Japanese Occupation in Malaya (By: Carys)

  I am writing this to narrate about a renowned war in my beloved nation and homeland, Malaysia………………………It happened many, many years ago. Right now, it vanished like foam in the water. I am quite blissful, but for this most vague past in my country, I will also remember it……….and learnt a lot of lessons from it…………….

  Do you all know how, when, and why the Japanese colonized my country before? For the answers, I am going to discuss them in the next paragraph…………

  Malaysia, my own country, used to be named Malaya, before the announcement on 16 September 1965 with the merging of Sabah and Sarawak, the islands of Borneo. On the other hand, the country that used to be my enemy, Japan, located in East Asia, is known to have a given nickname called-------“Land of the Rising Sun,” and it is one of the countries with the most advanced technologies there. The people are so genial, polite, and as fit as a fiddle. Here, I am not going to tell more stories about it; instead, I will talk about the process when it was invaded by the Japanese… …...That time, Malaya was under the administration of the British and was gradually colonized by the Japanese forces between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender in Singapore on 15 February 1942. They kept invading Malaya until their surrender to Singapore on 15 February 1942. The first Japanese garrison in Malaya to lower down their arms was in Penang, also known as the state of Oriental Pearl, on 2 September 1945 aboard HMS Nelson.

  This is the prelude to how the Japanese colonized Malaya. The perspective of a unified East Asia received form according to an Imperial Japanese Army perspective that originated from Hachirō Arita, who was the Minister for Foreign Affairs from the year 1936 to 1940. The Japanese soldier said the latest Japanese empire was an Asian version of the Monroe Doctrine, a United States foreign position that rejects European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere, especially with the Roosevelt Corollary, an addition to the Monroe Doctrine articulated by President Theodore Roosevelt in his 1904 State of the Union Address, widely as a result of the Venezuelan crisis from the years 1902 to 1903. Asian regions, it was debated, were as utmost to Japan as Latin America was to the United States. The Japanese foreign minister, Yōsuke Matsuoka, declared the idea of the co-prosperity sphere on 1 August 1940, in a press interview, but it had appeared in other forms for many years. Leaders in Japan had long interests in the idea. The outbreak of World War II combating in Europe had provided the Japanese a chance to demand the withdrawal of support from China with the name “Asia for Asiatics,” where European abilities cannot retaliate productively. Myriads of war territories within the boundaries of the sphere were under colonial rule, and attributes of their population were sympathetic to Japan (as in the situation of Indonesia), invaded by Japan in the early phases of the conflict. and reformed under puppet governments, or already under the navigation of Japan at the outset (as in the case of Manchukuo). These factors aid in making the formation of the sphere, while lacking any genuine authority or joint power, come together without a lot of complications. The sphere would, based on an imperial propaganda, build a new multinational order seeking “prosperity” for Asian nations that would share prosperity and harmony, free from Western colonialism and domination under the umbrella of a merciful Japan.

  Preparations were done for the Japanese before attacking Malaya. Japanese Military Affairs Bureau Unit 82 was established in the year 1939 or 1940 based in Taiwan to bring this about. During its last deciding stages, the unit was under the then-Colonel Yoshihide Hayashi. Intelligence in Malaya was assembled through a network of agents comprising Japanese embassy staff; disaffected Malayans (particularly members of the Japanese-formed Tortoise Society); and Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese business people, and tourists. Japanese spies, which included a British intelligence officer, Captain Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan, and Lord Sempill, also gave intelligence and assistance. Captain Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan’s intelligence enabled the Japanese to devastate much of the Allied air forces on the ground. On behalf of hostilities, Japanese intelligence officers such as Iwaichi Fujiwara had built covert intelligence offices, also known as Kikans, that merged with the Malay and Indian pro-independence organizations like “Kesatuan Melayu Muda” in Malaya and the Indian Independence League. The Japanese provided these motions financial support in return for their members giving intelligence and later assistance in knowing Allied troop motions, abilities, and dispositions correlated to the colonization. By the year 1941, the Japanese had been engaged for 4 years in attempting to subjugate China. They were heftily reliant on imported items for their military forces, particularly oil that was originated from the United States. From the year 1940 to the year 1941, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands (formerly Holland), imposed embargoes on supplying oil and war ingredients to Japan. The object of embargoes was to assist the Chinese and encourage the Japanese to cancel military action in China. The Japanese claimed that pulling out of China would lead to consequences in a loss of face and planned instead to take military measures against the United States and British and Dutch nations in Southeast Asia. The Japanese forces for the colonization were garnered in the year 1941 on Hainan Island, China, and in French Indochina. The troop build-up in Indochina and Hainan was discovered by the Allies, and when questioned, the Japanese advised that it correlated to its operations in China.

  Do you guys all know how the conquest of the Japanese war in Malaya goes? Here it comes… The occupation commenced with Imperial Japanese Army landings at Padang Pak Amat beach in Kota Bharu just after midnight on 8 December 1941, stimulating a stern combat with the British Indian Army an hour before the invasion of Pearl Harbor. This combat presented the official embarkment of the Pacific War and the Japanese occupation of Malaya. Kota Bharu airport was jam-packed in the morning. Sungai Patani, Butterworth, and Alor Setar airports were captured on 9 December 1941. Japanese armies landing at Kota Bharu split into 2 isolated forces, with one moving down the east coast towards Kuantan, Pahang, and the other southwards towards the Perak River.  On 11 December 1941, the Japanese started to bomb Penang, followed by Jitra and Alor Setar on 12 December 1941. The British ought to retreat toward the south. On 16 December 1941, the British left Penang to the Japanese, who fulfilled it after 3 days. The Japanese continued to advance southwards, capturing Ipoh, Perak, on 26 December. Ferocious resistance to Japanese progress in the War of Kampar lasted 3 days and 3 nights between 30 December 1941 and 2 January 1942, before the British had to retreat once again. On 7 January 1942, 2 brigades of the 11^th Indian Infantry Division were defeated in the Combat of Slim River, Perak, providing the Japanese soldier a piece of cake passage to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaya. As the British position grew more ambitious on January 9, General Wavell, the Supreme Commander of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM), intended to withdraw all British and Commonwealth forces south to Johor, leaving behind Kuala Lumpur, which the Japanese had captured on January 13. was becoming more aspired and the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDACOM) Supreme Commander, General Wavell, planned to withdraw all the British and Commonwealth forces south to Johor, therefore abandoning Kuala Lumpur (which was captured by the Japanese on 13 January). The British preservative line was formed in north Johor, from Muar at the west, via Segamat, and then to Mersing in the east. The 45^th Indian Infantry Brigade was located along the western part of the line between Muar and Segamat. The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was focused on the middle, from where they advanced north from Segamat, clashing with the improving Japanese army at Gemas on 14 January. The 15th Division (building the main Japanese force) approached on 15 January and forced the Australians back to Segamat. The Japanese then continued west towards the inexperienced 45th Indian Brigade, simply defeating them. The Allied command led the Australian 2/19^th and 2/29^th Battalions to the west; the 2/19^th Battalion engaged the Japanese on 17 January 1942 to the south of Muar. The battle proceeded until 18 January, and despite efforts by the 2/19^th and 2/29^th Battalions, the Johor defensive line dropped. The Allies must retreat across the Johor Causeway to Singapore. As 31 January 1942 arrived, the entirety of Malaya had collapsed into the Japanese hands.

  This is how the Japanese occupation in Malaya happened. I am going to talk about one of its aspects, the policy of Japan first. Japanese policy for the administration of occupied nations was formed in February 1941 by Colonel Obata Nobuyoshi, who is the Southern Army's section chief of intelligence, and Lieutenant Colonels Otoji Nishimura and Seijiro Tofuku of the General Staff. They developed 5 principles, which are acquisition of vital items for national defenses, restoration of rules and order, self-sufficiency for the troops in the occupied countries, tribute for formed local organizations and customs, and no hasty debate of future status about sovereignty. Administratively, the Straits Settlements were to be located directly under the Japanese soldier, the Federated Malay States and Johor will maintain as autonomous protectorates under their sultans (rulers), while the 4 northern states were to eventually revert to Thai regulations. Once occupied Malay was located under the Malay Military Administration, also known as Malai Gunsei Kumbu of the Imperial Japanese Soldier. The 25^th Army’s chief of staff was the superintendent and its Chief of General Affairs Department, Colonel Watanabe Wataru, its executive officer. It was Colonel Watanabe Wataru who implemented the occupation policies. He had a certainly hard-line view, treating the Chinese incredibly spitefully because of their support for mainland China against Japan. But, in the other hand, Malays and Indians were treated more moderately due to their cooperation. Colonel Watanabe Wataru intensely believed that British rule had introduced a hedonistic and materialistic method of life to the indigenous people. He claimed that they needed to be tutored to overcome hardship with physical and vital training and education. He also believed that they must also be ready to provide their lives if needed to form Hakkō ichiu, which is the entire world under 1 roof, and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. When Colonel Watanabe Wataru was substituted by Major-General Masuzo Fujimuro, the Japanese war position had deteriorated, and they recognized that they needed the cooperation of the whole population. Gradually, the more repressive policies towards the Chinese were lifted and advisory councils were built. In March 1944, Colonel Hamada Hiroshi formed a public reading room to participate in discussions with the Chinese society leaders and youngsters.

  Next, I am going to talk about its next aspect, cultural and geographical alterations. The Japanese sought to change the normal language of Malaya to Japanese. Its initial motions were to change shop signs and street names. For instance, Penang was renamed as Tōjō Island, or Tōjō-tō, and for Malaya was renamed as Malai, or Marai. The time zone was altered to align with Japan too. The Japanese custom, bowing as a polite action, was introduced with the populace expected to bow to Japanese armies on guard duty. Malay was pronounced as a dialect, and the Japanese wanted it to be standardized with Sumatran. When it comes to propaganda, the colonizing Japanese forces utilize the slogans like “Asia Untuk Orang Asia”, which is known as “Asia for Asians”, to attain victory and support from the local Malays. Malay radicals have been provided stern instructions to adhere by Japanese military decisions to create “Asians for Asians” and a “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” with Malaya as an essential fundamental. The Japanese worked hard to win the local population’s heart that they were the authentic saviors of Malaya while Britain was acted as an imperialist force that wished to exploit Malaya’s resources. However, in November 1943, when the Japanese organized the Greater East Asia Conference, both Malaya and Indonesia were excluded as the Japanese military wanted to annex both regions.

  Apart from that, in the aspect of newspapers, the latest Japanese agency, Dōmei Tsushin, was granted a monopoly that comprises Malaya, Singapore, and British Borneo. All new publications in this region dropped under its navigation. An exception may have been The Perak Times, which was published by John Victor Morais in Ipoh from 1942 to 1943. In Penang, on 8 December 1942, the Penang Malay, Chinese, and English articles were merged in the Penang Shinbun. Abdullah Ariff, a pioneer Malay watercolorist, drew cartoons for the newspaper. He became an active member of the pro-independence UMNO after the war and eventually a Penang City Councillor from the year 1955 to 1957. The Malai Sinpo substituted the Malay Mail on 1 January 1943 and was published in Kuala Lumpur. The Jawi Script, Warta Malaya, produced by Ibrahim Yaacob and financed by the Japanese, ceased publication on behalf of the Japanese colonization and resumed for a short period from mid-1942 until 14 August 1942. During the brief period, it was done by the Japanese. To mention about the aspect of garrisons, the 25^th Army Headquartered at Singapore gave garrison duty in Malaya until January 1944. It was substituted by the 29^th Army’s, 94^th Infantry Division, under Lieutenant General Teizo Ishiguro, which was headquartered in Taiping, Perak, until the end of the war. The Second (with the 25^th Army) and later the Third (with the 29^th Army) Field Kempeitai Units of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group gave military police and remained public order in the similar manner as the German SS. These units can, at will, captivate and interrogate, with torture, both military and civilians. The civilian police force was deferential to them. The Commander of the 2^nd Field Kempeitai Unit was Lieutenant Colonel Oishi Masayuki. Number 3 Kempeitai was ordinated by Major-General Masanori Kojima. By the end of the war, there were 758 Kempeitai located in Malaya, with more in the Thai occupied Malay states.

  Besides that, for the Penang submarine base, during the occupation, Penang was utilized as a submarine port by the Japanese, Italian, and German navies. The Imperial Japanese Navy’s 6^th fleet Submarine Squadron 8 was based at Penang from February 1942 under Rear-Admiral Ishizaki Noboru. The base was utilized as a refueling depot for submarines bound for German-occupied Europe and for operations in Indian Ocean. In early 1943, the first German and Italian submarines started to call at Penang. In April 1943, U-178 under Kapitan Lieutenant Wilhelm Dommes was sent to set up and order the German U-boat base at Penang. This base was the only operational base utilized by all three Axis Navies. Japanese submarines from Penang attended the Battle of Madagascar on 29 May 1942 invading shipping in Diego Suarez harbor. 7 Italians BETASOM submarines were adapted to carry crucial matériel from the Far East, which includes Bagnolin, Barbarigo, Comandante Capellini, Giuseppe Finzi, Reginaldo Giuliani, Enrico Tazzoli, and Luigi Torelli of which two were sunk by the Allies, two were caught at Penang by the Germans after the September 1943 Italian Surrender and utilized by them, and a 5^th was caught in Bordeaux by the Germans but not used. Of the 1^st 11 U- boats assigned to the Monsun Gruppe at the base, only U-168, U-183, and U-532 approached between October and November 1943. Of the 2^nd categories sent in late 1943, only U-510 made it via the Allied-held oceans. It reached in April 1944 at a time when the focus had changed from battle missions to transport between Europe and Asia. These cargo missions were to transport much-needed war supplies between Germany and Japan. By March 1944, the base was running short of supplies, was under a developing attack from Allied anti-submarine patrols. It was absent of air support and reconnaissance. The Japanese had pulled their submarines out of Penang before the end in 1944 because the base had dropped within Allied bombing range. The Germans maintained until December 1944 before withdrawing to Singapore. When Germany lost to the surviving submarines were received by the Japanese and the German sailors moved to Batu Pahat. When the British returned in 1945, the sailors were imprisoned at Changi, with the final, Fregattenkapitän Wilhelm Dommes, being repatriated to Germany in the year 1947.

  When narrating about the civil service, overall control and administration was the 25^th Army’s responsibility. The transfer of the northern Malay states to Thailand moved them to Thai’s navigation. With the transfer of Malaya from the 25^th to the 29^th Army, Johor was located under control of the Southern Army based in Singapore. Japanese and Taiwanese civilians led the Malayan civil service and police during the occupation. The structure maintained the same as Malaya’s pre-war civil service with a lot of former Civil Servants being reappointed. Myriads of the rules and regulations of the British Administration proceeded in use. The Sultans were initially permitted to proceed as nominal rulers; with the intent they would eventually be finished, removed from abilities. The invasion of Japanese in Malaya affected Thai annexation of northern Malaya states too. Up until 1909, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Terengganu were considered as Thai territories. As part of an agreement in 1909, Thailand had transferred them under the control of British. In July 1943, Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo declared that Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu were to be returned to Thailand as part of the military alliance signed between Thailand and Japan on 21 December 1941. Thailand administered the states as Syburi, Palit, Kalantan and Trangkanu provinces from 18 October 1943 until the losing Japanese at the end of the war. Japanese troops and Kempeitai proceeded to be located at the states.

  Now, not to talk so long, I am going to say something about the surrender of the Japanese after the war.  On 15 August 1945, Emperor Hirohito provided a recorded radio address to the Empire pronouncing the willingness of the terms of ending the war that Allies had set down in the Potsdam Declaration. British B-24 and Mosquito bombers then undertook reconnaissance, and leaflet falls over Malayan cities after the surrender declaration. One Mosquito Bomber had engine issues and was forced to land at the Japanese held Sungai Besi aerodrome which is a stone threw away from Kuala Lumpur. The Japanese gave help to the aircrews until they were picked up by another Mosquito. In the moment between the emperor’s declaration and the arrival of Allied forces in Malaya sporadic combating broke out between the Chinese and Malay societies, particularly in Perak. The MPAJA launched reprisals against associators in the Malay police force and the civilian population and embarked on forcibly expanding funds. A lot of in the rank and file guided revolution. The meticulous approach prevailed among most of the leadership at Lai Teck’s instigation, a plan that would later be seen as a major missed chance. A few of the Japanese occupation troops also arrived under attack from civilians during this moment as they withdrew from outlying areas. Under Operation Jurist, Penang became the 1^st state in Malaya to be liberated from Japanese regulation. The Japanese garrison in Penang surrendered on 2 September 1945 aboard HMS Nelson and a party of the Royal Marines retook Penang Island the following day. The British consequently recaught Singapore, with the Japanese garrison on the island surrendering on 12 September. After the surrender of Singapore, British forces arrived at Kuala Lumpur, where the Commander of the 29^th Army surrendered on 13 September 1945. Another surrender ceremony was organized in Kuala Lumpur on 22 February 1946 for General Itagaki, the Commander of the 7^th Area Army. On 12 September 1945, the British Military Administration (BMA) was established in Kuala Lumpur. This was followed by the signing of the Malaya surrender document in Kuala Lumpur by the Lieutenant-General, Teizo Ishiguro, commander of the 29^th Army; with Major-General Naoichi Kawahara, a chief of the staff, and Colonel Oguri as witnesses. Later that year, the MPAJA did not willingly agree to disband. Weapons were handed at ceremonies, where the wartime role of the army was praised.

  This is the aftermath of the occupation of Japanese in Malaya. For the aspect of repatriation, Japanese troops who maintained in Malaya, Java, Sumatra, and Burma (now known as Myanmar) at the end of the war were transferred to Rempang and Galang Islands from October 1945 on to await repatriation to Japan. Galang was renamed as Sakae by troops. Lieutenant-General Ishiguro was put in charge of the island by the Allies under supervision of 5 British officers. More than 200,000 Japanese troops passed via the islands under Operation Exodus. A newspaper reported that Kempeitai troops were threatened by their compatriots. The last troops escaped from the islands in July 1946. Additionally, some 7,000 Japanese civilians who had stayed in Malaya prior to or during the occupation were repatriated to Japan too. To talk about war crimes, Kempeitai members and camp guards were claimed as prisoners of war due to their treatment of military and civilians. There were myriads of war crimes trials. One held in the year 1947 found 7 Japanese officers guilty. Two of them, who were Lieutenant Colonel Masayuki Oishi, commander of 2 Field Kempeitai and Lieutenant General Saburo Kawamura were executed on 26 June 1947. Lieutenant General Takuma Nishimura, one of the 5 given life sentences, was later found guilty of the Parit Sulong Massacre by an Australian court and executed. Captain Higashikawa, head of the Penang Branch of the Kempeitai, was executed too. His actions were merciless sufficiently for Captain S. Hidaka, Penang Chief of Staff for the Imperial Japanese Navy, to increase the case with Lieutenant-General Ishiguro. Lieutenant-General Ishiguro had him transferred and substituted by Captain Terata. Sergeant Eiko Yoshimura, the head of Kempeitai in Ipoh, Perak, was executed by hanging for the torture and abuse of civilians, consisting of Sybil Kathigasu, a military nurse. Malay author Ahmad Murad Nasaruddin wrote a book called Nyawa di-hujong pědang, about her family’s incarcerations. Other soldiers who were sentenced to death included Colonel Watanabe Tsunahiko, commander of the 11^th Regiment by firing squad for his part in the Kuala Pilah massacre; and Captain Iwata Mitsugi, 2^nd Lieutenant Goba Itsuto, and 2^nd Lieutenant Hashimoto Tadashi by hanging at Pudu Jail on 3 January 1948. War graves and memorials were established to commemorate the notable soldiers in my country to combat against the Japanese. Cemeteries for Malayan and Allied military personnel were formed at Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore and Taiwan War Cemetery in Bukit Larut, also known as Maxwell Hill, Taiping, Perak. An expedition was mounted in October 1946 by the Number 46 War Graves Unit to recover and rebury all the personnel they could place. The main national war memorial was located at the National Monument of Kuala Lumpur. It was used to commemorate those who served in both World War II and the Malayan Emergency that followed the war.

  To conclude, the Japanese occupation in my beloved country, like other wars, are so frightening. It was just like how a sharp knife faces and slaying a person. When I refreshed or read this scenario again, I would catch a nightmare, but I learn a lot and gain more lessons and knowledge from it. Thus, for the last word, I suggest that everyone in the world should tolerate and cooperate with each other to refrain from wars from occurring again, as the saying goes here, unity is strength.