WAR TEACHES THE MEANING OF LIFE AND RESPONSIBILITY

By Melati Mohd Ariff
This is the first of two features on the experiences of Government
Pensioners Association president Raja Wan Mahmood Pawan Teh during the era of
British rule, Japanese occupation and communist atrocities in Malaya.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Raja Wan Mahmood Pawan Teh, 81, has seen
it all.

He grew up when the country was under British colonial rule, and also
witnessed the atrocities committed by Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) terrorists
after Japan's surrender at the end of the Second World War.

Two events stand out in Wan Mahmood's memories.

The first was the lowering of the Union Jack at 12.00 midnight on Aug 30,
1957, at the Padang Kelab Selangor (now Merdeka Square), adjacent to the Sultan
Abdul Samad Building here.

This symbolic event marked the end of British rule in Malaya, now Malaysia.

Wan Mahmood was 27 years old when the country gained independence.

He had mixed feelings then - sadness upon seeing the lowering of the Union
Jack, changing to joy upon seeing the national flag hoisted up.

His second special memory is witnessing the proclamation of the country's
independence by the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra
Al-Haj, on the morning of Aug 31, 1957.


CHILDHOOD

Wan Mahmood was born in Kuala Lipis in Pahang state in 1930. He was the
ninth of 14 siblings.

Wan Mahmood's father, Pawan Teh Mohamed, was Magistrate and Assistant
District Officer (ADO) in the Malayan Civil Service.

As a civil servant, Pawan Teh had to work in several states in the peninsula
and, naturally, his family had to tag along.

Before Wan Mahmood reached the age of two, Pawan Teh was transferred to
Selangor.

Wan Mahmood's family then resided at Jalan Belfield, the area located
between the Istana Negara (National Palace) and Chinese Assembly Hall.

Wan Mahmood and most of his siblings did not get the opportunity to study in
Malay schools. They were educated in English schools, and grew up among the
non-Malay community.

"I did not go to the Malay school. During the Japanese occupation, I
attended the Japanese school," he said.

"In the English school, it was compulsory for us to take Bible scriptures
lessons, as these were missionary schools, including the Methodist Boys School,
St John Institution and others.

"At times, we inadvertently ended up in the church.

"Even though we had to learn the Bible, this did not change our faith as
Muslims," Wan Mahmood told Bernama here recently.

Local folks held Englishmen in high esteem during colonial rule, according
to Wan Mahmood.

"I remember when I was small, the Empire Day celebration, an occasion
similar to our Merdeka Day celebration, was held. We lined up on the field to
witness the hoisting of the Union Jack, while singing the British national
anthem, ‘God Save The King’

"In an event held in Kampar, Perak, I remember my father, who was a
Magistrate, reading out the Empire Day's message, representing the British King,
George V1," related Wan Mahmood.


JAPANESE ATTACK

Wan Mahmood recalls the hardships he experienced during the Japanese
occupation of Malaya.

His father had just retired from government service and moved to Kuala
Lumpur. The family stayed in a bungalow at Jalan Treacher (today known as Jalan
Sultan Ismail), next to where the Concorde Hotel now stands.

Wan Mahmood said Jalan Treacher was the main route for those who stayed in
Kampung Baru (a village located in the middle of Kuala Lumpur) to get to the
entertainment centre at BB Park (now Bukit Bintang Road).

Then came the Japanese invasion of Malaya.

In order to escape bombs from Japanese aircraft, they had to take refuge in
a five-foot-long tunnel with a diameter of about six feet.

He said whenever there was an aerial attack, two sirens would blare out.

The first was a wave-like siren that warned of an impending attack by
Japanese bombers, and people had to scramble into the tunnel to escape.

"Everybody brought along their clothing and daily essentials, as they were
scared that their homes would be destroyed by the bombs. We also heard
explosions and machine gun fire.

"After 10-20 minutes there would be another siren that signaled it was safe
for us to come out from the tunnel and return to our homes," said Wan Mahmood.

The aerial attacks happened at night, forcing residents to black-out their
house lights in order to escape being targeted by Japanese bombs.


MOVE OUT

The bombings and the dangerous situation forced many people to move to safer
areas. In the exodus, Wan Mahmood's family moved to a village known as Klang
Gate.

Soon after, news broke out that British soldiers were going to withdraw, and
that they would destroy the tunnels and bridges in their wake.

Wan Mahmood's family then moved to Hulu Langat. While there, Wan Mahmood
witnessed from afar the advance of Japanese soldiers, who used bicycles while
they were on route to Singapore.

Some Japanese soldiers deviated from their course and went into Malay
villages to seize bicycles and cars that belonged to the people.

"My father had a car. We wasted no time hiding the vehicle in a rubber
estate and covering it with dry coconut leaves. Otherwise Japanese soldiers
would have seized the vehicle," he said.

He said women went into hiding to escape being raped by Japanese soldiers.

After the Japanese troops had gone towards Singapore, Wan Mahmood's family
returned to Kuala Lumpur.


NATIONALISM

When Japan invaded Malaya, Wan Mahmood witnessed the defeat of the British,
who were earlier thought to be invincible.

This was the time when the nationalistic spirit caught up with Wan Mahmood.

His cousin, Mohamad Haniff, a journalist with Warta Malaya (a Malay daily)
in Perak state who had written many articles on nationalism, was hauled up by
the British before their withdrawal.

Another relative, Mustafa Hussin, was the deputy to Ibrahim Yaacob (the
founder of Kesatuan Melayu Muda -- KMM, a Malay youth movement).

The KMM initially aided the Japanese army in the belief that the invaders
would grant independence to the Malays.

The young men who assisted the Japanese were known then as the Fujiwara
Keika or the "fifth column."

"However, later on (Mohamad) realised that the Japanese were insincere. He
began to help captured Malay soldiers and policemen escape being killed by the
Japanese. My cousin helped shape much of the nationalistic spirit in me," he
said.

Another person who helped inculcate the spirit of nationalism in Wan Mahmood
was his brother in-law, Abdul Aziz Ishak, who later became the Agriculture
Minister in Tunku Abdul Rahman's first cabinet.

Wan Mahmood recalls that he started to despise the arrogance of the British
when he was small, during the time when the family's neighbor was a British man.

"When my siblings played, our British neighbour went to the extent of
calling the police to warn us not to make so much noise. The British man was
arrogant, and ignored the fact that my father was a magistrate who held a higher
ranking than he did," he said.


HARDSHIP

Food was scarce during the Japanese occupation of Malaya.

Wan Mahmood said rice was difficult to get. Even if there was rice, it had
to be mixed with kapur (slaked lime) to prevent the grains from being spoiled.
When the rice was cooked, it would turn red, said Wan Mahmood.

"Since rice was scarce, we turned to tapioca. The tapioca flour was mixed
with rice grains and when it was cooked the meal was eaten with dried fish," he
said.

"We had to plant vegetables on the vacant plot of land near our house."

Wan Mahmood recalls that he used to walk alone or with his mother to get to
the Central Market (now known as Pasar Seni) to buy groceries.

At the age of 13, Wan Mahmood said, he was fortunate to join the "Jikedan"
neighbourhood watch (similar to Rukun Tetangga), formed by the Japanese.

"For joining the volunteer corps, I received some rice and flour rations. I
did not have to rush and queue up like the others in order to get rations.

"Bread was made from tapioca flour. The bread was hard to the extent that it
bounced back when thrown against the wall. That was our food at that time, apart
from boiled tapioca and coconut," he said.

Wan Mahmood said the hardships he faced further fired the nationalistic
spirit in him.


SCHOOL TIME

Wan Mahmood entered school during the Japanese occupation.

His school was in Kampung Baru near the Sultan Sulaiman Club, before he
moved to the St John Institution.

"In school during the Japanese occupation, we were taught to sing Japanese
songs. We were taught to sing “Kimigayo,” the Japanese national anthem, and
after singing it we had to bow our heads to the Japanese flag,” he said.

After the Second World War ended and the Japanese soldiers surrendered, Wan
Mahmood returned to the English school at Jalan Batu, where he was admitted to
standard three.

Wan Mahmood was 14 at that time and felt he was too old for standard three.
He appealed to the teacher and was moved to standard five.

That was the highest class in a primary school at that time. Later, he went
to Victoria Institution (VI).

At VI, Wan Mahmood and his friends set up the VI Malay Students Literary
Union. This became the Kuala Lumpur Malay Students Association and, later, the
Selangor Malay Students Association.

"It (the association) was set up to collect funds to help poor students.
Through the association, I learned the meaning of patriotism.

"Among the students in the association was (Tun Dr) Siti Hasmah (Mohamad
Ali), at that time a student of Bukit Bintang Girls School (BBGS)," he said.


WORK HARD

Realising that education is important, Wan Mahmood and his friends worked
hard to collect funds to help poor Malay students.

After the war, he said, many Malay students left school, as they did not
have even enough money for bus fare to school.

Schools then were missionary schools such as the VI, St John Institution and
Methodist Boys School (MBBS). All of them were located in Kuala Lumpur. Most
Malay students stayed outside the town.

"That was why we set up the Derma Pelajaran Melayu fund," he said.


CONCERTS AND DRAMA

In order to collect funds, the association staged concerts. Among those who
performed was Tun Siti Hasmah, who played the violin.

They also staged a performance based on "Nyawa Di Ujung Pedang," a novel
about the atrocities committed by the Japanese secret police, the Kempeitai,
during the occupation.

The novel was written by Wan Mahmood's brother-in-law, Ahmad Murad
Nasaruddin, who at that time worked as a translator at Sultan Idris Training
College (SITC)in Tanjong Malim.

"The ticket prices were two ringgit, one ringgit and 50 sen. It helped us
collect some funds, but it was not easy to stage a concert at that time. Even
the Malay officers were reluctant to help us, as they were scared of the
British.

"The British monitored our association, as they were concerned that we might
be similar to a left-wing movement," he said.

Wan Mahmood said many Malay students benefited from the fund and grew up to
become among the leading figures of their generation.

Among them is Shamsuddin Abdul Kadir, the founder of Sapura Group.