Most people thought that the war would be short. They had faith that the British would win the war within 3 months. No way the 'shorties' could defeat the mighty British army!! Or so they thought. Thus many stocked up food in the house. My maternal grandfather also stocked his shop and allowed people to buy goods on credit.
When news of the Japanese army's imminent arrival, my maternal grandparents made plans to flee. They went to Parit Butut (also known as "Lau Village as the villagers mostly had Lau surnames). The place was then quite inaccessible and they stayed in the house of an old friend. My maternal grandparent hid all his money in a large biscuit tin. The ladies had to remove all their jewellery and he also put them in a biscuit tin. Together with his eldest son, they then dug a hole behind the house and buried the tins. Someone must have seen him doing it for later, when they returned to the spot, the money and jewellery were all gone.
When news of the Japanese army's imminent arrival, my maternal grandparents made plans to flee. They went to Parit Butut (also known as "Lau Village as the villagers mostly had Lau surnames). The place was then quite inaccessible and they stayed in the house of an old friend. My maternal grandparent hid all his money in a large biscuit tin. The ladies had to remove all their jewellery and he also put them in a biscuit tin. Together with his eldest son, they then dug a hole behind the house and buried the tins. Someone must have seen him doing it for later, when they returned to the spot, the money and jewellery were all gone.
The Japanese combed the whole village and reached Parit Butut. Everywhere they went, they would round up the people, young and old, male, female. My mother's family and all those hiding there were rounded up and forced to march. As they march, the Japanese kept rounding up more people along the way. They marched as far as Jelutong ( which is near Parit Raja). There they were forced to kneel in a large circle. Machine guns were lined up behind them. They waited for the inevitable firing.
The Japanese rounded the intellectuals and those they believed to be spies or saboteurs (they had their network of spies) and began to systematically kill them. There were 2 men being accused. The judge or whoever would be shouting something gibberish-like - probably reading out the crime. The accused would be asked to confess. After reading out the 'crime', they asked the 1st man something. The man laughed hysterically - for he had gone mad with fear. The soldiers bayonet his head and left him screaming in pain before they then shot him. Then they asked the 2nd man, who was a teacher. The teacher shouted, "Death to the Imperialists." Swosh!! Down came the samurai sword. Blood spurted everywhere. My mother and her sisters too had to watch it. The grown-ups would whisper to them to close their eyes. Children, being curious would of course peep. The incident left an indelible impression in my mother's mind.
The Japanese rounded the intellectuals and those they believed to be spies or saboteurs (they had their network of spies) and began to systematically kill them. There were 2 men being accused. The judge or whoever would be shouting something gibberish-like - probably reading out the crime. The accused would be asked to confess. After reading out the 'crime', they asked the 1st man something. The man laughed hysterically - for he had gone mad with fear. The soldiers bayonet his head and left him screaming in pain before they then shot him. Then they asked the 2nd man, who was a teacher. The teacher shouted, "Death to the Imperialists." Swosh!! Down came the samurai sword. Blood spurted everywhere. My mother and her sisters too had to watch it. The grown-ups would whisper to them to close their eyes. Children, being curious would of course peep. The incident left an indelible impression in my mother's mind.
After a lot of shouting and screaming at them, the Japanese let the people disperse. They walked back to their respective villages. My mother and her family walked back to their hide-out. Not long after that, marauders came and raided whatever they could. They attacked the house where my mother's family hid. The men put up a strong defense but the marauders had guns. One of them open fire and shot my maternal grandfather. That was how my maternal grandfather died.
Father's family hid in Semborong and then crossed over to Sungai Rayaat and hid in an estate. Thus Japanese soldiers did not reach there and they were relatively safe. Food was scarce and they combed the forest for edible leaves and shoots. Soon whatever little clothing they had became worn out. Necessity is the mother of inventions. They processed the fibres from banana stem and used then as threads to mend their clothes. Anyone who lived during the war years would be able to recount their individual experiences of the hardship, suffering and endurance.
Father's family hid in Semborong and then crossed over to Sungai Rayaat and hid in an estate. Thus Japanese soldiers did not reach there and they were relatively safe. Food was scarce and they combed the forest for edible leaves and shoots. Soon whatever little clothing they had became worn out. Necessity is the mother of inventions. They processed the fibres from banana stem and used then as threads to mend their clothes. Anyone who lived during the war years would be able to recount their individual experiences of the hardship, suffering and endurance.
My father and grandfather found ways to outsmart the Japanese. They traded secretly. (any extra food was confiscated by the Japanese and one could lose one's life if he was found with more food that those rationed). But people were starving and they wanted food. So my father and grandfather took the chickens they reared and travelled to Singapore, using some obscure path through the kampong and jungle. In the day time they would hide and then travel by night. They would exchange the chickens for flour, sugar or rice and bring them back to the village to sell. They would take sweet potatoe to Senggarang and exchanged them for cocnut oil. Thus they survived the war years.
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