Repost: Billionaire Kuok grants rare interview on the horrors of war

HONG KONG — Notoriously media-shy Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok agreed at age of 95 to be interviewed by The Asahi Shimbun to share what he heard and saw during fighting in the Asia-Pacific region during World War II.

Kuok made his fortune in sugar refining and the real estate business, and also founded the Shangri-La hotel chain. According to Forbes business magazine, he is the wealthiest person in Malaysia. He also served on an advisory panel to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad last year.

He published his memoirs two years ago and Kuok spent the interview talking mainly about his wartime experiences, saying he did so because he wants young people to learn what happened more than 70 years ago.

Excerpts of the interview follow:

NO ONE SURVIVED

Question: You are well known for not agreeing to interviews, so why did you accept our request?

Kuok: I want the younger generation to know the history. Once, a young Japanese woman who was our family friend asked me to talk about the war. After I told her about my experiences for 10 to 15 minutes, she said, “I cannot believe you. What you have said was not in the Japanese history textbooks.” I was shocked. Although I had not seen the killings, I had heard a lot of tragic stories and many people I knew were killed.