BANGKOK: The Malaysians and Indians in Bangkok (MIB) has announced plans to cremate the remains of 106 Tamil Romusha workers currently displayed at the JEATH War Museum in Kanchanaburi, west Province of Thailand.
MIB chairman Dr Silva Kumar said this initiative comes as the museum prepares to permanently close its doors at the end of April 2025.
Silva explained that the remains, part of a grim historical legacy, were discovered during a construction project near the governor’s office in Kanchanaburi.
"Out of the 500 bones initially found, 106 were handed over to the JEATH Museum by the Archaeological Department of Silpakorn University, while the remainder were cremated by a Chinese foundation.
"The closure of the museum provides an opportunity to give these individuals a dignified farewell," Dr Silva said in a statement here on Monday.
He said the MIB plans to conduct cremation ceremonies at Wat Chaichumpon-Chanasongkram, a Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi, and the process will be carried out in batches, as handling 106 sets of remains in a single ceremony is unfeasible.
"Monks will chant prayers during the cremations, and the ashes will be preserved for a special burial ceremony involving a Nadukal (a traditional Tamil memorial stone).
"The total cost for these ceremonies is estimated at THB30,000, and we are seeking support to cover the expenses," he said.
According to Silva, the immense suffering endured by Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and Asian forced labourers, also known as "Romusha” in Japanese, during the construction of the 415km Thailand-Burma Railway, as it was called then, remains largely unseen.
The exact number of deaths during the construction of the railway is unknown, but estimates suggest that about 100,000 people had perished, including about 12,000 Allied POWs and tens of thousands of Romusha, who were forced to work under horrific and deadly conditions. - Bernama
