Oldest survivor of Death Railway dies aged 97

 

Arumugam Kandasamy (centre) pictured with dance icon Ramli Ibrahim and Chandrasekaran Ponnusamy, president of the Death Railway Interest Group, in May last year.

SEREMBAN: 

Arumugam Kandasamy, the oldest surviving worker of the infamous Death Railway between Siam and Burma during the Second World War has died at the age of 97.

His son, A Sudhagaran, 45, said his father died of old age at 3.26am today, after receiving treatment at a private hospital here.

Sudhagaran said his father was cheerful and healthy, despite being nearly 100 years old.

“His memory was still strong, even though he was already 97 years old,” said Sudhagaran, who noted that his father had been invited to give a talk to students at several schools in the state.

Arumugam is survived by 13 children, 38 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

He was among thousands of Tamils from estates in Malaya who were conscripted by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1942 to work on the 415km railway between Siam (now Thailand) and Burma (now Myanmar).

A total of nearly 150,000 Indian labourers are believed to have died on the railway, buried in mass graves together with Malays, Burmese, Indonesians, Indo-Chinese, and Javanese workers.

Sudhagaran said his father was “our hero” who cared for the family after his mother Kalayanee died 16 years ago.

“I am very grateful for the upbringing provided by both my parents, as all of us have succeeded in our careers, including the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We will miss him dearly,” he said.

Family members and acquaintances will pay their last respects at the family home at Rumah Rakyat Linggi in Negeri Sembilan. The cremation will take place tomorrow. - FMT