Lee Su Kim centres her Nyonya heritage within her work as an award-winning author, an educator and a cultural activist (Photo: Lee Su Kim)
There is an odd norm, equal parts joke and grievance, that Asian elders — particularly parents — rarely show affection in straightforward ways. Whether it stems from a reluctance to appear soft and doting, or simply from not knowing how to express themselves plainly, it is a shared experience most grow up accepting — and even laughing about from time to time.
It is more common to hear the words “Have you eaten?” instead of “I love you”, and to receive a nod or pat of approval rather than a full-fledged embrace.
Standing at the back door of her family home as Japanese Occupation troops near the front gate in search of young women, Pei Lin — the protagonist of Lee Su Kim’s debut novel Run, My Daughters, Run — momentarily despairs over this dynamic as her parents urge their four daughters to flee the house to evade capture. Even at such a tense moment, lives hanging in the balance, her mother, Teh Kim Neo, does not hug her children or say she loves them, but only pleads with them to make a dash for it.
Pei Lin, the eldest, who is also expected to watch over her siblings, yearns for her mother’s touch. Instead, she heeds instructions and leads her sisters into hiding.
Set primarily from 1942 to 1943, the book was inspired by Lee’s mother’s recollections of life under the Japanese Occupation. Arriving on local shores in December 1941, Emperor Hirohito’s army had set out to establish the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” — a hegemonic confederation spanning East and Southeast Asia.
Following the surrender of British forces in Singapore in February 1942, those who remained in Malaya were frequently subjected to atrocities such as forced labour, imprisonment, torture and murder. Owing to the breakdown of trade routes and resource mismanagement, the public also suffered widespread poverty and food shortages.
The strife from this period left a permanent scar, and the instability continued to inhibit the country even after Japan yielded in August 1945. The generations who survived this traumatic chapter carry a shared sense of grief and even resentment towards Japan’s perceived lack of remorse.
The core subject of Lee’s novel is the voices of the local women from this time, whose stories and struggles have largely gone untold. The book is primarily written in Pei Lin’s point of view, with the occasional focus on her mother Kim Neo and other family members, including father Henry Lee and youngest brother Keong.
Well-educated and sensible, Pei Lin and her siblings (especially her sisters Pei Tzan, Pei Ching and Pei Fern) represent a cohort of Malaysians from this time who were raised to aspire towards more than just marriage and homemaking, yet are bound by constraints of their heritage and gender.
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When the Japanese begin raiding homes for daughters to turn into comfort women, her mother forces the girls to disguise themselves as boys, forbidding them to leave the abode unless it is to escape invaders. Unlike their brothers, who are still too young to be conscripted into labour camps and are therefore afforded a relative degree of freedom, the girls are stripped of practically all liberties. Distress over having to give up beloved literature and dashed dreams of attending university rapidly become something more carnal and sickening — girls, who know nothing of sex beyond what their biology textbooks depict and have had minimal contact with men outside the family, are confronted with the possible violation of their bodies and autonomy.
Meanwhile, Kim Neo holds a painful secret close to her chest, which, unbeknownst to her children, explains her strict, overprotective nature (spoiler alert). Having given up her firstborn daughter Mei Li, she is already familiar with the heartbreak of losing a child. During the occupation, her stern personality at times becomes authoritarian. To the children, the sudden yelling and lectures are upsetting, but they are the matriarch’s only way of ensuring the family makes it through the years. Pei Lin notices the toll this takes on her parents, who age swiftly under the stress and vigilance they must shoulder to keep everyone safe.
Lee also places great emphasis on the preservation of culture and tradition through these difficult times — something those of us born after World War II have much to thank the previous generation for.
As the household’s financial situation deteriorates, resourcefulness becomes a life-saving skill. The family transforms its once-pristine lawn into a vegetable patch, growing local produce such as chilli, kangkung and aubergine — staples of Malaysian cuisine. When things get truly dire, Kim Neo mobilises the family to start a Nyonya kuih business to bring in some income. She insists that everything be done the way it always has: no cutting corners when it comes to fresh ingredients or proper preparation. Even the dainty diamond shapes of some varieties must be maintained, even if it means producing a little less to sell.
Run, My Daughters, Run is a poignant read for our times, as global conflicts and human suffering make the headlines so regularly that those fortunate enough to live in peace can become desensitised to them. It is worth remembering that being born into a life free from the violations of our most basic human rights is not a given, but a matter of circumstance. Such luck can be ripped away in the blink of an eye.
As history has shown, violence and hatred can spread across the world like wildfire and, when they do, innocent people are invariably the ones who suffer most. There are no real winners in war.
Lee’s novel explores multiple facets of this era in Malaysian history and how its echoes continue to reverberate in the present day. Someone’s query about whether you have eaten, or their offering of food as a gesture of peace, may well stem from their own experience of extreme hunger — and a determination to ensure that no loved one ever knows such a primal ache.
'Run, My Daughters, Run' (RM52.90) is available at Popular, MPH Bookstores and Lit Books.
This article first appeared on Aug 24, 2026 in The Edge Malaysia.
