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. 

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.

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.)

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 

Major Goh Say Fong

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

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

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

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. 

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

They controlled and rationed the food the people had

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.

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.

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.