How did the social impacts led to nationalism?

On 23rd December, President Chiang Kai-Shek in Nanking issued an appeal to all Chinese nationalists in Malaya (especially members of the Kuo Min Tang) to rally behind the British in resisting the Japanese. The British initiated a belated rapprochement with their erstwhile local foe, the Malayan Communist Party (MCP). They reached an agreement 10 days later on the training of communist guerillas to fight behind enemy lines in the event of the Malayan Peninsula being overrun by the Japanese, a prospect which seemed imminent.

Cooperation was established between British leaders and nationalist groups. Sir Shenton Thomas, Governor of Singapore, even lifted the ban on the MCP, KMT and other Chinese associations. Cooperation between nationalist groups and British leaders gave the nationalist groups a chance to rise up as they were not suppressed.This allowed the nationalist groups to strengthen and expand their organization, leading to the development of a sense of unity among the people. This gave them the ability to develop nationalistic sentiments. 

The Japanese implemented a policy which favoured Malays over Chinese and Indians.- Japanese replaced the British civil servants. In the smaller Straits Settlements, where a larger number of non-Malays were employed in the British Civil Service, pre-war officials of all races continued to hold office in 1942-1943, but Malay officials increased rapidly. For example, in the Koa Kunrenjo (leadership training schools) that were established, 70% of trainees were Malays and were given high appointments. This caused people to resent Japanese rule because they felt disadvantaged. This resulted in a sense of disunity in the people.

Video on the Japanese Occupation in Singapore.

Widespread of looting and crime (lawlessness), led to "Sook Ching" (purification), to wipe out operations against "anti-Japanese elements", especially the Chinese. Kempetai troops moved further into the rural districts they indiscriminate and tended to regard all Chinese hostile, leading to massacres. 6000 to 40000 Chinese were killed during the Sook Ching process. The Chinese population were alienated from the Japanese administration. The army continued to treat the Chinese population with the greatest severity for war. The Sook Ching drove hundreds of Chinese youths and men into the jungles to join the communist-led resistance movement, MPAJA. MPAJA then gained control of Malaya, but they tortured Chinese who were suspected of being informants of the Japanese.

The Indians were treated better by the Japanese, as they needed the support of the Indians. Japanese authorities promised to free India from British. This formed the India Independence League and the India National Army. Japan tried to invade India in 1943 but they failed. The Indians also suffered. 250000 were forced to work in death railway, 10000 died. This led to the growing hatred towards the Japanese and distrust of Japanese

• -Many joined resistance group

Social impact of Japanese occupation.

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The British began rounding up leaders and members of the Malay pro-Japanese organization, Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM), after the British intelligence had uncovered secret links between KMM & Japanese military intelligence.

The Japanese 25th army was preoccupied with the tasks of purifying the population and establishing law and order. This led to the widespread of looting & crime. Japanese began to enforce order by executions - offenders were shot and beheaded on the spot, heads displayed on pikes at prominent places in the city, e.g. marketplaces. This served as a warning to the public. By 3rd March, a total of 70699 "anti-Japanese" Chinese had been detained.

British defence on the mainland were rapidly crumbling as states were overrun by Japanese troops. They found out that Malays were actively collaborating with the Japanese forces by acting as their guides and interpreters, which were mainly members of KMM worked for Fujiwara Kikan (Japanese military intelligence agency). This marked the beginning of British disenchantment with the Malays. The British then forced the Sultans to leave. British distrust of Malays persisted right through the war to the time of their reoccupation of Malaya.

The Japanese governed Malaya as a single integrated colony under the one supreme government headed by the Malayan Military Administration (MMA) in Singapore. This reduced the high and respected status of the Malay Sultans to that of minor officials. Sultans also lost part of their authority over matters concerning the Islamic religion until 1943-1944. These responsibilities had been left entirely in their hands during pre-war days. Stipends of the Sultans were also cut. On the other hand, the Sultans under the British rule then get to enjoy the prestige of being the heads of their states. This gave the Sultans a sense of authority.

However, the Japanese were pro-Malay, and discriminated other races. This was evident from the example of the rise in number of Malay officials. There were difference in treatments led the masses to feel at the losing end. Hence, they resented the Japanese rule, and wished to stand up and fight for independence. The Malayan Chinese collected large sums of money to help China against Japanese, and boycotted purchase of Japanese goods. With JO in February 1941, many Chinese activists joined underground anti-Japanese movement. Worst still, most officers from the Japanese troop that invaded Malaya were veterans of the Sino-Jap war. (Rape of Nanking). This led to aggressive Chinese resistance against Japanese in Singapore , and they wanted to stand up against Japanese to seek better lives. 

There were poor public health services during the Japanese rule. Hospitals were looted for medical supplies by Japanese army. Preventive measures against diseases neglected, causing a widespread in diseases as they were not controlled. JO brought serious effect on the health status of people in Malaya. For instance, malaria, beriberi and cholera spread widely throughout peninsular. There were limited food resource and lack of nutritious food, which worsened the health of people. This caused the death rates from malnutrition increased sharply. Japanese forces seized food supplies and medicines to be used by soldiers, medicines not sent to clinics. Doctors and nurses were sent to camp prisoners, and there was no one to tend to the sick. 

Economic impact of JO in Malaya.

Economic infrastructure was destroyed during World War 2 in Malaya. The Japanese, however, did not bother to restore the destruction done. The economic activities were thus disrupted. There were depletions in resources. For example, tin declined from 79000 tons in 1941 to 3000 tons in 1945. This caused Malaya to be unable to generate revenue as they did not have enough resources to do so.

Inflation also escalated during the Japanese Occupation. The Japanese printed as much money as they liked. Due to over-printing of money, the value of notes became very small and worthless. In many cases, trade was reduced to barter. This affected the livelihood of people as they were unable to earn a living to support their families, causing the standard of living in Malaya to decline, resulting in unhappiness.

The prices of essentials also increased several-fold. For instance, the price of 500g of rice soared to $120 from 1941 to 1945. Rice is also difficult to be imported from Burma and Thailand because Japan has imposed restrictions on international trade. This caused people to feel that the Japanese were responsible for the economic slump.

There were shortages basic essentials such as water, electricity, gas and food. Rubber trees were cut down to grow subsistence crops for the Japanese, mainly tapioca, millet and maize. This resulted in lower standards of living, and caused the people to be unhappy with Japanese rule.

Black markets began to rise during this period. Goods were sold at very high prices. However, the masses did not have money to purchase such goods. Corruption also increased.

The Chinese were allowed to carry on trade and business. They were forced to make a gift of $50million to Japan in 1942. 

                                               ("banana" note that the Japanese created)