Clement Liang, who specialises in Japanese war history in Malaya, said based on a notation on the explanation board beside the monument, the text there was directly lifted from “The Battle of Malaya – The War History of Great East Asia” published by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper in 1942.
Adding that it was unwise to quote a book published during the Japanese occupation in Asia, he said the text was the bone of contention, not the monument itself.
Acknowledging Kedah’s move last Sunday to take down the board to remove the reference to “heroes”, he said the replacement text should be “as neutral as possible”.
“The explanation board should have read that several Japanese soldiers were killed. Just a simple explanation without going into the details.”
Liang was the key narrator and historian in a History Channel documentary on the Japanese occupation titled “1941: The Fall of Penang”. He is also a member of the Penang Heritage Trust committee.
The original explanation board at the monument in Alor Setar told of how two Japanese soldiers died while another was seriously injured after an explosion at the Alor Setar Bridge, now known as the Sultan Abdul Halim Memorial Bridge, on Dec 13, 1941.
It also mentioned a platoon commander, Hajime Asai, who was ordered to cross the bridge to defuse a bomb placed there by the Allied Forces. He died when the bomb exploded.
The board bore remarks by a Japanese general as well, who said their “bravery and sense of responsibility… was remarkable and incomparable”.
The monument was unveiled by Kedah executive councillor Mohd Asmirul Anwar Aris and Japanese consul-general to Penang Shinichiro Kanoya on Mar 21, with a banner reading “Tugu Wira Jepun”.
Liang said the 1.8m granite cenotaph, sponsored by Japan, was typical of most Japanese war memorials and did not honour “soldiers” or “heroes” per se.
He said the inscription on one part of the memorial reads: “To remember our forefathers who were laid to rest here, this monument is erected with peace in mind.” Another portion bears the name of Shinichiro.
Liang said similar inscriptions could be found in Japanese cemeteries in Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur where memorials come in a variety of designs and are no different from the cenotaph in Alor Setar.
“It was merely a simple wish from the Japanese consulate-general for the fallen dead in Alor Setar to be remembered, and for peace to prevail.
“You cannot condemn the soldiers forever,” he said. “They were ordered to go into a foreign land by their rulers only to return home dead. Think about their families and relatives who mourned their loss.
“The best thing is to hope that there will be no more war.”
He also criticised the move to cover the memorial as a sign of protest, saying this was inappropriate and as ignorant and insensitive as the text on the explainer board.
“The Japanese never condemned the Americans over Hiroshima in their war monuments in Japan,” he added.
He said it is undeniable that the Japanese soldiers had committed acts of cruelty during their occupation of Malaya between 1941 and 1945, especially in Kedah and Perlis where many towns were bombed.
However, he urged the people to move on without forgetting what had taken place.
“Lest we forget, every part of Malaya was conquered by them. It is all about memory,” he said.