JAPANESE OCCUPATION
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
>> Harsh Treatment of the Chinese
Source: Straits Times, Wed, September 26, 1945, p.2 |
Japanese
hostility towards the Chinese was a carry-over from the Sino- Japanese War of
1937 in which local Chinese had supported China through financial contribution,
boycott and burning of Japanese goods. Hence the Chinese suffered most
under the Japanese rule. They were arrested and executed at the slightest
excuse. A $50 Million `gift` was `extracted from the Chinese. The
task of collecting the money fell on the Overseas Chinese Association, an
association headed by Dr. Lim Boon Keng and formed under British directive. They
could only raised $29 million altogether and to borrow the rest from a Japanese
bank.
Japanese harsh treatment of the Chinese led them to organize anti-Japanese resistance movements. The most highly organized was Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) which was also consisted of the Malays and Indians. The MPAJA received military training and assistance from the British.
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| They became
the front-line fighters against (the Japanese forces were concentrated in the
while the guerillas operated from the jungles). The result was an increase
I the prestige of the MPAJA in the eyes of the people.
The military power of the MPAJA also increased. Most of the members were actually members of the Malayan Communist Part formed in 1930. Weapons air- dropped by the British into the jungles for the anti-Japanese organisations were hidden by the MPAJA, and were used after the war by the MCP against the British. Japanese Divide-and-rule policy worsened the gap between the Chinese and the Malays. As the Japanese surrender came unexpectedly, the British were slow in returning to Malaya. During this intervening period, the MPAJA took control. Acts of violence were committed against Japanese collaborators, including Chinese and Malays. (Source: lecture notes) |
