By Zaki Salleh
Photo: Nor Hisham
KAMPAR: The best way to learn history is to visit the actual location.
This is the approach of bringing the ‘classroom’ to the field, so that students gain first-hand experience rather than just reading from books.
This method was practiced by history teacher at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Kampar, Nor Hisham Zulkiflee, when he took his students to the Battle of Kampar site.
Although the historic site is only about 500 meters from the school, many students were unaware of its existence.
What made the experience even more interesting was that Nor Hisham wore the British army uniform from World War II to create a more authentic atmosphere.
Nor Hisham explained that 35 Form 1 and 2 students, along with 10 teachers, participated in the session, which lasted nearly an hour.
“The students were thrilled to be at the site of the former battlefield from World War II.
“As locals, they felt proud to learn about how the events unfolded.
“Although the story of this battle is not in the history books, its chronology is part of the country’s history during World War II,” he said.
The ‘Battle of Kampar’, which took place from December 30, 1941, to January 2, 1942, involved 1,500 British soldiers, joined by Indian, Sikh, and Gurkha troops, who fought against 4,000 Japanese soldiers for four days and nights.
The battle resulted in 150 British soldiers and 500 Japanese soldiers killed, with their graves located at a site called Green Ridge.
A memorial and a sign displaying brief information and photos about the history were also erected at the grounds of SMK Kampar as a remembrance.
