[Sabah trip, 30-Mar-2006] On our way back from Poring Hot Spring to Kota Kinabalu, we visited Kundasang War Memorial, which was dedicated to men and women from Australia, British, New Zealand and Malaysia, who took part in several military campaigns in Borneo during WW2.
At first we thought we would be visiting a museum of some sort, turned out it was more to a garden memorial, with great decor of plants and flowers.
The Kundasang War Memorial is one of the Sabah’s 3 memorials dedicated to the WW2 heroes and heroins, the other 2 is in Labuan and Sandakan.
I am not sure if it was originally a POW prison or even a fortress of the Japanese Imperial Army.. point is, it’s a historic symbol to a violent past, which we hope will not repeat itself in anytime.
April 22nd, 2006 at 3:59 pm
Looks like a beautiful memorial, Jee.
April 23rd, 2006 at 3:18 am
Yupe Tanya, not a bad place at all.. a bit small, but beautiful.
April 23rd, 2006 at 9:25 am
yeah…kk was bombed by the Aussies to get rid of the Japs less than a century ago. Thats why they got the Memorial
April 23rd, 2006 at 1:03 pm
d_D.. so that’s the fact? Well that’s never a winner in a war, everybody loses.. peace peace.
April 23rd, 2006 at 4:36 pm
wow!! really beautiful
April 26th, 2006 at 4:59 am
I like that purple plant perspective - very cool
April 26th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
Tracy.. yupe, not a bad place.
Trey.. glad you like the photo. Your blog has lots of great photos too.
June 6th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
Hi..
can you give me pictures of Sevee Charuruks for our history project
please………………….
June 7th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
Sorry Khairul, I don’t have the pictures of Sevee..
September 30th, 2006 at 5:15 am
Kundasang Memorial was not a fortress of anything to do with the Japanese.
It was the idea of a New Zealand military gent after the War who wanted a memorial to reflect the violent past of the infamous death marches.
Charurks simply renovated the place after years of decay with resources provided for by the Sabah government.
It is not recognized as a memorial by the australian government.
I cannot recall the Aussies ‘bombing’ KK ever!
September 30th, 2006 at 10:54 am
Thanks for the note Mike. So the Kundasang Memorial was built from scratch and was not a building from WW2?
Regardless, it’s a great memorial to remind us the cost of war, and as a remembrance for those who lost their lifes in the turbulence period.
Forget about the Aussies ‘bombing’ KK story, there’s no real proof to it and it’s just an opinion from d_D
October 13th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
Hello,
As a known fact: The Kundasang War Memorial is privately funded by Mr Sevee Charuruks. There is no funding whatsoever from the Malaysian Government, which is a shame. An entrance fee of only $2 ringgit helps towards maintaining its expensive overheads.
Mr Charuruks took the initiative to refurbish the memorial due to its bad condition. It was left with graffiti and loads of rubbish, being neglected by the local authortities for many many years.
Australians visiting it then(before it was restored) were very sad but now they are happy and touched and most of them crying with joy to see that the Kundasang Memorial has its dignity back…..
October 13th, 2006 at 7:05 pm
Thank you, Jee for your lovely photos!
October 13th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
You are welcome Ong, thanks for your information instead.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Yes, KK has never been bombed by Aussies, and the Kundasang War memorial was build to remember the 2,428 Australian and British prisoners who died during the World War II at the Sandakan POW Camp, and the casualties of the 3 infamous forced death marches i.e. Sandakan-Ranau Death March from Sandakan to Ranau.
On top of that, it is also a tribute to the many locals who risked their lives while releasing the prisoners at war. Only 6 Australians recorded survived in this tragedy to tell their horror and no English survivors were recorded.
Hopefully you could get the history correct…
April 9th, 2007 at 11:27 am
Thanks for the note Ruhaizad.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Nice shots Jee. Kundasang really is a beauty. After being there, I am now contemplating to pick as my retirement town. Cheers.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Thanks. It’s a nice place indeed, glad that you enjoy your Sabah tour too.
April 25th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Yes, Jee, the memorial was built from scratch, regrettably many local “vandals” used it as a “private driniing spot”. Credit needs to go too , to the many locals who helped and laboured many hours to bring the place to it’s current shape!
As for the funding, I’m not too sure Mr. Charuruks was not assisted by the Malaysian Government in his endeavours!
May 14th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
I come from very far- Latvia, Europa and I learned a lot about WWII and its very cruel side in Asia. I had no idea how much POW had to suffer from Japaniese here. Think about it- much more people have survived from Russian and German camps after WWII. After Sunakan- Ranau death march- only 6 who escaped survived. I was astonished by this fact.
Many people in Europa have no idea about events during WWII in this part of the World and it is great that such place memorizing those who left their lives here is being supported and maintained.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Not sure if the death much was as deadly… lots of lifes had lost for sure. Nobody wins in a war.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:24 am
its much more beauty now. u should come…………..
June 13th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Thanks for the note lynn… perhaps in 2008.
July 6th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
The Quietness, Beauty, and Peace will strike you in this Place. How strange that such beautiful values can be enjoyed only in death because of War!
I was there on May 22, 2007, to celebrate my 56th Birthday - to celebrate my Life. And to read that these mortal souls, thousands of them - many not even soldiers of War, but children, women, and the elderly - who perished , during the forced march from Sandakan to Ranau, depicted the folly of Mankind, and it gave me a feeling of sadness.
Bob Dylan asked in his song of the 1960’s “Where Have All the Flowers Gone? Long Time Ago!” Well, Mr. Dylan, they’re here in Ranau, Sabah - they did not fulfill their sweet dreams of returning home - to Australia, New Zealand, England, or, wherever!
Should Mankind ought to build more homes or War Memorials?
David Au - A Malaysian.
July 6th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
I hope we don’t need to build more war memorials in future, that’s for sure. However if there is continuous indifference between mankind, there will be war and they will be more war memorials… kinda sad isn’t it?
April 11th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
kundasang adalah tempat yg menarik untuk di lawati sama ada dalam dan luar negara.walaupun ia jauh dari bandar ia menjanjikan ketenangan para pengunjung yang datang
April 11th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
sebagai penduduk di kundasang saya berbangga kerana adanya tempat untuk di lawati.salah satunya kundasang war memorial.tempat ini adalah tapak bekas jajahan orang british pada perang dunia ke 2.kepada anda yang tidak pernah mengunjungi tempat ini tidaklah rugi jika anda datang kerana mulai tahun 2005 pembaharuan telah di lakukan untuk menarik lebih banyak pelancong.kepada pelancong yang gemar bunga ros anda boleh melihatnya di sini.anda juga boleh menikmati keindahan gunung kinabalu dengan lebih jelas..disamping itu juga anda juga dapat menghirup udara segar…so welcome to kundasang war memorial…….pasti menjanjikan kepuasan.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
This place is nice for me. I have been there 2 last month. It fantastic well i would like to come again next time.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
I am not too sure where you got your details from about mr. sevee funding the memorial. He sells orchids from there and the Au gvernment recently gave him 130,000 AUD Grant to help him out. KK sources tell me that the Malaysian Govt also helped him out. Also he has family working in tourism who would help out.He did do a lot of work there and so did all of his poorly paid local men and women. Many foreigners have given him money too. Mrs Lynette silver also helped him out. Nice memorial and good to see Malaysians recognised for their efforts and feel very sorry for many Aussies and English who died defending democracy all around Asia from Japanese Imperial Forces. I lke to see Japanese Govt donate some funds to upkeep memorials like Sandakan and Ranau too in good shape forever