Petagas War Memorial
| Taman Peringatan Petagas | |
View from memorial to the gate
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| Coordinates | 5°55′15.74″N 116°3′17.33″E / 5.9210389°N 116.0548139°ECoordinates: 5°55′15.74″N 116°3′17.33″E / 5.9210389°N 116.0548139°E |
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| Location | Petagas, Kota Kinabalu |
| Type | Mausoleum |
| Material | Concrete |
| Dedicated to | 176 Sabahan guerillas |
The Petagas War Memorial is a testament to those who lost their lives defending Sabah against the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, particularly those of the ill-fated Kinabalu Guerrillas. This article attempts to trace the story behind the creation of the memorial, the people associated with it and the relevance to the post-war history of Sabah.
On 8 December 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) landed in Kota Bahru, in the northern Malayan state of Kelantan. On 10 December, the British Royal Navy's battleships HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse were bombed and sunk off the coast of Kelantan. By 11 January 1942, the IJA had taken Kuala Lumpur. By 31 January 1942 peninsula Malaya had fallen into Japanese hands. The Battle of Singapore was fought from 1 to 15 February, after which Singapore surrendered. The war plans of the IJA included near simultaneous attacks on the other territories of British and Dutch Borneo. On 13 December, a Japanese naval convoy left Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina and landed in Miri, Sarawak, on 15 December. They captured Kuching by Christmas Eve and the rest of Sarawak by New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day 1942, the IJA landed on Labuan island and from then on captured British North Borneo (now Sabah) by 19 January. By 10 February 1942, IJA had captured the whole island of Borneo, consisting of the territories of British Borneo (Sarawak, the Sultanate of Brunei, British North Borneo) and Dutch Borneo (Westerafdeeling van Borneo (West Borneo), Zuider-en Oosterafdeeling van Borneo (South and East Borneo)).
Albert Kwok Yuk Nam (Chinese name: Guo Yi Nan) was a Chinese businessman from Kuching, Sarawak. He studied Chinese medicine in China and he moved to Jesselton (now known as Kota Kinabalu) in May 1941 to start a Chinese medical business. In China, Kwok had been involved in anti-Japanese activities and continued these activities when he returned to Borneo. In December 1942 in North Borneo, Albert Kwok set up a resistance organisation with the aim of overthrowing Japanese rule. This organisation was called the Kinabalu Guerrillas. In July 1943, Albert was appointed a lieutenant in the United States Army Forces in the Philippines (USAFP) and returned to Sabah as a Military Intelligence Officer for the USAFP.
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Wikipedia