a) What was your impression of Singapore history and cultural heritage before going on the trail?
b) How has your experience of the trail changed your perception of Singapore history and her cultural heritage
c) Share some insights (if any) about Singapore's past and the way it is represented (symbolically and physically) that you have gained from the trail.
The first impression I have of the current WWII sites around Singapore is that they are, whilst being commemorated by steel and concrete, largely forgotten by the general populace today. Save for the lessons in history or social studies, these aspects of history are largely left untouched and unexamined, with no interest in the pursuing of deeper content to understand the exact events of the invasion of Singapore. Some markers were largely unnoticed and unread even though there were swathes of Singaporeans and tourists present at these locations, as if they were intentionally ignored. Prior to going on the trail, I thought Singapore had been doing a good work in trying to remember war events and commemorate the heroes of the war, either by promoting the venue which a war battle took place, or by placing markers with information we need. My impression was that everything that was to be remembered had been included, and that there was nothing left out of Singapore's WWII history.
b) How has your experience of the trail changed your perception of Singapore history and her cultural heritage
c) Share some insights (if any) about Singapore's past and the way it is represented (symbolically and physically) that you have gained from the trail.
The first impression I have of the current WWII sites around Singapore is that they are, whilst being commemorated by steel and concrete, largely forgotten by the general populace today. Save for the lessons in history or social studies, these aspects of history are largely left untouched and unexamined, with no interest in the pursuing of deeper content to understand the exact events of the invasion of Singapore. Some markers were largely unnoticed and unread even though there were swathes of Singaporeans and tourists present at these locations, as if they were intentionally ignored. Prior to going on the trail, I thought Singapore had been doing a good work in trying to remember war events and commemorate the heroes of the war, either by promoting the venue which a war battle took place, or by placing markers with information we need. My impression was that everything that was to be remembered had been included, and that there was nothing left out of Singapore's WWII history.
With regards to what I’ve learnt about Singapore’s invasion, I did not know that the defence of Singapore was a largely collaborated effort, having always presumed that the British were the defenders of Singapore, with the Malay Regiment only participating in the Battle of Bukit Chandu and Pasir Panjang. I did not even know Australians made up a large amount of the defenders around the Jurong Line. This leads me to question the necessity of re-examining historical narratives because not everything is presented and the information we have is largely biased and skewed, and one might question why this interpretation is as so. Though there are attempts to give credit to these defenders in the monuments and plaques, we largely do not mention them in the school curriculum, instead choosing to emphasise our local heroes only. This leads to students thinking that only Singaporeans were part of the defence of Singapore and that the defenders were superbly valiant and brave, while in reality it was not as so, as our local defenders were at times amateurish and were largely submissive to British command.
In considering the efforts that all the defenders put in Singapore's defence, I feel that their efforts are too understated and a great deal of information is discarded in favour for a "summarised" version of history. Monuments and plaques simply do not do their memories justice, and contributes little to the education of our students. Yet we might consider that perhaps this is no longer a very important part of history as our embedded power structures ordain it to be, although I feel that this part of history will always be used to promote nation-building in defence. Other than that though, there are perhaps no other ways of interpreting our past save pragmatically, and that is why little is being done to remember WWII in Singapore anymore.
In considering the efforts that all the defenders put in Singapore's defence, I feel that their efforts are too understated and a great deal of information is discarded in favour for a "summarised" version of history. Monuments and plaques simply do not do their memories justice, and contributes little to the education of our students. Yet we might consider that perhaps this is no longer a very important part of history as our embedded power structures ordain it to be, although I feel that this part of history will always be used to promote nation-building in defence. Other than that though, there are perhaps no other ways of interpreting our past save pragmatically, and that is why little is being done to remember WWII in Singapore anymore.
What I’ve understood greater about my journey in discovering more about the fall of Singapore is that Singapore could have been defended for much longer period of time given our location, numerical superiority and the general inaccessibility of Singapore from Malaysia. The British were indeed poorly led and Singapore’s fall can largely be attributed to premature withdrawal and a lack of understanding of the Japanese’s weakness which could have and should have been exploited. Lest we enter the realms of speculation however, the facts are that Singapore had the capabilities and manpower to last more than a week of defence. Writing this on the 16th of February, a day after the anniversary of Singapore’s surrender, it is hard to imagine how Singapore held out for only a week before falling to the Japanese. This does little justice however, to the efforts our valiant defenders put up, and one feels a sense of pride that the Japanese commander had contemplated on several occasions to withdraw because of the fierce resistance he faced. So in this reflection and trail, I choose to remember and I have understood more the “rank and file” men who fought and died in Singapore’s defence.
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