ACh ristmAsFrAugh t With Ch Allenges

The soldie rs in the office rs’ me ss are in a boiste rous mood. The me n, dre sse d in the ir ne atly irone d uniforms and pe rfe ctly polishe d boots, have e ve ry re ason to ce le brate . This is the first Christmas party the y’re ce le brating in Malaya since the horrific Japane se Occupation e nde d just four months ago.

For many in the room, it’s a home coming ofsorts as the Royal Air Force (RAF) base he re in Kuala Lumpur has be e n the ir station prior to the Se cond World War. A large majority pre se nt are part ofthe libe ration task force which se t sail from Colombo and Trincomale e as soon as ne ws broke about the Land ofthe Rising Sun putting up the white flag. The re mainde r are forme r prisone rs ofwar who suffe re d gre atly during the Japane se Occupation. The se gallant me n we re mainly inte rne d at various locations throughout Se langor, including the dre ade d Pudu Jail.

Mome nts late r, the commanding office r he ads ove r to the gramophone and stops the music. Raising his glass, he taps it ge ntly with a spoon. The sharp clinking sounds re sonate across the room, catching e ve ryone ’s atte ntion.

The commanding office r proce e ds to make a short spe e ch be fore inviting e ve ryone to take the ir place s at the table , and says: “Enjoy your Xmas dinne r as I assure you that the pre vailing che e ry atmosphe re he re today is just a te mporary inte rlude . We have a long and difficult task ahe ad ofus. We are to se t Kuala Lumpur and all ofMalaya back on track, re turn the m to the way the y we re be fore the war starte d.”

An atte ndant turns the music up once again, aptly se tting the mood by playing Judy Garland’s wartime hit,

The room imme diate ly e rupts into loud che e rs and applause . “Le t the party be gin!” some one shouts out and again laughte r thunde rs across the wide e xpanse .

The loud shrills ofa mynah re sting on my window le dge jolts me from my re ve rie . I gaze at the slightly tone d Christmas Fare card in my hands. Although it’s crude ly made from light gre e n Manila card and de corate d in a simple manne r with a coconut tre e in the ce ntre and the RAF insignia at the top le ft corne r, this card re mains one ofmy most tre asure d posse ssions.

Made to ce le brate the 1945 Christmas party at the RAF station in Kuala Lumpur, this card re pre se nts a ne w be ginning in our country. Back the n, Malaya was still re e ling from the afte r-e ffe cts ofthe war and the Malayan pe ople ne e de d all the he lp the y could ge t to re turn to the ir normal way oflife . Malaya at that time . The me al starte d off with cre am oftomato soup and this was followe d by quite a large main course consisting ofroast pork with sage and onion stuffing, roast chicke n and potatoe s, cabbage and pe as. De sse rt came in the form ofmince pie s and Christmas pudding with rum sauce . The fre sh fruit platte r has apple s, bananas and pine apple s. The dinne r was comple te d with an offe ring ofcoffee, chocolates, beer and even cigare tte s!

Contrary to the e xpe ctations ofthe re turning British force s, food was re adily available for a ve ry brie fpe riod afte r the Japane se surre nde re d on Aug 15, 1945. Loote rs raide d ware house s and the British soldie rs starte d to distribute rice from the massive Japane se stockpile s locate d all ove r Malaya.

Shops starte d displaying ample amounts offood stocks for a fe w we e ks. Unfortunate ly, the time ofabundance was short-live d. Stocks quickly vanishe d from the she lve s into a burge oning black marke t whe n ne ws ofan impe nding acute food shortage be came common knowle dge .

Rice , the main staple die t ofthe population, soon be came a controlle d ite m. On Jan 1, 1946 the official ration for e ach pe rson in Malaya was 130g ofrice pe r day. By Fe bruary, this amount was supple me nte d with an additional thre e ounce s ofwhe at flour. De mand quickly surpasse d supply and in just two months, the rice ration was drastically re duce d to just 85g pe r pe rson. This was a far cry from the 453g e ach pe rson consume d be fore Se cond World War starte d!

To make matte rs worse , consume rs we re fre que ntly supplie d with poor quality rice that containe d a high proportion ofbroke n grains and a gre at de al ofdirt. As a re sult, those with de e pe r pocke ts had to supple me nt the ir rations by purchasing smuggle d rice from the black marke t. The gove rnme nt close d one e ye to this practice as it was conside re d the be st way to e nsure that the population re ce ive d sufficie nt food.

Fortunate ly, the rice supply improve d significantly by July 1947 and the incre ase d volume allowe d