80th Anniversary Commemorative Book - Singapore Manufacturing ...

Surviving World War 2In 1937, Japan invaded China.For a while, life carried on as usual in Singapore as the war seemed remote,both politically and geographically.In 1939, the SMF even planned to organise a trade exhibition to take placethe following year.By 1940, although the war was still far away, its impact was being felt.The small Chinese manufacturers in SMF were asked if they could producemilitary articles like gun parts. A Straits Times editorial on 14 June 1940suggested that an organisation like the SMF could coordinate the war effortby assigning work to the manufacturers and taking their finished productsto a central HQ for assembly.The proposal never came to pass. In 1941, the whine of bomb sirensbecame the soundtrack of life in Singapore. Singaporeans suffered dailyair raids, some of which targeted civilian structures such as hospitals andshophouses. Many people died, as casualties ranged from the tens to thehundreds each time.The high-flyer who became the first Chinese to helm the SMFIn its first 24 years, the SMF washeaded by eight men. Seven wereBritish but the third man on the liststands out. The President from 1936 to 1941 was the HonourableMr Tay Lian Teck.A leading figure in the Straits Chinese community, Mr Tay was colonialSingapore’s youngest nominated Legislative Councillor. He ran the HoHong Shipping Company.That Mr Tay headed the SMF at a time when top posts were mostlyoccupied by the British came as no surprise to many as he had beena high-flyer since the time he studied in the Victoria Institution (VI)in Kuala Lumpur and never missed a day of school in eight years. Ata school event where he was Guest-of-Honour, he was introducedthus: “In Tay Lian Teck, we have one of the most brilliant VI boys inour midst.”Mr Tay was very active in the community. “There were few publiccommittees or commissions with which Mr Tay Lian Teck did nothave any connection,” noted one observer in the press.His community involvement included being a Justice of Peace and Vice-Chairman of the Garden Club. He was also active in the clerical union. Inone of his many interviews, he said it was the duty of everyone – if hecould – to be of some use to his community and the public in general.The Japanese invaded Singapore a year after he stepped down fromthe SMF. Mr Tay, the father of two children, was killed on 14 February1942, a day before the British surrender. He was trying to leave Singaporeon board the vessel Kuala when the Japanese bombed the ship.In his eulogy, Mr C.W.A. Sennett, Commissioner of Lands, said: “Mr Taywas a very public-spirited Chinese – he had been a member of theSingapore Legislative Council and Municipal Commission, in addition tositting on several public bodies – and he lost his life during the war. Itwas suggested to me that we should perpetuate his name by attachingit to the road in which he lived.”Mr Sennett’s suggestion was taken up and today, Mr Tay’s name liveson in Tay Lian Teck Drive and Tay Lian Teck Road, in the East Coast ofSingapore, where he used to live.32 Braving the Turbulence 1932 – 1965