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| Professor Gary Lit and the war survivors (l/r) Chong Su Ha, Tham Yoong Yam, Tan Aik Hong, Lin Yeow Chang |
Professor
Gary Lit who regularly give talks of the Japanese occupation years added
another feature by asking War Survivors to come forward to relate their own war
time experiences to an audience.
Included in the audience was Madam Ding Qiao, the Vice Consul-General of the Peoples Republic of China in Penang to officially open the Chinese section at the Peace Gallery.
Gary in his
opening address said that 81years ago Emperor Hirohito announced the
surrender of the Japanese army. In Malaya, after 3 years and 8 months the war came
to an end. But for the war survivors the memory lingers. The survivors were Mdm Chong Su Ha, Mr Tham Yoong Yam, Mr Tan Aik Hong and Mdm Lin Yeow Chang. We are proud and privileged to have them today and we need to honor them.We must share these
survivors’ testimony because we are the last link to sharing some of the past.
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Professor Gary addressing his audience at his Peace Gallery
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The
survivors from Perak and one from Johore were young in their puberty years when
the war broke out. All of them experienced fear and trauma when young. One of
them although advanced in age and travelled extensively has refused to visit
Japan.
Chong Su
Har was 7 when she
experienced the trauma of war. She lived in Papan. At the onset of the war her
parents left Papan to hide in the hills at the Kledang range. During the escape
she hurt her foot. Instead of seeking help from members of her family she
persevered on although with great suffering until the family reached their
destination. Although she never experienced the cruelty of the Japanese personally
she felt the fear all those years. After the war she became a teacher and
instilled courage in her students to rebel against the war of any form.
Tan Aik
Hong comes from Johore.
His father was captured by the Japanese to Ayer Hitam and used as a forced labourer.
He was rescued but died due to his weakness. Later
the family moved closer to
town. There three Japanese soldiers came but they were Taiwanese because they
spoke Hokkien. One of the soldiers grabbed my 13 year old sister. She somehow
broke free and said ‘seesua’ meaning ‘death so be it’ and ran off into the jungle.
My Eurasian neighbour, mother, father and daughter. that lived in a bungalow near us. Their
daughter was raped by the soldiers and died. Their bungalow became haunted. Each
time I passed the police station I would hear screaming meaning prisoners were
being tortured.There is one
instance the whole country is not aware of and hearing for the 1st
time. One night the whole population of Kluang was forced at gunpoint to gather
at the towns football field. The field was surrounded by machine guns. Towards morning the townspeople were allowed
to go to the field. My mother, my young 10yo brother, 2yo sister, my married
sister and husband were in the field but thankfully they were not massacred. I often think if the
bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had prevented the massacre from being
carried out in Kluang. I don’t feel sorry for the victims of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Until today the Japanese have
never admitted to their atrocities neither have they apologised for their
actions.Tham
Yoong Yam was under
10 years of age when the war occurred. His family moved from Tanjong Malim to Malim
Nawar living in a jungle area.
One
afternoon my sister returned crying bitterly. She related that Japanese soldiers
went to the tin mine area where they were and cornered my sister and another
woman. They were raped but luckily not killed. Thankfully my sister has passed on but
that incident changed her whole life. I
too changed. My wife and I have travelled around the world these last few years
but I can never visit Japan. I only have a Japanese SONY tv all others are China made.
I personally saw Japanese cruelty. Villagers in my area were forced to dig
their own grave and were immediately beheaded or shot. At Kampar town at the field opposite the Anglo
Chinese School there were residents who
found life too hard that they would take
their own lives by slitting their throats.
I don’t love Japan. Japan is nice but I cannot visit it. The memory
is bitter and I cannot forget. I am 90years old. When I close my eyes I think
of my sister and the atrocities they did. I am glad for this event so we don’t
forget the past.
Professor
Gary added that Japanese atrocities was not limited to China. In Malaya General
Yamashita aka the Tiger of Malaya commited the terrible ‘Sook Ching" which killed about 300K people. “ We should forgive BUT we should never forget”. He then asked for 1 minute silence for the war victims whether WWII or the
recent victims of the Iran/ US conflict.
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| ..the audience observing one minute silence .... |
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| The official opening of the Chinese Section in Peace Gallery |
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| Professor Gary (centre), on his left Madam Ding Qiao Vice-Consul General followed by former Ipoh Mayor Dato Roshidi Hashim |
Vice Consul-General, Ding Qiao said that she was honoured and privileged
to be here today. Professor Gary is doing a good job of keeping the memory
alive. I speak for the Chinese people all over Asia. After so many years the Japanese government
has not officially apologised for their actions. As such we must remind people
that we should share the peace and remind those who died for our generation.
The audience
as usual was elderly but very interested and could identify with the
survivors. There was also the presence of the very lovely and colorful Nyonyas led by Dato' Lillian Tong who
brightened up the hall with their Baju Kebaya.
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| VIP's, guests, family and friends take a group photo before going up to the Peace Gallery |
It was certainly a most
interesting morning.
JAG
