinese uncle at the void deck of a HDB flat. He was reading the newspaper. I approached him and asked if he is from the pioneer generation, and he said yes. So my friend, Clarissa and I, sat down in front of him and started questioning him about what Singapore-related stories he had.
He is 70 years-old this year. In one of the many stories he had said, the one I remember most vividly was the story about his adulthood. That uncle, Uncle Lim, lived in Sembawang last time, when he was around 13. After finishing his secondary school, he joined the British Navy’s Work Force as an apprentice. He had learnt about electrical sales and had been an electrical technician too. He had to be trained to fight a war and Uncle Lim and those in the British Navy had to practice at noon under the scorching sun and the strict surgeons. He found out that there was not much career progression for him, and so he decided to resign.
After he resigned, he went on to sell electrical appliances and earn money for his family. He was not married at that time, so after work, he had to go to a river and collect water for animals his family was keeping. The river was very far away from his house. It was a tough journey to the river. Uncle Lim looked sad at that point of time during the interview. He paused for a while, and took a sigh before continuing. I can roughly imagine the tiring journey to the river. I soon found out that the river was somewhere at Butik Timah, and it took many hours to get there and back. On his way to the river, he had to pass by Sungei bridge. There was a river below he bridge, but no, Uncle Lim said, he could not possibly collect water from that river, as the river was terribly polluted with rubbish and unidentified objects. The stench was so unbearable that he had to cover his nose and mouth with a cloth and run across the bridge to get away as quickly as possible.
Uncle Lim was laughing happily as he told us about the terrible stench of the river. He said that he was glad that Singapore today is clean and no longer smelly. Then he carried on to tell us about the toilets at that time, in his Malay Kampong. Actually it was not the proper toilets we have today in Singapore. And it is a public toilet, shared by everyone in the Malay Kampong, so that it is terribly smelly and dirty. The ‘toilet’ is actually a bucket, to start with. A truck would come once a day to empty the bucket’s content. The truck had lots of doors, each to put a bucket. The people in the Kampong had to put the bucket into the bucket and take a clean one out from the truck. The bucket, which was full of human waste, will be then emptied into a temple. The bucket will then be washed, and reused again.
From what I had heard from the uncle, I realised that life in the Kampong was not easy. People had to survive on their own in terrible environment. If they are too poor, they must steal bread to eat or beg for food.
Life in Singapore is much better now. Singapore is clean and green, with unpolluted fresh air. People are no longer poor, and can afford to have a roof above their heads. We must treasure the peace, harmony and cleanliness in Singapore today, and build an even better Singapore for our next generation.
Written By: Chia Hui Ci
(Mayflower Secondary School/ Secondary 1D)