SINGAPORE – He may have been comfortably retired for 17 years, but recalling an episode from early in his adulthood when he was without a job still brings Mr Yang Sin Pu, 90, to tears.
Back then, the Selangor-born Mr Yang had been fired after working for about four years as a bartender in a mess at the British Royal Air Force’s Tengah base.
With two young children to feed, he found himself considering a move back to Malaysia with his family as he approached his 30s.
It was in the late 1960s and Singapore had been separated from Malaysia in August 1965.
Mr Yang, who moved to Singapore in 1961 and was holding permanent resident (PR) status post-separation, believes his dismissal was predicated on two factors: the British paring down their forces in Singapore before they eventually pulled out in 1971, and priority employment for citizens in the newly independent Republic.
“Staying without a job was difficult. The financial stress was tough to shoulder and my Singaporean wife could not bear to leave her home and family,” said Mr Yang in Mandarin.
The last among his parents and six brothers to move to Singapore, Mr Yang is among about 1,400 seniors who have since April 2025 shared their stories with the Founders’ Memorial as part of an engagement campaign to gather stories from first-generation Singaporeans.
“When it was time to receive the identity cards, all the Singaporeans got pink ones and mine was blue – that was not good,” he recalled.
“Already it was difficult for Singaporeans to find jobs, so for foreigners like me, there was no hope,” said Mr Yang, who had made preparations to relocate his family to Malaysia, including by attaching his sons’ details to his passport – they were very young and without passports of their own at that point.
“But I looked at my wife and she was miserable and anxious every day about leaving, so eventually we decided to stay,” said Mr Yang, adding that he applied for citizenship not long after Singapore became independent.
