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PAPee's Debasing of Lim Bo Seng Remembered!

makapaaa

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>A war hero remembered
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By K C Vijayan
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-- Tomorrow marks the 65th anniversary of Lim Bo Seng's death.
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Stopping at Singapore war hero Lim Bo Seng's grave in MacRitchie Reservoir, one cannot help but notice from the inscription that this year is the centenary of his birth.
Lim was born on April 27, 1909. He was killed at the hands of the Japanese on June 29, 1944. Tomorrow marks the 65th anniversary of his death.
His grave, sited atop a hillock, is flanked by century-old trees and overlooks the placid waters of MacRitchie. It is possibly the largest grave site in honour of a single hero in Singapore.
As far as centenaries go, one could argue why Lim's deserves singular notice or why it has apparently gone unnoticed.
Major-General Lim was a contemporary of lawyer, politician and diplomat David Marshall. He was a year younger than Marshall and studied at the same Raffles Institution, then in Bras Basah Road.
But Marshall's legacy is well-documented, not just because of his achievements but also because of the collective memory contributed by those still living who remember him.
Hence a colossal biography by legal historian Kevin Tan, an extended exhibition by the National Library Board and a day-long seminar organised by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and four other bodies that marked Marshall's century-run last year.
Perhaps this brief of Lim's life would serve modestly to mark his centenary year.
Lim died at the young age of 35 in Japanese captivity at Batu Gajah prison in Malacca.
The 11th child of a Singapore businessman, Lim first studied in Xiamen, in China's Fujian province, and then continued his education at Raffles Institution when he was 16. Yusof Ishak, who was to become Singapore's first president later in life, was a classmate of his.
According to wartime comrade Lee Kim Chuan in the book, The Price Of Peace: Accounts Of The Japanese Occupation, a compilation of essays by survivors of the war, Lim went on to the University of Hong Kong but did not complete his studies as he had to return home to take care of the family business after his father died.
Among other things, the family owned land in Braddell Heights, ran a biscuit factory and a brickfield, and had interests in the construction industry.
'He did such an excellent job (running the family business) that his 18 brothers marvelled at his ability,' wrote Mr Lee.
Lim was an 'extremely talented and charismatic man', said Cambridge-educated Richard Broome, who was the deputy chief of Force 136 - a clandestine intelligence force set up by the British to work behind enemy lines. It comprised more than 100 men, mainly local Malayan Chinese.
Lim's name is inextricably linked to Force 136 as he had a hand in setting it up and bringing it to fruition, says the Ministry of Defence website in a section on his life.
Despite his privileged background and success as a businessman, Lim was staunchly anti-Japanese and a potential target for reprisal once they landed in Singapore.
In 1942, he left Singapore for Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and then went on to India, where he was trained in intelligence by the British as part of Force 136.
He secretly returned to Malaya the following year and operated in the woods of Bukit Bidor, near Ipoh in Perak.
He later left his jungle hideout to infiltrate the towns in order to broaden the urban intelligence network and to seek funds from business contacts to support the cause.
But he was detained by the Japanese at an intersection in the outskirts of Gopeng, near Ipoh. It was the 13th day after he left Bukit Bidor, wrote colleague Tham Sien Yen in The Price Of Peace. Tham died in 2003.
Lim's steadfast refusal to talk to the Japanese and his ordeal in captivity - he was tortured - led to illness and death.
He kept his silence to the very end.
There are three aspects to his heroism.
First, the courageous decision to return to Malaya was his own as the British had considered it 'too dangerous' a mission for a man of his standing, said John Davis, the leader of the first batch of Force 136 agents who entered Malaya.
Second, his move to leave the hideout at Bukit Bidor to develop the network despite his comrades' warnings about the dangers of the mission.
And his final act of martyrdom, as noted in the Mindef website, lay in 'his steadfast refusal under pain and torture to reveal the information which would have endangered the lives of his comrades and the cause he was fighting for'.
He died two years and four months after he left his wife and seven children on Feb 11, 1942 to lead the underground resistance movement.
After the war, his remains were exhumed from the graveyard behind the prison by surviving Force 136 colleagues and taken to Singapore.
On Jan 13, 1946, an official funeral parade, replete with military honours, was carried out from City Hall to his final resting place at MacRitchie Reservoir. Five years later, a memorial was erected and dedicated at the site.
Much has been written to honour Lim. His wartime diary was donated to the National Museum by his family, and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce built a memorial in his memory at Queen Elizabeth Walk in 1959.
Every year on June 29, the dwindling numbers of those who survived him gather at this memorial in tribute to the man.
In this centenary year of his birth, one is reassured his graveyard will remain a permanent feature on the Singapore scene.
[email protected]
 

makapaaa

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
http://www.petitiononline.com/sghero/petition.html

To: Prime Minister of Singapore

We refer to the theft of the storyboard at the memorial of WWII War Hero Major-General Lim Bo Seng and his subsequent demotion to the rank of Major by the Singapore Government in the replacement storyboard (see letter dated 19 May 07 in the Straits Times below). We find the reason given for the demotion to be unacceptable and insulting as it is worldwide practice (including that in Singapore) to address fallen uniformed officers with their posthumous rank. This is to show respect and gratitude to the sacrifices they made for the people.

Till death, Major-General Lim did not yield to the enemy after being captured and tortured while many took the rewarding way out to collaborate and conspire with the enemy. Major-General Lim was himself sold out to the enemy by traitors (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lim_Bo_Seng). The readiness by Major-General Lim to serve and lay down his life for his people in an age in which ministers and elite civil servants need to be paid tens of millions to prevent corruption should be held as a shining example for the current and future generations of Singaporeans to follow.

We, citizens of Singapore and concerned individuals, reject the frivolous demotion of Major-General Lim Bo Seng to the rank of Major by the Singapore Government. Not only is this an act of gross disrespect towards a national hero, it is also a blatant attempt to rewrite history. We insist that posthumous rank of Major-General be restored in the storyboard at the memorial for Major-General Lim Bo Seng.

==========

May 19, 2007
Lim Bo Seng a major when he led Force 136

I REFER to the letter, 'WWII hero Lim Bo Seng 'demoted'' (ST, May 15), by Mr Nicholas Joshua Law.
The information on the storyboard erected near the Lim Bo Seng Memorial reads: 'The memorial was built in 1954 in memory of Major Lim Bo Seng who led Force 136, an anti-Japanese resistance movement.'

When war hero Lim Bo Seng led Force 136, he was then a major in rank. It was only posthumously that he was accorded the rank of major-general by the nationalist government in China in 1946.

Seen in this context, the statement is factually accurate.

The storyboard is part of the Civic District Trail, which was officially launched in 1999 to allow participants to learn more about the area's historic landmarks. The information was verified by a working committee comprising historians from the former Singapore History Museum (now known as the National Museum of Singapore), archivists from the National Archives of Singapore and other government officials.

We hope we have addressed Mr Law's concern. We thank him for his feedback and hope to see more members of the public embark on our Civic District Trail.

Walter Lim
Director
Corporate Communications & Industry Promotion
National Heritage Board

==========
Sincerely, The Undersigned
 

makapaaa

Alfrescian (Inf)
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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>'Make hero's grave a national monument'
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Lim Bo Seng's family makes appeal to the National Heritage Board </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Teo Wan Gek
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One major renovation was carried out in the 1990s on national hero Lim Bo Seng's grave at MacRitchie Reservoir Park. Regular visitors to the tomb feel more should be done to preserve it. -- ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->The grave of Singapore's wartime hero Lim Bo Seng may become a national monument one day.
His family has approached the National Heritage Board to accord the grave such a status.
Said Brigadier-General Lim Teck Yin, 47, grandson of the national hero: 'We want to make sure that someone will look after it when we are gone.'
He is the commander of the Army Training and Doctrine Command in the Ministry of Defence.
In order to be gazetted, a building must have historical, traditional and architectural merit. Fifty-five buildings have been gazetted as national monuments.
Last week, a reader wrote to bilingual newspaper mypaper about the 'deplorable' state of the grave at MacRitchie Reservoir Park, saying it needed 'proper maintenance'.
When The Sunday Times visited the grave, we spotted corrosion on the steps of the grave and a carving had broken off.
The Public Utilities Board maintains the area around the tombstone. The latter belongs to the family.
Tomorrow is Lim Bo Seng's 65th death anniversary.
Said Brig-Gen Lim: 'My uncles and aunts visit the grave every year on his death anniversary. My father, his eldest son, used to go until he died a few years ago. He was 72.'
He said one major renovation was carried out on the grave in the 1990s.
'My father wanted it done. Previously, it wasn't made of granite and it was very badly cracked,' he noted.
Any further work that needs to be done will be carried out, he said.
Dr Kevin Tan, president of the Singapore Heritage Society, said tombstones are the property and responsibility of the family members.
'However, I feel that this is an exceptional case. Take the graves of our former presidents at Kranji War Memorial. Surely, it cannot be argued that it is the responsibility of either the Sheares or Yusof families to take care of the graves.'
Regular visitors to the MacRitchie grave feel that more should be done. A retiree, who wishes to be known only as Mr Sim, spends an hour at the grave area practising taiji every day.
'They should plant more trees and clean up the tombstone. He deserves better,' the 72-year-old retiree said.
But jogger David Yeo, 44, a director, said: 'What's important is if people know who he is, not how grand the grave is.'
Lim Bo Seng was a native Chinese who moved here as a child. When the Japanese captured Singapore in World War II, he escaped to India and joined Force 136, a group of resistance fighters formed by the British.
He was caught by the Japanese in March 1944 and died on June 29 after three months of torture. He was 35. He was buried with military honours at MacRitchie Reservoir on Jan 13, 1946.
In 1954, the Lim Bo Seng Memorial, a 3.5m-tall pagoda, was unveiled at the Esplanade.
Tomorrow, Mr Lim Whye Geok, 72, Lim Bo Seng's third son, will visit the grave with his eldest sister.
He said that as he was just a child when his father died, he had only vague memories of him.
'But we are all getting old, so we are worried that no one will maintain it when we are gone. Our grandchildren can take care of it, but you never know what's going to happen,' he said of the grave.
He said some of his siblings live in Australia and Canada, making coordination efforts difficult.
'At least if it is in the Government's hands, we know for sure it will be taken care of,' he said.
[email protected]
Should Lim Bo Seng's grave be made a national monument? Send your views to [email protected]
 

mscitw

Alfrescian
Loyal
Brigadier-General Lim Teck Yin is indeed an questionable character.

He has a BG pay and suppose it was his clan's responsibility to maintain the tomb, he has fold his arms and did nothing despite his considerable 'leadership' skills.

Or perhaps some religious orders forbid tomb 'renovation'??

What the fark? Peasantpore today?
 

Eurekas

Alfrescian
Loyal
And donch forget that the Jap collaborators caused the demise of the matryr!

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It seems like these traitors who work for the Japanese can live long lives (both of them are 85 years old) but heros usually die young... Haiz, God is so unfair.
 
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