Reflections

Gideon's Reflection: 

The learning journey has terrified me because of the punishment that is given by the Japanese. This has evoked the emotion of wanting freedom more than ever and would go through any ways to get my freedom.  We should not get arrogant ‘Singapore is a very safe country no one would attack it’. We should instead be prepared at all times. Everything takes preparation but safety should be prepared once you know the importance.

I learnt that we should stay calm at all times. If not participating in a war, we should search for shelter. If we were to fight, we should defend shelters from far so that no one would enter. Though participating in war is important, I find that those people should patrol for other citizens and to get them to safety.

Yik Leong' Reflection:

Before I went on the learning Journey.I thought as long as a country had a strong military defense,it would be secure and peaceful.From the learning journey,I learnt that a capable government is needed to rule the country well so that the citizens will live in peace.During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore,the Japanese did not care about the well being of the people in Singapore.Instead,they were selfish and did things that mainly benefited themselves,even if it was at the expanse of others.They killed,totured and carried out violence on people.Singapore is what it is today because of the hard work put in by the Singapore government.

I have learnt that in times of crisis,we must be strong and persevering. We must also care for our fellow comrades.The only way to survive a crisis is to work together and overcome all odds.One such example is the drawing Two Malarias with a Cholera.The two people infected with Malaria are helping the person infected with Cholera,supporting him as he is too weak to walk by himself.This shows their spirit of perseverance and determination to survive even though they are sick and weak,even though they are totured badly and mistreated by the Japanese.From now on,I will be strong and never give up. I will try my best in everything.

Shan Wei's Reflection:

From the Learning Journey, I now know that loyal soldiers and even every people of the country play a part in securing the country and allowing the country to be a safe haven from other threats. We also need trust in each other and not betray each other and give information to the invading country when held as a POW during war. This learning journey also taught me that if we have a positive spirit, we can cheer one another up in the concentration camps and hold activites. One value i have learnt during the Learning Journey about responding in times of crisis is to be positive at all times. This is shown by the POW who held activites among each other to cheer up in the concentration camp and lift the mood up instead of being moody in the camps.

Markus' Reflection:

From this learning journey, I have learnt to keep calm in a dire situation as by keeping calm, there would be a fair choice on what to do instead of making a choice when you are not thinking properly. Such examples are from how Elizabeth choy had treated the war calmly and instead of running away, went to provide food to the Pow and got caught herself. But however even though she was caught, she still went on and helped other prisoners, giving them hope and a desire to live.

The history reflection combine is' From the learning journey, I have learnt that having good soliders are not enough to have a strong country. I learnt that many factors are needed to build a safe,strong and peaceful country such as having the loyalty of the citizens. With that in mind, the ruler will be able to keep peace within his country and prevent rebellion. Also, maintaining a good relationship with other country is also a key factor on secure country as this would mean that there would be alliance and also there would be a less likelihood of having a war with those country. Through this learning journey, I have learnt countless of things and it also changed my mindset on how to rule a country. From this learning journey, I have learnt to keep calm in a dire situation as by keeping calm, there would be a fair choice on what to do instead of making a choice when you are not thinking properly. Such examples are from how Elizabeth choy had treated the war calmly and instead of running away, went to provide food to the Pow and got caught herself. But however even though she was caught, she still went on and helped other prisoners, giving them hope and a desire to live.

Jiong Rui's Reflection

To have a secure and peaceful country, the soldier must be willing to fight to the last man. Adnan Saidi's forces is a good example of this. He is a strong and good commander during the battle for Singapore. He fought at Pasir Pajang until the he himself was killed by the Japanese. The defence of a nation or country is crucial to ensure that it is strong to face and overcome any coming threats. With a weak defence, the country will definitely fall within a few days, just like Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942. However, when the army can hold their positions well, the enemy could be halted in their tracks.The citizens of Singapore, including myself, should not shrug off any thoughts like "No one will attack us." We must be prepared at all times. Total defence should be implemented during an attack.

We must care and concern each other during times of crisis. Elizabeth Choy and Lim Bo Seng both care for the people around them in their cell more than themselves. They persisted in times of great sufferance by their captors, from severe blows to electric shocks.They overcome their obstacles, one at a times. Elizabeth Choy was able to survive prison captivity as she has the will to survive. These war heroes gave hope to the prisoner around them. I learnt to never give up in the face of difficult situations. I also learnt to care for others around me. 

Lim Bo Seng War Diary

July 8 1937

The cruel Japanese just declared war on my homeland just yesterday. I could not believe that the Japanese would want to declare war on my homeland. They had already annexed the Korean Empire and they still wanted more land from us? My friends and I today were participating in anti-Japanese activities, such as the boycotting of goods-to hurt the Japanese economy-so they were unable to fund the war. To help our people, we also did fund raising to support war effort against the Japanese. I hope that we could drive the Japanese back and crush the Japanese advance and effort.   

November 29 1937

Many Japanese-owned industries that are in Singapore and Malaya are suffering from many strikes from Chinese workers. I realised that there is a tin mine in Dungun in Malaya owned by the Japanese. They could be making weapons using the tin as they shipped the tin to Japan. If the miners and workers there went on a strike, the Japanese could suffer from a lack of tin, that could delay weapon production. I decided to plan this operation out. 

16 February 1938

With the assistance of Hui Quan and local police, the workers went on to strike and left the mine to follow us to Singapore. The plan was well-carried out. I am quite pleased by the effects of the strike. There is still a couple of workers that are still striking. We'll have to wait for them to follow us back to Singapore. 

11 February 1942

I'm sorry that I haven't written a war diary entry for 4 years. I was too busy organizing the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force and fighting the Japanese. In the chaos, I lost my diary. I just found it before I boarded the submarine for India, tucked away in the corner. However, I made a difficult decision a few hours ago. I had to leave my beloved family to save myself. I have had to leave my family in certain danger but I had no choice. I am very sad. I do not want my family to die.... I have much to write about the war so far in Malaya and Singapore. Despite the British forces coming from Australia and the many erected military installments such as gun batteries and bunkers, the Japanese still managed to push us back all the way from Kota Bahru in Malaya to Pasir Pajang in Singapore. Our forces are literally being cut into corpses. The  Can the British manage to contain the Japanese advance into Singapore City? I doubt it. With many of our airfields captured and military supplies seized by the shrewd Japanese, Singapore City will fall very quickly. The reservoirs are also captured and pipelines are bombed by the Japanese. I hope that the British will be able to resupply the troops by sea from the colonies of New Zealand and Australia. Perhaps the British could push the Japanese back and defend until more troops and supplies arrived. I would like to see the Japanese lose a major battle. The war in China is going good, my fellow people resisting. With resistance everywhere, the Japanese can't advance anywhere. So far, the war for my people is going good. The British could do with more enforcement in Singapore to defend it from the invading Japanese and I hope that my family will still be alive. Now, I am in a submarine en route for Sumatra and then, to India with other Chinese community leaders.

12 June 1942

The Japanese almost have complete control of the Pacific Theatre. The Japanese have almost full control of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands with the exception of Port Moresby. The Japanese has gotten so far as to bomb Darwin in Australia. But their advance has halted during the battle of the Coral Sea. I hope that the Americans and British forces can push the Japanese eventually back to their homeland.  I'm in India now. I was recently busy recruiting and training hundreds of secret agents through intensive military intelligence in China and India. I have formed the Sino-British guerrilla task force 'Force 136'. 

24 May 1943

The force's first operation is under way. It is aimed to establish espionage network in Malaya and Singapore. The first of the force's agents entered the fray in Perak. I hope that the operation will be a success. I shall wait to find out.....

2 November 1943

I have finally arrived on Malaya on the 2nd of November, 1943. I am under the alias "Tan Choon Lim". It seems that I would have to travel as my alias to prevent identification by the Japanese. Hopefully, the very first of my fellow agents code named "Gustavus I" would be able to rendezvous with the Dutch O 24 and will be able to transfer supplies and personnel. 

2 April 1944

The operation failed. I am now in prison. I could not believe that my training cannot prepare my agent for this operation properly. I have been captured at the Gopeng roadblock by the Japanese military police. Just now, I was beaten countless times and subjected to much pain from the Kempeitai at the interrogation centre. My captor asked me question regarding Force 136. I must remain loyal to the force. I must not leak out information just to spare my life. I rather die than reveal much about the Force 136 and its operation. I protested against the Japanese for ill-treating the prisoners at the prison I am in. Punishments by the Japanese were harsh and they didn't deserve it. I definitely deserve it more than them. 

29 May 1944

I have now ill with dysentery. It is impossible for me to recover from this. The dirty and wet living conditions of the cell are taking its toll from me. Death was a certainty. I have now bedridden; too weak to move anymore. This is the end of me, but definitely my sacrifice will never be in vain for Force 136 and China.