Just as Abdul was addressed in the honorific, Pak or Father, George was addressed as ‘Elder Brother’. Young people were taught to respect anyone older than themselves.
“We will be going there,” George said, and the children yelped with glee.
“How do you know so much?” Pak Abdul asked, impressed.
“My English professor gave me a peek at his programme for the events for the whole week,” George said. “The programme had a beautiful cover, with the words, The Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, designed in blue, red and white, the colours of the Union Jack. The crown was at the top of the page with the Royal Crests just below. On each side of the programme was a cascade of dark blue velvet theatre-like curtains. At the bottom of the page was a sketch of the Singapore city view with the sails of tongkangs out at sea.”
“You have such an amazing talent for details,” Pansy said. “For a man.”
“Details are a matter of life and death for a doctor,” George said.
“I think we won’t see this kind of thing again in our lifetime, at least not in my lifetime. Change is already in the air…” Pak Abdul said whilst they walked.
“How do you mean?” George asked.
“The British Empire and all that. It will have to end. Countries under British rule are asking for independence. It won’t be long before we follow in India’s footsteps. We want a free Malaya.”
“Yes,” Pak Wan said. “The orang putih have been too high-handed. Look what they’re doing up-country, destroying traditional villages to create new villages just because they suspect that the kampong folks are supplying the communists in the jungle with food.”
“And don’t forget the Maria Hertogh riots three years ago,” Che Tokoh said. “The child was brought up as a Muslim. And yet the colonial government decreed that she should be returned to her Christian Dutch mother, who was the one to give her up for adoption to her Malay foster mother in the first place.”
“I remember the riots,” George said. “But I thought that the riot was a protest by the Malays against forcing the girl to hide in a convent and then returning her to her Christian family…”
“It started off like that,” said Pak Wan. “But there was a bigger issue. The girl’s situation was just the trigger. People were tired of the iron-fisted hand of the colonial government. They want our rubber and our tin but they treat us as if we are imbeciles.”
George became thoughtful. At university, some of his fellow students were already talking about an independent Malaya. It seemed such a far-fetched dream. But right now, George was more concerned about his dream of marrying Pansy. It was time to talk to his parents.
Throngs of people had turned out for the parade. It was a lovely day, not too warm, though the sun was shining, and it was not raining. Festivities had already begun on 30 May, to put people in a festive mood. It started with a children’s party at Government House. Many activities were planned and carried out for the population throughout the week, such as concerts and school rallies. Free meals were provided in various hospital grounds, and religious communities followed suit and gave out food. There were exhibitions about the twenty-seven-year-old queen and her family, and free film shows. The West Yorkshire Regiment 1st Battalion Band and Drums played a splendid beating of the retreat, and the illuminated flying boats of the Royal Air Force Sunderland dropped spectacular flares over Singapore. All the celebrations were going to culminate on this very day.
George took everyone to the new Queen Elizabeth Walk with its Victorian balustrades all along the newly-paved walkway, the waves slapping the concrete wall, the air heavy with salt. Kim Guek and Pansy were enthralled by the Esplanade Gardens, smitten by the variety of plants and flowers and the way they were landscaped artfully.
“Mak, look at this,” Pansy pointed out the jasmine bush, then a hibiscus, then a rose. “Aren’t they pretty? Oh, I wish Sister Catherine could have seen this.”
After that George guided them to Connaught Drive, to a spot in front of the Padang, where they would have a good view of the parade. The Union Jack was flying high in the breeze and the coloured buntings were fluttering and waving happily.
“I’ve memorised every detail of you,” George whispered to Pansy, reviving the earlier conversation. “Since this is a memorable occasion, I feel it’s the right time to ask. I know it is soon but I can’t wait. Will you marry me? I don’t think I can go through university in my state of mind. I feel like I will explode.”
“You want to marry me? I’d always thought I was such a tomboy that nobody would want to marry me,” Pansy echoed her mother’s admonition.
Just as Pansy started to speak, the British military band also started up, loud and brassy. George saw Pansy open her mouth but couldn’t hear what Pansy said.
“What did you say? What did you say?” he asked.
“Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves…” The band played, as the troop marched smartly in their resplendent uniforms. Crowds of people pressed into Pansy and George to get a better view and the moment of intimacy burst like a bubble.
“You must be out of your mind,” George’s mother, Chan Tua Siah said in English. “Number one, you’re only twenty years old. Number two, you’re still studying. Number three, she’s from a kampong, for God’s sake. Can’t you find a girlfriend who’s from university and of the same social status as you?”
“Mum…”
“Son,” Chan Hor Nang, his father, said. “Don’t jeopardise your future. If you need sexual release, I will take you somewhere.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Tua Siah said. “He’s a good boy. Don’t you corrupt him with your stupid ideas.”
“Tua Siah…”
“I love her,” George said. “I have found joy with my soul mate. Why wait?”
“Such foolish talk! You are our only
