Soldiers, Bicycles and Plush Seats

Posted by yesterday.sg under Museums/Heritage Galleries, National History
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As a kid, a visit to the museum for me usually involved some form of threatening, cajoling and finally, bribing by my dad. And so, when it comes to visiting museums now, let’s just say that it’s not at the top of my to-do list.

But I did return to the National Museum recently after many years and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself suitably impressed by both the aesthetic and cultural elements which were unapologetically on display. Upon arrival, I was issued with an electronic companion. Thinking that I might embarrass myself trying to operate it in front of the nice lady whom gave it to me, I slowly trudged over to a quiet corner. Thankfully, it was one which was designed for the technically illiterate like yours truly. I managed to figure out how to turn it on within two minutes. Secretly exhilarated, I entered the History Gallery.

The History Gallery as its name suggests, provides the uninitiated with an elaborate overview of Singapore’s rich past covering in chronological order all the important waypoints on Singapore’s growing years starting with the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles to the building of the nation’s pillars in stone and in heart.

Being a World War II buff, I was most intrigued with the gallery on the Japanese Occupation. The first thing which struck me when I entered the “War Room” was the bicycles which were mounted on the far side of the chamber. These bicycles, so simple in form, had served such a deadly purpose and changed the course of our nation’s history.

The impressive library of information was enhanced by the extremely impressive visual and audio elements which were on display. Unlike one’s stereotype of the museums of yesteryears, the History Gallery creates a whole new immersive perspective to the presentation of facts and figures.

The lights and sounds which accompanied the commentary created a surreal atmosphere for me. Under the dimmed lights and the eerie resonance of the bomb sirens, I was beginning to get a taste of what living in those last few days before the surrender was like. It seemed to be like a fairly accurate depiction of the fear and panic which must have enveloped the streets during the invasion. I had to constantly remind myself not to take cover under those nice, plush seats.

I took a break on those nice chairs after the War Room. After making sure that I had enough to go on, I embarked upon the remaining exhibits. Somehow, the lights and sounds from the post-independence exhibits did not do as much for me as the World War II ones. Maybe I was still reeling from the extremely visual display of suffering and brutality which were encroached upon our people.

The gallery certainly did some good for me. What I expected to be a short, thirty minutes hit and run tour turned out to be a three hour experience which was simply brilliant. Being transported back to the war was both exciting and sobering. Despite the depictions in the gallery, I cannot even begin to imagine what those involved had to go through. Viewing it from the gallery was definitely different from reading about it from history textbooks. I got a more vivid picture of the war and the terror which Singaporeans had to go through. I had to constantly remind myself that the Japanese were now our friends. And yes, I would certainly go back again, even if they, for some incomprehensible reason, decide to remove those nice, plush seats.

(Contributed by Joshua Tan)