KOTA KINABALU: Prominent adventure guide Tham Yau Kong played a very important role in the preservation of historical moments involving the British and Australians during the Japanese occupation in Sabah.
British High Commissioner to Malaysia Charles Hay said Tham, who received the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) award today at the Sabah Tourism Board, was a vital link between the past and the present.
Tham was supposed to receive the MBE last year, but the presentation was postponed.
The award, the third-highest ranking order in Britain, was presented to Tham for his contributions to researching and retracing the World War 2 Sandakan-Ranau Death March route.
"I am delighted to be here in Kota Kinabalu for a very important day. I present, on behalf of the late Queen Elizabeth II, an MBE award to Tham Yau Kong for his longtime contribution in the conservation and preservation of the historical memory of what happened to the British and Australian (prisoners of war) during the Japanese occupation, particularly in the Sandakan-Ranau Death March."
Hay said he and his Australian counterpart walked some of the paths on the Sandakan-Ranau Death March route in August 2020.
He said he only trekked a small portion because the entire route would take a very long time to cover.
"It was very moving to experience the kind of weather conditions the POW would have experienced.
"To think of their three years in captivity. They were in very bad physical health. A lot of them were ill and without proper footwear.
"It was a tough walk for us and it must have been awful for them. Most important is that we remember these things," said Hay, who was in the British army before he joined the diplomatic services.
Tham said since the Sandakan-Ranau Death March route was opened for tours in 2005, six to eight groups of people from Australia and the United Kingdom experience the route every year.
He said the trekkers were relatives of the POW, people with military backgrounds or civilians.
"Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison also walked through it."
Tham said he was honoured to take Hay to experience the route in 2020, adding that the group saw the sites where POW died and where cannibalism occurred.
He credited seven local witnesses for the discovery of the death march route.
"We have a lot of potential in historical tourism. My sincere hope is for more young people to follow in our footsteps and develop this kind of tourism."
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
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