Aussie War Memorial In Malaysia To Be Upgraded

By Neville Dcruz MELBOURNE, April 4 (Bernama) -- The Australian government will provide US$41,135 (A$40,000) towards upgrading a memorial in Malaysia, which marks the site where more than 3000 Australian and other allied prisoners of war were held. Veterans Affairs Minister Warren Snowdon said the Batu Lintang PoW Campsite Memorial in Sarawak, East Malaysia, served as a lasting reminder of the brutal treatment endured by thousands of Australians during World War II. Funding would be made available through the Overseas Privately-Constructed Memorial Restoration Programme to ensure the memorial continued to provide a solemn place of reflection, the Australian Associated Press reports. The upgrading work will involve landscaping and installation of a visitor seating area. More than 15,000 Australian soldiers became prisoners of Japanese forces with the surrender of Singapore in February, 1942. Batu Lintang, also known as Kuching PoW camp, operated as a labour camp, with soldiers and civilians held captive for more than three years. Throughout this period, prisoners endured harsh conditions including forced labour, food shortages and disease. Following closure of the camp, the graves of about 500 who died during incarceration were moved to the Labuan War Cemetery in Malaysia. "To honour their memory, the Batu Lintang PoW Campsite Memorial was established within the grounds of a nearby teachers training college in 1947," Snowdon said in a statement. -- BERNAMA