Where’s the respect for fallen heroes of Battle of Kampar?
Sikhs from India fought bravely alongside British-led forces to defend Malaya in the Battle of Kampar. (Facebook pic)
KAMPAR: A mighty chapter of Malaya’s World War II history, involving Commonwealth soldiers who gave invading Japanese forces their first defeat in the Battle of Kampar, continues to be overlooked by the government.
The victory of the British-led Commonwealth forces against the Japanese army in the fierce four-day battle has been consigned to relative obscurity.
A move to build a memorial for the war dead at the site of the battlefield in Green Ridge gained momentum in 2017, but is now in limbo.
Some 150 defenders and about 500 Japanese marauders were reportedly killed in the clash, and buried at Green Ridge.
India had proposed the memorial for the sacrifice of Indian soldiers, who formed the bulk of the 1,300 fighters involved.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, on a visit to Kuala Lumpur in 2017 to commemorate 60 years of India-Malaysia diplomatic relations, made a pledge of RM10 million for the cause.
Malaysia was to provide land at Green Ridge, atop the 1,233-metre limestone mountain, Gunung Bujang Melaka.
KAMPAR: A mighty chapter of Malaya’s World War II history, involving Commonwealth soldiers who gave invading Japanese forces their first defeat in the Battle of Kampar, continues to be overlooked by the government.
The victory of the British-led Commonwealth forces against the Japanese army in the fierce four-day battle has been consigned to relative obscurity.
A move to build a memorial for the war dead at the site of the battlefield in Green Ridge gained momentum in 2017, but is now in limbo.
Some 150 defenders and about 500 Japanese marauders were reportedly killed in the clash, and buried at Green Ridge.
India had proposed the memorial for the sacrifice of Indian soldiers, who formed the bulk of the 1,300 fighters involved.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, on a visit to Kuala Lumpur in 2017 to commemorate 60 years of India-Malaysia diplomatic relations, made a pledge of RM10 million for the cause.
Malaysia was to provide land at Green Ridge, atop the 1,233-metre limestone mountain, Gunung Bujang Melaka.
Baldev Singh is unhappy that efforts to build the Indian government-mooted memorial have hit bureaucratic roadblocks. (Baldev Singh pic)
Later, then minister of tourism, arts and culture Nazri Aziz visited Green Ridge and said it will be gazetted as a heritage site because of its value to the country’s history and its significance during the war.
The Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veterans Association was assigned by the High Commission of India to assist in the realisation of the memorial.
The area was surveyed and reports were submitted to the relevant state authorities.
The project has now hit bureaucratic roadblocks.
Efforts to turn 6.5 hectares as an historical site on Green Ridge have gone through four Perak governments.
Green Ridge is now owned by a private developer and negotiations for a land swap have stalled.
Later, then minister of tourism, arts and culture Nazri Aziz visited Green Ridge and said it will be gazetted as a heritage site because of its value to the country’s history and its significance during the war.
The Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veterans Association was assigned by the High Commission of India to assist in the realisation of the memorial.
The area was surveyed and reports were submitted to the relevant state authorities.
The project has now hit bureaucratic roadblocks.
Efforts to turn 6.5 hectares as an historical site on Green Ridge have gone through four Perak governments.
Green Ridge is now owned by a private developer and negotiations for a land swap have stalled.
Families of Malaysian Armed Forces Sikh Veterans Association members after prayers for the casualties of Battle of Kampar on Jan 14. (Baldev Singh pic)
The nearby Thompson and Cemetery ridges, which were also part of the Battle of Kampar, have been developed.
“The epic combat demands national recognition and the wish of the Indian government to build the memorial lies with prime minister Anwar Ibrahim,” said retired major Baldev Singh, chairman of the Battle of Kampar memorial project.
Baldev said it was important to tell the story of the battle because it illustrated a shared sacrifice of foreign soldiers of various ethnicities, races and faiths fighting for the freedom of the country.
“Imagine a war memorial with the graves of Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus side by side, just as they had fought as brothers in arms,” he said.
Baldev said such a memorial could spread the message of unity, loyalty, and about the time when the nation was defenceless.
“It will also bring closure for relatives of the fallen heroes and see a boost in the economy of Kampar with tourist arrivals,” he said.
The only event to remember the war dead occurs in early January every year when the association organises prayers at the gurdwara sahib in Kampar.
The nearby Thompson and Cemetery ridges, which were also part of the Battle of Kampar, have been developed.
“The epic combat demands national recognition and the wish of the Indian government to build the memorial lies with prime minister Anwar Ibrahim,” said retired major Baldev Singh, chairman of the Battle of Kampar memorial project.
Baldev said it was important to tell the story of the battle because it illustrated a shared sacrifice of foreign soldiers of various ethnicities, races and faiths fighting for the freedom of the country.
“Imagine a war memorial with the graves of Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus side by side, just as they had fought as brothers in arms,” he said.
Baldev said such a memorial could spread the message of unity, loyalty, and about the time when the nation was defenceless.
“It will also bring closure for relatives of the fallen heroes and see a boost in the economy of Kampar with tourist arrivals,” he said.
The only event to remember the war dead occurs in early January every year when the association organises prayers at the gurdwara sahib in Kampar.
Japanese tanks roaring south-bound to capture Kampar. (Facebook pic)
During the war, artillery shelling from Green Ridge foiled attempts by the Japanese to repair the dynamited Kuala Dipang iron bridge over Sungai Kampar and five other bridges further down the road to Kampar.
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 more than 4,000 soldiers.
It was the first major 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 a king who wasn’t from their land and a country which they’d 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 hindered their invasion of south Malaya and Singapore.
During the war, artillery shelling from Green Ridge foiled attempts by the Japanese to repair the dynamited Kuala Dipang iron bridge over Sungai Kampar and five other bridges further down the road to Kampar.
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 more than 4,000 soldiers.
It was the first major 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 a king who wasn’t from their land and a country which they’d 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 hindered their invasion of south Malaya and Singapore.
I doubt that with ketuanans abound, the memorial will be realised.
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