In reviewing the cast of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor citizens introduced in Chapter One, few emerged better or happier as a consequence of the war. Some, such as Dorothy Mather, wife of the Pudu Prison warden, and Doris van der Straaten, victim of the Kempetei’s psychotic brutality, were to die as a direct consequence of the war. Even those who lived often carried deep psychological wounds for the rest of their lives. Doris van der Straaten’s sister-in-law, Wilhemina Eames, survived the sinking of the HMS Tandjong Penang and a detention camp in Sumatra, but later ‘succumbed to a life spent permanently trying to atone for the privilege of surviving the war’. Even the perpetrators of war crimes, men such as Miyake Genjiro, the Japanese soldier who bayoneted to death innocent Chinese civilians at Bukit Jalil, were later to suffer deep psychological trauma – in his case leading to a public confession of remorse and guilt.
Despite this dark backdrop, not all who lived through these years were so bleakly affected. Some who suffered greatly during the war thereafter showed great resilience which allowed them to re-build their lives. Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah restored the dignity and status of the Selangor Sultanate and in 1960 was elected by his peers to become the second Agong of independent Malaysia. His untimely death in September of that year meant he only held this position for a few months, though not before he officially proclaimed the end of The Emergency. James Mather and Philip van der Straaten, following the deaths of their wives and time spent in Japanese captivity, picked themselves up and re-launched their lives. James Mather re-married and started a new family in Malaya while Philip van der Straaten emigrated to Britain. The war no doubt stayed with them, and continued to impact their lives, but they had sufficient sense of hope and confidence to start life anew.
Kuala Lumpur itself took a leaf from this book. Despite the depredations of war, or perhaps because of them, its population expanded hugely and in the post-war years continued remorselessly on an upward growth path. In 1947, Penang (Singapore remained an independent entity) was Malaya’s largest city and economy, with a population of 444,000. Kuala Lumpur meanwhile had a population of around 290,000. But the new Federation’s capital city would soon outstrip Penang, Ipoh and all the other major cities of the peninsula to become, without dispute, the primary centre of government, politics and commerce. To show how things have changed, contemporary ‘metro Kuala Lumpur’ has a population of over seven million while Penang has a population of 1.6 million. Kuala Lumpur’s change in fortunes can, in large measure, be tracked back to the war years. But the city has largely forgotten this transformatory era. There is no memorial to the hundreds of civilians murdered by the Kempetei, nor any recognition of the thousands of south Indian workers who were dispatched to their deaths on the Thai-Burma railway. Neither is there a collective memory of the Allied bombing raids on the city, nor the days of looting and mayhem that accompanied the British withdrawal and later anticipated their return. Hopefully this book will go some way to rekindling knowledge of, and interest in, this fascinating if disturbing period in the city’s history.
Sources
The primary documentary sources used for this book were found in Arkib Negara in Kuala Lumpur, the Singapore National Library, the Straits Times on-line collection, the Australian National Archives, the UK Public Record Office at Kew and the Imperial War Museum.
Arkib Negara holds the important BMA records as well as the Malay Mail, Malay Mail (New Order), Straits Times, Malai Sinpo, Tamil Nesan newspapers. It also carries an eclectic set of documents linked to e.g. the FMS Volunteers and the Selangor State government and an extensive set of recorded oral accounts, which I variously cite.
The Australian National Archives holds the personal papers, including photographs, of Captain Morrison of Force 136. In the UK, the Imperial War Museum (IWM) ‘personal papers’ collection holds a range of contemporary accounts and retrospective memoirs of British civilians and military. The UK Public Record Office at Kew holds the extensive British government files. Those cited come from the following series, (WO) War Office (RAF, Army, Navy Force 136 etc); (CO) Colonial Office; (FO) Foreign Office; (WO 235) Judge Advocate Generals Military Department; (KV) Security; (HW) Intelligence and (CAB) the Prime Minister’s Office papers.
The images are sourced from Arkib Negara and I am grateful for their authority to use them in this publication. The map of Kuala Lumpur is courtesy of John Nicholson.
Alongside documentary and recorded sources, I am grateful to a range of contacts and interlocutors who were willing to share their personal and family recollections and stories. Many wish to remain anonymous - but they know who they are and I thank them all for their contributions.
Kuala Lumpur at War 1939-1945 Page 22