Kuala Lumpur At War 1939-1945: a History of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor During World War Two

by Andrew Barber

Although much has been written about the military campaign that led to the occupation of Malaya by the Japanese and subsequent prisoner of war experiences, literature on the experiences of the Malayan population during that occupation is comparatively scanty. This book seeks to fill that gap as far as the capital city, Kuala Lumpur, and the adjoining state of Selangor are concerned. It is about the experience of war on Kuala Lumpur. This is not a "military history" in the sense that there was very little fighting either when the Japanese entered the city in January 1942 or when the British returned in September 1945. Rather, the focus of the book is on how conflict, the Japanese occupation and the return of the British impacted on the city and its people. The three years and eight months of Japanese governance wrought huge change, and were a tilting point in the history of Malaya. As the capital city, Kuala Lumpur was a central player in these changes. This is the story of those years.

250 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012