WWII taught us that we can only depend on each other, says historian
Clement Liang, president of the Penang Heritage Trust, says the bombing of Penang in the Second World War showed that Malaysians should look to each other and not to foreign powers.
Penang's wartime history offers a stark lesson, says historian Clement Liang. The city's colonial government buildings, once iconic, were reduced to rubble by Allied bombings during World War II. The Quadrangle complex, once a symbol of British colonial rule, now houses only a small section of its former glory, serving as the Penang Islamic Religious Department's offices.
The once-majestic St Xavier school and Fort Cornwallis, used by the Japanese as an administrative office and munitions storage facility respectively, were destroyed in the air raids. This indiscriminate destruction, Liang notes, was a grim reminder of how foreign powers, when faced with crisis, cannot be relied upon for defense.
The abandonment of Penang by the British and subsequent bombings by the Americans, Liang argues, left the Malayan people with a bitter taste of betrayal and a lesson to learn - that in times of crisis, one must depend on themselves. Today, Liang laments the racial divisiveness that mocks the lessons of the past. In wartime, he emphasizes, it doesn't matter what race you belong to; the bomb will strike indiscriminately, leaving no one untouched.
Liang's call to unity rings clear amidst the ruins, urging Malaysians to live together, take care of the nation, and maintain peace for its survival.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
