The latest Institute of Policy Studies survey showed us that Singaporeans don't remember things in black and white.

From August to October last year, over 1,500 citizens were shown 50 uniquely Singapore historical events and were asked if they were aware of it.

Over 90 percent of the respondents interviewed recall events such as the Sars epidemic and when Goh Chok Tong took over Lee Kuan Yew as Prime Minister.

And given Singaporeans' tendency to complain,  the MRT breakdown in 2011 cut deep.

However, only 16.6 percent of of the 1,500 respondents know about the 1963 Operation Coldstore that saw 113 leftist politicians and others arrested.

I was intrigued by the survey results so I decided to share The Straits Times article with my friend, only to be bombarded with questions like "PAP got split before meh?" and "We had a Nantah University ah?"

Undeniably, Singaporean youths today are no history buffs. Too caught up in their own studies and life, hardly anyone bothers finding out about Singapore's history (albeit short).

I wanted to find out just how much or how little they knew about the major events of Singapore. So, I decided to conduct my own survey by asking my friends questions about some of these events.

To provide a fairer representation, I surveyed 12 people across different ages and educational backgrounds (secondary school, JC and poly students and undergraduates).

Below are their responses.

The no-brainers:

1. Who took over Lee Kuan Yew as the second Prime Minister?

Shockingly, half of the respondents answered Lee Hsien Loong. Even more surprisingly was this answer:

"Goh Chalk Tong" - Maven Tan, 21, Full-time National Service (NSF) previously from a polytechnic

He wasn't trying to be funny; he really had no idea how to spell "Chok".

2. What does Sars stand for?

Everyone got it right except:

"Singapore Assault Rifle" - Howard Lee, 20, NSF previously from a junior college.

FYI, he's considering signing on with the army.

3. What is the name of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist that escaped in 2008?

Source

Again, only one person got it wrong:

"Mad Selamat" - Prisillia Lee, 19, undergraduate

Makes sense. You wouldn't escape prison if you weren't mad.

4. Why did Lee Kuan Yew cry on national television?

Source

Seven out of the 12 respondents got it correct. Here are some of the wild guesses:

"Dust flew into his eyes?" -  Lim Wei Xiang, 24, undergraduate

"He was very touched." - Isabel Ho, 18, JC student

"His mother died." - Timothy Ong, 15, secondary school student

Now for the questions that got everyone stumped:

5. In 1981, the Anson by-election was won by the then leader of Worker's Party. What is his name?

The most popular answers were Chiam See Tong and David Marshall which is understandable as they were both well-known political figures.

However there were some answers that really perplexed me.

"Ah Gou" - Cheryl Lim, 20, undergraduate

"James" - Tan Wei Ting, 18, junior college student

"Mr Worker" - Maven Tan, 21, NSF

And the leader of PAP is Mr People?

6. What is Operation Coldstore?

"An operation to stockpile items." - Prisillia Lee, 19, undergraduate

"To freeze stuff?" - Lee Zheng Hui, 24, undergraduate

"To store cold stuff." - Cheryl Lim, 20, undergraduate

7. What is the Graduate Mothers' Scheme?

"Distribution of free milk powder by the government?" - Timothy Ong, 15, secondary school student

"There's a scheme for the graduates' mothers?" -  Tan Wei Ting, 18, junior college student

"A scheme to encourage mothers to get a degree." - Catherine Lim, 22, undergraduate

8. In 1961, PAP was split into two parties: What are they?

"Worker's Party And Action Party" - Tan Jia Yi, 19, polytechnic student

"Labour Party and PAP" - Samuel Cheung, 20, NSF

Admittedly, there is much for us youths to learn about Singapore and there is one easy way to do this: read Mothership everyday.

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