MyStory

Ms S.Pushpavalli
Corporate Support Officer, Ministry of Education

Do you know that you share a very important birthday with our country? 3rd December is the date when Singapore’s National Anthem, the new flag and Coat of Arms (State Crest) were first unveiled to the newly-self-governing state. How do you feel about that?

Yes, from the newspaper. My brothers have always told me that when I was born in 1959, the government came into power in June. But I didn’t know 3rd December was significant. They only told me that, ‘You are a very special girl, there were a lot of celebrations in December then, and the government came into power in June.’ When I read the article, I realised how significant it was.

It’s been 50 years since Singapore achieved self-governance, and 44 years since Independence. I would like to find out more about your thoughts about Independence. Singapore has seen three governments during its history - British, Japanese and Malaysian. Have you ever wondered what it will be like if Singapore is not independent?

Yes. If not, we won’t have the opportunities to improve our lifestyle. We would be what we were in the 1950s, 1960s. We improved a lot from a fishing village to what we are today. The people really worked hard for it. Now we have a peaceful life, we have education, and opportunities for work. My mum has always insisted that education is important, and she made sure all of us study.

Do you think it’s important for Singapore to be independent? Why?

Yes. We have improved so much, we are somebody in this world. People recognise us and our hard work, although we are just a dot in the world.

We have six national symbols - the Flag, National Anthem, Pledge, State Crest, the Lion Head and the National Flower. Which of these symbols mean the most to you? In what way, and why?

The Pledge. It’s very meaningful. It sets out what we want to do for the country.

What were your growing-up years like?

I grew up in a two-storeyed shophouse along Enggor Street. There used to be about 40 people staying in my house. Most were my uncles, aunts and cousins. It was a rented house. My great-grandmother rented the house when she came from India, and sublet it to other people. At the same time, our relatives came to stay here because it was such a big house. I had so many cousins to play with!

My great-grandmother came from Maayavaram in Tamil Nadu. She came because she wanted to find better opportunities here. She only brought along one grandson, my father. His family was still in India. So both of them came alone. My father was about seven years old then. So he helped my great-grandmother with her business in cooking. And he helped her till he grew up and found a job in a factory making metal pots. Later, he became a supervisor. Coming to Singapore was like going to greener pastures, as they wanted life to be better. Life was difficult back in India. My great-grandmother came from Maayavaram in Tamil Nadu. Everyone had to follow her rules.

My mum came from Johor. She came with her family, and they stayed in this shophouse as tenants. So she was match-made to my father by my great-grandmother. My mum’s family came over to Singapore to seek a better life, and they settled down in Singapore. My mum mentioned that during the Japanese Occupation, the girls would all hide in the attic of the shophouse. It was very high up and you needed a ladder to go up. So they would hide till the Japanese left. My parents used to tell us a lot about people being tortured during the Japanese Occupation.

The shophouse we stayed in, there were a lot of rooms after we partitioned it. The hall was partitioned into many rooms. There were many families from India staying here for rent. Later, when they moved out to their own place, the whole place was ours. Some of them were very close to us, like family. Most of the relatives here were from my mum’s side of the family.

Most of us slept on the floor then. We just used the pillow and some cloth. We never complained. My family shared a room, maybe the size of a HDB room now. All of my siblings, and my parents, altogether, eight, shared the room. My brothers would take the bed and the rest of us slept on the floor. The floor was wooden and quite cooling. But we never complained, we were just happy. We had each other, and we would chit chat before we go to sleep. Later, when the tenants moved out, we partitioned the hall into rooms for my married brothers. And then, when we had TV in the 1970s, a black and white one, we put it in the hall.

I remember we had to promise our mum that we would work hard, we would study, that the TV would not affect us. We had to bargain with her. My father was willing to buy, but my mum was worried that we wouldn’t study. My mum was the one who really made us study. After all the hardship they went through, she realised how important education was. She really emphasised on education even though she couldn’t read or write in English. It was my elder brother who taught us our ABCs, 123s. He was the one who prepared us for primary school. I went to Trafalgar Primary School. It was within walking distance, but my mum was afraid for us crossing roads with the heavy traffic, so she put us in a school bus.

We were not that well-to-do. My father’s salary was very little initially, but my mother managed it very well. There was always food on our table. She went through a lot of difficulties financially, but she just made sure that we were not aware of it and that we went to school. Even though she had to borrow money and all that, she took care of our needs. Sometimes the Chettiars would come and ask for payments, and when she could not make the payment, she would bargain for more time. Sometimes the money lenders would scold her for not making the payments on time. So when I heard all these, I would feel very sad. But we understand her difficulties. We were not the sort to demand, to ask for things. We never asked, we just took whatever food was on the table. We were very contented. So I would think, I must study well, and go to work fast, and help to pay off the burden. So all of us worked very hard, we studied and our lives improved. We got jobs, to relieve our mum of her difficulties. My father passed away when I was fifteen years old. He had diabetes.

Meals were very simple. Just rice, sometimes fish or ikan bilis (dried anchovies), vegetables. Just a simple, very simple meal, but there was always food on the table, thanks to my mum. She really managed it very well. She was also the strict one in the family, the disciplinarian, so when we were naughty, we always get punished. She really punished us. She taught us the values, the rights and wrongs, which we cherish up to now. These were taught to us when we were young and we believe in them. That these are the values that we need in our lives to be somebody, to be disciplined.

During my time, there were few racial issues. When I went to school, I didn’t feel any discrimination because I had so many Chinese friends, Malay friends. So to us it was nothing. Not until later on, when I read about it, that I knew so many things had happened. We were too young then, and we didn’t understand what was going on. There used to be a lot of curfews. A lot of curfews. We were not allowed to go out. Sometimes, the riots happened right in front of my house and there was a lot of fighting, but I don’t know for what reasons. We were very scared, but luckily our door was very secure. You hear people screaming, shouting, all that.

Another thing I remember was Chinese New Year. Just in front of my house, there was a Chinese company, so every Chinese New Year morning, the firecrackers would start going off for the whole day. It was very exciting, and we would go to the window and see all the firecrackers going on. We were scared to light up firecrackers. We just enjoyed seeing it.

And Mr Lee Kuan Yew was the MP of my area, so after the elections, they always toured round to thank the voters. And we would be happily waving to them, though we didn’t understand what was going on! My mum would explain that they had just won the elections and we didn’t understand what it meant. So we would wave to the entourage and they would wave back.

And there used to be floods during December. The floods were really bad, and we could not leave our house. If you were outside, it was very difficult to reach home. It once happened to me, after school. The flood was so bad that I could not reach home. So I went around to Burma Street and there was a small hotel. So those people in the hotel told me to go in and stay till the flood subsided. It was too dangerous. A lot of people would be falling into drains and you couldn’t see anything on the roads. It took a long time to improve on this. Slowly it started to improve. In the 1960s, it was really bad. By the 1970s, it started improving.

Deepavali was a very lively time! We would be sharing food with the neighbours and all the children, we were just so happy. We had firecrackers for Deepavali, and we would get very excited to see the firecrackers lighting up. Deepavali is the festival of lights, so you would see the house lit up and most of our neighbours’ houses. Whole rows of lights. Thaipusam was another festival, and my father would bring us to see. The crowd was so huge!

Then I went to Crescent Girls’ for secondary school, and after that I started working. In my mind, I wanted to relieve my mother. I took up those accounts courses, typing courses, and I applied for a job. Much later on, I took my diploma from the PSB academy. I’m always very keen to study. My first pay was about $200 or less. Later, I applied through the Ministry of Labour, and got a job with Kay Siang Primary School. Over the years, I was posted to different schools and now I’m in Commonwealth Secondary.

Later, we were resettled to Jurong East. Most of my neighbours also moved there. Jurong East was not well-developed then. I was very sad to leave my old place. It was full of memories, and we had to leave a lot of things behind. So now, whenever I pass by, it was all really beautiful memories, and I would stop and look at the place. During my time, we had a lot of playtime, and today, we still talk about these memories. I wonder what the younger generations will talk about; they are within their four walls.

But after we moved, we had a lot more facilities. We improved financially. We had a washing machine, a fridge. We could afford all these. The lifestyle really improved. I’m glad that I can give a more relaxed life to my mum who really fought very hard last time. Last time, in our shophouse, there was only one toilet that was shared by everybody. The ladies would have to use it before the men came to use. But I still miss all that, all the times we were together, with our family. Sitting down, telling stories, my father would talk about old times, and my mum too. So I really miss that.

What does ‘Home’ mean to you?

It’s my independence, my prosperity, my improvements in life to who I am today. Where all the opportunities provided for me are. Singapore is my home. It’s where I am and it’s my place. Whenever I go travelling, when I come back, at the Changi Airport, I always feel so happy to touch down. I have this feeling, to be back home. Home sweet home, wherever I go, I want to be back home. I always ask what is it that we don’t have in this country? We’ve got everything. So I want to be here. Wherever I go, I still want to come back here.

What does it mean to be a Singaporean to you?

I’m very lucky to be Singaporean. I have education, opportunities to improve in my life, good job. It is to have the opportunity to be what you want to be. But you have to work, to work hard. That’s why I said that after a long time, I went back for my studies. It was a bit difficult going back to class after work and studying at night. It was very tough going. But I persevered. I want this diploma and I know I can do it. So I just need to hang on. I’m now staying on my own and with my mother’s discipline and values, all these helped me to survive on my own. We are survivors, we are really survivors. We went through a lot of hardship but we fought on and it really helped. Now, my lifestyle has improved so much, financially we are stable. The country has also improved and it has given us opportunities.

Are there moments you feel proud of Singapore, or to be a Singaporean? Can you share with us these moments?

Yes, National Day, at the stadium. When we watch the Parade, singing the National Anthem, saying the Pledge, I feel that this is my home, which has given me the opportunity to be what I am today. So I feel very proud.

What hopes and aspirations do you hold for Singapore?

To prosper. Although our life is very stressful, we always want to be somebody. So Singapore will always survive. Singapore will survive, we will be somebody.