Arwah Nenek suka bercerita. One of her stories was life during Japanese Occupation. After Sarawak was ruled by the Brookes family for about 100 years, Sarawak was later handed over to British and became a British colony in January 1941. Japanese invaded Sarawak later in the year until 1945. The Japanese regime overran Sarawak within several days.
This photo was taken way back...During the Japanese occupation, the brother of Japanese Emperor, Prince Maida flew to Bintulu and the plane crashed off the coast of Tanjung Batu. The Japanese erected a memorial in memory of Prince Maida. It was made from the world's best wood (only found in Borneo), Belian. The memorial was later taken back to Japan by the family of the late prince.
According to arwah Nenek, during the Japanese occupation, the whole family ran away from their home. It was when Nenek gave birth to Yan. The hardship during that time was unbearable. Nothing much to eat, children became malnutritious. One thing Nenek could remember well was when she was hidden by her mother in law, Dayang Sapura in a roll of mattress to avoid being seen by Japanese soldiers. Everyone had to learn Japanese language. Arwah Wan was taught to speak Japanese and sing the Japanese anthem.
In 1945, the Australian force freed Sarawak from the Japanese and remained a British colony until 1963.
