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Citizenship by law, history by choice: What The Albatross File asks of us
A journey by four friends to Malaysia was a reminder of how life would have been different had separation not taken place.
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The exhibition The Albatross File: Singapore’s Independence Declassified reminds us that Singapore was forged by decisions made under pressure, says the writer.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Over the December break, I took a driving holiday with three friends across the Tuas Second Link into Malaysia. It was a wonderful trip – convivial meals, easy conversation and shared memories. All in our 60s now, we joked about how we could still get excited by accidental discoveries of old-style provision stores.
In one such store, rice was sold from sacks and weighed out by the kilogramme – or even half-kilogramme – according to each customer’s needs. It reminded us of our childhood in Singapore, when rice was not sold in standardised, pre-packaged bags. Even broken rice grains were still on sale in that small Malaysian town, just as they had been in early post-independence Singapore – good enough for porridge when whole grains were simply too expensive for many families.
