According to The Star, a tank has arrived at the National Museum of Singapore's entrance.
The decommissioned AMX13-SM1 vehicle is a teaser for the forthcoming exhibition Dislocations: Memory & Meaning of The Fall Of Singapore, 1942, which is on loan from the Army Museum. The show, which runs until May 29, marks the historic event's 80th anniversary. On February 15, 1942, the British abandoned Singapore to the Japanese.
When a visitor walks into the exhibit, they are greeted by vivid firsthand tales. (Photo / Retrieved from Pixabay)
"The tank was a symbolic reminder of the necessity to defend ourselves," explains Iskander Mydin, curatorial fellow at the National Museum.
The vehicle is an improved version of the models used in the first Singapore Armed Forces military parade, which took place in the newly formed nation of Singapore in 1969. Tank parades, according to Iskander, have psychological significance.
Read More: “2022 New Taipei City Lantern Festival” has officially started at the New Taipei Metropolitan Park
"The day after the surrender, the Japanese had a victory parade of tanks."
Because the battle for Singapore has been widely chronicled, the museum has chosen to focus this new exhibition on how individuals remember the war. When a visitor walks into the exhibit, they are greeted by vivid firsthand tales.
"It was pitch black, and Singapore appeared to be on fire." "As we drove away, we wondered if we'd ever see this house again." The soundbites are taken from oral histories kept at Singapore's National Archives by wartime survivors.
According to Iskander, the show highlights the Singaporean perspective on the war, which is fading from people's minds.
