Tanjong Rhu

Tanjong Rhu

by Minfong Ho

Quick Info:
• Tanjong Rhu is an affluent residential

neighbourhood located in Kallang in Central

Region of Singapore.
• Tanjong Rhu has been associated with ship-

building and repairing since the early days.
• Today, Tanjong Rhu has experienced significant

structural growth with the most notable example

of it being the world class Singapore Sport Hub.

It was the day after his mother was buried,
Mr. T. W. Li stood looking out his office
window with his binoculars. He counted the
ships like he used to do every day. He stared at
the binoculars in his hand. Why had he bought
them in the first place? Oh, right, it was for Ah
Ma, to help her see better because of her
cataracts.

Mr. Li remembered the day he brought them
home for his mother. His driver drove him
home in the Mercedes Benz. Mr. Li walked past
his servant looking for his mother from room to
room in the big house. Eventually he went to
the back of the house.

He found his mother feeding the chickens by the
side of the swimming pool. “Ah Ma, I have
something for you. Something to help you see
better. They‟re special see-far-glasses.” Ah Ma
retorted, ”See-far glasses? Why do I want to
look at far away things?”

Suddenly, Mr. Li felt silly. Why would his mother
need these binoculars? He made his way back to
the house. “Wait, can those glasses see Tanjong
Rhu?” Ah Ma asked. Mr. Li turned around, “Ah
Ma, if you want to see Tanjong Rhu, I can take
you to my office. We can look out through the
window.”

The next morning, Ah Ma was at the altar. She
was looking for her joss sticks. She wanted to tell
Mr. Li‟s father that she was going to see Mr. Li‟s
office. She took this very seriously and no one
could tell her otherwise.

After Mr. Li had finished his breakfast, Ah Ma
was still not ready. She was arguing with Ying,
Mr. Li‟s daughter, at the altar. “Come on Popo.
You‟ll make father late. Let me help you,” Ying
said. “No, you don‟t know how to do it right.”
Ah Ma said. Ying walked away, “She always
does what she wants.”

After praying at the altar and asking for blessings
from her dead husband, Mr. Li and Ah Ma made
their way to his office. At the office room
window, he held the binoculars to her face and
asked her to look at the direction where Tanjong
Rhu is. “Can you see it, Ah Ma?” Mr. Li asked.

Ah Ma was silent. Then she said, “I don‟t see
anything.” Mr. Li pushed her head back onto the
binoculars. “Ah Ma, can‟t you see the view of
the harbour?” Ah Ma looked again for a long
time. Then she said suddenly, “I see it now.”

“I see a thin little, dirty boy with no shoes.
Walking on the beach alone, throwing stones
into the sea and counting the fishing boats
nearby. I see myself walking with a basket in my
arms. The basket is filled with crabs you and I
caught, Ah Wah.” Mr. Li took back the
binoculars and Ah Ma was silent again.

After that day, Ah Ma‟s health suddenly took a
turn for the worse. She was lying in the hospital
looking deathly pale. Mr. Li did not like
hospitals. It was like a prison to him. Ying had
donated some blood to Ah Ma. Mr. Li wanted
so bad to ask his mother something.

“Baba, if I hold her eyelids open like this, she
will know you are here. Go on, say something
to Popo!” Ying proceeded to gently open her
grandmother‟s eyelids.

Mr. Li felt stupid. “Stop it, Ying. She‟s not a toy.”
Ying did as her father said. “You young people
have no respect these days,” Mr. Li felt angry.
Ying retorted, “I gave blood didn‟t I? Our
relatives only gave burial clothes.” Father and
daughter started arguing. Ah Ma moved her
hand.

Mr. Li took her hand. “Ah Wah…keys…the
altar,” said Ah Ma. “She‟s worried about her
keys. Something about those old boxes where
she keeps all her stuff,” Ying explained. Mr. Li
assured his mother, “Don‟t worry, Ah Ma. The
keys are safe.” Soon, Ah Ma‟s hand stopped
moving.

Alone in the dark, cool altar room, Mr. Li
placed his mother‟s photograph next to his
father. „Joss sticks‟, he thought. „I need joss
sticks‟. He pulled the drawers out one by one
but there was one that could not be opened.
Mr. Li realised this must be the one with the
hidden key Ah Ma was talking about.

He turned to face his mother‟s photograph
again. He started to tear it up. “Ah Ma, I saw
Tanjong Rhu today.” After a few minutes, he left
the room with the faces of his parents shining
within the warm glow.

Vocabulary
1. harbour (pg.18) – a place where ships are

docked

2. cataracts (pg.19) – the lens of the eye
becomes opaque resulting
in a blurred vision

Vocabulary
3. binoculars (pg.19) – a tool that makes objects

that are far away seem
nearer

4. coffin (pg.19) – a wooden box in which dead
bodies are placed to be
buried or cremated

Vocabulary
5. shipyard (pg.23) – a place where ships are

built or repaired

6. altar (pg.25) – a holy table which one uses for
a religious ritual

Vocabulary

7. bow (pg.25) – to bend forward as a mark of
respect

8. joss sticks (pg.25) – thin sticks consisting of a
substance that burns
slowly giving off a
fragrant smell

9. burial clothes (pg.31) – the clothes that dead
people wear in
preparation for a
burial

YKH@2019