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AL-KISAH PEKAN PARIT SULONG

TRAGEDI ZAMAN PENDUDUKAN JEPUN

After the battle of Muar, the surviving members of the 45th Indian Brigade and the Australian 2/19th and 2/29th Battalions, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Anderson of Australia, retreated south towards the British stronghold at Yong Peng, taking with them all their wounded.

However, when they reached the bridge at Parit Sulong, they found the Japanese blocking their way. Anderson made two attempts to take the bridge, both failed. On 22 January 1942, he gave the order for all able-bodied men to flee into the jungle and make their own way to Yong Peng. They left behind the wounded in the care of a few voluntary attendants assuming that under Red Cross protection, they would be given medical attention.

However, instead of medical attention, they were brutally murdered. Dragged out of their vehicles, they were marched to the Public Works Department (PWD) building, and were beaten if they lagged behind. Here, they were strip searched before being herded into a small garage next to the building. Some suffocated to death and the rest were moved into two rooms towards the end of the block.

In the late evening on the same day, each prisoner’s hands were tied and they were roped together around the neck. At an empty space near the building, away from the watching eyes of the villagers, they were machine-gunned and then set on fire. Two men, Ben Hackney and Reg Wharton, miraculously survived to tell the story, corroborating the accounts of eyewitnesses from the village. The villagers were not spared either; many were hunted down and killed on suspicion of helping the Australian and Indian soldiers.

After the war, Hackney gave evidence against Lieutenant-General Takuma Nishimura, the perpetuator of the massacre. Found guilty, Nishimura was hanged in 1951.

Parit Sulong remembers the massacre.

JAMBATAN PARIT SULONG

The battle for Parit Sulong took place on this bridge. Construction of the bridge started in 1925 and it was officially opened to the public in 1930. The bridge was torn down in 1994 and the construction of new bridge was completed in 1997.

GALERI PARIT SULONG

This building was originally occupied by the PWD (later Jabatan Kerja Raya, JKR). The prisoners were held here before they were massacred. Today, one of the lots is used as a gallery dedicated to the history of Parit Sulong including the massacre. The garage into which they were initially herded is on the left of the building (right when facing the building).

TUGU PERINGATAN PARIT SULONG

This memorial was unveiled 0n 4 September 2007 in remembrance of the fallen soldiers at Muar, Bakri and Parit Sulong during battles with the Japanese in January 1942.

TAPAK RUMAH PENGHULU SIMPANG KIRI PANGLIMA SALLEH

Haji Mohd Salleh bin Abdul Karim was a local leader who united the various ethnic groups – Banjar, Bugis, Java and Malay – in Parit Sulong to stand strong against the Malayan People Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA). The MPAJA was a communist guerrilla party that resisted the Japanese but seized control of many rural villages during the gap between the Japanese surrender and return of the British. Haji Mohd Salleh bin Abdul Karim was variously known as Penghulu Salleh, Panglima Salleh, Kiai Salleh and Panglima Salleh Selempang Merah.

PASAR SABTU PARIT SULONG

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WORLD WAR 2 MEMORIAL WALL

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