An umbrella group representing Chinese organisations will submit a memorandum to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi tomorrow, requesting to be paid some RM500 million said to have been forcibly collected from the locals during World War II.

Chief executive secretary of the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (FCAM) Lai Kuan Fook told malaysiakini that they are demanding for a debt payment from the Japanese government rather than a compensation.

"The Japanese army threatened to kill the people if they did not pay then; it was extortion money," he said.

Koizumi will call on Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Yang di-Pertuan Agung Sultan Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra tomorrow to discuss Japan-Malaysia bilateral relationship, as well as regional and international issues.

FCAM which represents some 6,000 Chinese organisations nationwide had earlier requested to meet Koizumi on the payment but this was rejected on the grounds that the prime minister had a tight schedule for his one-day stay here.

Foreign Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted today as saying that Chinese organisations can pursue the matter using other appropriate channels and not necessarily through Koizumi.

"We want to ensure that his (Koizumi's) stay is pleasant," the minister said.

Annual memo

However, Lai said they have been handing over a memorandum to the Japanese embassy every year since 1995 and have exhausted their options.

"We even went to Tokyo in 1999 to give the memorandum to their foreign ministry but none of the officials got back to us.

"We welcome any suggestion from Syed Hamid [on other alternatives]," he added.

FCAM president Chong Chin Shoong, accompanied by representatives from several Chinese organisations, will present the memorandum to Koizumi at Hotel Nikko in Kuala Lumpur during an evening function with Japanese expatriates.

Meanwhile, another Chinese group in a statement urged Koizumi to work towards promoting a more peaceful relationship among Asian countries.

Called the Working Committee to Commemorate Citizens Sacrificed during the Japanese Occupation, the group represents victims killed by Japanese army in Malaya and Singapore in 1942.

It called on Koizumi to return the money collected from locals during World War II and to forbid Japanese troops from getting involved in any international conflict.

Koizumi should not visit Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo where Japanese army, including 14 Class-A Japanese war criminals, were deified and honoured, added the group.

It also protested against the Japanese government's approval of a school history book said to have whitewashed the country's wartime atrocities.

Week-long Asean trip

Last August, Koizumi came under fire from Chinese Malaysians on the 56th anniversary of its surrender in World War II over his visit to the war shrine and the approval of a history textbook which downplayed its military aggression and the use of Asian women as sex slaves.

It is estimated that some 400,000 people were massacred in Malaya and Singapore during the Japanese occupation which lasted about four years.

Currently in the Philippines, Koizumi started his week-long visit to five Asean countries yesterday. He is expected to exchange his views with various leaders on how to strengthen regional economic ties and the common effort to combat terrorism.