Daughter recalls father’s demise during Japanese occupation
SANDAKAN: Reminiscing the war years had definitely brought sad memory to a daughter whose father was massacred along with other community leaders on May 27, 1945.
According to Chong Kyu Soo, 77, her beloved father, Chong Fui Choi, was a leader/Cathechist of the Basel Church and also one of the co-founders of Sung Siew Secondary School here.
In 1938, her father started the first Chinese newspaper in Sandakan which still exists now, the Sandakan Overseas Chinese Daily which was initially started to provide news of the SinoJapanese war in China.
“During the war years, our family resided at Mile 1.5 in a fouracre plot of rubber plantation. At that time, 1.5 miles away from town centre was considered far as most people commuted on foot.
“At the tender age of five, I did not actually know what exactly happened. However, my mother later told us about the unfortunate incident.
“One night the Japanese came to the house and took my father away. That was the last time we saw him. Soon, we were told that he was massacred along with 27 others and buried in a mass grave,” she said.
After the war, the community leaders dug up the mass grave and Kyu Soo’s mother and elder brother went to identify the remains. They recognised her father from the clothes he wore.
“Recalling the tragedy, my mother said that perhaps the only ‘crime’ my father committed was passing on news of allied troop movements to the community leaders, from the radio he had,” she added.
Kyu Soo comes from a big family of ten siblings consisting of three brothers and seven girls. Raised by a strong Christian mother, they were taught not to hate the Japanese.
Kyu Soo had attended the Sandakan Day Memorial 2017 yesterday at Memorial Park here. The ceremony was graced by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Raymond Tan Shu Kiah who represented Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman.
Also present were Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Rod Smith, British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Vicki Treadell, Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, Sandakan Municipal Council president Datuk Ir. James Wong and members of the Sandakan ATM Veteran Association and the Veteran’s Reminiscence.
In his speech read by Raymond, Musa said the shared wartime history between Malaysia, Australia and Britain is a reminder of not only the sacrifice and endurance of those who perished but also the loss and longing of family members.
“We remember the prisoners of war and what history tells us they endured at this very site and on the death marches to Ranau. We also remember the local communities who took risks and lost their lives in helping the Allied Forces soldiers.
“It is my hope that the peace we enjoy will never be compromised by wars and disputes. There is much to learn from the painful history that Malaysia, Australia and Britain had shared throughout the war time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Musa also acknowledge the efforts of the Sandakan Municipal Council, Sabah Tourism Board and organizing committee for their continued dedication in honouring these fallen men and keeping their stories alive.