IT‘S just past midnight when Captain Chandra hears some loud knocks on his door. A breathless voice on the other side is heard urgently seeking his permission to enter. Despite the late hour, Captain Chandra of the 17th Dogra Regiment, isn‘t yet ready to call it a day. Like the rest of his men, he has been nervously waiting for the latest updates regarding enemy troop movements.
Yesterday, the Air Force had issued a secret communique related to the sighting of a large Japanese convoy in the Gulf of Siam. The enemy ships were said to be heading for Singora, a Siamese town not far from Kota Baru.
The report immediately sets off alarm bells with the top brass scrambling to make the best out of whatever little time they have left before all hell breaks loose. Military strategists advising the commanders speculate that the Japanese invasion would most likely take place during the wee hours of Dec 8, 1941. The high tide then would allow the heavy troop carrying barges to land easily while the full moon would provide sufficient light for the Japanese soldiers to pin point their intended landing zone effortlessly.
The messenger informs Captain Chandra that five Japanese ships have just anchored two kilometres offshore. Their positions indicate a likely attack on guard posts numbers 13 and 14. These two sentry points straddling the Kelantan river mouth are the weakest link in the Dogra defence. “Their spies are very good. Our months of digging trenches, laying land mines and countless barbed wire barriers all along the Kelantan coast have been in vain,“ mutters Captain Chandra.
Realising that time is of the essence, Captain Chandra immediately springs into action. He musters as many men as he can and leads them towards the estuary. He must think of a way to outsmart the Japanese soldiers. All will be lost if the enemy manages to land. The Japanese will have the shortest and least defended route from the coast to the aerodrome and the main road leading to Kota Baru if they get to the river!
RELIVING HISTORY
It‘s already mid afternoon by the time I arrive at the historic Pantai Kuala Pak Amat. The drive through the quiet back roads dotted with clusters of attap-roofed houses on stilts has been very therapeutic.
Leaving my car under a shady sea almond tree, I complete the last few remaining metres of my 450km road trip on foot, treading carefully, ever conscious of the countless lives lost here some 76 years ago. As I reach the water‘s edge, the sight that greets me however, is a stark contrast to the fierce skirmishes that took place in the early morning of Dec 8, 1941.
Several ornately-carved fishing boats moored near the shore bob effortlessly with each gentle nudge of an oncoming wave. Further in the distance, teenagers are playing football on a narrow grassy patch. I‘m tempted to think that this place has finally come to terms with its past and has, at long last, found peace.
Research into the early days of the war in the Pacific has revealed that, contrary to popular belief, the Japanese attacks in Kelantan happened much earlier than the more famous assault on Pearl Harbour. The war had already been going on for a full hour in Pantai Kuala Pak Amat before the first bomb was dropped in Hawaii. The foothold gained here allowed the Japanese Imperial Army to begin its relentless push southwards towards the British crown jewel — Singapore!
Before leaving, I reach for a folder in my knapsack. There‘s one more thing to do before I visit the state capital. My recent acquisition is a 1941 Kelantan airmail letter sent to India. Looking at the return address, I deduce that it must have been sent by one of the Dogra Regiment personnel stationed at this very place where I‘m standing.
The letter, dated June 9, 1941, could have been sent by a soldier tasked with setting up the defences along the Kelantan coast. Looking up, I scan the entire stretch of beach in front of me. The soldier could have written this letter in a tent somewhere here. Perhaps he was feeling homesick and this letter was his only avenue to reach out to his loved ones back home. Did he express hope about returning home once the war was over?
A large majority of the Dogra Regiment recruits were from the Indian Jammu and Kashmir regions. The others that make up this highly trained military outfit were from Himachal Pradesh and the Punjab hill regions. In December 1940, the 2nd and 3rd battalion of the 17th Dogra Regiment were dispatched to Kota Baru from Singapore. Their main task was to protect the Pengkalan Chepa aerodrome and the beaches near it.
I‘m attracted to the postage stamp on the letter which features Sultan Ismail Ibni almarhum Sultan Muhammad IV. The Kelantan postal service was established back in the late 19th century when it was still a vassal state of Siam. Siamese stamps featuring King Chulalongkorn were sold in all Kelantan post offices. The state then temporarily used Federated Malay State stamps as a stop gap measure after suzerainty was transferred to the British as a result of the Anglo-Siamese Treaty in 1909. Kelantan began issuing its own postage stamps three years later. The Sultan Ismail stamp, issued in 1937, was the first to feature a Kelantan monarch. Before that, all Kelantan stamps only featured the royal coat of arms.
RICH HERITAGE
Sultan Ismail was the sixth sultan to rule from the state capital, Kota Baru. The previous state capital, Kota Lama was located on the low-lying Pulau Sabak and it was destroyed in a massive flood in the early 1840s. This prompted the-then ruler, Sultan Muhammad II, to move his administrative capital to higher grounds in the east. The new place was named Kota Baru or New Capital.
Among the first buildings in Kota Baru built by Sultan Muhammad II was Istana Balai Besar. Three other monarchs who made Istana Balai Besar their home were Sultan Ahmad (1886-1889), Sultan Muhammad III (1890-1891) and Sultan Muhammad IV (1900-1920). Today, this beautiful palace serves as a venue for official state functions.
The current Kelantan ruler, Sultan Muhammad V, was also installed in the same Istana Balai Besar throne room on Sept 13, 2010 in a ceremony steeped in tradition. And soon, in a matter of days, the Kelantan rakyat will have more reasons to celebrate as their 37-year-wait to see another monarch become the country‘s supreme ruler finally ends. Sultan Muhammad V will be formally installed as our nation‘s 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong tomorrow.
Since the beginning, the Kelantan royal house has been a patron of the arts. The state‘s cottage industries boast of skilled craftsmen who produce countless exquisite decorative art pieces for the royal family as well as their courtiers. Among the more popular products are functional European-styled silverware, intricate wood carvings and beautiful handprinted or woven batik and songket.
Visitors to Kota Baru often head to the shops in Jalan Temenggong to look for similar handicraft. Batik products are by far the most popular due to their superior quality and unparalleled durability.
The origins of batik in Kelantan can be traced back to 1911 when Che Su Ishak began experimenting with multi-coloured cloth called Kain Pelangi. The ladies at that time used it for their selendang (shawl). Unlike the present batik industry that favours plain cotton as the base material, the fabric favoured back in the early days was a type of faux silk imported from Siam called Kain Pereir.
Che Su experimented with a variety of colours derived from local fruits and tree bark. It‘s said that black, which is the most common colour used, was produced from a fruit called buah kayu arang.
The public‘s response to Che Su‘s batik was overwhelming. In less than a year, he was convinced that his creations were a viable venture. Che Su teamed up with several friends and started a workshop at Lorong Gajah Mati, just beside the Kelantan River. Their batik business received a boost when Che Su‘s son, Mohd Yusuf, went to Bangkok in 1933 to acquire the latest techniques in fabric printing.
Like all business ventures in Malaya, the Kelantan batik industry ground to a halt during the Japanese Occupation. Manufacturers like Che Su found it difficult to get access to the basic raw materials. Things only started to look promising again after the British returned in 1945.
The sun is almost about to set when I finally leave Pantai Kuala Pak Amat. The place is noticeably livelier with more people arriving to take advantage of the cooler weather. As I return my envelope to its folder, the name of the sender comes into view.
Hayne. There‘s a momentary freeze as my brain goes into overdrive. Could the sender be Lt Col M.L. Hayne, commander of the 17th Dogra Regiment in 1941? I really must find out more when I reach home tomorrow.