Japan must clarify the RM207bil ‘Death Railway’ controversy

[superadmin]

During a recent visit to the Kanchanaburi JEATH War Museum in Thailand, I met with two men whose grandfathers were victims of the infamous “Death Railway”.

The victims were among thousands of Malaysians forcibly taken by the Japanese to work as labourers to build a railway track from there to Burma (now Myanmar) during World War II.

They had come to see if the graves of their ancestors were among 6,982 victims buried in tombstones bearing their names in the special Kanchanaburi War Cemetery dedicated to their memory. Unfortunately for the duo, only soldiers and prisoners of war who perished while working on the project were given a resting place there.

The soldiers were from Australia, the Netherlands and the UK. According to records, these countries are still providing funds to local authorities and certain NGOs to maintain the well-kept graveyard.

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