• 1900-an: Pembangunan Kajang dan Sekitarnya

“Pada zaman kemaraan Jepun di Tanah Melayu, bagunan sekolah ini telah diambil alih oleh pihak tentera Australia sebagai tempat tinggal. Operasi sekolah bertukar ke Sekolah Convent Kajang dan berjalan pada sesi petang. Bermula pada 6 Disember 1941 hingga 12 Septeber 1945, bangunan sekolah ini menjadi ibu pejabat tentera Wilayah Jepun dan dikenali sebagai “Toa Seinen Gakko”. Sekali lagi sekolah ini dipindahkan ke Panggung Wayang Nasional (Sekarang pusat Karaoke). Kemudian ia dijadikan Maktab Latihan Perguruan yang pertama di negara ini. Semua buku dari Maktab Raffles dipindahkan ke sini. Selepas perang tamat, buku-buku ini dihantar kembali ke Maktab Raffles (Singapura) pada tahun 1946.” (CNM @ Kajang High School, 2/4/2011: |"SEJARAH SEKOLAH"; |"(Reposted at Kajang High School @ Facebook, 18 Jun 2016").

Ketika pendudukan Jepun di Kajang, Sekolah Tinggi Kajang telah dijadikan markas tentera Jepun bagi daerah Ulu Langat. Berikut adalah beberapa petikan catatan pengalaman seorang bekas pelajar sekolah tersebut:-

“Within a month of their landing, the Japanese soldiers had reached Kuala Lumpur(11). The people of Kajang had braced themselves for any eventuality. They had dug trenches in which to seek cover upon hearing the wailing of the ARP (Air Raid Precaution) siren, the harbinger of the aerial onslaught. The Japanese intended to bomb Kajang and their planes had flown several reconnaissances for that purpose.

The much-anticipated bombing occurred on January 12, 1942(12). The target was of course the Kajang Railway Station at 15th Milestone, Reko Road. The intention was to interdict the British retreat to Singapore.Unfortunately, the bombs fell in the grounds of the cathedral-like Catholic Church which was just across the railway tracks in front of the Railway Station. It was badly damaged; the residence of the Infant Jesus Sisters in the Convent School ground was destroyed (13). The Japanese warplanes at the same time bombed the Rice Stockpile Center near the Railway Station and strafed the neighborhood. There were scores of civilian fatalities. Several dead bodies lay sprawled in the drains and on the stretch of Reko Road from the Sun Cinema (now a Buddhist Center) to the Kampung Bukit (Reko Road) Muslim Cemetery.There were a few dead bodies too in front of the Kajang English School building* near the Sun Cinema.

Several brick houses which suffered the aerial attack had gaping holes punched by machine- gun bullets into their walls. These tell-tale signs were evident in the neighborhood in 1947 when this writer, aged nine, moved in with his parents to live in his uncle's house called the Sentosa at No 11 Reko Road or Kampung Bukit, Kajang(now non-existent).The house had undergone some repairs and had a fresh coat of paint.It was a walk away to the Rice Stockpile Center.Before the outbreak of the War, it was a private school known as the Kajang English School* . As far as it could be ascertained,it had not suffered any significant damage.

PART IV

The Japanese bombing raid of Kajang Town mercifully, didn't cause any significant damage to the Kajang High School. Perhaps it was not considered legitimate target on the basis of their assessment of intelligence reports from their espionage network operating from the Japanese Photo Studios in Jalan Tukang.

On entering Kajang after the British and Commonwealth troops had fled, the Japanese army seized the Kajang High School and turned it as the Headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Army in the District of Ulu Langat.(14) They also removed the brass plaque commemorating the opening of Kajang High School. It read thus :

“This tablet was unveiled on the occasion of the opening of this Shool by His Highness Ala'iddin Suleiman Shah, G.C.M.G, Sultan of Selangor, on 19th of March 1930.”(15)

The disappearance of the plaque was perhaps the only “collateral damage” sustained by the school.A sizeable collection of English books kept in the school were left largely untouched and they were all carted back to Singapore Raffles College in 1946.(16) Those books were brought to Kajang High School just before the outbreak of war to be “mothballed” in its safe sanctuary. So it was thought.But there was a claim that the school had been converted as the first Teachers' Training College in the country before the end of WW 2 and those books were brought over to stock its library. However, this was not corroborated in the school journal dated 27.09.1945 by the Head Master, Mr.Mailvahanam. Just for the record, the British established the first Teachers' Training College in Taiping in 1898.(17)

As the Head quarters of the Japanese Imperial Army in Ulu Langat, the name of the school was changed to TOA SEINEN GAKKO.(18) It was no longer known by its old British colonial name. Everything associated with British Colonialism and Western Culture in the school was forthwith eliminated and prohibited. Of course the English Language, the standard-bearer of Western Culture, was proscribed and supplanted with the language of the new masters- NIPPON-GO.

Highest on the liquidation list of the Japanese were the pro-western and anti-Japanese elements in the Kajang population. The school mythology claims that torture and summary executions of those perceived to be anti-Japanese rule were carried out at Kajang High School. An incident in 1949 tend to lend credibility to this popular belief. A human skull was found by a pupil on the site which was being cleared for the school's Primary Department. He caused quite a sensation by putting the skull at the end of a short stick and twirling it around before his wonder struck and gaping school-friend spectators! Digging further at the site, several boys found the rest of the skeleton. It was taken out and cleaned under the supervision of the school's first Senior Science Master, Mr. A.D. Dennison-a useful and authentic visual aid during biology classes.

PART V

As the Kajang Catholic Church had suffered “collateral damage” due to the Japanese bombing of the Railway Station, the Japanese army ordered the closure of the Kajang Convent.(19) The Kajang High School (TOA SEINEN GAKKO) classes in the Convent were ordered to shift to a new location- a movie house called the Queen's Theater (later known as National Theater) on the bank of Sg. Jeluk just a stone's throw from the Convent.(20)

Mr. T. Mailvahanam who had earlier taken over from Mr. O.G. Williams was allowed to continue as Head Master and ordered to start Japanese classes at the Queen's Theater.He stated in the School Log that two Nippon-go (Japanese Language) teachers, known as Nippon-jin sensei, were sent to teach Japanese in July 1942. They were IKENOBU SAN and TSUBOCHI SAN. The Headmaster wrote that they ceased teaching at the end of the year.(21)

It appears that IKENOBU SAN was also instructed to teach Japanese to Mother Martha's pupils.(22) She had started a small class in the church ground after the Convent was closed. It was a sine qua non for the class to function.However,not long aferwards he perished in the Straits of Malacca when the boat taking him home to Japan was bombed and sunk.

One of the surviving students of the Japanese class of TOA SEINEN GAKKO held at the Queen's Theater was young V. Pathamanathan. Being a very determined and resolute youth, he didn't quit school but was prepared to undergo the discipline and rigor of the Japanese regime at the Queen's Theater.

The pupils at the Queen's Theater had to learn Nippon-go as fast as they could under pain of punishment. In addition they had to undergo “Thaiso”, drills which were like calisthenics. They were taught at Mother Martha's too.(23) Two other pupils whom Pathmanathan could recall attending classes with him were Hashim (tall and fair) and Ismail. Both of them were from Cheras.(24)

The Japanese classes and Thaiso were held in the morning and afternoon. The Japanese Language was taught to the exclusion of other subjects. In between classes, they had to do gardening on vacant plots of land on the banks of Sg. Jeluk. In this way, pupils were taught self-reliance.Such simple agriculture pursuit in the backyard were naively perceived to be the way to achieve self-sufficiency in food production. The Allied naval blockade of the Malay Peninsula had brought unprecedented hardship and deprivation among the population. Rice was extremely difficult to get,not mention other needs.

The long dark nights and the nightmare of the Japanese Interregnum came to an end when the Atom Bombs fell on Japan. After the defeat of the Japanese, Kajang High School was reopened on September 27, 1945. Mr Mailvahawam who was still Head Master had to hand over the baton to Major Waters July 11, 1946. He continued to remain on the teaching staff until 1949. He used to come to conduct Spelling exercises in SMC 1B ( Special Malay Class) of that year-the indefatigable School Master that he was.

* As recounted by Kang Buang (deceased) a long-time resident of Kajang and an alumnus of Kajang English School— Han.Kamalbahrin Lubis.”

(Sumber: Hanafiah Lubis, July 20, 2010: |"THE JAPANESE INTERREGNUM-TOA SEINEN GAKKO; IKENOBU SAN, TSUBOCHI SANAND NIPPON-GO").

Peta lama Kajang (1945): “Scale: Scale 1:7 500 (E 101°47'/N 2°59'); Description: [London] : published by War Office, 1945; 1 map : col. ; 49 x 42 cm.; Notes: Town plan of Kajang showing transportation, water features, vegetation, cultivation, built-up areas and buildings. Relief shown of hachures. At top of map: Malaya. Prime meridian: Greenwich. “2,500/9/45 S.P.C.”.” (Great Britain. Royal Air Force. Central Interpretation Unit, 1945 @ National Library of Australia digitised item: |"Town plan of Kajang [cartographic material]/ compiled and drawn by A.C.I.U. and War Office").

Kiri: “Pada 10 Oktober 1947, Angkatan Wanita Sedar (AWAS) telah mengadakan kongres pertama mereka di Kajang, Selangor. Walaupun tidak banyak diceritakan, wanita turut memainkan peranan besar dalam sejarah perjuangan rakyat Malaya untuk kemerdekaan. Salah sebuah pertubuhan wanita yang bergerak aktif pada zaman selepas Pendudukan Jepun ialah AWAS, yang bermula sebagai sayap wanita PKMM (Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya) pada tahun 1947. Sumber gambar: 'Album Malaya Merdeka 31 Ogos 1957’ (Qalam, 1957)” (Fadzil Haji Aziz @ Facebook, 6 Julai 2020: "Pada 10 Oktober 1947").
Kanan: “Foto lama ini dicetak dalam halaman akhbar Utusan Melayu pada 17 oktober 1947. Ianya foto kongres pertama pergerakan AWAS (Angkatan Wanita Sedar) yang diadakan di Kajang. Kongres ini berlangsung selama 3 hari dari 10 -12 oktober di Panggung Sun Kajang. Kongres Pertama AWAS ini dipengerusikan oleh Sakinah Juned Ketua AWAS Perak (beliau isteri bekas presiden PAS dan MB Kelantan Dato' Asri Muda) dan di organisasikan Aisyah Hussein ketua AWAS Selangor dan Bendahari AWAS Nasional (beliau isteri kepada Pak Sako pengasas KMM dan Yang Dipertua PKMM). AWAS dianggap pergerakan politik wanita pertama di negara ini yang ditubuhkan pada 2 februari 1946, lebih awal berbanding Pergerakan Kaum Ibu Umno yang diasaskan pada tahun 1949. AWAS pada awalnya dipimpin oleh Khadijah Ali kemudian Aishah Ghani dan seterusnya oleh Shamsiah Fakeh. Pergerakan wanita yang ditubuhkan ini bertujuan untuk membantu perjuangan mendapatkan kemerdekaan dan meningkatkan keadaan sosial, pendidikan, kesihatan, ekonomi dan hak kaum wanita ini berjaya mengumpul seramai 2,000 ahli dari seluruh Semenanjung dalam masa dua tahun penubuhannya, satu jumlah yang besar di zaman rakyat masih terbelenggu dengan penjajahan. Pekik perjuangannya ialah “AWAS !” dan sewaktu pekikan ini diteriakkan, tangan kanan digenggam dengan jari telunjuk ditegakkan seperti isyarat memberi amaran. AWAS telah diharamkan oleh British pada 21 jun 1948 melalui akta Darurat dengan British mengharamkan semua pergerakkan politik kiri anti British. … Setelah AWAS dibubarkan di takdirkan kemudian harinya tiga srikandi kepimpinan utama AWAS yang juga merupakan sahabat satu sekolah iaitu daripada Sekolah Diniyah Puteri Padang Panjang, Sumatera Barat iaitu Aishah Ghani menjadi Ketua Pergerakan Wanita UMNO, Shamsiah Fakeh masuk ke dalam hutan menyertai gerila PKM yang menjadi lagenda gerila yang digeruni dan Sakinah Junid yang merupakan anak ulama Sheikh Junid Taha kemudiannya menjadi Ketua Muslimat PAS. Jenderam - Kajang - Langat di dalam Daerah Hulu Langat Selangor telah terpahat sebagai pusat pergerakan kiri Melayu terkuat di Semenanjung selain di Ipoh dan Temerloh Pahang, sebab itulah Kongres pertama AWAS diadakan di Kajang begitu juga Kongres Pertama Barisan Tani juga diadakan di Kajang, malah Pejabat PKMM Selangor juga terletak disini.” (Faizal Zainal @ Facebook Selangor 10, 16 Februari 2021: "AWAS - Kajang 1947").

Panggong Sun, lokasi kongres ini (Gambar tahun 1969): “Alas, the sun has gone down. NSTP PIC (1969)” (David Christy @ New Straits Times, 24 Februari 2019: |"The happy ghosts of Kajang").

Tertera “SUM” pada bas ini: “A soldier directs a bus, which has pulled up alongside a tank. The conflict was labelled as an 'emergency' because insurers would not have compensated plantation and mine owners, whose livelihoods were under attack from communist insurgents, had it been labelled a 'war'” (Royston Leonard, via Gareth Davies @ Daily Mail, 31 Ogos 2017: |"British troops carry the bloodied body of a communist prisoner in fascinating colourised photos from the 1950s 'Malayan Emergency'").

Suatu ulasan mengenainya: “Pada 75 tahun yang lalu iaitu pada 4 Ogos 1950 sebuah bas dalam perjalanan dari Kajang ke Dengkil telah ditahan dan kemudiannya dibakar oleh pengganas komunis di Batu 25 1/2 (jalan di antara Sg. Buah Luar - Jenderam). Dalam tempoh 1949 - 1951 sahaja direkodkan sebanyak 13 buah bas telah dirompak dan dibakar oleh pengganas komunis di dalam negeri Selangor termasuklah 3 buah bas di daerah kita ini. Kawasan Mukim Kajang merupakan salah satu kawasan hitam semasa era Darurat 1948 - 1960. Kelihatan dalam foto lama yang diwarnakan ini sebuah bas SUM berjenama Seddon dengan no. plate BC 48 di tahan untuk pemeriksaan keselamatan yang ketat di era Darurat. Syarikat Sum Omnibus Company telah didaftarkan sebelum tercetus Perang Dunia ke 2 lagi iaitu pada 21 April 1938 dan menamatkan operasinya pada Disember 2005 setelah 67 tahun memberikan jasa dan perkhidmatannya kepada penduduk daerah kita. Catatan ajaizainal Sept.2025” (Faizal Zainal @ Facebook Pekan Bangi, 3 September 2025: "Catatan Sejarah Daerah Kita. Bas SUM Dibakar Komunis").

• 1950-an: Merdeka dan Selepasnya

Selain petikan dan sumber yang dinyatakan, rencana ini telah diusahakan oleh TMK Pulasan, di bawah kelolaan Syahrul Sazli Shaharir <sazli@pulasan.my>. Pengakuan penting: Kami bukan ahli sejarah! Sila klik di sini untuk penjelasan lanjut.