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Tales of a Hakka town (2)
Tales of a Hakka town (2)
Chin Koon-loy's grandfather was a poor Hakka farmer who lived near the
small town of Chang Ping in the county of Dongguan in the province of
Guangdong. Koon-loy's grandfather and a few neighbours were imprisoned
for defaulting the payments of land taxe. In around 1880 Koon-loy's
grandfather with his family, his neighbours and their families were
bannished to Formosa (Taiwan). The exilians chosed to settled in the
"Camphor distrcts", of northern Formosa because they were many Hakkas
settlements there. The Camphor industry in Formosa was first started by
the Hakkas in the early nineteen century.
China lost the 1894-1895 Sino-Japanese war to Japan and Formosa was
ceded to Japan at the peace settlement in Shimonnseki.
Koon-loy was born in around 1918 and had a few years of education in
Chinese and Japanese. When he was in his teens he stopped schooling and
worked with his father in felling Camphor trees. Life was as tough and he
was the third generation in the Camphor industry.
Koon-loy married Siew Lan, a Hakka girl from another Hakka settlement.
Within a few years he was a father of two boys. It was after his 22nd
birthday that, unfortunately, he was conscripted into the Japanese army
as Japan was preparing to conquer Southeast Asia. Ironically, Koon-loy's
grandfather was killed by the Japanese troops a few decades ago during
the uprising. Now he was to become a Japanese soldier and he resented
it. Under the military regime of Japan there was nothing Koon-loy could
do but to submit himself to indignity.
At the end of 1940 Koon-loy was sent to Hainan Island, which was occupied
by Japan in Febuary 1939, for training in tropical jungle warfares. With
little formal education and a Chinese backgound Koon-loy was assigned to
the reserve of the Japanese army. He was there under training for about
In December 1941 Japan invaded Malaya. Koon-loy did not take part in the
conquest of Malaya and Singapore. After the Japanese had overran Malaya
and Singapore. Koon-loy was dispatched to the Japanese garrison in a town
called Batu Gajah, in the district of Kinta in Perak State. There were
many small Hakka towns in Kinta district, like Pusing (my hometown),
Siputeh and Papan which are all within a radius of about three miles from
The Japanese were cruel and treated the Chinese badly during their
occupation of Malaya. Koon-loy was surprised to see so many Hakkas there.
He felt as if he was at home in his Hakka settlement in Formosa. He was
ashamed to wear the Japanese uniform. When opportunity arised he tried his
best to help the Chinese.
In 1942 a Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army was formed in the jungle
near the Hakka towns of Pusing, Siputeh and Papan. It was a small Hakka
Communist guerilla band. The band grew into a formidable force of over
three hundred fighters who harassed and gave the Japanese occupation
forces a hard time.
In the garrison there were a few Korean and Formosan soldiers. However,
Koon-loy was the only soldier in the garrison who could speak the local
tongue, Dongguan Hakka.
Whenever Koon-loy was off duty he went alone touring these Hakka towns.
While he was visiting these places, sometimes he forgot himself that he
was in Malaya as he talked to the town folks in Dongguan Hakka. However,
they did not know that he was a Japanese soldier. Koon-loy heard a lot
about the MPAJA in the jungle. Koon-loy did not agree what the Japanese
were doing to the Chinese population in Malaya. Defection to the MPAJA was
what he was contemplating whenever he was in the Hakka towns. He had to be
very careful lest he could be executed by the Japanese if they discovered
Koon-loy began to cultivate friendship with some of the shopkeepers who
secretly gave financial support to the MPAJA. Before any friendship began
to sprout Koon-loy casually talked about his ancestral village, Chang Ping
in Dongguan county, China. He did not mentioned about the Hakka settlement
in which he was born and grew up.
One day while he was talking to the owner, named Chin Thien-soong, of a
Chinese herbal shop about his ancstral village he was surprised with
response by Chin Theien-soong who told him that his grandfather was also
from Chang Ping. A long conversation between the men began. After some
time Koon-loy and Thien-soong came to the conclusion that they were
cousins as they shared the same surname, Chin, the offspring of Chang
Ping. There was a possibility that they came from the same ancestor. To
the Hakkas the surname is of the utmost important in fixing one's
identity. The bond of kinship tie between Koon-loy and Thien-soong began
to take root.
One day, Thien-soong was in such a shock that he nearly fainted when
Koon-loy told him that he was a Japanese soldier. Koon-loy told him to
calm down and not to reveal his identity and the secret of his intention
of defecting to the MPAJA. He wanted Thien-soong to contact the MPAJA.
Since they were clansmen they supposed to share the honour and misfortune.
Thin-soong promised that he would help.
A few days later, when Koon-loy was off duty he went to Pusing to visit
Thien-soong who told him that the MPAJA were ready to accept him. After
spending a day in Pusing Koon-loy went back to the barrack in Batu Gajah
and prepared for desertion. Koon-loy told no one, not even his Formosan
There was a day when he was off in the afternoon and Koon-loy told his
sergeant that he wanted to borrow a bicycle from the barrack to go to
Pusing, which is about four kilometers from Batu Gajah, to see a girl who
had the honoured to be friended with a Japanese soldier. To show his
appreciation he wanted to give the girl a big present. He needed the
bicycle to carry it. The sergeant was very pleased to hear that local
girls were interested in Japanese soldiers. With blessing the sergeant
lent him the bicycle. Koon-loy gathered a few personal belongings and
headed towards Pusing.
It was late in the afternoon when Koon-loy arrived at Pusing. The contact
man was already in Thien-soong's shop waiting for him. After a brief
introduction Koon-loy followed the contact man and together they
were headed towards the jungle.
That evening Thien-soong reported to the Pusing police station that he saw
his friend Koon-loy being abducted by the Communists. The next day the
Japanese sent out a search party to the jungle looking for Koon-loy. The
search was of no avail and since Koon-loy was not a Japanese personnel the
Japanese sergeant in charge of Koon-loy's platoon did not paid much
attention but recorded in the log book that Koon-loy was missing and
presumably killed by the Communists.
Tin was mined in Malaya for almost four hundred years and it was first
solely mined by the Chinese, mostly Hakkas. The Malayan tin is the purest
in the world. 99.9 per cent pure after furnacing. In the 19th century when
the British colonized Malaya, two-thirds of the tin mines were in the
Hakka Chinese hands. The profits were shared with the Malay sultans.
At the turn of the 20th century the British, financed by big cooperations
in England, began to mine the tin-ore buried under the earth in Kinta
Valley which had the richest deposit of tin-ore in the world. The British
needed labour to work in their tin mines. So the British acquired cheap
labourers from China, where there were plenty, mainly from Dongguan county.
That was how these three small towns of Pusing, Siputeh and Papan became
Before the Second World War more Hakkas arrived and these late comers
began to plant rubber trees in the fringes of the jungle where there was
no tin-ore under the ground. The rubber trees they planted did not belong
to the Hakka but the rich Chinese in Singapore and the Babas or the
Queen's Chinese living in the Strait Settlements of Malacca and Penang.
When the rubber trees were matured, after six or seven years, these
plantations were subdivided and sold to those local Hakkas, who had saved
enough money from working as mine workers in the British tin-mines. They
became small rubber platation holders. Some of the Hakkas even established
their own tin-mines.
The contact man used Koon-loy's bicycle to carry Koon-loy into the jungle.
He rode on the bumping and uneven track road through hundreds, thousands
and tens of thousands of rubber trees before they arrived at the guerilla
camp at the foot of a little hill. It was the headquarters of the Kinta
district's 3rd Independent Regiment of the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese
Army (MPAJA). The man in charge of the camp, Corps Commander Comrade Zeng
Gang Ren, welcomed Koon-loy to their organization. (I heard a lot of
stories about this Comrade Zeng when I grew up after the war.)
Comrade Zeng, who was my father's neighbour, had completed the Junior
Middle High School at Yoke Choy high school in Ipoh, the capital of the
State of Perak. He was a teacher at the Pusing Overseas Chinese Primary
School before the Japanese arrived. Comrade Zeng assembled his fighters,
about two hundred of them, in a open field to welcome Koon-loy because he
was the first Japanese soldier ever defected to their camp. He made a big
fuss out of it. Besides, he wanted Koon-loy to become their military
instructor to train his fighters, who had never received any military
training at all. Koon-loy was trained in jungle warefare in Hainan Island
in China. The fighters were mostly Hakka: the rubber tappers and the
tin-mine workers who were redundant when the tin industry collapsed at the
outbreak of the war.
Koon-loy was much impressed by the welcome and he told them that he would
try his best in helping them to defeat the Japanese conquerers. Koon-loy was
given a towel, a exercise book and a pen to keep his diary as every one in
the camp kept a diary. All the forces of the MPAJA in Malaya followed the
model of the Eighth Route Army in China. Thus Koon-loy became a MPAJA.
One night Koon-loy was told by Comrade Zeng to follow them to the
tailing of an abandoned tin mine which ws about six kilometres away from
their camp. Comrade Zeng was very excited and told Koon-loy that they had
made contact with the British who were sending two planes, that night, to
drop them supply and a few liaison officers. They arrived at the dropping
zone. As soon as they heard the sound of the aeroplanes they lighted the
beacon which was a huge burning "D" which meant dropping. Many parachutes
were seen descending from the sky. Weapons, ammunition, medical supplies
and many items as well as two Chinese and two British officers came down
that night. The Chinese and the British officers were from the force 136.
Koon-loy knew that the war was ending and his chances of going back to
Formosa was approaching.
After the Japanese had occupied Malaya the British set up the Southeast
Asian High Command in Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka). The British
recruited many young Malayans into the 136 forces which would be used to
help the British to recapture Malaya. The mission of the 136 forces was,
before the allied forces began to reconquer Malaya, to contact the
resistance forces in Malaya. They were to be parachuted back to Malaya as
soon as their training was over.
The Kinta branch of MPAJA gave the members of the force 136 officers a big
warm welcome. These officers reorganized the MPAJA under the command of
Comrade Zeng. They taught the MPAJA how to use the explosive and how to
handle the new weapons they received. Koon-loy was assigned as the leader
of the Sabotage Squad which took the responsility of destroying the
communications in the Kinta district before the arrival of the allied
On August 15, 1945 news came that Japan had surrendered. There were big VJ
cerebrations every where in Malaya. Koon-loy was very excited because the
time had finally come for him to go home where he left four years ago. He
approached the two British officers and told them that he was a Japanese
deserted soldiers. They were flabbergnasted to hear the story by Koon-loy.
They asked Koon-loy if he still posessed his Japanese soldier's identity
card. Unfortunately Koon-loy had destroyed it because he wanted to prove
to the MPAJA that he was not a Japanese spy when he first entered the
camp. It would be hard for him to convince the British Authority of his
In Malaya, after the Japanese surrender, the first troops to appear in the
streets of the towns and villages were not the allied troops but the 6,000
or more MPAJA guerillas. The British troops were still in the sea on the
way to Malaya. The Japanese forces were ordered by the high command in
Japan to recroup in big towns and cities and stay in the barracks awaiting
for the arrival of the British so that they could surrender to them. The
Japanese forces did not surrender to the MPAJA forces whom they did not
recognized. The Communist guerillas ruled Malaya until the British troops
reoccupied the whole of Malaya in September and immediately they set up a
British Military Administration (BMA).
To show their forces Koon-loy and his comrades, with new uinforms, shining
boots and the latest new weapons, thanks to the British, proudly marched
out from the jungle with the drummers in front of them, through the
cheering crowds lining the streets of Pusing, Siputeh and Papan and they
occupied the police stations of these three towns. Koon-loy went to Batu
Gajah trying to contact the Japanese troops stationed there, hoping to be
expatriated back to Formosa, but they had already retreated to Kuala
Lumpur which was about 200 kilometers away. It would be difficult for him
to go there. There was no way that he could make contact to his former
commander, besides he was a deserter and the Japanese might court-martial
him if he showed up. Koon-loy was in dilemma. He had no choice but to stay
with the MPAJA.
When the British Military Administration took over from the MPAJA they
restored the colonial status quo. The MPAJA forces were officially
disbanded and the British asked them to return the arms that they air
dropped to them. Most of the arms were returned to the BMA which in return
paid a compensation of $300 for a rifle and more for a sub-machine and
even more for a manchine gun.
Many MPAJA associations were formed through out Malaya. The MPAJA
leadership and its organization remained underground. Some of the arms
supplied by the British were buried in the jungle in case of any hostile
contingency from the British. Since Koon-loy had no home to return to and
no where to live he had to work and live in the Pusing MPAJA association.
He wrote letters home telling his family that he was still alive. He did
not know what happen to his wife, Siew Lan and his two sons. He wanted to
contact them, desperately.
During the first several weeks after the Japanese had surrendered the
MPAJA received the adulation of the people in Malaya because they were the
first to come out from the jungle to take over the administrations of the
small towns and villages. The British troops were still on their way from
Ceylon. No doubt there were the force 136 representing the British high
command, but there were only three hundred and eight men with the MPAJA at
that time in the whole of Malaya including Singapore. Out of these men
there were only eighty eight British officers.
Koon-loy was called to Ipoh to receive the award for the services he had
given to the MPAJA. The award was from the MPAJA high command of the State
of Perak. Koon-loy knew he was going to be stranded in Malaya. His only
hope of going back home depended on the British who would reoccupy the
country soon. He was sure that they could help him.
The British returned and reoccupied Malaya as a British Military
Administration. Koon-loy went to Batu Gajah to see the British officer in
charge of Kinta District. He was asked to produce his identity card to
prove that he was a Japanese soldier, but he could not do so. He tried his
best to convince the British officer that he had destroyed the card when
he first entered the MPAJA camp. Seeing was believing and the British did
not believe him. As far as they were concerned he was a local fighter of
MPAJA. In dejection and depressed Koon-loy went back to Pusing. Mail
services with Formosa, now restored back to China, were not established
and he received no reply from his family. To him it seemed that the only
way for him to return home was to earn some money to pay for the passage.
On December 1, 1945 the news of the disbandment of the MPAJA arrived in
Pusing. A big pageant and MPAJA parade was held in the Pusing Padang
(ground or field). British commanders from Batu Gajah came to take the
salute from the Pusing MPAJA group of the Kinta District's 3rd Independent
Regiment. The British commanders paid tributes to the courage and
resource of the MPAJA and thanked them for their contribution to the
victory in Malaya. There were big cheers and hand clappings when each of
the three hundred odd MPAJA handed in his gun. In return each was
rewarded with a sum of $300.00. Koon-loy also received the sum of $300.00.
by handing in his stengun and a few handgrenades.
The following day Koon-loy asked permission from his boss, Comrade Zeng to
hand in his pistol so that he could receive more money for his passage
home. But his boss not only refused to grant him the permission but also
ordered him to keep his revolver saying that the MPAJA high command had
issued order not to return the pistols or revolvers dropped by the
British. On Jaunary 1 1944 in a meeting, in a small village called Blantan
in the force 136's camp, which was under the command of Colonel John Davis
who spoke fluent Chinese, between the MPAJA, represented by Chin Ping and
Loi Tak the plenipotentiary of MCP and force 136, represented by Colonel
Spencer Chapman, Colonel John Davis and Major Richard Broome, Chin Ping
warned force 136 that:
"If Force 136 drop any revolvers or pistols for the M.P.A.J.A. these
will not be returned, although rifles and other weapons will."
Knowing that Koon-loy desperately wanted to return to Formosa Comrade
Zeng paid him a few hundred dollars from the Party fund. With such a large
amount of money it should have no problem to get home. However, the war
had just ended and the communication between Singapore and Formosa was
yet to be restored. Even though Koon-loy had the money, but there was no
means for him to go back. So he stayed in Pusing temporary looking for
ways to get home.
The first thing the BMA, after it had reoccupied Malaya, did was to decree
that the Japanese Occupied Currency was invalid and the new Malayan
Currency was to become the legal tender. Just by a stroke of a pen many
Malayans lost their livelihood because they had no money to buy food. For
those who had foods to sell they would not sell them for nothing. There
was a shortage of food everywhere. There were rice riots in the State of
Perak and British troops had to fire to disperse the crowds. There was no
exception in Pusing town and people were starving. The Pusing MPAJA blamed
it on the BMA and organized the people. They marched to Batu Gajah
shouting the slogan:
"Wo Men Yao Fan Chi, we want rice to eat."
Koon-loy was one of the organizers. When they arrived at Changat (the
headquarters of the Kinta BMA near Batu Gajah) without hesitation the BMA
promised to give them jobs. The British told Koon-loy and the rest of the
organizers to lead the people to start work immediately by repairing the
schools and roads, clearing the drains, cutting the lalang (tall grass)
on the road sides and othe chores. Although the pays were small every one
The MCP began to form a youth organization called the New Democratic
Youth Corps. A shop house was acquired as the office and the meeting
place of the new organization. I still can recall the address of
of the organization. It was 17 Main Road, Pusing, Perak with a big drawn
half-smiling portrait of Mao Tse-tung in the hall. Koon-loy was appointed
the clerk in charge of the organization cum housekeeper as he had no
home to return to. This organization held many rallies in Pusing, Papan,
Siputeh and villages in the district telling people that the British
caused the shortage of food and the mounting cost of living. As he was
very busy with the propagandizing Koon-loy continued to find ways to go
To cut the story short, the gist of his stay in Pusing was that he went
back to the jungle with the Communists when the emergency started in June
1948. Later, with the permission from the Communists he surrendered to the
British on condition that they sent him back to Formosa (Taiwan). When he
returned home he found his wife was remarried to another man. Not long
after the war the Japanese Authority told his wife that he was kidnaped
and killed by the Communists. So his wife remarried and had a boy and a
girl by the second husband.
This poor woman had to cope with two husbands. His two sons were amazed
to find their long lost father.
CHUNG Yoon-Ngan firstname.lastname@example.org
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