MAKING SENSE OF HISTORY
I've always thought it was an ingeniously sound foresight, how all the MRT stations here in Singapore with underground tunnels are fitted to serve as shelters in the event that the city state should be attacked by aireal bombs. On the same premise, all government housing (I wouldn't know about the condominiums) are fitted with one room in the house that is structurally reinforced to withstand such bombardment should the occupants find these alternative shelters inaccessible at such a time.
I also find it quite impressive, not only that every able-bodied male constituent in this country is required to render military service before being let out of formal school, but that every so often, a coded signal would pop up on TV screens alerting these reservists to some formation of sorts, pretty much like trainees in bootcamps where it is imperative for shoes and belt buckles to glare against the sun at all times and in every circumstance.
But now I know why.
By the way, at 11 a.m. that same morning, the Japanese Ambassador in Siam had delivered an ultimatum, demanding free passage through that country for Japanese troops, planes, etc. Neither the British Legation nor British Intelligence appeared to have heard of it. Now night fell.
Midnight! One o'clock! Then, signals came crowding in to Singapore from North Malaya. Japanese warships were shelling the coastal defences near Kota Bharu. Japanese planes were bombing the airfields in all the northern provinces. Japanese assault barges were landing troops.
Two o'clock! Three! Four! Then, in Singapore the air raid sirens howled. H.Q.A.R.P. was not even manned, though on 1st December another - and still more urgent - warning signal 'ALBERT' (watch for hostile aircraft) had gone out. Every street light was still glowing - and remained so. Half-an-hour later police, A.R.P. and Power Station officials were still scouring the town for the one man who had the key of the central switch for the blackout. (It should be recorded that only two practice blackouts had ever been held in Singapore during the previous September).
Can this haywire state of affairs possibly be explained? Yes, The Civil Defense of Singapore was under the Civil Administration and no effective link-up had ever been made between them and the Armed Services.
4:30 a.m.! In droned the Japanese bombers. One wave, in a formation of nine flew over without bombing - to draw the searchlights and ack-ack guns off the following ones. They flew, the first lot, at 12,000 feet; the second at 4,000 feet. Mainly, their targets were the harbour and the airfields beyond the town, though a number of bombs crashed into the streets. It was the first knowledge that the population had that war had broken out in the Far East.
- lifted from The Fall of Singapore by Frank Owen
One thing about history is that it's layed out before all men such that we learn from it. But lessons taught are not necessarily lessons always learned.
Singapore, however, was blessed with one man who knows how to learn the lessons afforded in history. In the early days, he might have ruled with an iron hand that created a people conditioned to act largely through specifications laid out before them, but undeniably, the state of affairs in this country is much, much better than the English could have ever designed.
More and more I have come to admire this former prime minister. On a documentary shown 2 years ago on the event of his birthday, I learned that at his age, he is still receiving tutorship in Mandarin. What dedication to his culture, and what humility. He was educated in England, which makes English the language he is more comfortable with, but neither age nor status made him too indomitable to do what he must to become a true citizen of his country, in every possible way.
Never again would they have to comb the streets in search for that one man who holds the one key vital to the nation's security. Indeed, Mr. Lee has ensured that his people would find no other place more favorable to live in than in their own country.
I've always thought it was an ingeniously sound foresight, how all the MRT stations here in Singapore with underground tunnels are fitted to serve as shelters in the event that the city state should be attacked by aireal bombs. On the same premise, all government housing (I wouldn't know about the condominiums) are fitted with one room in the house that is structurally reinforced to withstand such bombardment should the occupants find these alternative shelters inaccessible at such a time.
I also find it quite impressive, not only that every able-bodied male constituent in this country is required to render military service before being let out of formal school, but that every so often, a coded signal would pop up on TV screens alerting these reservists to some formation of sorts, pretty much like trainees in bootcamps where it is imperative for shoes and belt buckles to glare against the sun at all times and in every circumstance.
But now I know why.
By the way, at 11 a.m. that same morning, the Japanese Ambassador in Siam had delivered an ultimatum, demanding free passage through that country for Japanese troops, planes, etc. Neither the British Legation nor British Intelligence appeared to have heard of it. Now night fell.
Midnight! One o'clock! Then, signals came crowding in to Singapore from North Malaya. Japanese warships were shelling the coastal defences near Kota Bharu. Japanese planes were bombing the airfields in all the northern provinces. Japanese assault barges were landing troops.
Two o'clock! Three! Four! Then, in Singapore the air raid sirens howled. H.Q.A.R.P. was not even manned, though on 1st December another - and still more urgent - warning signal 'ALBERT' (watch for hostile aircraft) had gone out. Every street light was still glowing - and remained so. Half-an-hour later police, A.R.P. and Power Station officials were still scouring the town for the one man who had the key of the central switch for the blackout. (It should be recorded that only two practice blackouts had ever been held in Singapore during the previous September).
Can this haywire state of affairs possibly be explained? Yes, The Civil Defense of Singapore was under the Civil Administration and no effective link-up had ever been made between them and the Armed Services.
4:30 a.m.! In droned the Japanese bombers. One wave, in a formation of nine flew over without bombing - to draw the searchlights and ack-ack guns off the following ones. They flew, the first lot, at 12,000 feet; the second at 4,000 feet. Mainly, their targets were the harbour and the airfields beyond the town, though a number of bombs crashed into the streets. It was the first knowledge that the population had that war had broken out in the Far East.
- lifted from The Fall of Singapore by Frank Owen
One thing about history is that it's layed out before all men such that we learn from it. But lessons taught are not necessarily lessons always learned.
Singapore, however, was blessed with one man who knows how to learn the lessons afforded in history. In the early days, he might have ruled with an iron hand that created a people conditioned to act largely through specifications laid out before them, but undeniably, the state of affairs in this country is much, much better than the English could have ever designed.
More and more I have come to admire this former prime minister. On a documentary shown 2 years ago on the event of his birthday, I learned that at his age, he is still receiving tutorship in Mandarin. What dedication to his culture, and what humility. He was educated in England, which makes English the language he is more comfortable with, but neither age nor status made him too indomitable to do what he must to become a true citizen of his country, in every possible way.
Never again would they have to comb the streets in search for that one man who holds the one key vital to the nation's security. Indeed, Mr. Lee has ensured that his people would find no other place more favorable to live in than in their own country.
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