Remembering the invasion of Malaya

Richard Talalla recalls watching aerial dogfights over KL, where Japan’s Zero aircraft were more than a match for the antiquated British ones. Photo: worldofwarplanes.eu

Retired high court judge Richard Talalla was a mere boy of 11 when the Japanese invaded Malaya on Dec 8, 1941. But he still remembers many of the events that occurred as though they happened yesterday.

Talalla, now 86, recalls hearing about the Kota Baru landings over the radio in Kuala Lumpur, where he was living at the time.