Albert Kwok

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Albert Kwok, ca.1941

Albert Kwok , with full name Albert Kwok Fen Nam , Chinese name Guo Yinan ( chin.郭益南) (* 1921 in Kuching , Sarawak , † January 21, 1944 in Petagas near Putatan , Sabah) was a resistance fighter during the Japanese occupation of Borneo and leader the Kinabalu guerrillas . He is considered to be the initiator of the so-called Double Tenth Revolt of October 10, 1943.

Life

Albert Kwok was born in Kuching , Sarawak in 1921 . His father was a dentist. In the late 1930s he lived temporarily in China, where he learned the methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) . He then practiced in Nanking, Hankow and Canton. It was during this time that Kwok first came into contact with anti-Japanese activities. According to another source, Kwok also acquired medical skills for treating hemorrhoids in Penang .

In 1940 the only nineteen year old Kwok moved to Jesselton to work as a doctor. Although his practice was very successful, he was forced to stop treating his patients when his supply of medication ran out. His decision to defend himself against the occupying forces took shape when the Japanese put a decree into circulation on June 13, 1942 with the following wording:

"Let not the Chinese forget that the power of seizing them and putting them to death rests with one decision of the Japanese High Command."

"Don't let the Chinese forget that a single decision by the Japanese high command is enough to capture and kill them."

Resistance struggle and death

Establishment of the Kinabalu guerrillas

After the Japanese occupation of Jesse, Albert Kwok came into contact in 1943 through the Chinese businessman Lim Keng Fatt with the liaison officer for the Philippine guerrillas, an imam from Sulu named Marajukim. Kwok traveled with the Imam to Sulu and there learned about the activities of the resistance under the Filipino leader Lieutenant Colonel Alejandro Suarez.

He returned to Jesselton in May 1943, determined to do his part to liberate Sabah. Back in Jesselton, he first contacted the Oversea Chinese Defense Association , with whose help he organized medical equipment and donations to support the resistance in Sulu. Once again, in June 1943, he traveled to the Philippines with Imam Marajukim. On the mediation of Suarez he met representatives of the US Army and was made a lieutenant on July 1, 1943.

Back in North Borneo he began on September 21, 1943 with the formation of his own group of resistance fighters , who were under his leadership. He called the group - which came to be known as the Kinabalu Guerrillas among the people of Sabah - Kinabalu Guerrilla Defense Force . The group's headquarters were in Menggatal, a suburb of Jesselton, in the home of Chinese businessman Lee Khum Fah. Further groups emerged in Inanam , Tuaran , Kota Belud and Talibong.

The leadership of his resistance group consisted of

  • Hiew Syn Yong, an assistant district officer ; he took command of Kota Belud,
  • Charles Peter, formerly chief police officer in Jesselton; he took over command in Jesselton together with Subedar Dewa Singh, a former colleague from the police service,
  • Kong Sze Fui, he commanded Menggatal and
  • Jules Stephens. As an adjutant, he was responsible for the overall organization.

The Double Tenth Revolt

While Kwok was still busy building up his resistance group, plans by the Japanese occupiers became known, according to which 2,000 young Chinese would be forced into military service in order to relieve the Japanese army. In addition, a large number of Chinese girls were to be forced into prostitution for the army. At that time, Kwok had around 100 guerrillas in his resistance group and could count on another 200 fighters from the ranks of the Sabah ethnic groups.

On the eve of October 10, 1943 - the Chinese national holiday - he initiated an attack on the occupiers together with 300 guerrillas, in which more than 60 Japanese were killed, the majority by the machetes of the attackers. This attack is anchored in Sabah's collective historical consciousness as the Double Tenth Revolt .

For a short time, Albert Kwok and his Kinabalu guerrillas took control of the Tuaran , Menggatal and Jesselton. Badly equipped, however, they faced the Japanese reinforcements arriving from Kuching three days later and withdrew into the hills near Menggatal. After a two-month battle, the Japanese changed tactics. They now threatened to execute 400 people in Shantung Valley if Albert Kwok did not surrender.

Execution in Petagas

Kwok surrendered on December 19, 1943 in the hope that this would mean the end of the bloodbath. He was first imprisoned in Batu Tiga prison and then executed in Petagas on January 21, 1944, along with 175 others, most of whom had nothing to do with the uprising. Albert Kwok and four other leaders - Charles Peter, Chan Chau Kong, Kong Tze Phui, Lee Tek Phui - were beheaded with the katana , while the rest were killed with machine guns or bayonets.

Memorial in Petagas

Petagas War Memorial

The Petagas War Memorial in Putatan ( 5 ° 55 ′ 16 ″  N , 116 ° 3 ′ 16.5 ″  E ) commemorates Albert Kwok and the victims of the Japanese occupation.

literature

Web links

Commons : Petagas War Memorial  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hara Fujio: The 1943 Kinabalu Uprising in Sabah in: Kratoska, page 111 ff.
  2. ^ Whelan, page 61
  3. ^ A b Justin Sunam Wong: Kinabalu Guerillas: Albert Kwok. Borneo History Enthusiasts, March 16, 2012, accessed January 21, 2019 .
  4. ^ A b Petagas War Memorial Garden, bloodiest history of Sabah. In: MySabah.com. February 1, 2012, accessed January 21, 2019 .
  5. ^ Whelan, 62
  6. ↑ Tregonning, pp. 217/218
  7. ↑ a b c d Whelan, pp. 63–65
  8. ^ Evans, p. 51
  9. ^ Evans, 52
  10. ↑ Tregonning, page 219

Remarks

  1. ↑ This meant the military leadership of Borneo, not the one in Tokyo.
  2. ↑ According to Evans, p. 51 , he named the group the Mount Kinabalu Salvation Guerrilla Band .
personal data
SURNAME Kwok, Albert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Albert Kwok Fen Nam, Guo Yinan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Guerrilla leader
DATE OF BIRTH 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Kuching , Sarawak
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 1944
Place of death Petagas , Sabah