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Who was sharing the account?

Several people: Vineeta Sinha, Valerie Zehnder, Lee Kip Lee, Dhoraisingam S.Samuel

How did the Japanese control the people?

They controlled and rationed the food the people had

What was the experience of the people?

They had to grow their own food to survive. Foods like roots and tapioca were common as they grew fast. Lee Kip Lee’s mother, who did not know how to cook, was forced to learn for her family to survive.

Why did the Japanese exert this control?

They realised that food was very important to the people in this time, so if they controlled the food, they controlled they people. If the Japanese determined if they got food or not, the people would be more obedient.

Your own thoughts about the oral account

It was interesting to learn how the people cooked back then, considering their limited supplies. The way the people adapted to limited food was very smart, by learning to grow their own easy and fast to grow foods, they managed to survive on the meagre amount they were given.

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who was sharing the account?
- lee kuan yew
- dr. lee suan yew

how did the japanese control the people?
- the japanese executed young chinese man in sook ching

what was the experience of the people?
- people lived in fear of death and starvation
- a lot of sick people
- food scarce, had to rear animals and plant crops

why did the japanese exert this control?
- they wanted to cut down on the number of people to get control of singapore
- they wanted to instil fear so people would listen

your own thoughts about the oral account
- i think that after this terror, we have learnt to better protect ourselves and is a turning point in our history
- i sympathise with what they had gone through, it was very difficult to survive with halo of death so close and a tyrannical rule

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Who was sharing the account?
-Valerie Zehnder
-Lee Kip Lee
-Dhoraisingam S. Samuel

How did the Japanese control the people?
-The Japanese controlled the prices of necessities and rationed food.Two years into the occupation,rice rations were halved.

What was the experience of the people?
-Every household were given a ration card.The people had to get up early to collect rice rations and sometimes some people did not even manage to receive rice.Many people were starving everyday and they had to find substitutes for rice,like tapioca,potatoes and other root plants.

Why did the Japanese exert this control?
-The Japanese knew that if they controlled the food of the people they conquered,they would be able to control the people themselves.

Your own thoughts about the oral account
-I pity the people for having to go through starvation because of the rations and I think they were quite smart and creative to think of growing tapioca and other root plants to replace rice as it did not take a long time to cultivate.

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Who was sharing the account?

Major Goh Say Fong

How did the Japanese control the people?

The Japanese set up “screening centres” all over Singapore to gather and screen Chinese males aging 18 to 50.

What was the experience of the people?

Anyone perceived as anti-japanese, suspected comminists, China’s supporters were singled out and forced to be volunteers

Why did the Japanese exert this control?

The Japanese did not specify the reason of the chinese’s disappearance and killed those who did not pass the screening

Your own thoughts about the oral account

I think this is one of the scariest operations held in Singapore. It has instilled fear into the Chinese population which turned into anger once the war had passed, for a strong country to raid a developing country and wipe out most of its population, the Chinese had every right to be angry.

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Who was sharing the account?
Dhoraisingam S. Samuel
How did the Japanese control the people?
they controlled the people by limiting the amount of food each person could have.
What was the experience of the people?
the rations of food were very little, and many had to grow their own food and eat tapioca every day to survive. many people also developed diseases due to the lack of nutrients.
Why did the Japanese exert this control?
in turn , they could control the people as they had to be compliant to the japanese to get food.
Your own thoughts about the oral account
i think it was very interesting to learn about the wartime food of the people  as it is very different from what we experience nowadays. yet i th8nk it was very cruel of the japanese to let so many suffer.

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who was sharing the account?
- mr lee kuan yew and dr lee suan yew
How did the Japanese control the people?
-through the Sook Ching Massacre, which executed at least 50000 young men.
What was the experience of the people?
- many people felt very traumatised and scared
Why did the Japanese exert this control?
-to gain control over the people

my thoughts on the account: many people were innocently harmed by the Japanese

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Who was sharing the account?
— Valerie, Lee and Christopher.
How did the Japanese control the people?
—They would control their food supplies and ration it out to people.
What was the experience of the people?
—The people had to wake up early and wait in long queues to obtain food, and if they were unlucky there would be no food left for them.
Why did the Japanese exert this control?
—Food is essential for the continuation of life, so controlling food would be making sure that the people would be more obedient  as they could use the threat of not giving them food to invoke fear and prevent rebellions.
Your own thoughts about the oral account?
—I symphasise with them as starving is not a nice feeling and families tended to have more children back then, so even just feeding them would be a stressful chore. I feel that the Japanese were very controlling and left a lot of food for themselves, which is cruel of them.

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The interviewed was Valerie Zehnder, Lee Kip Lee, Christopher Lee and Dhoraisingam S. Samuel. The Japanese controlled the people by controlling the food supplies. They would occasionally announce they would give out some resources, but they did not account for the whole population and made it limited, causing some families to miss out on it. People, having less rice turned to alternatives like tapioca, ragi, sweet potatoes; roots. The rationed rice were in poor condition, filled with other condiments. The Japanese wanted the people to think there was a shortage of rice. Perhaps this was to manipulate the people into thinking that the Japanese were suffering as well, and being unaware of the great stash of rice the Japanese had, would not speak out about the rice shortage. There were always some people who would help and be friendly, like giving Marie biscuits to people.

Personally I was shocked by the extreme conditions. I have read about the lack of food in Singapore, but this was worse than i pictured. I think it was cruel of the Japanese to do this, but they had to in order to control the locals. It was clear they had no regard for the health of the locals as they broke out in Beriberi and Scurvy while the Japanese simply enjoyed food privileges. On the other hand, it was heart-warming to hear about how the people still had hope because of every mealtime, and the helpful people who gave out food, even biscuits.

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Who was sharing the account?

Many people. Like Valerie zehnder, Lee Kip Lee and Dhoraisingam S. Samuel.

How did the Japanese control the people?

The Japanese people controlled people by rationing their food and making the society pay for their food

What was the experience of the people?

The people had to grow and cook their own food. For example, the grew tapioca root to eat. But this caused some people to get diseases. Like one of the lady in the video was saying that even food given by random strangers were very precious and that she still could remember that to this day.

Why did the Japanese exert this control?

Because they realised that without food, the society would be more obedient to them. And would not be very rebellious to the government. This makes the Japanese domination easier to do.

Your own thoughts about the oral account

I think that this oral account of the wartime cooking is very interesting because the type of people eat to survive and adapt is very smart and yet tastes and looks very delicious

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Who was sharing the account?
Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Dr Lee Suan Yew
How did the Japanese control the people?
Using the Sook Ching Massacre
What was the experience of the people?
It was traumatising and scary
Why did the Japanese exert this control?
They exerted this control in order to scare the Singaporean’s into obeying the Japanese, so that they could control the people and the country.
Your own thoughts about the oral account: I think that Mr Koh Teong Koo was a kind man. I am touched by his actions and the relationship between his and Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s family.

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Who was sharing the account? (Lee Kuan Yew, Dr. Lee Suan Yew and Koh Teong Koo(somewhat))

How did the Japanese control the people?

(Through fear of being executed for simply being Chinese and/or anti-Japanese.)

What was the experience of the people? ( It was traumatising for the people, especially the Chinese as they had to live in fear for their lives and paranoia for a long time.)

Why did the Japanese exert this control? ( To ensure the remaining citizens were loyal to Japan and wouldn't spur a rebellion.)

Your own thoughts about the oral account? ( I thought that it was certainly a stroke of fate that Koh Teong Koo allowed Lee Kuan Yew to stay at his place and Lee Kuan Yew decided to take him up on the offer, which lead to him surviving the Sook Ching massacre but on the other hand, the account shows how being kind always works out for you in the end.)

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Dr. Lee Suan Yew, Lee Kuan Yew and Koh Teong Koo were sharing their accounts of living during the Japanese occupation. The Japanese conducted the Sook Ching Massacre which was the execution of young chinese men. They claimed the lives of about 50,000 of the chinese in Singapore. It was a very scary experience for the people and Lee Kuan Yew was almost executed because of the Sook Ching Massacre. If not for Koh Teong Koo who was Lee Kuan Yew’s family’s rickshaw puller at the time, who managed to hide him in his house from the Japanese and prevented him from being taken away, Lee Kuan Yew would probably be executed and Singapore’s history and development would be very different. The Japanese thought that those who wrote their names in English were pro British or those who looked like they were anti Japanese were also executed. I pitied those who were executed because of the Sook Ching Massacre as they were all randomly selected to be executed and didn’t get to live the rest of their life.

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Who was sharing the account?
Lee Kuan Yew and Dr Lee Suan Yew

How did the Japanese control the people?
They controlled the people by sending Chinese males into lorries to be executed in the Sook Ching

What was the experience of the people?
People then, especially the Chinese, lived in fear everyday and their lives are extremely tough.

Why did the Japanese exert this control?
The lied to the people, saying there were gantry points to be served for young man, but instead of doing so, they took them to the Sook Ching where nobody could find them and shot them all over there.

Your own thoughts about the oral account
I feel relieved and also shocked to see that without the help of the rickshaw puller, Lee Kuan Yew may not even be alive and Singapore would not be what it is of today. I was so glad the rickshaw puller had saved his life.

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Who was sharing the account?

Major Goh Say Fong (Singapore Armed Forces)

How did the Japanese control the people?

The Japanese ‘disappeared’ the people who were called out into trucks, not letting their family members know where they were being sent to. However, only years after did they realise that they were caught to be massacred at Sook Ching and any other areas in Singapore.

What was the experience of the people?

People, mostly men, were being taken away without a choice to be killed. The family members of those who were taken away were kept in the dark about everything the Japanese were doing. All the people had left to do was to hold on to false hope that things were not the worse. There was much confusion and fear at that time.

Why did the Japanese exert this control?

The Japanese kept the reason for the disappearances confidential and did not let anyone know that the men were being sent to be massacred. They did not want to people of Singapore to stage a big protest of rebellion and arouse the people to hate them.

The British had already surrendered by then, so they were preventing rebellion among Singaporeans by creating fear in their hearts.

Your own thoughts about the oral account:

I think that it was very cruel for the Japanese to kill so many people randomly and keep their deaths a secretary from their family members.

However, this strategy of the Japanese was effective in keeping the people in check.

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Who was sharing the account?
- Mary Paul (80 y.o.) Former Stage Actress for Musicals
How did the Japanese control the people?
- Jailed and killed those who helped the prisoners of war
What was the experience of the people?
- Mary’s father had to escape to Johor so that he is out executed by the Japanese
Why did the Japanese exert this control?
- They wanted to take full control of Singapore
Your own thoughts about the oral account
- Not all of the Japanese involved in the occupation were evil, some of them were forced by their superiors to do such heinous things

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Who was sharing the account? Mary Paul
How did the Japanese control the people? They captured people that did not support them.
What was the experience of the people? Traumatising
Why did the Japanese exert this control?  They wanted every to obey them
Your own thoughts about the oral account
I felt pitiful to those affected by the Japanese control. I was also disgusted by how cruel the Japanese executed their punishment for those that did not obey them.

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Who was sharing the account? People who’ve experienced the Japanese occupation
How did the Japanese control the people? By limiting and rationing the food.
What was the experience of the people? They often had pain as there was no food to eat or very less food to eat. They had to be creative in terms of substituting rice with other foods such as tapioca, sweet potato and other root crops.
Why did the Japanese exert this control? To prevent citizens from misbehaving
I think the people were also on some sort of competitive friend relationship as even though some people stole others food, they also ate together as an event

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Who was sharing the account? (Yap Ser Jin)
How did the Japanese control the people? (They made their punishment execution.)
What was the experience of the people? ( It was traumatising for the people.)
Why did the Japanese exert this control? (To inflict fear om the people to do as their told.)
Your own thoughts about the oral account? We thought that Yap Ser Jin was very brave. We should also be more grateful that we didn’t have to experience the horrors of war.)