Malaysia

the start of the world war 11, Malayasia`s economy was strong. It`s output of tin and rubber meant it was of strategic importance. The Japanese commenced their invasion of Malaysia with the bombing of the beaches of Kota Bharu in Kelantan, and Singapore, on 8 December 1941. The invasion continued with little opposition as Commonwealth troops defending Malaya were expecting invasion by sea, not by land. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese arrived in the city of Kota Bahru in British Malaya (present day Malaysia). They arrived just a few hours before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Within two months, the Japanese had conquered present day Peninsular Malaysia. Malaya was occupied for three and a half years by the Japanese. The occupation ended with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, only then for the country to be re-ocupied by British forces. The effects of the Japanese Occupation can be categorized into social, economic, and political changes. These changes were drastic and had more negative than positive effects on the people of Malaya. As Japan viewed Malaya as a military conquest, the local people endured harsh treatment when full co-operation was not given to the Japanese. This made up the social effects of the colonization. The Japanese did not treat the various racial groups in Malaya equally which resulted in oppression especially for the Chinese as they had the unpleasant history with the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese war in 1937. However, Chinese nationalism grew as an anti-force. Anti-Japanese activities among the Chinese community had already begun even before the invasion. This hostility became the anti-Japanese movement of the Chinese. Hostile acts taken by the Japanese against the Chinese and their open favoritism towards the Malays caused the Chinese community to feel its separate identity strongly. This was the beginning of racial tension between the Malays and Chinese. However, the Japanese recognized the economic value of the Chinese community and gave them freedom to continue their business with the condition that they cooperated with the new rulers. Attempts to overcome the opposition of the Malays were another strategy of the Japanese army. They tried to win the support of Malays by treating them quite well and promising independence. However, the plan was generally without success as the Malays gave little co-operation. At the same time, many Malays and Chinese were forced into labour to build the “Death Railway” which connected Burma and Siam. It was finished in November 1943, 415kms in length. It was built at the cost of 16,000 lives of allied troops and over 100,000 Asians. There was a saying later which emerged: 'for every railway sleeper laid a life was lost'. The day-to-day lives of Malayans were affected dramatically by the Japanese occupation. One of the...