The year was 1941. On the morning of Dec 8, Japanese troops landed on the beaches at Kuala Pak Amat, Sabak, near Kota Bharu, marking the beginning of the Pacific War (1941-1945. Southeast Asia fell to Japanese invasion just two months later. Today, the Bank Kerapu World War II Memorial, bears witness to the history of this landing assault and the Japanese occupation of Kelantan.

Located in Kota Bharu, Bank Kerapu was built by the Mercantile Bank in 1912 on a piece of land that belonged to Nik Yusoff bin Nik Abdul Majid, a famous local chieftain. It was the first stone edifice in Kelantan. The locals called it Bank Kerapu (kerapu in local dialect refers to the rough and uneven surface of its walls).

During the Japanese occupation, Bank Kerapu was used by the Japanese as their secret police station (Kempei Tai). After the war, and following the return of British forces, the building continued to function as a bank until 1992 when it was turned into a war memorial by the Kelantan State Museum Corporation.

More than 1,000 exhibits relating to the war, including photos, articles and artefacts is housed in this memorial. Other displays include photographs of Sultan Ismail Petra as the colonel-in-chief of the Malaysian Royal Artillery Regiment, the history of Kelantan-Thai relations before the Independence, and the lives of British people in Kelantan before and after the war. Also on display is a bicycle used by the Japanese upon entering Kota Bharu.

For more information, please contact the Kota Bharu Tourist Information Centre at 609-7485534.