Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

elieve some of the stories in my grandmother’s diaries. You know, growing up I was told
so many stories of how my grandfather was a war hero, how he saved countless lives as a
surgeon. But it turns out my grandmother and her brother were also instrumental in
saving so many lives. Right as the occupation was beginning, Alexander was in Indonesia
officially to oversee my great-grandfather’s business interests, but secretly he was helping
get important people out of the country. He helped hide some of Singapore’s most crucial
anti-Japanese activists—people like Tan Kah Kee and Ng Aik Huan—in Sumatra. In the
end, he was tortured to death by a Japanese agent trying to find out his secrets.”
“Oh no!” Rachel gasped, putting her hands over her mouth.
“Yes, but as it turns out my grandmother had secretly returned to Singapore at the
height of the Japanese occupation. And she had made a daring trip to see Alexander in
Indonesia right before he died. She absolutely adored him, and this tragedy is what
galvanized her to continue his fight. Tyersall Park became a sort of Underground Railroad
for all the operatives passing from Malaysia through Singapore, trying to get to safety in
Indonesia and Australia. It became a place for secret high-level meetings and a safe house
for some of the key people who were being hunted down by the Japanese.”
“How amazing! I would have thought that this house would be too conspicuous a
place,” Rachel remarked.
“Well, it would have been, but the leader of the occupying Japanese forces, Count
Hisaichi Terauchi, commandeered Tyersall Park and took over the main house. So my
grandmother and all the servants were made to live in the back wing, and that’s how she
managed to hide so many people right under the nose of the general. She disguised them
as part of the staff—because there were so many of them everywhere, the Japanese troops
never noticed. And then she managed to get them in and out through the secret passage
from the conservatory to the Botanic Gardens.”
“The one you used to sneak into the house!” Rachel exclaimed.
Nick held the letter up to Rachel. “This is not just about me anymore and losing my
childhood home or my connection to the past. It’s much bigger than that. This house
should be a historic landmark, a heritage site for all Singaporeans. It’s far too important
to be altered in any way, and I believe conservationists would argue it urgently needs to
be preserved.”
“Does this mean you can block the sale to the Bings?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Knowing Jack Bing, I’m sure he’ll put up a fight.”
“And so will your aunties. They’re going to want their money from the sale. What would
happen if you deprived them of what they see as their rightful inheritance?”
“What if there was another way where no one had to be deprived? I’ve been thinking it
over for the past few days, and I think I have a plan that can save this historical landmark
and transform it into something viable for the future.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, but we’re going to need people with really deep pockets to believe in us.”
Rachel’s mind began to race. “I think I may know just the people we need to talk to.”