Northern AV show

I attended the first-ever Northern Audio-Visual Penang show at the Ascott Gurney last Saturday and loved it. It was time that some focus fell on Penang after years of concentration on Kuala Lumpur as the venue for similar audio-visual shows. Although the scale of the show here was much smaller than Kuala Lumpur's, it still took  me about two hours to pass through every exhibitor.

The AV show occupied three floors of the hotel. On the 22nd floor, several of the rooms were taken up by the exhibitors who showed off their audio-visual equipment. However, I found my attention span lacking as I itched to go down to the seventh floor. Here too, I was interested in the two exhibitions here and after poking my head through the door, decided to make a quick exit to the second floor.

I found the exhibition here to be much warmer, the people manning the exhibitions much friendlier and effusive. CMY was there, Penang Hifi Choice was there, and an exhibitor for Triangle speakers - and incidentally, that's what I'm using now, a set of Triangle desktop speakers - was there, together with some others promoting their high-end equipment.

Then there was Wildflowers Records, possibly the only outlet of note in Penang that sells first-hand (that is, new) and second-hand (that is, used) vinyl records. Their regular outlet is on the third floor of the KOMTAR podium block but for these two days, Wildflowers have made their presence felt at the AV Show.

The moment I emerged from the lift, I was immediately seen by Joey Tan, Wildflowers' owner, who pulled me to his section on the second floor lobby. There were already quite a crowd going through the record shelves. With vinyl records making a small comeback worldwide, I think there are still quite a number of people into this medium locally. The only problem is that they do not know where to go for records. I can think of two or three places that still sell second-hand records but Wallflowers also sell reprints on at least 180g vinyl.

I retreated into the three seminar rooms on this level. I was struck upon entering the first one. Good, clear music was emerging from one of the listening areas. I retreated to the back in order to appreciate it and was surprised that the source was a box streaming digitised music. Called the AA Music Streamer, the equipment is made in Penang by AA Audio. Cost of the set-up? A cool RM15,000 RM25,000, I believe. I think that was the price tag I saw. (Note: Thank you, Anwar Ali, for the clarification!)

I made my way to the second seminar room. This one was occupied by Penang Hifi Choice. This company has been around for a very long time. At least 25 years. And their outlet is at the Midland One-Stop Centre. Here, they have shipped some of their high-end equipment just for the AV show. I settled down into one of the seats. 

Someone put on a Muddy Waters compact disc and when the drummer, Clifton James, started hitting the skins on the song You Gonna Need My Help, it felt like my ear had received a sonic punch. Muddy Waters' wailing came across loud, clear and forceful. Truly an experience!

Oh yah! I met someone else whom I've not seen for more than 20 years. From afar, I thought that it was him in deep discussion with another person. And I turned out right, Harish Chandra. He used to work at Digital Audio Centre* in the 1980s and 1990s, a small but well-known music shop in a somewhat dilapidated bungalow off Northam Road which has since been torn down. The bungalow had a seafront and was accessible through a short gravel path from the main road and I used to spend hours browsing through the compact discs sold by this Digital Audio Centre. The music shop was also like a library and one could rent compact discs from them. But like most music outlets, challenging times were ahead and one by one they sadly folded.

Hefty price tags for these two Made In China equipment

And in the third seminar room, I too took one of the seats in front of the Hi-fi system. Here, I caught only the last minute or so of a Tchaikovsky opera that was being played through the system. Mazepa, I think it was. I sat down not because of the music though, but because the design of the speaker boxes had greatly intrigued me. And after this last experience, I decided to make my move from the Ascott Gurney. Unfortunately, I had other plans for the rest of the day. Anyway, I hope the AV show will return to Penang again in the future.

* On the note of music shops selling compact discs in the 1980s and 1990s, apart from Digital Audio Centre, there were several music outlets at KOMTAR Phase I. But outside of this place, there was one other prominent shop that I can recall in Penang. Disc N Dat, run by a chap called Ivan, among a row of shophouses in front of the Desa Tanjong condominium in Tanjong Tokong. This music outlet also had a very good collection of music not readily available anywhere else. The owner tried diversifying into laser discs but this shop too closed down in the early 2000s, I believe.

Grand-uncle

I'm now officially a grand-uncle and my wife a grand-aunt. Sudah naik pangkat, the two of us. A few days ago, a nephew came to distribute a baby full-moon nasi kunyit meal set to us on the occasion of his new-born son completing his first month (mua guek) in this world. Freedom for the little boy and a happy occasion for the father, Alvin, our nephew. Congratulations!

The meal set turned out much better than I had expected. The yellow kunyit glutinous rice had been steamed to perfection. Soft and springy with just the right amount of santan to bring out the flavour when eaten with the chicken curry. Then there were the hard-boiled eggs with the shells dyed red. To complete the picture, the box came with two pieces of ang koo and another two pieces of ang ee, The ang koo is standard for all boxes but in order to distinguish between a male or female offspring, it's either the ang ee for a boy or the ang thoe for a girl. 

Our nephew also left two KFC food vouchers with us, meant for my son and daughter who were not given the full moon meal set. Seems that this is rather the norm nowadays. Some younger people do not appreciate nasi kunyit which is quite a shame as this is part of our nyonya culture and our tradition. But I'm sure my son and daughter weren't consulted on their preferences. Nasi kunyit or KFC voucher? KFC voucher or nasi kunyit? Mmmm.... 😋

Anyway with my son being home for the weekend, we decided to make use of both vouchers. So off he went to redeem the two KFC three-piece chicken sets. Actually, I'm quite apprehensive of KFC nowadays. In my opinion, their meals are not quite the same as before. And I was right when my son returned. Among the chunky pieces of fried chicken, there were two small pieces of breast meat but boy-oh-boy, were they tough and rather.....challenging! 

We expected to get two small boxes of coleslaw and potato wedges with a meal set but somehow, the KFC staff had quietly substituted them with two small boxes of mashed potatoes. They did not even bother to inform my son about this and anyway, he couldn't tell because the meal sets were packaged in enclosed cardbox boxes. Unless one were to open up the boxes and check the contents before leaving the fast food joint - and how many people would do that - their staff could do anything they wanted and the customers would be none the wiser!

So on these two scores - the unappetising chicken breast meat and the substitution - I would say the standard at KFC had dropped substantially. Boo to them!

Part Four: Kuala Lumpur falls...

Last December, I had written stories on the fateful days that followed the landing of the Japanese military on the shores of Kota Baru on the east coast of Malaya, concentrating on the early Penang experience of the war. From there and also from their other landings in southern Thailand where they met only token resistance from the Thais, the Japanese smashed their way down the peninsula, over-ran the positions of the British armed forces everywhere and captured Singapore on the eve of Chinese New Year in February 1942. 

In December 1961, The Straits Times newspaper in Singapore ran a five-part controversial serial called Eighty Days to Singapore to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1941 Japanese invasion. The serial was based on the report of General Arthur Percival (General Officer Commanding (Malaya)) and the memoirs of Japanese master tactician Colonel Tsuji Masanobu. 

From the 24 December 1961 issue of The Straits Times, David Baratham wrote the fourth part of his serial which I reproduce here:  

KUALA LUMPUR FALLS...

Civilians are recruited as guerillas

Southwards...From Muar and on to the Last Week

QUOTE: During the short campaign, there were all in all five C-in-C's. Such rapid changes, though largely forced on us by circumstances, are naturally not calculated to create an atmosphere of confidence. - Lt General AE PERCIVAL, C.B., D.S.O., O.B.E., M.C. 

WITH THE BRITISH obviously putting in every ounce of effort to strengthen their defences, trouble was brewing among the top Japanese staff. Col Tsuji, for one, claimed that jealousies between impatient backroom planners and tired frontline leaders exasperated him so much that he drove all the way back to HQ at Ipoh to demand his own instant dismissal!

And among his opponents, there was disagreement between General Percival and General Gordon-Bennett, when Percival would not consent to his request to take over command of the whole of Johore.

Or, alternatively to take over West Johore, with the 3rd Indian Corp taking over East Johore.

Instead, Percival said that "the only practical solution" seemed to be for the Australians to hold East Johore, while the Indians hold West Johore. But he promised to be "guided by events."

On Jan 5, yet another main line of resistance was hastily drawn up, this time from Mersing via Batu Anam to Muar.

To ensure a breathing space north of the Slim River, large concrete cylinders were put on the road and all bridges were wired for demolition.

This had to be done at night, due to low-level machinegun attacks by the enemy aircraft during the day.

But on the night of Jan 7, the Japanese attacked in bright moonlight and cleared the tank blocks.

Percival describes how a fantastic bottleneck was caused when the leading tank, followed closely by 30 others, blew up over a mine.

Although Tsuji's account does not mention any tank being mined, he agrees that the ensuing battle was the most desperate one in the whole campaign.

SHATTERING EFFECT

PERCIVAL states that seven tanks were destroyed during the hold up, but the sight of the tanks "took the troops by surprise."

Not having seen, or known about the bridges being blown up, it must have had a shattering effect on morale to find tanks appearing on the other side of the river within a matter of a few hours; the tanks, once clear of further obstructions, cut down infantry retreating along the road and liquidated everything in sight until stopped by a 4.5" howitzer 15 miles from their starting point.

Tsuji describes how this leading tank was knocked out, the dead tank captain sitting upright among the ruins, still grasping his sword, a first-class private dead at his machinegun, and a sergeant collapsed beside his gun like a dish of "ame."

The effect of the tank-infantry attack, says Percival, was disastrous. There was practically nothing between them and Kuala Lumpur.

The hasty retreat was continued down the railway line to Tanjong Malim. The three battalions of the 12 Indian Brigade had been reduced to only about a company each. A battalion of 28 Indian Brigade had been entirely obliterated. The 11 Indian Division had ceased to exist as a fighting unit.

Tsuji's summary of the prizes gained in the savage victory included 13 heavy guns, 41 other guns, 30 armoured cars, 550 motor cars, ammunition rations, forage and medical supplies galore, and over 3,200 prisoners.

Tsuji's explanation of this success? "Frontline soldiers, on fire with the idea of the emancipation of Asia."

Percival's explanation of the defeat? The weariness of the troops, fighting and moving night and day for one month.

"In the exhausting and enervating climate of Malaya," he added, "this is too long. But had we the reserves we asked for, the story might have been different."

On Jan 11, the last bridge was blown up in Kuala Lumpur and the troops resumed their retreat to the Labu area west of Seremban.

Entering the capital of Malaya the Japanese troops were careful not to repeat their conduct in Penang.

All was quiet in the town apparently, but the R.A.F. were still holding out at the aerodrome and they attacked Japanese anti-aircraft guns surrounding it.

PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE

THE Japanese gunnery commander's claims that he had shot down four aircraft were not believed until he produced photographic evidence. Then, still cross, he accepted the apologies of the disbelievers.

On Jan 10, the big bridge at Klang being rather ineffectually blown up, Port Swettenham was evacuated, and by that night all troops had made off for Port Dickson.

Two days later the remnants of the 12 Indian Brigade took a train back to Singapore.

On Jan 13th, the military transport jam at Segamat was so enormous that it took a full day to clear. There the defence command was shared by "Eastforce" under the 3rd Indian Corps, and "Westforce" under General Gordon-Bennett, whose forces initiated one of the few successes in the entire campaign by triggering off an ambush so effectively that at least 1,000 advancing Japanese troops cycling into it were killed or wounded.

Tsuji who, as chief of operations and planning under General Yamashita, knew a thing or two about military tactics, more or less admits the success of this ambush by narrating how the leading infantry troops were "suddenly subjected to heavy shellfire from inside the jungle."

And he acknowledges also that "the 8th Australian Division, which had newly arrived on the battlefield, fought with a bravery we had not previously seen."

At the loss of only about 70 of their men, the Australian ambush took the highest toll of the enemy recorded in any action described in the Percival report.

Also the R.A.F. Dutch pilots, flying a motley circus of Glen Martins, Wirraways, Vildebeests and Buffalos, attacked enemy columns approaching Gemas and the Japanese Headquarters which had now progressed as far south as Tampin.

But the ambush was not conclusive. The advance continued mostly on two wheels.

According to Tsuji, the "co-operation" of Malay, Indian and Chinese residents was obtained in carrying the bicycles forward to the advancing troops.

He depicts this "co-operation" being carried out behind a Japanese soldier waving the national flag, as "surely an army in the form of a cross for the emancipation of East Asia!"

Emancipation or no emancipation, war correspondents still supplied stimulating accounts of the campaign.

"In London it is stated (on or about Dec 25) that the comparative quiet on the Malayan situation may be due to the difficulty confronting the Japanese in bringing up fresh supplies."

LOSSES WERE TERRIFIC

ON Jan 8, two days after the world's largest tin mine was abandoned and flooded in Pahang, a speaker said on the radio that after his tour of the north-east front, his impression was of a force "well co-ordinated and with a clearer view of the job in hand."

Another war correspondent on Jan 4 said that the Japanese troops fought shy of the open country, yet, nevertheless, their losses were terrific.

He gave stirring reports of how the Gurkhas rushed to engage the Japanese in hand-to-hand fighting; in the reported words of their officer "they had some great fun."

But others described Chinese refugees moving back from the fighting zone.

"Women trudged along the road with babies swung over their backs, or carrying heavy loads of wicker baskets on bamboo poles. Others passed by with their household belongings piled high on rickshaws."

In the Straits Budget of Jan 15, an ambulance driver said that the first aid teams in Ipoh were mainly Chinese and Indian school boys.

Many had no idea where their families were; they had lost their means of livelihood and their future was black and uncertain, yet they carried on - many doing two or three shifts concurrently.

SCHOOLBOYS HARD AT WORK

HE took off his hat to those lads who stayed by their jobs in the M.A.S. at Ipoh, even after aircraft and administration had been removed from the town and there were no defences at all, until orders came from Civil Defence Headquarters to leave on Dec 23rd.

"We left," he reported, "in a convoy for Tanjong Malim. An hour afterwards Japanese bombers made a heavy raid on the town.

"Christmas Eve at Tanjong Malim brought work for us to do. At about 11 p.m. military ambulances brought in casualties from a dastardly raid on Tapah railway station.

"Perak State doctors and the Ipoh M.A.S. were hard at work until 5 a.m. on Christmas Day."

The Japanese attack at Gemas very nearly caused the death of their chief of operations whose car was blown up by a mine on his way back to report to General Yamashita.

"Look here," said the General when he received him, "you really must be a little more careful of yourself."

And "tears," said Col Tsuji, "shone in the eyes of the generous-hearted general."

At Bakri and Parit Sulong, a strange, confused, series of attacks and counter-attacks resulted when the defenders were engaged from the front, their retreat cut off by the Osaki Battalion, which had "shortcut" them through the jungle; the defending troops counter-attacked in both directions at the same time and succeeded in forcing the Osaki Battalion to withdraw.

The battle area extended from the mouth of the Muar River inland along the Simpang Jeram-Pelandok road, and took in Batu Pahat.

During the fighting, an entire Japanese tank company of 10 tanks was wiped out, the survivors from the burning tanks fighting to the last man at Parit Sulong bridge.

But Batu Pahat was finally taken; and the casualties in the 2/29 Battalion and the 45th British Indian Brigade were very heavy.

On Jan 19, six weeks after their landings at Patani and Kota Bharu, the greater part of Malaya was in Japanese hands.

LAST OF THEIR CONQUESTS

DURING this period they had fought an average of two actions a day and repaired an average of two blown-up bridges daily.

Their small craft had made landings nearly 500 mils south of their own lines, their land forces had captured thousands of prisoners and millions of pounds worth of vital military equipment, and their air force had given the coup de grace to the Royal Navy's biggest ships for thousands of miles.

They were still surging forward irresistibly, preparing for the last of their conquests on Malayan soil, hitting southwards frenziedly before reinforcements could arrive to halt or turn them back.

On each coat through the jungle and down the main road, their irresistible forces were converging onto Johore.

On Jan 5 1941, General Wavell flew into Singapore from Delhi. His task was enormous and spped was essential. He had to devise a chain of "A B C D" commands along a line - Darwin, Timor, Java, South Sumatra, Singapore - to act as a forceful retaliation to the Japanese advance everywhere in South-East Asia.

He did not know what resources he would find at his command in Singapore until he got there, where he found to his concern that no defences had been made or planned in detail on the north side of the island although, as he reported seven years later, "it was obvious that we might be driven back into the island and have to defend it."

Wavell ordered the defences to be put into order at once.

Mr Duff Cooper, the British Cabinet Minister in the Far East, also impressed Wavell with a gloomy account of the efficiency of the civil administration and lack of civil-military co-operation.

NO ARMED FORCES

WAVELL called a meeting with General Percival and Sir Shenton Thomas and they both promised him the fullest co-operation and the fulfilment of all military requirements.

"As a scapegoat for the immeasurably greater mistakes and miscalculations on our higher levels," a Singapore newspaper commented later, Mr Duff Cooper recalled the Colonial Secretary, Mr Stanley Jones.

Wavell toured the Malayan front and revisited Singapore several times from Java before finally leaving General Percival in sole charge.

Mr Duff Cooper left for London on Jan 22.

Meanwhile, news from Penang had begun to trickle into Singapore.

On Dec 17, Lt Lim Koon Teck formed a special force to look after 80,000 evacuees from Geor4getown who had thronged Ayer Itam.

The village was in chaos with shops closed and barricaded and shootings in the night.

Mr Lim Cheng Ean, a leading lawyer, organised the issue of rice at 45 cents a gantang; cooked rice was issued free to those unable to pay.

The same day, the Penang Wireless Society called up on 49.3 metres: "Penang is an open city. There are no armed forces nor any defence whatever in Penang. The British have evacuated. Please stop bombing Penang."

Soon after, leaflets were dropped instead of bombs.

The Allied withdrawal from Muar started on Jan 20. During the retreat, the fiercest and most terrific fighting of the whole campaign took place.

When the retreat was finally executed according to plan and the survivors had reached Parit Sulong shortly after dawn the next day, they found it in Japanese hands!

Gordon-Bennet then took over command of all forces in the Yong Peng-Muar theatre where the Japanese had already deployed heavy tanks in the rear.

Eventually, Percival stated, 550 Australian and 400 Indian troops survived and got through the jungle to Yong Peng; the wounded left behind, according to Percival, were massacred by the Japanese. ("It is a fine thing," wrote Col Tsuji in "Singapore - the Japanese Version" - "that enemy wounded should receive the same treatment as the wounded on one's side. This was the policy of General Yamashita and it was carried out.")

As a result of the Muar withdrawals, the 45th Indian Brigade had ceased to exist. Its commander and every battalion commander and second in command had been killed.

Percival's caustic verdict was: "This brigade had never been fit for employment in a theatre of war."

AFFECT SCENES

BUT this last positive, planned battle on Malayan soil had at least help up a division of the Japanese Imperial Guards for six days, and saved Segamat from total loss.

In London, Mr JL Garvin of the Observer claimed that by leadership and speed of production, the Japanese could still be stopped.

In the House of Commons, Mr Emanuel Shinwell attacked the Government for "gross neglect in the Far East."

"The fact is," he asserted, "we have been caught napping in every theatre of war."

In Singapore, Mr Justice Lavelle sentenced a labourer to three months' hard labour for making "a certain statement" in connection with the war.

From "the front" a correspondent described "the many affecting scenes as the men leaving tried and trusted wounded friends made ready to lead up the Simpang River in search of a crossing place, leaving their wounded behind in trucks. The wounded were stout hearted and cheerful, and urged their comrades to hasten"

On Jan 12, the Japanese raided Malacca which was in the process of being abandoned. Thousands of gallons of liquor in bond were dumped into the river.

And while the London Daily Mail still believed that Singapore could be held, the Daily Express expressed its conviction that "Apathetic Singapore is run by boneheads."

Mr Cecil Brown, a strongly critical American correspondent was banned from Singapore: in London, Mr Brendan Braken told the House of Commons that his comments "passed the bounds of fair criticism."

THE RIGHT SPIRIT

ON the radio, Sir Shenton Thomas told how he had picked up a Chinese member of the Auxilliary Fire Services on his way to the office that morning.

"I asked him how he and his colleagues were getting along," Sir Shenton said, "He said, 'Fine: we are determined to defend our country.' That is exactly the right spirit."

Thousands of citizens were being recruited for guerilla training, joining forces officered by 30 men who had been fighting with the Chinese New Fourth Communist Army.

The Vice-President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Mr Yap Pheng Geck, also helped to organise guerillas.

Recruiting meetings were held in Club Street, officiated by Mr Kok Oh Toh and Mr Phang Yew Ching.

A leading article criticised the procedure adopted by the military in requisitioning civilian cycles "representing the savings of a year or more" which were being "seized without any explanation or even a receipt."

A London correspondent wrote on Jan 22: "Thank Gawd ole Winston's ere to deal with them Japs" as illustrating the average British working man's comment on hearing of the Prime Minister's return from America, adding that "more educated people" told each other that Mr Churchill would soon get to the root of the matter of inefficiency in Malaya, and sort things out.

In the House of Commons, Capt Gammans questioned the Under-Secretary of State about the activities of certain British subjects reported to be collaborating with the Japanese.

Capt Gammans also asked if it was proposed to make a declaration that any British subject willingly co-operating with the Japanese would be charged with treason when the war was over.

The Under-Secretary said he could not confirm or deny the reports.

The Distinguished Service Medal was awarded to Able Seaman Kadir bin Said for bravery when wounded in H.M.S. Kudat when she was attacked and sunk by enemy aircraft.

Thailand declared war on Britain and America on Friday, Jan 25.

LAST MALAYAN WEDDINGS

WHEN LIM HUN appeared before him on a charge of not having an identification card, Mr Moore said: "The day will come when people not having these cards will be shot dead."

Lim was discharged because the prosecutor offered no evidence.

The straits Budget of Jan 22 included a column on "How To Grow Your Own Vegetable."

With the front about 100 miles away and with only a bare shadow of air protection, Singapore suffered really serious air raids.

As an additional security measure, 200 police patrolled north of Ticas up to Changi with powers to arrest any person attempting to land elsewhere than ay Woodlands or Changi steps.

Mr Cecil Brown's controversial radio report to the Columbia Broadcasting network was reprinted in the Daily Express under the heading: "City Of Blimps - Singapore Apathetic and Unprepared."

A Fifth Columnist was sentenced to 18 months' rigorous imprisonment for spreading rumours. A substantial reward paid to "patriot" informers was returned.

In London, the last tins of Malayan pineapples were being rationed out. In Singapore, the public was being urged to put up with two meatless days in a week.

Two sets of twins were married during the week ending Jan 22 at the Singapore Registry Office: Mr Quek Kim Guan who married Miss Loh Meow Kim and Mr Quek Kim Chua who married Miss Loh Meow Choo. These were the last Malayan weddings to be reported before Feb 15.

A circular issued by the Governor exhorting greater effort and co-operation by civil government officials was commented on in the Free Press: "Unless it is followed up by vigorous action on the part of His Excellency personally, nothing much will happen."

The leading article urged the release of a number of civil servants for service in the forces "to which they would have been conscripted had they not lived in Malaya."

"Let there be immediate promotion," it demanded, "of the few go-getters the Malay Civil Service possesses."

Undaunted by conditions in Singapore, Mr George KC Yeh, the Chungking Government publicity officer said in a Chinese New Year broadcast on the radio: "Singapore will hold, and hold forever. Reinforcements of all kind are rushing to us. Every hour we grow more confident.

"Before long, you will hear of success in Malaya and you will know that the Chinese helped in these successes. Be patient, for victory is near."

A few days earlier, a naval spokesman had said: "Singapore will never be taken. Here we are, and here we mean to stay."

Lawrence Impey of the Daily Mail described his version of the fall of Kuala Lumpur: "It presented an eerie night, the sun setting on a pall of smoke. The railway station and bridge had been blown up, also the palatial hotel and the F.M.S. railway workshops. The principal shops on the main street were set on fire."

On the radio on Jan 21, Sir Geoffrey Samson, the ABCD British representative, said: "In today's orthography, ABCD spells victory in Asia."

READY AND EAGER

ROBERT Allington said on the radio that after a short rest, the troops recently returned to Singapore would be "ready and eager" to take their part "in the more pleasant task of pushing the Japanese back north."

A Communist speaker at a rally of over 2,000 labourers at Albert Street was reported as having said that the soldiers were not only defending Malaya and Malayans "but the whole of the British Empire."

The same day, the wages for unskilled labourers were raised at $1.20 per eight-hour day for men and 90 cents for women.

The G.P.O. was reported to be dealing with "an unwarranted and unnecessary run" on the savings department.

Brigadier Curtis congratulated 50 recruits on their smart parade drill in a passing out parade.

A leading article suggested that soldiers under training should go into the jungle and it was better to know how to shoot a sniper in a tree than to be the world's finest exponent in the art of changing step.

A businessman said that on his way down from Penang he had found Taiping like a tombstone town, "unashamedly looted and as dry as a bone that a dog had left behind."

Singapore suffered its worst serial blitz on Wednesday, Jan 29, when the casualties were proportionately higher than London's worst raids, especially 'among poor Asians with little to lose but their lives" as one journalist wrote.

A polite belated hint from the Manpower Bureau addressed to business firms asked "if it is not possible to put some of your younger fit men at the disposal of the fighting services."

JOHORE IS DOOMED

ABOUT 5,000 air raid wardens were spread around the island; many were under 20. There were no satisfactory arrangements for feeding them, despite the Governor's instructions that they be supplied with one hot meal a night.

Instead, some wardens got 20 cents to buy a meal if they could find one.

The Johore Council of State passed the Food Control and Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Enactments on or about Jan 29 when most of the State was doomed.

On Jan 9, the Malay Mail brought out its last edition and then wrecked its printing press.

A London report stated that for the first time since its foundation, Consolidated Tin Smelters were not paying a dividend, their subsidiary smelting company in Malaya having been occupied by the Japanese.

On the London Stock Exchange, Braunstone shares were quoted at 5s, and Kamunting Straits Rubber at 7s.

Mr Patton, the US representative to ABCD, said on the radio: "Victory will crown our efforts if we keep our chins up and do our duty as worthy members of those races who are fighting for freedom, honour and peace, for the right to live as good neighbours."

Upcountry, guerilla forces were wrecking trains, demolishing bridges, destroying vehicles and killing and wounding Japanese soldiers.

A leading article on Jan 22 invited readers to "think what 10,000 Chinese irregulars could do if they were let loose among the Japanese in North Johore tomorrow."

"Wrecked cars, recumbent lamp-posts and damaged traffic islands are becoming increasingly common in Singapore," another leader reported, noting that there were no buses or taxis available at night.

On Jan 21 Sir Shenton Thomas helped with the rescue work when several houses collapsed near a market after being bombed.

To be continued....

Part One: The last weekend at a cabaret 
Part Two: December upcountry  
Part Three: Calamitous Christmas

 

Welcome back, Siti Zulaikha Foudzi

The determined - some say hungry - look that eight-time national women's champion Siti Zulaikha bt Foudzi was giving Nur Nabila bt Azman Hisham in the third round of the national women's chess championship yesterday. Nur Nabila herself is a five-time national women's champion. This epic struggle ended drawn. (This picture comes courtesy of Wanz Lily.)

As I write this, the fifth round of both the Malaysian closed championship and Malaysian women's closed championship are going on in Bangi, together with a new event, Malaysian challengers closed championship. Good of the Malaysian Chess Federation to introduce the above third-mentioned event for aspiring players who may feel the main events are too daunting for them. In any case, there is a rating ceiling of 1600 Elo points for the challengers event.

I see many familiar names, both the veterans and the young upstarts, among the participants of the Malaysian closed and the Malaysian women's closed events. But I am very pleasantly surprised by the return of our Woman International Master, Siti Zulaikha bt Foudzi, to the 64 squares. Fifteen long years, she has been away!

As far as I can remember, the last time that she sat at the chessboard was in October 2007 when she played in two Fide-registered classical chess tournaments in Macao. The first was an open Swiss event with 79 players while the second was an exclusive eight-player round-robin tournament that followed from the Swiss.

After those two events, Siti Zulaikha vanished from the chess scene while she pursued her studies and then ventured out into a career in medicine. The last I heard of her was that she was a medical officer in a government clinic in Kuching, Sarawak.

Siti Zulaikha first came to my notice in 1999 when she won the national women's chess champion. She went on to dominate women's chess in the country by retaining this title for seven more years until the 2006 championship. It was like she was a constant in Malaysian chess while other champions came and gone away. But even such constancy needs to end somehow and it ended for her in the 2007 national women's championship.

During these eight active years from 1999 till 2006, she attained the Woman International Master title. I had written in my chess column of 23 June 2006 that:

Her first was at the Commonwealth chess championship in Mumbai, India, way back in Apr 2003. From nine games, she scored the required four points. At that time, her notable opponents included woman grandmaster Ramaswamy Aarathie, international master Bakre Tejas and woman international master Swati Ghate.

Her second norm was at the world girls’ chess championship, also played in India, in Nov 2004. She played 13 games and achieved 7½ points against players such as woman grandmasters Anna Ushenina and Ekatyerina Korbut, and woman international masters Karavade Eesha, Tania Sachdev and Marties Benadorp.

Siti’s third norm was achieved at the Calvia Chess Olympiad two years ago where she obtained five points from nine games. In this event, she had played against woman grandmaster Eva Repkova, international master Lilit Mkrtchian and four woman international masters.

For good measure, Siti had also scored a norm at Turin where she scored 5½ points from nine games. Her opponents included woman grandmaster Zhao Xue, international master Svetlena Petrenko and six woman international masters.

Anyway, I am so glad that she has come back to chess. In this year's Malaysian women's chess championship, she is the natural first seed; her rating points are head and shoulders above the rest of the field. But whether she can play as well as before remains to be seen. The country has seen so many new potential players among the women and they will give her a run for her money, so to speak. No matter how the rest of the tournament goes, no matter the results, it is good to have her back. It will be good if she continues playing the occasional chess tournaments as long as time allows her.

Welcome back, Siti Zulaikha!

Breakfast meet

Had an enjoyable breakfast get-together yesterday yarning with several old schoolmates, spanning the Classes of 1969 to 1971, and including my former History teacher; the breakfast came courtesy of Mohd Bakke Salleh. His wife, who began teaching in Penang Free School much later than him, had finished her Form Six at the school in 1965, a year before most of us here entered Form One. So all of us at the table here are Old Frees.

Clockwise, from left, around the table: Khairuddin, Johnny Ooi and his wife, myself, Chye Chye, Sundaram, Andrew, Bakke, Shukor and Wahab.

Another picture for the road but without Sundaram who had to leave a wee bit too early

Mind the gap

Margaret McCollum, after the death of her Oswald
Laurence, sits on the bench waiting to hear this
recording that became one of London's most famous
"Mind the gap" announcements. 

I thought this story was absolutely heart-warming! In London, there's a woman who goes every day on the subway and sits on the dock just to listen to the announcement recorded by her husband in 1950.

In 2003, Oswald Laurence died leaving a huge void in Margaret McCollum's heart. So Margaret found this way to feel his presence closest. But after more than half a century, this voice was replaced by an empty electronic recording. 

Out of distress Margaret asked the London subway transport company for a cassette tape of the recording so that she could continue listening to her husband's voice at home.

But learning of the moving history, the company decided to restore the announcement in the only stop near the house where the woman lives, specifically at the Embankment stop of Northern Line. Today, all passengers here still listen to Oswald Laurence's voice and think that eternal love really exists.

Wonderful gesture by the authorities (Based on a post by Yasiru Lakshitha.)

Going bananas

How much colour can you extract from a bunch of bananas? Apparently a lot if you want to be creative enough with colour manipulation. I had bought a comb of bananas from a vendor several days ago. Unripe except for one banana with a yellow skin. Someone saw me buy the comb and asked what was so special about this singular yellow banana among its green brothers? "Nothing special," I answered, "I bought it because I wanted a small bunch; not a big bunch which my wife and I can't possibly finish by ourselves." 😄 This morning, I saw that almost half of the comb was already yellow and they struck a striking picture visually. Thus, out came the camera and this was the final picture than I can put together.

 

Heroes of the moment

It happened seven years ago. Today, I came across this old picture among my images on facebook. It was about a mountain guide - Ridwan was his name - who was carrying an injured boy on the back while descending Mount Kinabalu. The area had been hit by an earthquake on 5 June 2015 and the quake, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, had caused some 18 deaths (including a 30-year-old guide, Rubbi Sapinggi, from Kampung Kiau) and serious injuries among many climbers on that morning.

We would think that Malaysia was well insulated from the Pacific Ring of Fire and the typhoon zone but actually, not. Quite often, we are affected by the tail-end of typhoons that sweep across the Bay of Bengal or the South China Sea. Less often, we experience slight tremors from earthquakes that shake Sumatra or Mindanao. But there was an earthquake in Sabah itself in 2015. It occurred along a rather dormant fault line there which moved and released the energy within it. And anyway, Sabah is closer to the Ring of Fire than the peninsula.

Thus, at 7.15am on 5 June 2015, the fault line moved and shook the whole mountain. One of the Donkey Ears peaks at the summit broke off in the process. The huts and buildings at Laban Rata shook and suffered some damage. The trails on the mountain were damaged by the quake until rendered impassable to normal hikers. But the mountain guides knew the ins-and-outs of the mountain and they responded admirably to the situation. Guides like Ridwan went up the mountain several times to help bring down the dead and injured. 

Lynn Siang, a tour agency spokeswoman, characterised the mountain guides as heroes. "The main rescue work was done by the mountain guides," she had told CNN then. "On the path that was blocked by fallen rocks, the mountain guides had to tie a rope. When climbers crossed the ropes, they had to step on the shoulders of the guides -- the guides used their body as a cushion. They really have sacrificed a lot," Siang said, before evoking the name of the guide who didn't make it. "Rubbi -- he sacrificed a lot."

Today, the earthquake is only a memory but pictures such as this keep surfacing on my facebook on the anniversaries of my posting them. They are reminders of the times when tragedy struck the nation and unsung heroes like Ridwan and many, many others came to the fore as heroes of the day and then subsequently are forgotten again. Well not today as I salute them!

Cooking with (California) raisins

All this while, I've known raisins to be good only as a cinema snack. They were - and perhaps, still are - sold in small, conveniently packed boxes to cinema patrons. I remember buying them occasionally. And once in a very long while, I added raisins to my salad or breakfast cereal. Not often, mind you, but only when I crave some sweetness. But it never occurred to me that raisins could be added to everyday food as well. Not until a few days ago, that is, at a food demonstration by a Filipino chef, Jackie Ang Po. Suddenly, it dawned on me that the simple raisin was quite versatile. When added to food as an ingredient, dishes took a different dimension. Instead of sweetening food with sugar, why not substitute sugar with raisins? They could be added whole or they could be mashed into a paste before being added during the cooking process. 

Someone asked whether raisins could be safely consumed by Type II diabetics. And the reply was that the sweetness from raisins was much healthier and diabetics would certainly benefit from using this alternative to sugar in their diet. But I would still say that raisins are full of fructose and moderation should remain the order of the day if diabetics wish to prevent a sugar spike. Do continue keeping a personal check on the quantity consumed.

The food demonstration to promote California Raisins was sponsored by the Raisin Administrative Committee (RAC) which is a non-profit organisation with headquarters in Fresno, California. According to them, raisins provide flavour, texture and colour to a wide variety of products. Its natural sweetness allows sugar to be reduced in formulations and in bakery products, the high water binding capacity helps moisture to be retained. 

Chef Jackie was wonderfully knowledgeable about raisins but her culinary expertise shone through as she breezed through the four dishes that were featured in an accompanying recipe booklet which all the attendees received a copy. In her Metro Manila base, her pastry bakery, Fleur de Lys Patisserie, Inc, has been opened since 2001. Trained at the California Culinary Academy, her forte is pastry but here, she showed off her skills in other specialisations.

She started off by making a dessert known as Suman sa Lihiya which is a traditional Filipino rice cake made from glutinous rice. The Suman was served with a California Raisin coconut muscovado sauce and sliced mangoes, although she did say that durian could also be used as a replacement for the mango. The appetiser was prepared next and for this, Chef Jackie decided on a California Raisin shrimp beancurd roll. Paired up with the roll was a sweet and sour sauce made with pureed California Raisins as an ingredient. 

For the main, she prepared a pan-grilled California Raisin lemongrass turmeric chicken which she later garnished with garlic mashed potatoes and a Filipino raw papaya pickle known as atchara.  Her final offer was mooncake with California Raisin added to the filling. The recipe booklet mentioned either lotus or mung bean paste but I can't remember what she used as the filling in the demo. Anyway, Chef Jackie made two types: a snow skin version as well as the more traditional baked mooncake. 

Dumpling festival

We do this every year and I've written about it often. On the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month, which coincides with today, we purchase vegetarian glutinous rice dumplings for worship of the home deities. This occasion is known as Goh Guek Chek or Fifth Month Festival. It's also known as the Dumpling Festival, and there's a sad and tragic story that goes with it. Most people have forgotten the tragedy and that's why, it is being celebrated today with joy and ravenous consumption of the dumpings. Click here to read the story.

Boston building, part 4

Another old picture of the Boston building at the corner of Penang Road and Prangin Road has come to my attention. As I haven't featured it before in this blog, it is very appropriate that I should show it now. As can be seen from the picture, Cathay and Odeon were advertising the screenings of Born Free and The Singing Nun in their respective cinemas. Both these films were released in 1966 and I would guess that it could be in late 1966 or early 1967 that they made their way to our local cinemas. To see earlier images of the Boston building on this blog, click on Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. 

Part Three: Calamitous Christmas

Last December, I had written stories on the fateful days that followed the landing of the Japanese military on the shores of Kota Baru on the east coast of Malaya, concentrating on the early Penang experience of the war. From there and also from their other landings in southern Thailand where they met only token resistance from the Thais, the Japanese smashed their way down the peninsula, over-ran the positions of the British armed forces everywhere and captured Singapore on the eve of Chinese New Year in February 1942. 

In December 1961, The Straits Times newspaper in Singapore ran a five-part controversial serial called Eighty Days to Singapore to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1941 Japanese invasion. The serial was based on the report of General Arthur Percival (General Officer Commanding (Malaya)) and the memoirs of Japanese master tactician Colonel Tsuji Masanobu. 

From the 17 December 1961 issue of The Straits Times, David Baratham wrote the third part of his serial which I reproduce here:  

CALAMITOUS CHRISTMAS

South - and soon on to Johore

3,200 became prisoners: 2 explanations

ON TUESDAY, Dec 16, 1941, banner headlines told readers in Singapore: JAPANESE SUFFER BIG LOSSES IN KEDAH. But a well-phrased leading article emphasised that all was far from well - or well-informed - about the fighting in Malaya. The leader writer quoted the text of cryptic communiques issued to the newspaper over the last 36 hours. They were:

Fighting continues in Kedah; our forces in contact with the enemy in Kelantan; fighter aircraft are helping our troops in Kedah and Kuantan; no developments to report.

"Surely," the leader writer complained, "something more than that might have been told to the public."

And he reproached the B.B.C. for having broadcast: "The British High Command is confident and the position is well in hand."

He suggested, with understandable irritation, that if this really was the case, there should have been no need for withdrawals.

Appealing for more news, he concluded: "If it is good news, so much the better; and if it is bad, we can take it."

By a grim coincidence, the Cathay cinema was screening the film "Nothing But The Truth," and advertising "Air raid shelters for all our patrons."

KEY TO FAR EAST

The news was bad. The night after Sir Shenton Thomas had made his famous "Singapore must not fail ... it shall not fall" speech, a company of the Argylls and some F.M.S. Volunteer Forces armoured cars were driven back along the Grik road by advancing Japanese infantry and tanks.

The armour plating of the Marmon-Harrison cars was ineffective against the Japanese armour-piercing bullets. Casualties were heavy.

From this point, it becomes abundantly clear that General Percival's prime object was the defence of the Naval Base in Singapore.

But Sir Shenton stressed the security of the entire island, not merely the Naval Base, in the close of his speech to the Singapore Legislative Assembly.

"But let us always remember that we in this little country of Malaya are entrusted with the high privilege of defending Singapore, the key to the Far East."

Hadley Metcalfe, a journalist broadcasting from Singapore Radio told listeners why the fighting in Kedah was confused.

It was, he explained, because water and slush made it impossible in most places to dig trenches, or establish any line of defence.

He recalled meeting "cheerful evacuees" and the only complaint he said he got was that 15 cases of whiskey had been left behind in a club.

"I came back an optimist," he confessed, adding: "There is a tough time ahead of us, but the Japanese have not got the knockout punch we have."

On the following Monday, Dec 22, the defences were shifted back to Sungei Siput, across the River Perak.

A large slice of the Iskandar Bridge was blown up, and the pontoon bridge at Blanja was partly wrecked.

The Japanese plan to attack the rear end of the bridges and destroy the demolition wiring with light bombs was not put into effect in time.

FIRST DAY'S RAID

"The British Army," Col Tsuji claimed, "had blown up the bridges and abandoned several thousand Indian soldiers on the north bank.

"When fighting the Japanese army, it is the British army which excels in retreat."

In Singapore the affair of the evacuation of Europeans from Penang was given a somewhat heated airing.

Sir Shen Thomas assured the House that this had been done without his knowledge - or that of Mr SW Jones the Colonial Secretary, and he gave the assurance that any future yielding of districts would "entail a sufficient number of European civilians staying with the people to look after their needs, as far as they could, even though they might fall into enemy hands."

Mr Jones was evidently cross with the untidy people of Penang. He said that up to the time of the evacuation (Dec 16/17) the bodies of those killed in the first day's raid (Dec 10) had not been buried.

He said it was essential that water mains, gas mains, sewerage, electricity cables and transport should be maintained.

The Singapore Oriental and Electric Company politely invited subscribers to refrain "if possible" from making social calls from 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

"Conditions in Singapore are fantastic," a journalist wrote on Dec 23.

MAPS OF SINGAPORE

"Scarcely a man, woman or child seems to realise that war today is only about 300 miles away to the north. Much of official Singapore, cloistered in empty, echoing offices, seems to have no knowledge, no more realisation of what is to come than the humblest coolie.

"Singapore has got to wake up quickly. We have been bombed already and we may be bombed again before the day is over; but we still have our minute papers and our usual channels. This is a disastrous state of affairs. It must stop."

This leader reflected the feelings of the Sydney Sun's special correspondent who, under the headline BLIMPS RULE IN MALAYA had protested that the press were not given reasonable access to the background picture of "the mightiest war drama ever staged east of Suez."

The Chartered Bank announced that their branches in Penang, Alor Star, Sitiawan and Taiping were closed for business for the moment.

A thousand volunteers were needed to help with the Defence Security Registration. No qualifications were required other than "ability to speak bazaar Malay, write English in a clear hand, understand simple instructions and have a desire to serve".

Demolishing extra rolling stock turned out to be a very difficult task. There was no time to build siding to park them, and so 13 loaded trains were routed to Malacca and bombed by the Royal Air Force.

The carriages, however, stood up to the bombing remarkably well and the raid was only partly successful.

One carriage or truck which escaped destruction contained a large consignment of maps of Singapore, urgently needed there, but never delivered.

Several engine drivers and conductors acted with great bravery and promptitude when their trains were attacked from the air.

Whenever and wherever possible, they would stop the train, help passengers out into the cover of the rubber trees or jungle, and render first aid.

The K.P.M. Line were still advertising regular sailings to Java and Sumatra, and "all other ports in the N.E. Indies."

Someone wanted to rent or buy a bungalow/house in the Tanglin/Holland Road district.

Quoting King George's speech made on Empire Day, 1940, Sir Robert Brooke Popham addressed community leaders: "Keep your hearts proud and your resolve unshaken....with God's help we shall not fail."

TALK ON THE RADIO

Retired in Australia after 33 years' service in the M.C.S., Sir Alexander Hall returned by air to help Sir Shenton Thomas.

Dato Onn bin Jaafar was appointed Information Officer for Johore State.

A European advertising agent executive was fined $250 for a black-out offence.

All British Europeans arriving in Singapore from upcountry were ordered to report to the Manpower Bureau, Empress Place.

Upcountry, the Japanese surveyed the Perak River, while as they approached it, said Col Tsuji, "appeared even more formidable, being more than 500 metres wide, fast flowing and of unknown depth."

At Ipoh, the Japanese suffered their first air raid by R.A.F. bombers. Their Christmas Day was spent in crossing the river.

In Singapore, Mr FD Bisseker, an evacuee from Penang, gave a long talk on the Singapore radio. He said that the three Japanese air raids "bombed Penang into impotency - and why? For the sad and true reason that the civilian population evaporated in a most amazing manner."

"Nobody," he continued, "is suggesting Singapore is doomed or anything so demoralisingly untrue, but we have got to save it - it is you who must act."

SCORCHED EARTH POLICY

A survivor from the Prince of Wales described how he had been sent to Penang to operate a ferryboat evacuating women and children to the mainland.

"Night came, and we hauled up our flags and carried on with the work. This continued every day and night.

"While waiting for opportunities to sneak our human cargo across to Butterworth, we were able to have a good view of the bombing and machinegunning of the civilians."

A stop press report from London said that a scorched earth policy had been carried out in Penang before the evacuation.

The Prai power station and the Penang tin smelting works were completely destroyed, the report claimed.

Another London report stated on Dec 23 that the Governor of Hong Kong was continuing to hurl defiance at the Japanese.

On Christmas Day, Hong Kong surrendered.

On the B.B.C. King George said: "Truly it is a stern and difficult time, but as the war widens, so shall our convictions deepen in the greatness of our cause."

On Singapore radio, Sir Shenton Thomas said: "I do know with all my heart that the King will give us encouragement and confidence and hope. And on that let us look forward to a happy and victorious New Year."

A Dutch East Indies paper said: "The crushing effect of the blows inflicted by the Netherlanders on the Japanese does its share in slowing up Japanese advances on Singapore."

The Singapore Theosophical Society made the only announcement of its sort in the press. It wished everyone a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Mr Duff Cooper became chairman of the War Council's Civil Defence Committee.

"Today." said the Free Press leader, "is Christmas Day, the strangest that most people in Malaya have ever experienced.

"There is no excuse for the traditional rejoicing - only the supreme need for hard and unrelenting toil."

The staffs of the water, electricity, gas and engineering departments, including sewage, were prohibited from being absent from work without prior consent.

UNDER ENEMY FIRE

The commanding officer of the Malay Regiment praised his troops' conduct under enemy fire and said the recent recruiting campaign was a great success.

General Gordon Bennet, the Australian commander, in a Christmas Day broadcast to Australia, said; "For months the Australian troops had been perfecting defences against the very tactics the Japanese employed .... even the gunners have a sideline.

"They have heard of the dislike the Japanese are showing to the point of a bayonet up north.

"So they are busy scrounging bayonets for their rifles just in case a few Japanese excursionists should come wandering around the batteries," but in a more realistic tone he added: "We have no illusions about the situation. We know that the fighting is going to be tough. But I could wish for no finer fighters to see it through."

The Chartered Bank announced that the following branches were being operated from Singapore - Penang, Alor Star, Sitiawan, Ipoh.

On Boxing Day, while Retter's band was playing at a dinner dance at the Adelphi Grill Room in Singapore, the troops were on the retreat southwards out of Ipoh.

Among the last to leave were Chinese and Eurasian telephone girls who had been handling military calls during dive bombing attacks.

The 12th Brigade Group continued withdrawing through the night of Dec 27 and took up a position south of Dipang. The 28th Battalion protected its right flank and placed defences in the Tapah Area.

On Dec 29, a Japanese attack was repulsed but the Divisional Commander of 12th Brigade Group ordered a withdrawal to Bidor.

The Japanese followed hard on their heels, their tanks demoralising the tired infantrymen. The bridge at Bidor was destroyed.

The Japanese reinforced their strength at Telok Anson by invaders operating on the lower reaches of the Perak River with boats and cycle patrols.

"Rose Force," initiated about a week earlier by General Percival from picked Australian volunteers, carried out several brilliantly successful raids west of the Perak River, ambushing one motor transport column and destroying lorries and staff cards, before withdrawing to Port Swettenham.

But they had to cease operations when their base ship, H.M.S. Kedah, was dive-bombed and sunk.

END OF AIR ATTACKS

Attacks were also made by the R.A.F. through seldom able to muster more than six machines at a time, making night raids on Sungei Patani aerodrome, where the Japanese were operating over 100 aircraft.

These attacks continued until the C-in-C Far East demanded full priority to be given to convoy protection work; this virtually meant the end of air counter-attacks against the Japanese in Malaya.

"Various alterations in top commanders, including Mr Duff Cooper's return to the United Kingdom," wrote General Percival, "had an unsettling effect and did make for continuity."

But the Far East War Council still functioned coherently enough to promulgate instructions to effect immediate evacuations of civilians from Malaya and Singapore, and to set up a joint service and civilian "Selection Board" with a Supreme Judge as chairman.

On New Year Day at the Kuala Kubu Road junction, the commander of the 11th Indian Division advised the risk of his inability to hold the Japanese any longer.

He was permitted to withdraw at his discretion by General Percival, who was touring Port Swettenham and Port Dickson, and who then returned to Singapore after arranging for "left behind" parties of Chinese to be trained in Singapore.

REMAIN WITH FAMILIES

On your he was faced with the problem of what to do about the F.M.S. Volunteer Force; many members had deserted, preferring to remain with their families instead of leaving them on the southward withdrawals.

Percival solved the dilemma of enforcing service or of releasing those wishing to leave by consenting to the latter.

In Singapore on Saturday, Dec 27, Mr John McDonald told listeners on Singapore radio that it would not be such a long war.

"We have a tough job ahead," he observed, "and perhaps an equally tough week or two which we can weather.

"That we can weather the storm I have not the least doubt whatever, and I believe that once the shock is behind us, we shall win very much faster than we now suspect."

A leading banking house announced its removal to London.

Mr Tan Kah Kee accepted Sir Shenton's invitation to mobilise the Chinese community. A leading article (Dec 27) said that with this and Indian civilian mobilisation, "Europeans, Eurasians, Malays and others will resolve that 'Singapore must not fall; it shall not fall'."

Singapore Girl Guides were busy making bandages, collecting salvage, helping in the blood transfusion section and working at a centre caring for babies lost in air raids.

FLOW OF GOOD NEWS

Women, said a lady's article, had not stopped dressing for dinner, but there were as many short as long frocks to be seen at the Christmas Eve dance at one hotel.

A leading Chungking newspaper urged an attack by British forces in Burma on Thailand to threaten the rear of the Japanese invaders in northern Malaya.

The Penang Straits Echo proprietor who had evacuated to Singapore described the achievements of the editor, Mr M Saravanamuttu, during the Japanese air raids as "an epic of journalism."

He described how the editor carried cooked food to the wardens during the bombing raids as well as ensuring that the paper came out.

"It was," he said, "a job for a giant."

His last editorial was headlined The Bloodbath of Penang.

Possibly the most remarkable announcement of all in the Singapore press was the following:

"European (British) desires post as office assistant. Permanent or temporary" which appeared on Dec 27, the date of the enactment of the Martial Law Ordinance.

As usual the B.B.C. maintained a flow of cheering news, stating that in the fighting now in progress in Perak, "wave after wave of Japanese infantry are being wiped out by the concentrated deadly fire of British and Imperial forces."

At the Singapore Tanglin Club, the committee decided to convert the ballroom into a dormitory for air raid refugees. They decided to leave the bar and billiard room intact for the present and not to establish a first aid post, as there was one at the nearby Goodwood Park Hotel.

BY SEA AND BY LAND

On Dec 28 all civilians in Singapore were ordered to register and carry identification cards; shelters for thousands were being dug by the Municipality.

Those building their own were told to telephone the Health Office if the walls or floor remained wet continuously.

Two Javanese were each fined $5 for roasting satay with an uncovered fire.

Ian Morrison of the Calcutta Statesman gave a concise description of the Japanese soldiers: "They are lightly dressed, they wear rubber shoes, and they are partial to climbing trees and sniping. The problem is to establish a position which cannot be attacked from the flank."

The Japanese master planners had been intrigued by the way the British appeared to be sending up reinforcements into Malaya, although it should have been clear that there was little hope of stopping the advance.

They also knew that Percival was desperately counting the days before substantial reinforcements were due to arrive to mid-January.

So they decided to press southwards as hard and fast as possible, by sea as well as on land.

They transported 40 boats, used in the Singapore landing, cross-country to Alor Star, adding 20 picked up in Penang, and embarked a whole battalion of infantry, engineers and mountain guns.

Celebrating New Year Eve at sea, these were machine-gunned by the R.A.F. Many were wounded but on Jan 4, the craft landed at Sungkai.

Then a "reckless action" by the Japanese Imperial Guards was to take over the craft, land at Morib, cut across to Kajang, and hold the main road south of Kuala Lumpur.

Mr Churchill was furious. He cabled Percival: "Control of the Western Coast passed to the Japanese army which did not have even one naval vessel there.

Churchill could not understand why the Royal Navy had not dealt with the small craft with destroyers or submarines.

All that Admiral Dudley Pound could suggest was that there were not enough aircraft, that Penang's denial tactics had failed, and that the Japanese must have been able to use vessels abandoned there.

It was at Kampar that the advancing Japanese met the strongest opposition so far. The eastern flank was 4,000ft high with steep sides, and the summit was screened by thick jungle.

The main road was close to its western slopes. To the north-west and the south was a large tin mining area, with rubber plantations in the south-west.

The mining area gave an excellent firing line for machineguns, and on New Year Eve the Gurkhas, at home fighting in the mountains, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy.

The Sikhs of the Punjab Regiment too, drove the Japanese out of a vital position and Col Tsuji, who said he spent New Year Eve being shelled in a small car, admitted that the issue was "in grave doubt."

Throughout that night and the next morning, a stream of Japanese wounded returned as best they could from the frontline.

This was the Japanese army's baptism in real jungle warfare. It was not to their liking, the men were not only exhausted they had, said Col Tsuji, "no life in their voices."

"Morale had never been lower."

At 9 p.m. on New Year Day, the battle for Kampar was as good as over. Then the Punjab Regiment withdrew to the Tapah-Bidor area, and the Ando Regiment went their way through swamps to attack rear positions with hand grenades.

While not far away, a Japanese battalion landed from vessels down the Perak River, and attacked and seized Kampar that evening.

South of the Perak border, two steamers and 12 landing craft threatened the coast at Kuala Selangor, but withdrew after one was sunk.

Despite this respite and driving back cavalry counter-attacks, the Japanese took Batang Berjuntai on Jan 6; a spectacular feature of the British denial policy in that area must have been the demolition of the Batu Arang coal mines at Rawang.

At the finale of the Battle of Kampar, Col Tsuji apologetically delivered a delayed order from the Japanese army commander to the commander of the Okata Regiment placing him under close arrest for 30 days - his punishment for having been responsible, as their superior officer, for the conduct of troops under his command - the Kobayashi Battalion - who had looted and committee rape on civilians in Penang.

By a coincidence, it seems that there was almost as much trouble with the top Japanese staff as must have been brewing at the same time between Percival and his colleagues.

To be continued....

Part One: The last weekend at a cabaret 
Part Two: December upcountry