Adnan Saidi

Adnan bin Saidi (Jawi: عدنان بن سيدي‎; 1915 – 14 February 1942) was a Malayan military officer of the 1st Infantry Brigade who fought the Japanese at the Battle of Pasir Panjang in Singapore during World War II. He is lauded as a national hero in Singapore, as well as in Malaysia, for his actions during the battle.

In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Saidi is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Adnan.
Adnan Saidi

SM, DM, WM, Best Recruit (RMR)
Saidi in 1937 (Colour sergeant)
Born1915
Sungai Ramal, Kajang, Selangor, Federated Malay States, British Malaya
Died14 February 1942(1942-02-14) (aged 26–27)
Pasir Panjang, Singapore, Straits Settlements
Buried
Kranji War Memorial, Singapore
AllegianceRoyal Malay Regiment
Years of service1933–1942
Rank2nd Lieutenant[1]
Unit7th Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Malay Brigade
Battles/warsBattle of Pasir Panjang †
AwardsBest Recruit in the Malay Regiment
1939-1945 Star
Defence Medal (United Kingdom)
War Medal 1939-1945
Spouse(s)
Sophia binte Pakir
​
​
(m. 1938⁠–⁠1942)​
Children2 sons 1 daughter

Battle of Pasir Panjang
Main article: Battle of Pasir Panjang

In 1942, Adnan led a 42-strong platoon from the Malay Regiment to defend Singapore from the invading Japanese Imperial Army. They fought at Pasir Panjang Ridge in the Bukit Chandu area between 12 and 14 February.[2] Despite being heavily outnumbered, Adnan refused to surrender and urged his men to fight to the end. They held off the Japanese for two days amid heavy enemy shelling from artillery and tanks, as well as chronic shortages of food, medical supplies and ammunition. On the last day of the battle, Adnan and his men were left with only a few grenades and had to fight the Japanese with their bayonets in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Adnan was shot but continued fighting.

During the battle, Adnan identified Japanese soldiers who were attempting to infiltrate the Malay Regiment's base in disguise as "Punjabi soldiers",[3] who were marching four abreast (Japanese style) instead of three (British style).[4]

Capture and death

Although it is widely agreed that Adnan was killed during the Battle of Pasir Panjang on 14 February 1942,[5] the exact details surrounding his death differed between accounts from both sides of the war. The actual circumstances of his death were never officially recorded.

The Imperial Japanese Army's official account indicated that Adnan was executed and then hung upside down from a cherry tree after two days of stubborn resistance and refusal to surrender. Other accounts suggest that he might have been tied to the tree and repeatedly bayoneted to death.[4][6] British accounts confirmed that his corpse was found hung upside down after the surrender and this has been repeated in a number of authoritative texts on the Malayan Campaign. His remains are buried at the Kranji War Memorial.

Personal life and family

Adnan was born of Minangkabau descent in Sungai Ramal (present-day Bandar Baru Bangi), near Kajang, Selangor, Malaya. He was the eldest child in his family. His younger brothers, Ahmad and Amarullah, were also soldiers. Ahmad was killed in action (KIA) after his ship, HMS Pelandok, was sunk by the Japanese en route to Australia.[5]

Adnan married Sophia Pakir, an Islamic religious teacher, in 1938. They had a daughter who died soon after birth, and two sons: Mokhtar, who lives in Seremban, and Zainudin, who lives in Johor. Mokhtar recalled that his father "did not talk a lot", was "a strict man and believed in discipline", and was "always serious and fierce ... yet had a good heart. There seemed to be a 'light' illuminating his face."[7] Sophia died in 1949.

Legacy

Adnan is considered a national hero in Singapore due to his courageous and valiant actions at the Battle of Pasir Panjang.[8] The promotion of Adnan as a national, Malay war hero was championed by Singaporean newspaper Berita Harian in 1995. In 1999, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong honoured Adnan as a national hero and his story begun appearing in history school books.[9]

He is also well recognised in Malaysia as a national hero and his story is made into a novel used in secondary schools as part of Malay language academic.

War memorial

A war memorial plaque honouring Adnan and the Malay Brigade was commissioned by Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew in 1995 at Vigilante Drive, Kent Ridge Park, Singapore.[10]

A colonial-era bungalow at Bukit Chandu was converted into Reflections at Bukit Chandu, an interpretative centre about the Battle of Pasir Panjang.[11]

The Art in Transit programme of Pasir Panjang MRT station, titled Lieutenant Adnan, by Ho Tzu Nyen, features mock posters all around the station and lift shaft for a fictional movie about Adnan, who is portrayed by Singaporean actor Aaron Aziz.[12]

Portrayal in film

Adnan was portrayed by Malaysian actor Hairie Othman in the 2000 film Leftenan Adnan.[13]

He was also portrayed by an unknown Malay actor in the 2001 Singaporean television series A War Diary.

Aaron Aziz also portrayed Adnan in an episode of the 2004 historical series Life Story from Mediacorp Channel 5, which also covers his personal life.[14]

In May 2016, a Singaporean actor Fadhlur Rahman also played as Adnan in Heroes: Battle of Bukit Chandu aired by Mediacorp Channel 5, Channel 8, Suria, Vasantham and Channel NewsAsia. In the episodes, there were interviews with Adnan's granddaughter Wan Sofia Zainuddin.

Singapore's Bicentennial

On 5 June 2019, on Hari Raya Aidilfitri, President Halimah Yacob launched commemorative notes featuring Adnan along with 7 other historical Singaporean figures in a $20 commemorative notes marking Singapore's bicentennial celebrations, 1819–2019 edition.[15]

References
  1. Johari Rahmat (2002). In quest of excellence : a story of Singapore Malays. Thusitha De Silva, Saat A. Rahman, MENDAKI. [Singapore]: [Yayasan Mendaki]. pp. 114–115. ISBN 981-04-7383-4. OCLC 53058960.
  2. The Battle of Pasir Panjang Revisited-MINDEF.gov.sg Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Lieutenant Adnan bin Saidi". Singapore Heroes. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  4. Lieutenant Adnan bin Saidi and The Malay Regiment Archived 12 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Lieutenant Adnan Saidi". Government of Singapore. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  6. "bosmalay4.html". www.oocities.org.
  7. "Biography – Lt. Adnan Saidi, 1915 – 1942, Infantry Officer, War Hero by Liza Sahid in 1995". Habitat News – National University Singapore. 9 September 1995. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  8. "Adnan bin Saidi". Badass of the Week. Backroom Productions, Inc. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  9. Hack, Karl; Blackburn, Kevin (2012). War memory and the making of modern Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore: NUS Press. pp. 314–316. ISBN 9789971695996. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  10. Sahid, Liza. "Biography – Lt. Adnan Saidi". Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  11. "Reflections at Bukit Chandu". Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  12. Justin Zhuang (2013). Art in Transit: Circle Line MRT-Singapore. pp. 22–183. ISBN 978-981-07-4982-8.
  13. "TIDAK LAGI KU KEJAR GLAMOR - HAIRIE OTHMAN" (in Malay). 11 November 2019.
  14. Life Story Archived 23 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Channel 5 12 September 2006. Retrieved 18 September 2007.
  15. "A war hero, Singapore River and gold: Details of the bicentennial S$20 note". Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
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