Adnan Saidi

Personal life

Adnan was born at Sungai Ramal near Kajang, Selangor, a Muslim of Minangkabau descent. He was the eldest child in his whole family. His younger brothers, Ahmad Saidi and Amarullah Saidi, were also soldiers. Ahmad was killed in action after his ship, HMS Pelanduk, was sunk by the Japanese on route to Australia. Amarullah survived the war and now resides in Kajang, Selangor.

Adnan was married to Sophia Pakir, an Islamic religious teacher. She died in 1949. They had a daughter, who died soon after birth, and two sons: Mokhtar Adnan, who now lives in Seremban, and Zainudin Adnan, who lives in the state of Johor.

Battle of Pasir Panjang

Adnan led a 42-strong platoon from the Malay Regiment in the defence of Singapore against the invading Japanese. The soldiers fought at the Battle of Pasir Panjang, at Pasir Panjang Ridge in the Bukit Chandu (Opium Hill) area on 12–14 February 1942. Although heavily outnumbered, Adnan refused to surrender and urged his men to fight on until the end. They held off the Japanese troops for two days amid heavy enemy shelling from artillery guns and tanks and chronic shortages of food, medical supplies and ammunition (on the last day of the battle, Adnan and his men were only left with a few hand grenades and had to fight off the Japanese soldiers with their bayonets and through brutal hand-to-hand combat. Adnan was shot but carried on fighting.

One detail regarding the battle was how he managed to identify Japanese soldiers who were attempting to infiltrate the Regiment's base in disguise as "Punjabi soldiers", who were marching four abreast (the Japanese marching style) instead of three, which was the style of marching preferred by the British troops.

Capture and death

It is widely understood that Adnan had been killed as a casualty of the battle, although exact details surrounding how it happen differed between opposite sides of the war and the actual mode of execution was never officially recorded.

The official version, as recorded by the Japanese Imperial Army, indicated that he was executed and then hung upside down from a cherry tree due to his 2 days of stubborn retaliation and for not surrendering. (Other accounts say that he might have been tied to the tree first, then repeatedly bayoneted to death.) British accounts have 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.

Legacy

Adnan is currently considered a national hero by both Singaporeans and Malaysians alike due to his bravery and valiant contributions to the war against the Japanese Army invasion at that time.

War Memorial

A war memorial plaque honouring Adnan and his Malay Brigade was erected by Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1995 at Vigilante Drive, Kent Ridge Park, Singapore.

A colonial era bungalow at Bukit Chandu was converted into Reflections at Bukit Chandu, an interpretative centre about the Battle of Pasir Panjang. The actions of Adnan and the soldiers from the Malay Regiment are immortalised at the centre.

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.

Portrayal in film

Adnan was portrayed by actor Hairie Othman in the 1999 Malaysian film Leftenan Adnan. He was also portrayed by an unknown Malay actor in the 2001 Singaporean TV series A War Diary. Aaron Aziz also portrayed him in an episode of the 2004 historical series Life Story from Mediacorp Channel 5, which also covers his personal life.