KUALA LUMPUR: In the stillness of the early Sunday (Jan 11) morning at the KL Hokkien Cemetery, about 80 people gathered at a memorial monument.
With speeches delivered, wreaths laid and the mournful tune of the "Last Post" drifting through the air, they were there to honour Malayan civilians and servicemen who were massacred during the Japanese Occupation more than eight decades ago.
Organised by the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH), the simple hour-long annual ceremony known as Remembrance Day, carried a poignant message that war does not pay and only leaves behind devastation, loss and lasting scars on those who lived through it.
KLSCAH president Ngan Teng Ye said the site bears silent witness to the countless lives lost during the Japanese Occupation between 1942 and 1945.
"More than 800 victims killed during the period are buried here. Some have names, but many do not. Remembering this painful period remains deeply relevant today as armed conflicts have not disappeared from our world, as tensions have emerged in some parts of it, including Southeast Asia. May the departed rest in peace and may peace never be taken for granted," he said in his speech.
Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, who was also at the event, said commemorating those who perished during the Japanese occupation is an affirmation of the dignity of life and a reaffirmation of the value of peace.
"It reminds us that war is never an abstract concept but descends concretely and brutally upon ordinary people. Peace, too is never a given but an outcome paid with the blood and tears of countless lives. This ceremony is not an obsession with the past, but a warning for the future and a reminder to cherish peace, enhance unity, respect history and safeguard humanity," he said.
Tan said memorials and special programmes should frequently be held to remind people of the ills of war and promote peace and unity.
Malaysian Armed Forces Chinese Veterans Association (MACVA) president Lt Colonel (Rtd) Wong Ah Jit said that as he was growing up, he was horrified by the stories his late parents had told him of the atrocities that befell Malayans during World War II, especially the Chinese community.
"This event is also a reminder of the price of war. Nobody wins. Peace must be upheld and valued. In this day and age, war should never be an option to resolve disputes. With the great advancements we have made in communication, we should use dialogue to find solutions rather than resorting to conflict," said the 75-year-old retired officer who served the army for 24 years and came for the event with about a dozen members of the MACVA.
Also present at the memorial were British High Commission defence advisor Colonel James Green and Australian High Commission assistant defence advisor Lieutenant-Colonel Glenn Sheridan.
The cemetery is also the resting place of the remains of more than 500 resistance fighters who laid down their lives opposing the Japanese during the occupation.
