Japanese Occupation Stories

Japanese at Taiping Reservoir (Sept 2001)

Was talking to my father night about arrogance of the US that resulted in the WTC bombing. Discussion shifted to WWII and the Battle of Britain. Father was interested in the V1 and V2 rockets that the Germans used in that battle since Germany was first to use such weapons. I agreed with him that the Germans were technologically very advanced. Told him about some Americans arrogantly using their Apollo space program as prove that their technology is better than others including Germans. When in fact many of the scientists that worked in the US space program were ex-German scientists that developed the V-bombs of WWII that were 'extricated' from Germany and sent to the US after WWII.

Then discussion went into why those powers fought WWI and WWII. And then to why Japan attacked and wanted to occupy China way before WWII started. Father then said that even before WWII started the British appeared a bit scared of the Japanese and cited the example of 4 Japanese businessmen that went fishing at the Taiping Reservoir before WWII. Apparently, no one was allowed to fish at the reservoir and the Sikh guards would chase any locals hanging around there. But when these 4 Japanese turn up to fish, the guards would just turn the other way and pretend not to see them.

I told father that it may not be fear for those Japanese. They were probably spies with backings from the Japanese government - similar to what I read about in Singapore before WWII. I suspect that the British could be aware of their presence and real intentions, and did not want to create a fuss unnecessarily. According to father some of the Japanese were owners of a dentistry and photo studio in the middle of Taiping town (near the clock tower) which also happens to be very near the town's police station and army barrack.


'Bakero' and the Slaps

During the Japanese occupation of Malaysia, the Japanese troops would station guards at every major road intersection. Every one that passes the instersection must alight from their bicycles (no cars as they would have been commandeered by the Japanese) and make a bow to the guards before proceeding on. This would have to be repeated at each intersection. Otherwise, they risk a thorough wallop.

In one incident, my father and a friend was cycling towards Chan Sow Lin Road in old KL. They had just made the mandatory bow at an intersection when they saw a guard sitting at another intersection nearby that never used to have guards. My father remembered suggesting to his friend that may be they should alight and make a bow. But his friend apparently thought there was no need to. The reason was they had just done one at the last intersection which was in full sight from this one (perhaps he thought the guard would have noticed them making the earlier bow and would not require a repeat so soon after). So, the 2 of them did not stop their bicycles.

Then they heard a loud 'bakero' (I understand it means something like 'bastard' in Japanese), and the Japanese guard furiously waving at them to go towards him. According to my dad, the guard caught my dad unaware and my dad got a good tight slap on the face. Having witnessed what happened to my dad, his friend tried to avoid the slap when it was his turn. Apparently, this made the Japanese guard more furious and he went on slapping this poor friend until he was satisfied. This friend of my dad apparently could not hear anything for a good while after that.


They Took Away My Uncle

According to my dad, I had an uncle who is my dad's second elder brother. This young man was taken away from his home one evening by Japanese troops and never returned. No one knew what happened to the poor young man. My father suspect he was taken away to do force labour or something.

After the war, Japan was never made to account for things like that. I finally got the reason when I found out a few years ago that as part of the surrender agreement which the British, Americans and the Chinese Kuomintang government signed, Japan was not required to account for any of its deeds during WWII! I was very surprised when I read that. Even Germany had to account and pay reparations.

I could accept that Britain and America wanted Japan on their side against red Russia, and Asians are not important to them, but I wondered how the Chinese Kuomintang government could have done that given that China suffered the most under Japan (with more than 10 million deaths). In fact, Japanese troops seem to pick on the Chinese wherever they went. That is one reason why I have no respect for the Kuomintang government. In fact, few in China then had which was one of the reasons they were overthrown soon after WWII.