14th January, Japanese troops entered Melaka

The event set a record in history and a unique monument to remember the occurrence now stand as the Memorial of the Japanese Occupation located on the foot of Bukit Cina. The other noted monument is the Meng Seng Charitable Association Building, the headquarters to the gunseibu. Many fled the town and took refuge in the countryside and Melaka became a desserted town when the Japanese troops entered on bicycles. Panic seized the Melaka town.

basikal-melaka.blogspot

When people fled the town, looters were active and there was no fighting though bombs were dropped, one hitting the Tan Kim Seng bridge slightly. The Japanese was good at preventing further looting; the officers ordered all looted goods to be returned and Melakan hiding in the countryside to go back to town to continue their normal activities. The folks were afraid of being arrested and there was a rush for the certificate of good citizenship. The very old folks said they ate on tapioca.

Japanese didn’t condone lawlessness and robbery lessened when some robbers were executed and their severed heads displayed, at the Bukit Cina roundabout…and bloody massacres at Asahan and other places. The Japanese wanted Melaka to return to the normal order, and shops opened for business, within a few weeks. Workers reported to work but schools remained closed. Economic dislocation and social losses occurred. Japanese occupation was the last foreign rule in Melaka before Malaya gained its independence in 1957.