CHAPTER 32: LIEUTENANT ADNAN SAIDI
This article first appeared in Singapore Infopedia. Nureza Ahmad & Nor-Afidah A. Rahman (2009). “Lieutenant Adnan Saidi”. Singapore Infopedia. National Library, Singapore. Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2020 National Library Board Singapore.
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 World War II. Regarded 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 was posthumously awarded with medals for his courage while a memorial plaque was erected at Kent Ridge to commemorate his valour, and that of his comrades. 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.
