70 years ago (7 Dec 1941), Japan attacked Pearl Harbour, which opened the Second World War in the Pacific. After that, Japanese forces began their invasion of the Far East, the Philipines and swiftly down Indo-China, Thailand, Malaya, Borneo and the Dutch East-Indies (Indonesia).
My family (Father, mom, my eldest sister and brother) left Taiping and took refuge with some relatives village at Matang Gelugor. This village is located somewhere behind the Kota Ngah Ibrahim, Matang. My father was serving as an HA at Taiping Hospital, then. Mother told me of the retreating Australian soldiers who stopped to rest at the Kota Ngah Ibrahim. The soldiers were short of food and the villagers helped to provide whatever they could - bread, rice with dried fish. One day, a few Japanese fighter planes strafed the area. The Ozzie soldiers managed to downed one aircraft which crashed and damaged the brick fence of the Kota. The Ozzie troops left the area towards Kuala Kangsar when the Japanese troops reached Taiping. During the Japanese occupation, father stayed at the Hospital quarters and visited his family at Matang Gelugor on his offday. Hospital staff were spared ill treatment by the Japs, for obvious reasons, they also needed help to attend to their wounded.
Father told me of the poor walking-wounded British soldiers were rounded up by the Japanese and taken to Taiping Prison (later they were sent to Singapore Changi Gaol). Those that were badly wounded were shot.
Lacking proper currency, Hospital staff were paid with a monthly ration of rice, milk powder, sugar and salt, which was still barely enough to feed father's family of four. So, the famed tale of eating tapioca, keledek(yam) and potatoes by many people of that generation. Travel was by bicycle since fuel rations were for Japanese officers or Government vehicles only (anyway, only the "Tuans" had cars - DO, DE, OCPD, rich towkays and OBJs. Bicycle shop owners were considered well to do those days).
An uncle of mine was nearly beheaded by the Japs because he was caught with a revolver in his bag. He was however released after managing to convinced a Jap officer that he had found the revolver outside his home and was on his way to Taiping Police station to surrender the gun (fortunate for him that my other two uncles came to his aid as witnesses).
Everyone was happy when the Japanese surrendered in 1945 and the return of the British. However, there was gap of almost one month during which the Bintang Tiga (MPAJA) took control of various parts of the country. People lived in fear because the MPAJA seeked revenge by killing those who were suspected of aiding the Japs.
As Hospital staff, my father and family was not ill-treated by the MPAJA. The British Military Administration came and brought back some normalcy in the people's life.
I end this jot with a prayer to those who had lost their lives during the War and pray for World Peace.
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