MALAYSIAN STUDIES

CHAPTER 1:
HISTORY & POLITICS
1.3:
JAPANESE OCCUPATION
INDEPENDENCE OF MSIA

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
The reasons of victory over the British:
1. The British did not ready to face war
British fought on alone but were wounded badly
and fighting for survival. It was under constant
attack by German submarines in keeping open
its lifeline with the US for food and war materials.
At one point, the Germans were sinking the
British ship faster than they could build them.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
At the same time , the royal air force was busy
trying to establish air superiority over the
German air force to prevent an invasion of
Britain itself. The Japanese used this advantage
to attack British in Malaya.

JAPANESE AIRFORCE

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
2. The maritime defense was weak
When the battleship Prince of Wales and Repulse were
sunk by Japanese dive-bombers on the second day of
the fighting, which gave the Japanese control over the
sea as well as the air, the war was over. No naval or air
reinforcements were coming, and it would have made
no difference even if they had because the British were
in no position to stop the Japanese advance.

HMS Prince Of Wales

HMS Repulse

HMS Electra

HMS Express

HMS Tenedos

HMS Vampire

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
3. The Japanese were well prepared
The Japanese won because they had a well
equipped, highly motivated, well trained and well
led attacking force. Historically, these are good
reasons for military victory. The Japanese fighter
planes were the finest in the sky at this time and
had better speed than the best British plane.

YAMASHITA & PERCIVAL

FALL OF SINGAPORE

FALL OF SINGAPORE

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Occupied Malaya in 1942.
Some of the Malays treat Japanese well and vice
versa.
However, Japanese was harsh to Chinese
because of the China-Japan war since 1937.
Suspected Chinese in Malaya was helping their
compatriots in China to fight against them.

MALAYSIA MAP: AN OVERVIEW

JAPANESE OCCUPATION

The invasion of Japanese

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Malay rulers position changed during the
Japanese Occupation.
Malay rulers no longer chaired the State Council.
Power & authority was given to the Japan
Governor.
Malay rulers only acted as the deputy to the
governor.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Japan gave Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and
Terengganu to Thai (Siam) as reward for
allowing the Japanese to use Thai (Siam) as the
route to attack Malaya.
Japan ruled Malaya and Sumatra as one unit.
During its rule, Japan introduced Japanese
policy through the education system, mass
media & economy.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Slogan Asia for Asians & Area of Shared
Prosperity only remained slogans.
People of Malaya suffered a lot because of the
Japanese cruelty and economic downfall after
the occupation.
However, Japanese encouraged the nationalism
spirit among the locals.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Leaders of the KMM (Union of Young Malays)
imprisoned by the British were released.
Leaders strengthened the position and political
awareness of the Malays.
Prominent - Ibrahim Yaacob
1943 - Ibrahim Yaacob formed a paramilitary
group by the name PETA (Defenders of
Country).

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
A chance for the people of Malaya to get a
chance in running their country.
1945 - Ibrahim Yaacob formed KRIS (The
People of Indonesia Semenanjung Union) to
develop peoples awareness that the Malay
people were a part of the Indonesiaraya.
Plan failed because the Allies defeated Japan in
1945.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Returning of Swords ceremony by
General Itagaki to
Leftenant General Messery
after the defeat in February 1946

Japanese soldiers returning the

swords to British armies
as a sign of surrender after
the bombing of
Nagasaki & Hiroshima

The impact of Japanese Occupation

1. Social impact
The Chinese were singled out for the worst
treatment. China and Japan had been enemies
for years and the Chinese community in British
Malaya had been a generous supporter of the
Chinese government in their fight against the
Japanese invaders.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
At the same time people were beaten for failing
to perform the required bow to Japanese
soldiers. Accused criminals were beheaded in
the public streets.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
2. Economical impact
During the Japanese occupation, our economic
system was very weak and collapse. The worst
economic problem caused by the Japanese was
inflation.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Shortages due to a drop in imports alone would
have driven up prices, but the Japanese
response the inflation by producing worthless
currency. The Japanese answer was to print
money that had nothing to back it. As price rose
the Japanese merely printed more money.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
Items

Dec
1941

Dec
1943

Dec
1944

Dec
1945

Rice (500
grams)

6
cents

$2.50

$8.20

$75.00

Sugar
(500
grams)

48
cents

$4.00

$22.00

$280.00

One egg

3
cents

28
cents

$1.25

$35.00

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
3. Political impact
The emergence of Nationalism Asia for Asian.
The idea to rule their own country as they lost
confidence with British colonial rule.

JAPANESE OCCUPATION
The Japanese surrendered Kedah, Perlis,
Kelantan and Terengganu to Thailand to return a
favour to the latter for the use of Thai Territory
to launch their invasion of malaya. The Japanese
ruled Malaya and Sumatera as single unit
The emergence of MCP (Malayan Communist
Party)

MALAYAN EMERGENCY
COMMUNIST REVOLT

COMMUNIST REVOLT
The withdrawal of Japan at the end of World
WaR II left the Malayan economy disrupted.
Problems included unemployment, low wages,
and scarce and expensive food.
There was considerable labour unrest and a
large number of strikes occurred in 1946 through
1948

COMMUNIST REVOLT
The British administration was attempting to
repair Malaya's economy quickly, especially as
revenue from Malaya's tin and rubber industries
was important to Britain's own post-war recovery
On 16 June 1948, the first overt act of the war
took place when three European plantation
managers were killed at Sungai Siput, Perak.

COMMUNIST REVOLT
The MCP, led by Chin Peng, retreated to rural
areas, and formed the MNLA, also known as the
Malayan Races Liberation Army (MRLA), or the
Malayan People's Liberation Army (MPLA).
The MNLA began a guerrilla campaign, targeting
mainly the colonial resource extraction
industries, which in Malaya were the tin mines
and rubber plantations.

COMMUNIST REVOLT

MCP

MCP

EMERGENCY

EMERGENCY

MEETING HELD BY MCP

WEAPONS

CHIN PENG AND RASHID MAIDIN

BALING TALKS

ARMOURED VEHICLE BOMBED BY

MCP