My great great grandparents were pretty well off rubber plantation owners before the Japanese came to Malaya, they donated a lot of money back to China for the war effort against Japan. In the 1930s, Singapore – a tiny island off the southern coast of Malaya – was viewed as a jewel in the crown of the British Empire. Academic studies of the economic history of modern Malaya / Malaysia often stop in 1941 or start in 1945, dates that mark the dramatic collapse of British colonial rule and the equally dramatic end of Japanese rule. Japanese forces attacked Singapore on December 10, 1941, and by February 15, 1941, the Japanese occupied the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. At its tip was the powerful naval base on the island of Singapore. At its tip was the powerful naval base on the island of Singapore. On 8 Dec, after some fighting at Kota Bharu, the Japanese troops took coast cities of Singora (Thailand), Patani (Thailand), and Kota Bharu (Malaya). Japanese policy for the administration of occupied territories was developed in February 1941 by Colonel Obata Nobuyoshi (Section Chief of Intelligence – Southern Army), and Lt Colonels Otoji Nishimura and Seijiro Tofuku of the General Staff. Japanese Invasion of Malaya December 8, 1941 - January 31, 1942 The British possession of Malaya was a major source of rubber and tin. The Japanese invasion plan involved landing troops from the 5th Division at Pattani and Songkhla on Thailand's east coast, and troops from the 18th Division at Kota Bharu Malaya's northeast coast. Due to the vagaries of the International Date Line, the invasion of Malaya began on the 8 th of December but this was actually before the attack on Pearl Harbor.


THE JAPANESE OCCUPATION: MALAYAN ECONOMY BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER. It was the first major battle of the Pacific War, and was fought between ground forces of the British Indian Army and the Empire of Japan.
It was regarded as an unassailable island due to its strong seaward defenses. These set out five principles: acquisition of vital materials for national defence, restoration of law and order, self-sufficiency for the troops in the occupied territories, respect for established local organisations and customs, and no hasty discussion of future status of sovereignty. Some of transports of been spotted around 100 miles east of the town of Kota Bharu, where a squadron of … Malaya was a major prize for the Japanese as it produced 38% of the world’s rubber and 58% of the world’s tin. The capture of Singapore would provide Japan with a highly valuable military base in the region and it would also greatly undermine British authority in the … The Japanese Invasion of Malaya began just after midnight on 8 December 1941 (local time) before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, this strategy left the entire northern shore, facing Malaya, vulnerable. The Japanese attack on Malaya started on December 8th 1941 and ended with the surrender of British forces at Singapore. A…