Every January, the Malaysian World War II History Society, together with the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, holds a ceremony to mark “1.11 Kuala Lumpur Remembrance Sunday”.
FMT Lifestyle attended the event last weekend and spoke with Lee Ying Wai, chairperson of the WWII History Society, who shared that Jan 11, 1942 saw “the fall of Kuala Lumpur”.
“The Japanese first attacked Kota Bharu in Kelantan and Jitra in Kedah, and when they reached KL, it fell into their hands,” he said.
The Japanese army later carried out searches and caused destruction across farmhouses, villages, and rubber estates around KL, leading to mass arrests.
During the occupation, which lasted over three years, approximately 3,000 individuals, including civilians, were captured and sent to Pudu Jail. There, hundreds died from torture.
“Many of their bodies were thrown here, right where we are standing,” Lee noted. “In the 1980s, as we tried to recover the history, we dug up the soil here and found more than 800 bodies.”
Some of the victims are known by name; many are not.
Along with the skeletons, they also unearthed the original pillar that had marked the burial site before the war.
This pillar is now part of the memorial monument at Kwong Tong Cemetery, one of the oldest and largest Chinese cemeteries in the capital – and the final resting place of many historical figures including Kapitan China Yap Ah Loy.
In 2006, a 10,000-sq-ft plot was donated by the Hokkien Cemetery Kuala Lumpur for the construction of the monument, named The Rebuilt Memorial to Malayan Victims of the Japanese Occupation.
The structure, which replaced an original monument erected in 1945, features historical information in multiple languages.
As for the memorial ceremony, it wasn’t always held in January: Lee shared that in 1995, as the world marked the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, Chinese associations and community leaders in the Klang Valley began holding prayers on Aug 15 for the victims.
“About three years ago, the date of the ceremony was changed to Jan 11,” Lee noted.
“While Aug 15 marked the end of the war and the retreat of the Japanese army, the change was made to reflect the date when the massacre actually began.”
On Sunday, military veterans, representatives from the British and Australian high commissions, and other dignitaries paid their respects. Wreaths and stalks of white and yellow chrysanthemums were laid at the base of the monument.
“The world is returning to a more violent era,” Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai said. “History teaches us that only through cooperation can humanity avoid repeating past tragedies.
“Only by standing ‘better together’ can the world move towards genuine and lasting peace.”