Anzac Day ceremonies in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan
Published on: Saturday, April 26, 2025
Published on: Sat, Apr 26, 2025 Text Size: Danielle (centre) laying the wreath at the KK Memorial. Kota Kinabalu: Anzac Day ceremonies took place here and in Sandakan, Thursday. In the State Capital, it was held at the World War I Memorial Monument, Jalan Tugu. The ceremony began with a salute and the marching in of the monument guards by members of the Australian military, followed by the playing of the national anthems 'Negaraku', 'Sabah Tanah Airku', and 'Advance Australia Fair'. This was followed by the sounding of the Last Post as a tribute to the fallen heroes. The wreath-laying ceremony was initiated by Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Abidin Madingkir, representing Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, and attended by Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Danielle Heinecke. In SANDAKAN, Hajiji said many Prisoners of War suffered in the district and also Ranau, as well as civilians, under cruel and heartbreaking circumstances. He said the POW experience was especially heartbreaking. His speech was delivered by Sandakan Member of Parliament Vivian Wong Shir Yee. Present were Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Danielle Heinecke, Chief of Australian Navy, Lieutenant General, Simon Stuart, Tanjong Papat Assemblyman Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung, Elopura Assemblyman Calvin Chong, Karamunting Assemblyman Datuk George Hiew Vun Zin, Deputy Sandakan Police Chief Supt Ramasamy Kuppan, Sabah Tourism Board CEO Julinus Jeffrey Jimit, Sandakan Municipal Council President Walter Kenson, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment (KePKAS), Dr Arthur Chung, representing Chief Conservator of Sabah Datuk Frederick Kugan. This year commemorates the 80th year of the end of World War II in 1945. The Japanese invaded Borneo on Dec 16, 1941 by landing a force at Miri in Sarawak. On Jan 3, 1942, Japanese forces entered Sabah via Labuan and 16 days later, they arrived at Sandakan. The people of Sabah endured three and a half years of Japanese occupation. The first group of Prisoners of War arrived at Sandakan in July 1942, and more came in April 1943. 'We heard or read about how the local people were shocked by the cruel treatment the men suffered. We remember with pride that some local people took risks to offer help to the men by smuggling food, medicines, and messages into the prison camp,' he said. Only six prisoners of war survived the ordeal. They showed tremendous courage risking their lives to escape from the death marches and from Ranau in desperate attempts to stay alive. Others who escaped, died in the jungles or in shelters the local people provided them. Many more starved and many sick men died or were murdered at Sandakan, on the death marches and at Ranau. 'Each man who survived owed his life to the brave local people who sheltered and cared for them until they could be rescued,' he said. The survivors provided a record of the atrocities committed against the Prisoners of War and many had the courage to testify against their tormenters in war crimes trials after the war. Many of the Prisoners of War who suffered here now rest in peace in the soil of Sabah and within the Labuan War Cemetery. 'Here, at the Sandakan Memorial Park, we remember the suffering, courage and endurance of all the Australian and British prisoners of war,' said. 'This memorial is a partnership between our peoples to ensure they are never forgotten,' he added. On Anzac Day, we honour the service and sacrifice of the men who were prisoners of war here. The humanity shown to them by the local people was a ray of light in their unimaginably terrible time. The legacy of those who lived and died during that terrible time is the lasting bond between our peoples. 'Together, we will ensure they are not forgotten.' He added. Meanwhile, Danielle said, it is also an honor for them to be in Sandakan for the Anzac Day where in Australia, it also marks as their national holiday and few students also come here as well as the POW family members and friends. 'Off course we also will encourage our peoples to came here and visits Sandakan,' she said. She also thank Sandakan Municipal Council, Sabah Forestry and Sabah Tourism Board and related agencies which involved at the commemoration every year in Sandakan. While one of local Sabah, late Lagan Arnesto son, Alban Joseph Lagan, who also came at the event said, it is also great honor to here, where his father also one of Sabahan who help the POW and he died in Khucing, Sarawak during the war time. Sharing his experience, he said, during the war, he only 7, and always saw the POW marching in front of their house in St.Mary, Sandakan and will never forgotten the history. Meanwhile, Frankie said, he had the honour of attending the Anzac Day 2025 Dawn Service held at the Sandakan Memorial Park – a solemn ceremony that pays tribute to the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II, especially the POW. He added, Anzac Day serves as a powerful reminder of the price of peace and the depth of human resilience. 'We are reminded of the suffering endured by thousands of Allied soldiers, particularly the Australian and British POWs, during their internment in Sandakan.' He said. Their bravery and endurance continue to inspire future generations to uphold the values of courage, unity, and humanity. 'Sabah and Sandakan in particular, hold a special place in this shared history, and we remain committed to preserving that legacy through respect, education, and continued bilateral engagement.' He stressed. At the same program, after the dawn service, Vivian and Danielle officiate the Sandakan Memorial Park Interpretive Pavillion which re-dedicated April, 25 in rememberance of all those who suffered and died here, on the death marches, and at Ranau, also with ongoing gratitude to the local people who risked their lives to assist them. The original Sandakan Interpretive Pavilion was built in 1999, predominantly of hardwood timber. Due to the harsh tropical climate in Sandakan, the original pavilion was demolished in 2023 as it had reached the end of its usable life. The photo below shows the front of the original pavilion. The original dedication plaques were retained and are to the left of this panel. The original Sandakan Interpretive Pavilion was built in 1999, predominantly of hardwood timber. Due to the harsh tropical climate in Sandakan, the original pavilion was demolished in 2023 as it had reached the end of its usable life. While the original dedication plaques were retained and are to the left of this panel. The Sandakan Interpretive Pavilion was constructed in 2024 from termite and weather-resistant materials. In an effort to preserve the heritage of the original pavilion, some features of the original pavilion were incorporated into the refurbished pavilion, including the timber cladding used on this wall, the wooden seats (inside and outside the pavilion), the decorative gates to the left of the main entrance, and the stained-glass window. Vivian thank the Australian government for giving the fund to renovate the pavilion which will give a memory to all especially the POW friends and family who came here. Earlier, Anzac Day welcoming dinner held at Ballroom Livingston Hotel, here officiate by Vivian, representing Hajiji. Also present, Danielle and other guest from the POW friends and family who came to commemorate Anzac Day 2025. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Express
21 hours ago
- Daily Express
‘Second Death March' in Murut heartland
Published on: Sunday, June 01, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jun 01, 2025 By: Kan Yaw Chong Text Size: Rubin and Tham beside a huge boulder at Lanut Carved Rocks Garden. WAGE a war, lose it, and you are a soldier of the vanquished empire – the victor will grab and march you to death, no mercy. Sabah actually holds a track record of two different WW2 death marches, when we became a battleground for hegemonic control. Here's the first, and most publicised. Advertisement The 1945 Sandakan-Ranau Death March wiped out 2,434 Allied prisoners of war, merely six survived – 99.8pc killed! Why? Britain lost, Japan won, in a battle for Malaya and Singapore, allied captives bundled to Sandakan to build an airport for the victorious Japanese empire which eventually marched the captives to death At least though, Aussies and Brits converge in Sandakan each year, to remember their dead, with large information generated on the fate of nearly each one collected and assembled by historian Lynette Silver. But, here is the second death march, far deadlier, yet almost unknown, when the fortune of the two empires in war reversed. The untold 2nd death march This is the untold, or untellable 2nd Death March. Starting with 6,000 Japanese soldiers deployed in deep interior Pensiangan and ordered to march to surrender when Japan lost, it ended with a mere 400 alive in Beaufort! The tragedy – nobody remember them, dying in vain! And information on them and the event is practically zero, the whole story muted, probably on account of shame and disgrace. I just had the luck. One day in early 2023, I was working on a story of the Rundum rebellion, I googled for info, suddenly the most unexpected snippet popped out. Here it is, and probably the one and only brief account on the suppressed 2nd Death March, written by American anthropologist and ethnographer, Thomas Rhys Williams, who was in North Borneo 1960-61 to do a very rare research on Murut Customary Behaviour. Thomas later published an article entitled 'The Form of a North Borneo Nativistic Behaviour'. Note, however, the American researcher and author never used the words '2nd Death March' which was later coined by author Maxwell Hall but the number of deaths was apparently so big or the survivors so drastically reduced, that it didn't escape his attention while more famous British historian like Owen Rutter avoided it completely. Vivid account by American on what happened Here it is, Williams' writing, quoted verbatim: 'On Dec 17, 1941, the Japanese invaded North Borneo with a force of 25,000 men. The main centres of occupation was established in Murut area at Tenom, Keningau, and Pensiangan. For three years large patrols of infantry regularly moved from these points through Murut territory, conscripting labor for construction of airfields, women for army prostitution centres, commandeering rice and other foodstuffs, imposing head taxes, fines and punishing offenders. In late 1943, allied guerrilla agents, parachuting into the area, enlisted Muruts in a force for raids on Japanese Patrols and outposts. Reoccupation of North Borneo by the Australian 9th Division led to heavy fighting through Tenom and Keningau. The 6,000 Japanese stationed in Pensiangan were ordered to stack arms and marched 150 miles to the coast and Beaufort to surrender. Australian army records show (only) 400 Japanese reached Beaufort. The remainder were killed by Muruts along the line of March (Tregonning 1958:221).' Died in the nether gloom for nothing There it is, as clear as it can be – there was actually a 'Second Death March', which I first published on February 5, 2023, in a Daily Express Sunday Special Report entitled 'Mystery of Sabah's 2nd Death March unravelled', although Thomas did not call it a '2nd death march', possibly because he wasn't aware of the first. Assuming Thomas' numbers were dead accurate, a death toll of 5,600 is far worse than the 2,434 Allied POWs dead in the 1st Sandakan-Ranau Death March, most of whom (about 1,400) actually died in Sandakan POW camp. For the eventual Japanese losers – all died in ignominy – public shame and disgrace covered up, accorded zero mention, compared to the annual heroic commemoration treatment for the Allied POWs killed in Sandakan-Ranau death march. That's war for domination, a zero sum game – losing soldiers die for nothing. Generals and emperors who order them to battle in the nether gloom of hostile distant jungles to cut down enemies for control and power, abandon them in the end. Track records: Two harbingers of death This is the sobering geopolitical lesson for serious reflection, in a world now simmering with war hawks in high places calling for a battle for national supremacy, beating up war drums and actively preparing war, instead of diplomacy for common prosperity. Since unsung Sabah had hosted the horrors and sorrows of two killer death marches, these are harbingers of death – omens, signs, symbols that foreshadow possibly a march towards worse recurrence approaching us and beyond, if the solid track records of two death marches in Sabah are not remembered and taken to heart and finally inspire no transformative impacts. So, maybe there is more value to peace-making to highlight lesson from Sabah's two death marches – two killer track records driven by relentless hostility, cruelty ending in deliberate, wilful mass slaughter. Eloquent venture capitalist Eric Li who understands investment risks best says he trusts only proven track records. Here is little Sabah, which hosted two track records of death marches where two empires take turn to lose wars and suffered. So, who won? Map on 2nd Death March route So, I was determined to dig into what this obscure 2nd Death March is all about, after being over exposed to the first. When Tham Yau Kong invited a trip to visit Tenom last Tuesday to see the little known Lanut Carved Rocks Garden yonder further down famed Sapong, somehow, this field experience magnified what was a pure academic interest two years ago. The reality of the 2nd death march escalated from what I published on 5 Feb 2023 purely as head awareness. First, like the Aussie army Mud Map which plots the whole length of the 1st death march that Lynette gave Tham in 2005, leading to a full identification of the direction of the track, Tham gave me Maxwell Hall's map from his book 'Kinabalu Guerrillas'. This map indicates main connecting dots Maxwell calls the '2nd Death March', as follows: Pensiangan-Rundum-Kemabong- Sapong-Tenom-Beaufort. Field trip to Layan Carved Rocks Garden Glad to be back to my old love as 'roving reporter', 28/5/25 headed for outback destination Layang Layang, 8km from Sapong and 28 km from Tenm town. Arriving, you see first a flourishing cabbage farm stretching far yonder, dubbed second Kundasang. Our real interest, however, was the carved rock garden – a one kilometre walk into a jungle one kilometre above the cabbage farm. Rubin Kumuah, land owner of Layang Layang, led the uphill trek. We came to a big boulder – one of a scattered dozen that was covered by green moss. Botak, Rubin's loyal decades-old Indonesian worker, cleared the mosses, carvings surfaced but they looked like abstract art to me. Straining harder for a mind of the carvers, I saw possibly a deer head and other guesses. Rubin: 'My parents reported many Japanese here' So what did land owner Rubin Kumuah had to say about Lanut Carved Rocks Garden which he owns? He cited his parents: 'Papa dan ibu saya cakap banyak Jipun berkhemah di kawasan ni.' Translated, it means 'My father and mother (Lanut) said many Japanese army camped here'. To pit camps in the rock garden, the Japanese must have walked on existing tracks that passed by here. So, even though Layang Layang is not marked on Maxwell's map, it could well be a passage or approximate track of the 2nd death march, which gives us at least a mental grip about the reality of this major WW2 episode in Sabah. Of course, the inevitable question is: who did these rock carvings? Rubin said again: 'According to my parents, the Muruts of old did it but according to my brothers, when words were out that they were treasure maps carved by passing Japanese troops, treasure hunters went digging but found nothing'. Prospects for tourism The question is, can a combination of rock carving, Japanese camp site and passage of the 2nd death march be developed into a tourism product? Tham answered: 'In 2019, Rubin introduced his Rock Carving Garden to us, it attracted a few groups of hikers but when the Covid Pandemic struck with strict movement control, hikers stopped completely.' 'When we restarted trekking in mid-2024, we discovered no less than 10 carved boulders and when Rubin suggested this site be named after his mother, we came up with 'Lanut Rock Carving Garden'. Rubin's goal: 'I wanted to conserve these carved boulders for future generations who may benefit from rural tourism development.' Tham added: 'The Layang Layang area has at least 20km of tracks used by Muruts to walk from village to village, British officers used these as pony tracks to go from Tenom to Kemabong.' Heavy presence of Japanese in Murut heartland As Thomas Phys Williams noted, the Japanese military deployed a strong presence in Tenom, Keningau and Pensiangan – all Murut heartlands. In the case of Tenom, they set up a military headquarter in Sapong, complete with an airstrip in its rubber estate into which General Baba flew into and out. To deploy 6,000 soldiers in Pensiangan, they only way then was to walk 150-mile over pony tracks or hunting trails from Tenom to Kemabong, Rundum to reach Pensiagngan and vice versa later, on the 2nd death march. In my maiden visit to Pensiangan in December 2021, local Murut leader, Ansom bin Putiang recalled Japanese military camps studded the banks of the Saliu river downstream Wreckage of Liberator bomber In the end, Tenom, Sapong, like all other owns of North Borneo were heavily bombed. Tham recalled in in the 70s, he saw near the Perkasa Hotel ¾ of wreckage of a Liberator bomber, either shot down or crashed during such bombing runs but in 2000, he saw only chunk of metal left, the rest all cut as scrap metal. The point is, given such big military deployment in deep interior of Sabah, Japan, had reasoned that as a rising industrial power , they had the right to colonise foreign lands, just at Britain, USA and all the European power had done. They had planned and no doubt expected to colonise entire Borneo long term but alas, after just 44 months of occupation, America whipped up a complete surprise – dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by a hydrogen bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, and Japan surrendered abruptly on August 15. Pensiangan too far for 9th Division to attack Although Japan formally surrendered on August 15, their forces in North Borneo continued to fight and elements of the Aussie 9th Division which landed in Labuan on June 10, continued to face combat in Tenom, Keningau and Beaufort was not taken until Sept 11, 1945. Pensiangan was apparently too deep going for the 9th Division which apparently did not target it for attack. What we know is, as Thomas Williams reported, 'the 6.000 Japanese stationed in Pensiangan were ordered to stack arms to march to Beaufort to surrender' but only 400 arrived . Maxwell Hall coined '2nd Death March' Maxwell Hall was the author who explicitly called this 'a second Death March', this time involving the Japanese and Muruts '. He wrote: 'The Murut warfare continued… When the Japanese soldiers left Pensiangan to march northwards to surrender to the Australians, they marched fully armed. By this time, the Muruts were masters of the route, which extended two hundred miles from Pensiangan to Beaufort….Death and dying spread out the whole way…..When they surrendered, the survivors were suffering all forms of tropical disease. It was a death march of Japanese… Just another example of bloodshed that took place…' In a discreet conversation in Pensiangan in December 2021, one time Murut headman, Ansom bin Puntiang, told me the locals were distributed guns towards the end of the war, what they did with it Ansom declined to say. Neither did Maxwell explain what he meant 'by this time, the Muruts were masters of the route'. 'All empires become arrogant' – Commentator Has the world learnt from the horrors of wars for power and control, like Sabah's two death marches? 'Fundamentally no,' says Hugh White, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies and the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, Canberra. 'All empires become arrogant, it is their nature,' observes Edward Rutterford. 'The earth is littered with empires that once believed they were eternal,' noted Percy Bessshe Shelby. On a parting note from Cliff James: 'The temple of empires comes tumbling down, the names of the mighty forgotten. Here is a parable: Power never last.' Transformative tip from the 'Good Samaritan' So what virtues and values last? When will the nations drop their hostile minds and lust for power and domination? Here's just one transformative tip from the story of the Good Samaritan, who not only lived by extraordinary kindness but radically blind to ethnic superiority and racial barriers.
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Mushroom murders: Accused killer says she lied to police
SYDNEY: An Australian woman accused of murdering three people with poisonous mushrooms told a court on Thursday (June 5) she lied to police because she feared being held "responsible". Erin Patterson (pic) is charged with murdering her estranged husband's parents and aunt in 2023 by spiking their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. She is also accused of attempting to murder a fourth guest -- her husband's uncle -- who survived after a long stay in hospital. Patterson maintains the lunch was poisoned by accident and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. An Australian court was told Thursday how Patterson used a food dehydrator to prepare mushrooms that she had collected while foraging. Patterson later told police she did not own a food dehydrator, the prosecution said. "You lied about dehydrating food and mushrooms because you knew that if you told police the truth, then that would implicate you in the poisoned lunch," prosecution lawyer Nanette Rogers said on Thursday. "Agree or disagree?" Patterson responded: "I agree that I lied because I was afraid I would be held responsible." The court previously heard that Patterson used a food dehydrator to preserve store-bought and foraged mushrooms, which she then kept in her pantry. Days after the deadly lunch, security cameras allegedly captured Patterson discarding the dehydrator at a local rubbish dump. Detectives said they found traces of death cap mushrooms in the dehydrator, the court previously heard. "I didn't deliberately put death cap mushrooms in the meal," Patterson told the court on Thursday. The prosecution alleges Patterson intentionally poisoned her lunch guests and took care that she did not consume the deadly mushrooms herself. Her defence says Patterson ate the same meal as the others but did not fall as sick. Patterson asked her estranged husband Simon to the family lunch at her secluded rural Victoria home in July 2023. Simon turned down the invitation because he felt too uncomfortable, the court heard previously. The pair were long estranged but still legally married. Simon's parents Don and Gail were happy to attend, dying days after eating the home-cooked meal. Simon's aunt Heather Wilkinson also died, while her husband Ian fell seriously ill but later recovered. Patterson told the court on Thursday if Simon had attended the lunch, she would have "given him a beef Wellington too". "But not one with death cap mushrooms in it intentionally," she said. Patterson's defence lawyer Colin Mandy on Thursday asked if she intended to kill or cause serious injury to her lunch guests that day. Patterson replied she did not. The trial continues. - AFP lec/sft/tym
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Kosei Tanaka Retires at 29 After Repeated Eye Injuries
FOUR-DIVISION world champion Kosei Tanaka has called time on his professional career at the age of 29 due to repeated eye injuries, the Japanese fighter said. Tanaka is the fastest boxer to earn belts at four different weights, winning the WBO strawweight, light-flyweight, flyweight and super-flyweight titles in 21 bouts, surpassing American Oscar De La Hoya's record of 24 fights. Having made his professional debut at 18, Tanaka retires with a record of 20-2. His last fight was in October when he lost to South Africa's Phumelele Cafu. He said he underwent surgery on both eyes after the bout. "I'm retiring as a professional boxer. 11 years of professional life ... The reason is all about my repeated eye injuries...," Tanaka posted on social media on Wednesday. "Due to the effects of hernia operations on my neck and many, many operations on my eyes alone in the four years from 2021, my eyes have become brittle and I can no longer spar, let alone compete. "I decided to retire because there was no way for me to get into the ring."
