Parent's Former Bosses

Both my parents did work for a while with Japanese civil servants.

My mother was stranded in Sandakan while visiting her uncle because there were no ships going to Hong Kong because it was the beginning of World War Two.

When the Japanese civil administration arrived in British North Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia.), she found work with a civil servant. Some years later, her Japanese boss told her to go deep into the interior of Sandakan to avoid any danger to herself because Japan was at war with enemy forces.

The war was going badly for the Japanese army and also because she was still unmarried. Her boss must had been a very principled man.

My father was also told by his Japanese boss to do the same as my mother, to go deep into the interior to avoid danger. His boss liked songs. My father learnt from him to sing the song Shina No Yoru in Japanese.

While in the village my mother met my father and they became lifelong friends. They lived as common law husband and wife. You can say, I am their love child. You can also say I am an illegitimate child or a bastard. Based on certain types of institutionalized religion they had committed sins.

Lucky for them and me, they were in British North Borneo. Had they been in another country with draconian laws they would had been stoned to death and I rendered an orphan. Without a good family environment my upbringing would had been bleak. I would not be as I am now living up to a ripe old age.

After the Japanese surrendered in 1945 and peace came back to British North Borneo (Sabah), my parents again looked for employment. They soon found work in the family of Dr. Donald H.Colless.

My parents with me as a baby followed them from Sandakan to Labuan when they moved over. My parents were very much in love with each other and always very romantic until my father died.

Dr. Donald Colless was with the Entomology Department in British North Borneo, now it is called Sabah and it is part of the federation of Malaysia.

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