Japanese Occupation of British Malaya

  1. Why was there war in Asia?
  2. How did the Japanese invade British Malaya?
  3. What was life like under Japanese occupation?
  4. How does the Second World War affect Malaya today?

1. Why was there war in Asia?

2.How did the Japanese invade British Malaya?

The video below is more detailed. There is an accompanying Q&A worksheet to help understand what happened.

The Japanese invasion of Malaya

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2020/12/08/5-malaysian-towns-that-were-world-war-ii-battlefields/

Below, Japanese troops clear pockets of resistance in the streets of the Malay city of Kuala Lumpur, January 1942.

Japanese troops clear pockets of resistance in the streets of the Malay city of Kuala Lumpur, January 1942.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/britains-war-in-the-far-east-during-the-second-world-war

3.What was life like under Japanese occupation?

THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION: MALAYAN ECONOMY BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER

Read the article above.

a. Japan did not need the raw materials of British Malaya? So why did it invade?

b. How did Japan use the Malay population?

c. What happened to the economy during the occupation? Explain why.

d. After 1945, how did the British try to restore the country and solve the political and economic problems?

Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army

e.How successful was the MPAJA?

The Pacific War – by the Australian government

4.How does the Second World War affect Malaya today?

MALAYSIA DURING AND AFTER WORLD WAR II

  • Think about the relationships Malaysia and Singapore have with those countries who were involved in the war.
  • Was there a link between the Second World War and Malaysia and Singapore gaining their independence?