Adnan Hist blog

Introduction

Adnan Saidi (b. 1915, Selangor, Malaysia - d. 1942, Singapore), a lieutenant of the Malay Regiment's 1st Battalion, died fighting the Japanese in one of the fiercest battles in Singapore during WW II. A war hero, he led his men in the Battle of Opium Hill (Bukit Chandu), off Pasir Panjang, giving the Japanese a bitter taste of real combat so much so that when they captured him, they tortured him as revenge before killing him and burning his body. Adnan received medals posthumously for his courage while a memorial plaque was erected at Kent Ridge to commemorate the bravery of Adnan and his men. The memory of this brave soldier also lives on at Kranji War Memorial where his name is etched on the main memorial column wall of the Kranji War Cemetery.

World War II

When he was 23 years old, Adnan married Sophia Pakih Muda, a school teacher from his village. The couple had three children, two sons and a daughter. Adnan did not live to see his daughter being born and she died at infancy shortly after the fall of Singapore in 1942. Combining the hectic life of a career soldier and that of a father, Adnan was remembered by one of his son, Mokhtar, as "serious and fierce...yet had a good heart". Time with his sons was spent on walks or rugged games as he wanted them to grow up tough.

In late 1941, Adnan was posted to Singapore. He brought his family with him and they lived in a big house off Pasir Panjang, an area reserved for officers in the Malay Regiment. When war became imminent, Adnan sent his family back to their hometown in Kajang, Selangor, in December 1941. It was a trying time for him as his wife was pregnant with their third child. When they bade him goodbye, it was the last time that his family set eyes on him

Adnan's gruesome death

Adnan's fierce resistance and refusal to surrender even after being mortally wounded proved damaging to his ending at Japanese hands. Not satisfied with capturing him, the Japanese, angered over the casualties they suffered, dragged Adnan and hung him by his legs to a tree and repeatedly bayoneted him. The brutal torture, which also included repeatedly slitting his throat and leaving his mutilated body to hang and some said eventually burning it, was witnessed by one survivor of the Opium Hill battle, Corporal Yaakob. He escaped death by laying motionless amongst the layer of dead bodies.

Timeline

1933 : Joined the Malay Regiment
1934 : Best recruit of the Malay Regiment
1936 : Promoted to rank of Sergeant
1937 : Chosen to represent his platoon in a military ceremonial parade in London to honour the ascension of King George IV to the throne
1937 : Married to Sophia Pakih Muda, a teacher
1937 : Promoted to Company-sergeant-major and left for Singapore for an officer's conversion course
193? : Graduated as 2nd Lieutenant, leader of the 7th Platoon, 'C' Coy, Malay Regiment
1941 : Posted to Singapore
14 Feb 1942 : Killed by Japanese Army in Battle of Opium Hill, off Pasir Panjang, Singapore
1995 : War memorial plaque at Vigilante Drive, Kent Ridge Park, erected in honour of Adnan and his Malay Brigade
17 Feb 2002 : Reflections at Bukit Chandu, World War II Interpretative Centre opened at Pasir Panjang Ridge
(Adapted at http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_456_2005-01-18.html)

By Zhuang yuan anthony manfred winson