Penang War Museum

Wednesday, September 08 2010

REDISCOVERED in 1993 by Johari Shafie, a local Penangite, this World War II fortress has been transformed into a living war museum and was reopened to the public in 2002. Originally designed by Royal British Engineers in the 1930s in anticipation of the War, it was constructed by South Africans, Indians, Nepalese, prisoners-of-war and even locals. The museum is located on Bukit Maung (once known as Bukit Punjab) on the southeastern tip of Penang island.

Johari, accompanied by his wife Jenny, travelled to some 28 countries researching war museums. He then submitted a paper to the government for permission to open the site as an outdoor museum and got the go ahead in March 2002.

This once heavily-armed area, with a strategically-arranged defence system, is twice the size of Singapore’s fort. It houses several Bofors anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft firing bays, ammunitions stores, an observation tower, pill boxes, cook houses, cannon firing bays, an intelligence office, a logistic centre and living quarters for soldiers and officers. There are some 60 relics to see.

Manned by British, Malay and Sikh soldiers, Bukit Maung fell during an attack in which the Japanese army approached unexpectedly from the northeastern land corridor rather than from the sea. It then became a prisoner of war camp. After the war ended in August 1945 the fort was abandoned and slowly the jungle covered the site.

The fortress is now one of the largest war museums in the region. Interestingly also, according to local lore, the hill is dubbed Bukit Hantu (Ghost Hill / Haunted Hill) because hundreds of people were brought there to be beheaded. “The famous executioner Suzuki beheaded people without a blindfold. He would drip blood from the knife into a bottle of brandy and drink it. This was to scare the locals against the Japanese. The locals then ran away to the jungle. Some bodies were dumped, others were taken to the British or Japanese cemetery. Some men had to dig their own graves. You can see the guillotine site as well as the gallows. When the site was cleared a grave was found, and the area was burnt to settle the spirits.” (The Brunei Times)

Also read here for insightful, indepth and sometimes haunting take on the Penang War Museum.

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