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Chinese coolies formed the early backbone of Singapore's labour force, engaged mainly in hard physical labour. They were mainly impoverished Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore in the later half of the 19th century, seeking their fortune but serving instead as indentured, unskilled labourers. Coolies were employed in almost every sector of work including construction work, plantation work, in ports and mines and as rickshaw pullers. The word “coolie” is believed to have come from the Hindi term kuli, which is also the name of a native tribe of Gujerat in western India. It is believed that the Kulis were among the first coolies as they were easy to recruit because they lived on the northern Indian coast. The word kuli  also means "hire" in Tamil.

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P: Changes of teenage life before and during the Japanese Occupation.
E: Before the Japanese Occupation the policy of legalising gambling was changed repeatedly.Despite the laws,gambling dens continued to exist and flourish until the mid of 20th century,Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore in the later half of the 19th century, seeking their fortune but serving instead as indentured, unskilled labourers, food quality and availability decreased greatly. Sweet potatoes and yams became the staple food of most diets of Singaporeans because they were considerably cheaper than rice and could also be grown in gardens, according to Sonhadji, Madrasah As-Sibyan was a pondok before it was known as a madrasah.[5] Similarly, Chee mentioned that the madrasah’s history could be “traced back to 1901 to an Indonesian religious teacher who taught in his home at Bussorah Street”.[6]. During the Japanese Occupation gambling was not allowed. And people were not even allowed to meet each other thus, people were even afraid of talking to each other. During the occupation, the civilians were asked by the Japanese to volunteer to patrol from Clemenceau Avenue to Cairnhill Road at night. Each patrol consists of four volunteers, who will patrol the district from 9pm – 5am. Neither the meat nor the vegetables were ever fresh. But she said that it was not too bad if one bought the food from the stalls before the sun started to rot the perishables.

E:During the Japanese Occupation the Japanese treated Singaporeans very badly as they looked down on us and we were also tortured badly and they even shut down some schools thus, teenage students were not able to get their education and do not have the proper environment to study in.
L: Hence, this is why the lives of the teenagers had been changed because of the Japanese Occupation.

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In the 19th century, the early Chinese immigrants in Malaya and Singapore, many working as coolies, were plagued by the addiction of gambling and opium. Much of their hard-earned money was spent on these vices, resulting in a number of them unable to return to China and die penniless in Nanyang. Under his charge, Sir Stamford Raffles (1781-1826) outlawed cock-fighting, popular among the Malays, and the Chinese gambling dens.When Raffles left Singapore for Bencoolen in 1820, he left the colony under the care of Scottish William Farquhar (1774-1839). Farquhar viewed gambling as a source of income for the colonial government, and subsequently issued licenses to the big Chinese operators of gambling dens.Throughout the 19th century, the policy of legalising gambling was changed repeatedly. Despite the laws, gambling dens continued to exist and flourish until the mid of the 20th century. The China Street in the present-day Central Business District (CBD) was once known as giao keng kau 赌间口, due to the numerous gambling dens operating there in the old days. The notorious street was also dominated by powerful secret societies and moneylenders.Singapore Turf Club and Horse RacingScottish businessman Henry Macleod Read (1819–1907) founded the Singapore Sporting Club in 1842 and had Singapore’s first ever horse racing held at Farrer Park a year later, with the top prize money offered at $150.

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Food quality and availability decreased greatly. Sweet potatoes and yams became the staple food of most diets of Singaporeans because they were considerably cheaper than rice and could also be grown in gardens. They were then turned into a variety of dishes, as both dessert and all were used in all three meals of the day. The nutrients helped to fend starvation off; new ways of consuming tapioca with other produce were regularly invented to stave off the monotony. Both the British and Japanese authorities encouraged the population to grow their own food if they had even the smallest amount of land. The encouragement and produce were similar to what occurred with victory gardens in the Western nations during World War II. Ipomoea aquatica, which grew relatively easy and flourished relatively well near the water, became a popular crop, as did other vegetables.

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During the occupation, the civilians were asked by the Japanese to volunteer to patrol from Clemenceau Avenue to Cairnhill Road at night. Each patrol consists of four volunteers, who will patrol the district from 9pm – 5am. Volunteers were given a long stick as a weapon and we would receive a few sticks of cigarettes as a token after the patrols. I heard that Javanese volunteered to work with the Japanese and were brought to Singapore. But the Javanese were left on their own and became beggars on the streets. After a while, many of them died of hunger or lack of medical attention. Those who died on the streets were left there for a few days before someone would remove their bodies. Whenever I see a dead Javanese on the streets, I would pity them as they were left on the streets to die by the Japanese. I also heard that the Japanese were recruiting some locals to build a railway in Thailand. Those who were finding jobs but were unsuccessful jumped at the job opportunity which the Japanese had offered. After the war, some of the people who volunteered came back. Upon looking at their conditions, I heard some people said in relief, “Luckily, I did not go”. Two years into the occupation, the Japanese sealed the showcases of tailor shops by means of two stretches of paper with Japanese words on it. This prevented my father from doing business as he could not open his tailor shop. Faced with this dilemma, my dad decided to sell local factory-made rubber shoes for a living. The nearby tailor also changed his business to selling biscuits for a living which was better than us as the Japanese liked to eat biscuits while only the locals bought from us. Nearing the end of the war, the Japanese came to collect the cloths from all the tailor shops and stored them in their warehouse. The Japanese would then sell the collected cloths back to the tailors on certain days. They were placed in bags and tailors who were buying were not allowed to choose which bag of cloths they wanted. Approaching end of the war, the allied forces flew bomber planes over Singapore and bombed the Japanese military. The Japanese managed to shoot one of the bombers down and the Japanese exhibited the bomber which was shot down at Jalan Besar Stadium. During the occupation, Singapore was named ‘Syonan-to’ by the Japanese. Majority of the citizens suffered from malnutrition. Due to the lack of vitamin B, I was one of the many that suffered from Beriberi. I had a swollen left foot and to cure this, I had to drink a bowl of boiled soya beans and garlic soup. As it was only soya beans and garlic with no other spices, the taste was terrible and I dreaded every time I had to drink it. It was a long three weeks of taking this medicine and I was overjoyed when I finally recovered from Beriberi. (Collected from Seng Kang Public Library)

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Both Sonhadji and Chee identified Madrasah As-Sibyan as a pondok school. The pondok system was one of the earliest educational methods adopted to teach Islam in Malaya. The word pondok is derived from the Arabic word funduq, meaning “inn” or “hotel”.  A pondok school is, therefore, described as “a boarding institution in which students stayed in simple huts built around the teacher’s house”.[4] According to Sonhadji, Madrasah As-Sibyan was a pondok before it was known as a madrasah.[5] Similarly, Chee mentioned that the madrasah’s history could be “traced back to 1901 to an Indonesian religious teacher who taught in his home at Bussorah Street”.[6]

Students of a pondok learnt about Islam through subjects such as Tauhid (theology on the Oneness of God), Tafsir(Quranic exegesis) and Fiqh (jurisprudence). They normally lived in the pondok – usually for a number of years – until they completed all the subjects taught and mastered all prescribed texts.[7]

The Quranic school was another early form of informal Muslim educational institution in Malaya. Lessons on Islam were conducted privately by religious teachers in their homes, mosques or surau (prayer halls).Students of Quranic schools were taught how to perform basic Islamic rituals such as the five daily prayers, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca.They were also taught Arabic so that they would be familiar with the Arabic pronunciation for recitation of Quran verses during prayers.[8]

Source Description: The New Straits Times, Retrieved from Factiva Roff

Source Origin: History.Sg

Website: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/d964ba0b-c00f-45da-807f-cd5ad0c0f3aa#4

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Madam Wong had to risk losing her head to buy food from the black market. That was the penalty imposed by the Japanese for anyone caught doing this.
The starchy diet of tapioca made her weak. So, she had no choice but to creep out in the early hours of the morning to buy vegetables from roadside stalls, which were grown by the sellers themselves in their gardens and other small plots.
Sometimes, she would manage to buy some wild boar meat at such stalls for $4 a kati.
Neither the meat nor the vegetables were ever fresh. But she said that it was not too bad if one bought the food from the stalls before the sun started to rot the perishables.
Fresh fish was also never available - only salted and dried ikan bilis.

http://ourstory.asia1.com.sg/war/headline/torture2.html

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'We did not have a radio and there was never any entertainment," Madam Wong recalled. Gambling was not allowed.Congregating together was illegal and this made any form of gathering impossible. People were afraid to even talk to one another.

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When the Japanese Occupation started in February 1942, she had to stop school.  After that, for the three years of the Japanese Occupation, she attended a Japanese school, had to learn Japanese, but could not remember after that what she had learnt.  She attributes it to not wanting to remember anything associated with the Japanese.  So in 1945, at the end of the war, my mother was over-aged.  In 1946, she could not be enrolled in an English school, as they did not take in the over-aged girls.  Her father had died towards the end of the Japanese Occupation, and my grandmother, being illiterate, could not help much to get her two daughters an education. So my mother started school in Primary 1 all over again, in Chong Hock Girls’ School, a Chinese school, at 10 years old.

Source Description:An interview by Lim Bee Kim.

Source Origin:Singapore Memory

Website: http://www.singaporememory.sg/contents/SMA-af76bd67-cf11-4d0b-ad84-13042278874c

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History Investigation,           Group Members:

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History Investigation,           Group Members:

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Kasper Chan [28] (Food)
Daniel Low [19] (School Life)
Zacchaeus Chan [16](Leisure/Recreational Time)
Elton Lee [22] (Jobs)
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