World War II soldiers honoured in Malaysia

Hundreds of World War II soldiers, including Indians, were honoured at the World War II Remembrance Day ceremony in Borneo -- an island in Asia's Malay Archipelago, media reported.

Malaysian senator Yunus Kurus on Sunday led local and foreign dignitaries at the Labuan federal territory in Borneo to lay wreaths at the Labuan War Cemetery -- Malaysia's largest World War II memorial to honour soldiers, including Indian troops, buried here, Borneo post online reported on Monday.

Borneo -- the largest island in Asia -- is shared by Malaysian states Sabah and Sarawak, Indonesian Kalimantan and the tiny nation of Brunei.

Wearing red poppies (flowers) to symbolise human sacrifice during the Great War, the dignitaries observed a two-minute silence.

After Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Hindu religious rites, the dignitaries laid wreaths at the memorial.

There are 1,752 identified burials in the cemetery. Out of 43 Indian soldiers who laid down their lives during the war here, the remains of 34 Indian soldiers have been cremated here and are commemorated on a memorial in the Indian Army plot.