Sandakan Day - A Special Australian-Sabahan Borderless Bond

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia) Aug 19 (Bernama) -- People say ‘hardship brings people closer together’ and this rings true in the stories of friendship and borderless bond between Sabahans and Australians who were prisoners of war (POWs) here, back in World War II. The sad history of Sandakan Day can be read through history books when almost 2,500 Australian and British POWs were held in a camp in Sandakan, in which almost all perished by 1945 except for six who escaped, thanks to the kindness of villagers there. Although this is a heartbreaking chapter in Australia’s history, Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia, Andrew Goledzinowski believes, the good just as the sad, must be cherished like any other stories, and that there is always a silver lining that can be learned and celebrated. “Those six survived and escaped with the help of Sabahans, that is the important thing. “They survived because of the courage and generosity of Sabahans. Though this is a very sad story, it had created this wonderful bond," he told Bernama in an interview here recently. Sandakan Memorial Day celebrated its 75th anniversary on Aug 15, to commemorate POWs who were brought to Sandakan from Singapore by the Japanese Army to build a military airstrip in 1942 during World War II. Almost all 1,400 POWs perished while in Sandakan, while a few died while on death marches or at Ranau near here. Goledzinowski said as time went by, the stories had been passed from generation to generation and to this day, the strong bond could still be felt between the people of both countries. "For the (Australian) generation who survived World War II, North Borneo will always be a special place and we need to have this going among the younger generation. Our job now is to maintain that relationship, though those old soldiers are now gone,” he said. The High Commissioner also spoke fondly of Australia Place located here, where visitors, especially tourists, could get a really good cup of coffee and breakfast. "It is called Australia Place because the Australian 9th division camp was there when they liberated North Borneo (in 1945, World War II)," he said. Besides that, Goledzinowski explained relations between Australians and Sabahans flourished, especially in education and medical research, which led to the set up of the Menzies Research Centre in Darwin, Australia and Kota Kinabalu Infectious Disease Centre here. "Back in 2016 research on malaria and tuberculosis was established together, particularly on drug-resistant strains," he said. The Australian High Commission has over the years established a good working relationship with the Sabah state government, through the Australian Consulate here and is keen to work together in initiatives that benefit the people, he added. "We always have discussions with the Sabah government, we want this link to be maintained and when the COVID-19 pandemic is over we hope to continue exchanges on tourism and immigration issues," he said. With Sabah and its people preserving Australia's important history during World War II, Goledzinowski is confident the strong borderless bond between Australia and Sabah will continue for years to come. -- BERNAMA