e food was being controlled by the Japanese. The locals were
given ration cards which limited the amount of food for each person. The money
that the Japanese issued made the situation worse. The notes were known as
"banana notes", printed with pictured of banana and other fruit trees. The note was
printed on bad quality paper and had no serial number on it. When the
authorities needed money, they just have to print the notes. As a result, the
value of the banana notes dropped to the extent that it became
worthless paper.. Derived from this banana notes, the phrase
"banana money" means useless money. People could be seen going
shopping carrying bags of banana notes. I used towel could
cost as much as $300 worth of banana notes.
Soon an anti-Japanese group called the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army
(M.P.A.J.A.) was formed. This group attacked the Japanese officers and their men
when the opportunity comes. Another group called Force 136 was formed by a
secret British organisation. This group gathered information about the Japanese.
Some of the locals were recruited into the group and were trained in India. They
will then be secretly sent into Malaya by submarine to assist M.P.A.J.A. against
the Japanese. Lim Bo Seng, a Singapore businessman, led the Force 136 but he was
captured by the Japanese in March 1944. He was being tortured to reveal the
names of those who were in the group but he did not. In the end, he died in
prison in June 1944. Finally, the Japanese surrendered on the 14th of
August 1945 after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Allied forces led
by the Americans.
This part of the history taught us a lesson. We should be well-prepared to
defend the country against any enemy and not wait for people to save us.
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