Unbridled excitement quickly turns to pure elation when the Taiping War Cemetery comes into view.
Upon entry, three groundsmen going about their early morning chores look up to offer casual greetings before resuming their work.
The well-manicured lawn and perfectly maintained surroundings bear testimony to their boundless diligence and unparalleled dedication.
Under the purview of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, this world-renowned site close to the scenic Taiping Lake serves as final resting place for 900 World War Two conflict casualties.
The idea for its inception came soon after the Japanese Occupation, as many opined that ensuring acceptable maintenance levels on a permanent basis at numerous temporary burial grounds in villages and civil cemeteries in Malaya would be extremely challenging, if not impossible.
With verdant Bukit Larut (formerly Maxwell Hill) looming large in the distance, close observation during the hour-long walkabout reveals that the cemetery is intersected almost equally by a small road, with Christian graves located on the southeastern section.
A sombre mood overwhelms while scrutinising inscriptions on each white granite headstone. It is heart-wrenching to see so many lives lost at such tender ages.
Among the many, only one belonging to a local Malayan in the Christian section stands out.
Corporal Chan Kam Weng's epitaph, detailing his service with the Federated Malay States Volunteer Force and untimely demise on Feb 15, 1942, immediately jogs my memory.
With recollections getting clearer by the minute, a quick dash across Jalan Air Terjun to the section reserved for the remains of Muslim, Gurkha and non-Christian Chinese servicemen affirms little-known facts about five gallant Taiping sons who selflessly gave their lives to help defend Malaya from the Japanese onslaught.
FORMATIVE STUDENT LIFE
A 10-minute drive to SMK King Edward VII in Jalan Muzium Hulu helps turn time back further to the halcyon pre-World War Two days when Chan— together with Captain Ong Kim Sai, Private Tang Bee Choon, Lieutenant Sergeant Khoo Heng Peng and Private Lim Poh Aun — were leading carefree lives as students.
The opportunity to pursue an education at the prestigious institution of learning that is, until today, considered one of the oldest in the country, almost certainly instilled an unwavering sense of pride and righteousness, as well as a deep affection for the nation in the quintet.
Active participation in extra-curricular activities like scouts and the army cadets also played a part in moulding them into responsible young adults. On top of that, an unquenchable quest for knowledge led to regular library visits where profound interest in, among others, Volunteer Force activities, began taking root.
Volunteer exploits and triumphs at the Crimean and Boer wars must have been nothing short of awe-inspiring to those young formative minds.
In Malaya, the earliest units formed were the Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps and the Malay States Volunteer Rifles.
The movement began gaining traction when conflicts abroad, as well as local incidents like the 1915 Sepoy Mutiny in Singapore, exposed weaknesses and brought to the fore an urgent necessity for credible defence group establishments to augment full-time military strength whenever the need arose.
As the winds of war began blowing over Europe in the late 1930s, scores of Malays, Indians, Europeans, Eurasians and Chinese answered the clarion call of duty by enlisting in their local volunteer units.
Having already graduated with fulfilling careers of their own, the five former King Edward VII students wasted no time in becoming members of the Taiping Federated Malay States Volunteer Force.
Together with other volunteers in Malaya, the patriots remained in their civilian employment and attended night military training classes, as well as those conducted over the weekends.
WAR ARRIVES IN MALAYA
When news of Japanese landings in Kota Baru and southern Thailand became common knowledge, mobilised volunteers bid farewell to friends and loved ones before heading out in service of their beloved nation.
In Taiping, local volunteers lent the Indian Infantry Battalion a helping hand by shoring up defences in town and the surrounding villages, as well as standing guard at the Kampung Tekka airstrip. Other wide-ranging tasks involved duty at the 500-bed Indian Army 20th Combined General Hospital.
Taiping's strategic location along the British line of retreat down the west coast saw this casualty reception station function as a recuperation and re-fitment centre for battle-weary troops before they returned to the frontline.
Upper Perak defences came under attack not long after Kedah and Penang fell in quick succession by mid-December 1941. Although no effort was spared to repel the advancing Japanese forces, Taiping was overrun on Boxing Day, Dec 26, 1941. Surviving troops and volunteers then retreated southwards.
Along the way, it was devastating for the men to learn of the severe hardships faced by their families and friends back home.
The situation was so dire that even the once well-tended Taiping school sports fields had to be converted into vegetable farms to alleviate acute food shortages.
At the same time, news of their alma mater becoming the headquarters of the dreaded Kempeitai secret police turned despair into anger. At that moment, resolves were steeled to continue soldiering on with hopes of turning the tide against the seemingly unstoppable Japanese onslaught.
MALAY REGIMENT HEROES
Thought of the surviving troops and volunteers joining thousands of civilians in making a beeline for the Causeway as Johor Baru fell on the last day of January 1942, calls to mind the ensuing battle in Pasir Panjang where the largely outnumbered and outgunned Malay Regiment soldiers gave their all to stave off attacks from Japanese troops who had reached Singapore.
During the early hours of the battle, Lieutenant Adnan Saidi noticed soldiers in Punjabi military uniforms advancing in an unusual four-abreast formation.
Mindful that British-trained troops always marched in lines of threes, he saw through the deception and ordered his men to open fire with their Lewis machine guns, killing all the disguised Japanese soldiers instantly.
Enraged at the death of their comrades, the Japanese let loose a full-scale banzai assault.
The Malay Regiment soldiers stood their ground and opened fire until both sides ran out of ammunition. Adnan was badly wounded when the skirmish switched to hand-to-hand combat.
Refusing to retreat or surrender, he inspired his men to bring down as many Japanese soldiers as they could.
Adnan bore the brunt of his aggressors' fury when he and his brave comrades were finally captured.
After being tortured to death, the vengeful Japanese soldiers placed Adnan in a gunny sack and hung it on nearby tree.
Then, they took turns plunging their bayonets into the body
before dousing his dismembered remains with petrol and setting
it ablaze.
FALLEN VOLUNTEERS INSPIRE RESISTANCE
Together with other Allied defenders, the five Taiping Federated Malay States Volunteer Force members found themselves in mortal danger as the Japanese began closing in on downtown Singapore in the closing days of the war.
Khoo succumbed to injuries sustained from an exploding bomb in Changi a few days after the Battle of Pasir Panjang, while Chan, Ong, Tang and Lim lost their lives manning a machine gun post in Geylang Serai on Feb 15, 1942, a date that still lives in infamy as the darkest Lunar New Year in Malayan history.
That evening, guns all over the island, once considered the impregnable Gibraltar of the East, fell silent. The British had capitulated and Singapore was in Japanese hands.
Britain's single largest surrender in history, however, did not dampen the hopes of many spirited Malayans who rose above unsurmountable challenges to put up resistance throughout the Japanese Occupation.
Among these passive defence volunteers was Sybil Medan Kathigasu.
Together with her medical practitioner husband, Sybil used her training as a nurse to treat the needy in Papan. At the same time, she secretly listened in to British Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts with her shortwave radio set and disseminated news among friends and Perak resistance force members to counter misleading Japanese propaganda.
Unfortunately, their activities were uncovered by the Kempeitai in 1943. Sybil and her husband were arrested and taken to the Ipoh Central Police Station.
Despite being subjected to severe torture and threatened with thought of their daughter being burnt alive, the duo stood their ground and refused to divulge any information.
Subsequently, Sybil was incarcerated in Batu Gajah while her husband was taken to Taiping prison. After the occupation, she received the George Medal for Gallantry just months before passing away on June 12, 1948. Her wartime deeds prompted thousands to attend her funeral.
ETERNAL PEACE IN TAIPING
Reminisces come full circle after driving back to the Taiping War Cemetery with flowers to honour the fallen.
With the midday sun shining gloriously in the cloudless sky, it is easy to recall the fateful day on June 5, 1947, when the remains of the fallen Taiping sons returned home and were carried through crowd-filled streets accompanied by bereaved next of kin, surviving Federated Malay States Volunteer Force comrades and two platoons of the Gurkha Rifles, as well as a police detachment.
School children, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides lined the route leading from the Graves Concentration Unit Headquarters in Upper Museum Road (today Jalan Muzium Hulu). At the cemetery, the cortege was met by Christian and Buddhist priests.
At the end of the services, members of the Gurkha Rifles fired three salute volleys while buglers sounded the Last Post and the Reveille. Tears flowed freely as mourners paid their last respects. Among the thousands of people present were the Perak Raja Muda, who represented the sultan, the North Perak deputy commissioner and community leaders.
While driving away, it becomes evident that there are still many more acts of heroism by other brave Malayans waiting to be uncovered.
Lest we forget, no effort must be spared in making known the inspiring stories of these patriotic men and women who gave their all to this nation that they loved above all else.