Revisiting the Death Railway: The Survivors' Accounts

Author: Sasidaran Sellappah

Publisher: UM Press

ISBN: 9789674881054

Pages:

Year: 2019

Weight:

Price: RM40

Unlike books authored by WW11 veterans/ POWs and renowned journalists who mainly highlighted the contribution and sacrifices of the Allied Forces, this book provides more space for the Asian workers, especially those from Malaya then; as narrated by survivors/ eye witnesses of the Siam-Burma Death Railway during interviews with the author (2005-2013). This book also focuses on the intense trauma and hardship experienced by the general populace as a result of the Japanese invasion of Malaya and the communist insurgency thereafter as related by two prominent personages who had worked for the Japanese railway administration then. The content of this book not only shed more light on the dreadful events during railway construction but also the unhygienic living conditions, food shortage, serious illnesses and brutal treatment of Asian workers by the captors that led to the daily deaths of workers in almost all the 70 odd camps and work sites. The information on events that transpired more than seven decades ago will certainly create greater interest, better understanding and awareness among the present generation, especially the next-of-kin of victims and those with ingrained passion for history to appreciate the relentless contribution and sacrifice by the unsung heroes who deserve to be revered in the annals of history.