THE Negri Sembilan-based Death Railway Interest Group (DRIG) is appealing to Malaysia and India to liaise with Thailand to erect a monument to pay tribute to the thousands of Indian descendants who perished building the rail line during the onset of World War II.
As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks his maiden visit to Malaysia, DRIG chairman Chandrasekaran Ponnusamy shared a statement, which he also plans to dispatch to the High Commission of India in Kuala Lumpur.
He wants the contents to be made public as it signals a tribute to both the victims and survivors of the dreaded rail line, where some 100,000 civilians and Allied military personnel perished while assembling the railway which linked modern-day Thailand with Myanmar.
The line was established under the torrid conditions by the Japanese Imperial Army because they wanted to attack India by using Myanmar as the flashpoint.
As the Australians managed to erect a memorial called HellPass near the area, Chandrasekaran wants something similar built for the Indians who died near Kanchanaburi in Thailand.
“If the Aussies were allowed by the Thais, we cannot see why a similar request by both Malaysia and India cannot be entertained. It is a significant step to recognise the victims of the last great war and a poignant remembrance not to allow such devastation to humanity to recur.”
This railway was built between 1942 and 1943 by the Japanese Imperial Army in a record time of a little over a year as a supply line for their troops in Myanmar, said Chandrasekaran.
“Upon its completion, the Siam–Burma Railway was also used to mobilise its troops to Burma and ultimately to invade and free India of British rule with the help of Indian troops who had surrendered to the Japanese, along with young Indian civilians recruited primarily from Malaya and the rest of Southeast Asia.”
It is estimated that half of the 300,000 Asian forced labourers had died of disease, malnutrition, lack of sanitation, etc., in the harsh conditions of the tropical jungles in Thailand.
Hence, Malaysia and India are the principal stakeholders in this event and should undertake to address the injustice that has been neglected for over eight decades, he said. – February 7, 2026.
