Anybody? I have a question I was hoping to be pointed to the right direction.
Singapore, close enough Actually, I am looking for Civil service to locate people. My grandpa left Penang in 1940's right before the Japanese invaded(army landed 1km from his home), he went to Shanghai at age of 20, while his sisters and their kids(dozen of relative) stayed behind. Due to the nature of the communist China in the old time(from 50's to 90's), he was not able to make any contact with relatives in Malaysia. In 90's he tried to search for them via Red Cross and other agents, no result. I made trip to penang last year, located his home, it is vacant, but it was obviously well maintained, it might be done by local goverment since the house is one of the land mark estate. Basicly we want to find out if any of our relatives survived the war and are still around. We tried through Malaysia Embassy in NY, tried several Civil service in Malaysia, it wasn't helpful at all. I was hoping if anyone in/around Malaysia can recommend some useful serive, such as private agency and legal/law service, who would work for us in the search. Any leads will be appreciated, thanks!!
Okay, This doesn't sound too difficult. You might want to PM me with your Grandad's details and which branch of the Service he was in and which district or street he lived on in Penang. The first route is to write to the local English newspaper, The New Straits time and other local provincials appealing to get readers to contact them or you. They do this for free quite frequeently if you know to approach them with a good story. I can help if you want. There are lots of retired Malayan Civil Service pensioners living in Singapore, I can ask these ladies and gentlemen. If your Grandad was prominent or held a senior post, he's records will be with the British Administration (British High Commission, Malaysia). In the days before WWII, the administration in Penane reported directly to Singapore, so there will be records here as well. Hope this helps.
