From 12 to 14 May 1954, the Chinese Schools Combined Sports Meet was held at Jalan Besar Stadium. Our girls continued to show their sporting prowess. The combined sports meet was an annual event for which all lessons were suspended and all students watched the games at the stadium. This was to be the last sports meet of the Chinese Schools. On the afternoon of 13 May, whilst lessons were suspended, a group of secondary school students, gathered at the Government House to petition against the implementation of The Military Service Act, which specified that single men between the ages of 18 and 41 were liable to be called up for military service. This resulted in a confrontation with the Police at Tank Road. This episode was later known as the ‘513’ incident. From then on, the combined sports meet was suspended and student athletes from the Chinese schools were no longer able to showcase their talents. For the next three years, led by the Secondary School Students Union, a series of student strikes took place and conflicts with the police frequently occurred on the campuses of Chinese High School and Chung Cheng High School.

Quiet school grounds were caught in unrest and the education focus was diverted to managing the unrest. Mr Zheng Jie De, a famous coach in our school, left the school after he trained Teng Pei Wah to represent Singapore in the Olympic Games. The years of turmoil resulted in Chinese schools paying a high price and the enthusiasm for sports plummeted.

Source: Nanyang Schools Alumni Association and Nanyang Schools (2017). Nanyang Centenary: 

A Vision Celebrated. p.37