Born on the Ninth of August
Twenty-five individuals with 25 different lives and one thing in common, their birthday -- and the destiny they share as Singaporeans. Yet in every little detail about them is a story of how this nation has evolved and is evolving. Happy birthday, all!
(L-R) George Koshy, Lee Mee Mee, Ong Hoon Kok, Zainabah A. Kadir, Wendy Lee Siew Tiang, Lee Lai HengGEORGE KOSHY, 25
Talk about perfect timing: George's mother was in labour when separation was announced. And the doctor who predicted his birth? Benjamin Sheares. A disc-jockey for four years, he may soon be Bangkok-bound.LEE MEE MEE, 24
Newly-married, she lived her early years in a one-room rented flat in Toa Payoh, the first satellite town. And life then? "Our doors were always open. In the evenings, the neighbours would stand around their doorways chatting away. I suppose it was because most of us had no television then."ONG HOON KOK, 23
He is eighth in a family of 10. The family itself was one of nine that lived in an extended network on a large farm in Tampines. An insurance agent, he recalls: "We'd so many relatives, I could not keep track of them, especially those who popped up after having been given away at birth."ZAINABAH A. KADIR, 22
Her grandparents still live in a kampong in Malaysia. Which is just fine by this commerce teacher who grew up in a kampong in Woodlands. "When I get married and have children, I will holiday regularly with my granny, so my children can have a chance to do the things I did," she says.WENDY LEE SIEW TIANG, 21
A bank clerk, she started school in the Chinese stream but switched to English because, thought her parents, "English would be more important in time to come". As a result, she says with some pride, "I am the most bilingual person at home."LEE LAI HENG, 20
This second-year student from the Poly has his life all mapped out. After his electrical engineering course, he will sign up with the army and, at 29, he will marry his girlfriend. Why the army? "The pay is good. I'm sure of a job."
(L-R) Mohd Hardi Ismail, Evelyn Yee,
Yong Yean Lin, Dominic Goh Wern Ching,
Nasionaly Haron, Wang Wei LinMOHD HARDI ISMAIL, 19
He is going to NUS after NS. For now, his four computers at his terrace house in Kembangan take up most of his time when he is home from camp. Being one of two children is simply "so much better. You get more attention and you do not have to share anything with any-body," he grins.EVELYN YEE, 18
She may have wondered what it's like to grow up in a kampong. But that's as far as it goes for this private accounting student. No country bumpkin looks for her, not especially after her first day in Saint Anthony's Convent. "They all laughed at my knee-high socks. It was so suaku!" she recalls. "The in look then was to push the socks as low as possible."YONG YEAN LIN, 17
This JC student "just dips into the family box" when she needs extra money. But, being the eldest, she tries to set an example for her three siblings by making her weekly $30 last. She spends what little free time she has listening to the radio or window-shopping.DOMINIC GOH WERN CHIING, 16
He considers himself an average student saddled, like most, with the task of coping with the Chinese language. But, unlike the rest, this Catholic High School student is taking on the challenge of another language -- German. Classes outside school hours mean he gets to meet students from other schools and, of course, girls.NASIONALY HARON, 15
Hers is a tale she never tires of telling. And re-telling. Overjoyed at her birth on National Day, her parents felt she just had to be named Nasional; the "y" was added for a more feminine sound. Nas left school after her PSLE but still hopes to become a policewoman.WANG WEI LIN, 14
Dad's a vegetable seller and Mum works the night shift in a factory. Which means Wei Lin makes her $3-a-day pocket money stretch -- and stretch. "Sometimes I think I'd like to have what my friends in school have. Some of them wear branded stuff, track shoes and change bags a lot. I'm still using the school bag I bought two years ago," says the Sec 2 student from Nanyang Girls High School.
(L-R) Catherine Cheong, Melvyn Kuan,
Nur Syasiqah Hasshim, Jaswinder Singh,
Daryl Wong, Wah Shi QiangCATHERINE CHEONG WAI SHAN, 13
"I am not a Marina Square kid," says Catherine although she likes to hang out at the shopping centre with her friends. She insists she is not like the MS kids who wear funny clothes and "do wrong things" like smoking or picking up boys. She merely sits and talks about her teachers and which girl is going out with which boy.MELVYN KUAN HUEI HUANG, 12
A Primary 6 pupil of Anglo Chinese Primary School, Melvyn says he studies "all the time", especially Mathematics and Chinese. Dad, a businessman, has promised him a trip to Canada (his aunt and uncle live there) if he does well in his examinations. Mum, a clerk, quit her job to cook, coach and attend to her three children.NUR SYASIQAH HASSHIM, 11
Nur wants to be a doctor, a specialist, to make lots of money and go on holidays regularly. Thus she takes her studies seriously, starting Maths and Science tuition two months ago. "But I am weak in Malay. It's difficult to find Malay story books," says this Primary 6 pupil from Bukit View Primary School.JASWINDER SINGH, 10
This Primary 4 Normal Stream pupil of Balestier Primary School has lots of "tuition". Maths on Sunday, religion on Saturday and taekwondo on Monday and Wednesday. During school holidays, it was Malay, Maths and English. To get back his strength? "Kentucky Fried Chicken. I don't like chapati."DARYL WONG WY-MIN, 9
His parents accept the hanyu pinyin policy. So he's Huang Wei Min to teachers in St Michael's School and to his Chinese tutor, Daryl to friends and family and, to some kin, Dong, a nickname. His dialect name, Wy-min is hardly used now.WAH SHI QIANG, 8
McDonald's burgers and computers are the loves of Shi Qiang. In that order. The eldest of three boys living in a four-room flat in Bedok, this Bedok View Primary School pupil is unlikely to have a further addition to the family. His parents think three is more than enough, for now.
(L-R) Deepa Thanaseelan, Kendrick Yeo, Nur Shuhaddha Hamidon, Augustus Yuen, Nor Aslam Yusoff, Bernadette Elaine Appau, Cheryl Lim, Maximillian Lambert TanDEEPA THANASEELAN, 7
At seven, Deepa wants to be like British pop singer Paula Abdul. Not Madonna. Not even Janet Jackson. "Paula Abdul is prettier. She dances better than anybody else too," says the curly-haired Primary 1 pupil at Serangoon Garden South School. And, yes, she wants to be a "champion swimmer" too.KENDRICK YEO FU YOU, 6
In his second kindergarten year, Kendrick already enjoys swimming, cycling and computer games. He also attends speech and drama classes because his parents want him to "speak proper English". They are both O-level holders and have a semi-detached house in Bedok. His sister is only two -- too young still to taste the good life.NUR SHUHADDHA HAMIDON, 5
Her one-year-old sister was born on National Day too. Which means their father is continually teased about his perfect timing. Now in nursery school, Nur likes dressing up and admiring herself in the mirror. She sings Malay and English lullabies to her sister. Her ambition is to be a "very strict" teacher.AUGUSTUS YUEN, 4
Cowabunga! Augustus loves Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, those indefatigable Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He gets his mother to buy them whenever they are shopping. They have a Sri Lankan maid who cares for him and his six-year-old sister. He dreams of going to Disneyland.NOR ASLAM YUSOFF, 3
This jet-setting toddler has been to Paris, the United States, Thailand and Malaysia and cannot see an SIA logo without asking his father, an SIA technician: "When are we going to sit on an airplane?" His ambition: what else but an SIA pilot!BERNADETTE ELAINE APPAU, 2
Her Catholic parents say she is a third child not because of the Government's new population policy. She is a happy accident. Bernadette and her Eurasian mother are National Day babies, born exactly 31 years apart.CHERYL LIM XUE HUEY, 1
Her parents are going for a second child, or even a third, but for now, Cheryl gets everything; an insurance policy means that at 21, she will have more than $20,000 to see her through university. And how did her parents meet? Would you believe a 1986 National Day party organised by the People's Association Social Development Service!MAXIMILLIAN LAMBERT TAN, 1
Believe it or not, our 26th and last-minute inclusion, was also born on the ninth of August. A best friend to three women, a mother and her two daughters, Max is a Yorkshire terrier-Chihuahua crossbreed who loves vegetables. He also thinks he's a goose.First published in The Straits Times, Aug 9, 1990
Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.
