Japanese Occupation- Dato' Param.pdf - Malaysian Paediatric ...

esidents from our government quarters, all quivering with fear. There we sat huddled together
praying. That was my mother’s answer to dealing with any crisis-pray. It took some hours before we felt
it safe to get back to our house. The explosion we had heard was caused by the boiler of the ship
exploding. The next few days, we could see the Japanese Kempeitai were very active. They were
searching for possible insurgents who could have planned this attack. There was also a rumour going
around that they had found horse meat inside the fish caught around Butterworth. For months no one
ate fish. We never ever got to the bottom of who was responsible for sabotaging the Japanese ship, , but
there were strong rumours that it was the work of Force 136.
In 1942 , Capt.Mohan Singh, a P.O.W , who was later joined by Resh Behari Bose were the
architects who planted the nucleus for the Indian National Army in Malaya. 1943 Subhas Chandra
Bose, was called in to head the I.N.A and with the co-operation of the Japanese ,recruited Indian British
Army prisoners of war in Singapore. They then went on to recruit Indian Nationals from Malaysia. This
army, with the help of the Japanese, was to oust the British from India. A women’s section was also
formed called Rani of Jhanasi Regiment named after the Rani Lakshimibai, the Rani of Jhansi, who
played a leading role in the Indian Rebellion against the British in 1857.They started recruiting Indian
women in Malaya. Most came from middle class families and women rubber tappers , eager to serve in
the cause of the motherland. These women were then sent to Singapore for combat and nurses training.
Chandra Bose on his tour of Malaya, did visit Butterworth, and spoke in English at the Indian
Association, and my father was invited to translate his speech to Tamil.
One day, 3 women from this army turned up at our house. I was thrilled to see these women in
uniform and wearing the Indian army cap. My father invited them in, thinking they were going to ask for
a donation.(In any case he was not going to part with his hard earned money)My mother made her
famous ‘teh tarik’ for all of them. I sat by the front door, on the floor, my favourite seat, feeling the cool
breeze from the sea, and tried to listen to the conversation. Then suddenly I saw my father’s face
turning red and angry. It then became clear that they were there, trying to recruit my sisters for the
army. My father got up and then politely told them to leave. He then told them, in no uncertain terms,
he would never ever agree to allow his daughters to join their army. He also then told them not to come
back.
The attempt by this Indian National Army (with the Japanese Army), to defeat the British in India was
a disaster. They went as far as Imphal. Many men and women died long before they reached India, not
only from injuries from the war but from sickness in the appalling conditions they faced. They then
retreated to Singapore where they finally were disbanded. Chandra Bose escaped on a plane which
later crashed and he died from the injuries he sustained. If Bose had been successful, the course of
Indian history may have taken a different turn-maybe there would not have been a separation. We were
however thankful my father took a stand, and may have saved the lives of our sisters.
Now to touch on the currency used during the occupation. Soon after the Japanese occupied Malaya,
the Malayan Dollar, issued by the British, was discontinued and the Japanese started printing their own
currency. They initially printed 1, and 10 dollar notes with the word ‘The Japanese Government’ and in
English, the word ‘One or 10 Dollars’. The 10 Dollar note had the Motif of a Banana Plant and soon every
one was calling this currency the ‘Banana Note’ or in Malay “Duit Pisang”. Later when the Japanese ran
out of money they started printing 100 and 1000 Dollar notes. The value of this currency kept dropping