By Frankie D’Cruz | FMT | Malaysia |
IPOH: The Battle of Kampar, an epic World War II skirmish between Commonwealth troops and the Japanese army to protect British-ruled Malaya, will hold a Remembrance Day for the first time on its 80th anniversary today.
Previously, the anniversary of the historic four-day battle, which dealt the Japanese a severe blow, came and went with barely a murmur.
However, various quarters remain confused over the reluctance of the Malaysian government to observe a Remembrance Day for the 1,300 foreign defenders.
The fact is, since Malaya was not prepared to defend itself from the marauding southbound Japanese army, no Malayans were involved in the fierce combat.
For the first time, foreign dignitaries, Malaysian armed forces veterans, historians and representatives of various organisations will gather this morning at the site of the battlefield in Green Ridge, Kampar, to honour the foreign troops.
The push to gazette 6.5 hectares on Green Ridge as an historical site and to build a war memorial there will gain momentum with Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia, B N Reddy and the Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veterans’ Association taking a lead role.
With India in the forefront to establish a memorial, there still remains the question why a British memorial was not erected at the battlefield.
More than a moment of silence and wreaths, a war memorial will bring the forgotten heroism of the foreign soldiers back into the narrative of World War II and provide an understanding of a global history of terrible violence.
Has acknowledging such difficult parts of the past led to history becoming a political football in Malaysia?
The Battle of Kampar demands national recognition, said Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veterans’ Association president, Major (Rtd) Baldev Singh.
Allied troops prepared their defences in a week and fought furiously from Dec 30, 1941 to Jan 2, 1942 to shame a superior Japanese army division of 4,000 soldiers.
Around 500 soldiers from both sides were reportedly killed and it was the first serious defeat the Japanese experienced in their Malayan campaign.
The combined troops of the British Royal Leicestershire and East Surrey regiments, as well as the 11th Indian infantry division, comprised a force whose courage was as remarkable as its diversity.
The Indians, who included Sikhs from the Jat-Punjab Regiment, fought valiantly alongside the British even when the struggle for India’s freedom from British rule was at its most incendiary.
They were among the thousands of sepoys who travelled across the world to fight for king and country – a king who wasn’t from their land and a country which they’d probably never seen.
In the end, a tactical David denied a ruthless Goliath of the intention to capture Kampar as a new year’s gift to Emperor Hirohito and stalled their invasion of south Malaya and Singapore.
Why is it so powerful to tell the story of the Battle of Kampar?
Baldev imagines a war memorial with the graves of Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus side by side, “just as they had fought side by side”.
“Illustrating a shared history, one based on unity, freedom, sacrifices and comradeship shows that people of all faiths and backgrounds can unite in the name of freedom.
“More will know that soldiers of various ethnicities, races and faiths fought in the Battle of Kampar for the freedoms Malaysians enjoy today,” he said.
Read the full story, ’80 years on, first Remembrance Day for Battle of Kampar heroes’ (FMT, 30 Dec 2021), here.
RELATED STORY:
Battle of Kampar site reverberates with footsteps of university students (Asia Samachar, 31 March 2018)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
