BWM Talk Series: The Trials and Tribulations of the residents of Kinta Valley during the Japanese Occupation and Emergency period- Recollections, Reflections and Retrospection by Professor Dr. Gary Lit Ying Loong

Posted on April 9, 2025 Updated on April 9, 2025

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Organised by Badan Warisan Malaysia.

Date : 10 May 2025
Time : 10.30 am
Location : Badan Warisan Heritage Centre, No. 2 Jalan Stonor, Kuala Lumpur
Fee : RM20 per person (non-members), Free for BWM members

Light refreshments will be served.

Click HERE to register.

About The Talk

Given the location of the Force 136 and MPAJA camp at Bidor Peak, Kinta Valley was the most active in anti-Japanese activities during the war. As a result, Bidor and the surrounding towns in Kinta Valley bore the brunt of Japanese atrocities and brutalities. Thanks to the legacy of the Japanese Occupation, the struggles and sacrifices of the Kinta Valley folks continued through the dark and dangerous years of the Emergency war. Through his “ground-up” approach, the speaker will retrace and recover the untold stories and hidden facts relating to the most tumultuous period of the nation’s history. In his retelling of history, he interrogates the “top-down” narrative and exposes the myths and mysteries involved in this tumultuous period of our nation. As with the first talk, the speaker will be sharing some fascinating facts and intriguing details.

About The Speaker

Born in Kampar, Perak in 1959, Gary Lit Ying Loong pursued his university studies at the National University of Singapore under the prestigious Public Service Commission scholarship. For his post-graduate studies, he obtained both his master degrees in the UK and completed his PhD with the University of Melbourne in Australia.

A retired academician from Nanyang Technological University, Gary Lit is director of GL Academy and Consultancy in Singapore as well as a visiting professor to some National Universities in Asia and Europe. He is also a regular contributor to both the Star and New Sunday Times newspaper as well as a popular guide for a series of successful heritage tours around Kinta Valley. His book “If the Sky were to Fall . . .” is a bottom-up inter-generational story of trials and tribulations facing the common folks during and after the wars in the Kinta Valley. It was ranked among “Top Ten” in Malaysia for 2023 and is still on the “Best-Seller” list in Kinokuniya at KLCC after two years.