Rhetorical manifestation through the language of visuals during Japanese occupation in Malaya

Abstract

The writing was aimed at researching and analyzing the rhetoric of image visualization which was found in the Japanese occupation period in Malaya from 1942 until 1945. Visual has its own role and appeal in delivering the message through the charm of dramatic images, radical and full of rhetoric. The rhetoric visual during Japanese occupation was tracked in newspapers, magazines, books, posters and disseminated at general locations such as government buildings, villages, mosques, schools and community-focused areas throughout Malaya. The Malays were the majority race in Malaya and the least accepted the effect of cruelty, stress, terrorism by the Japanese regime. Images that have been identical to the Malay race in the rhetoric visual can be detected on the aspect of clothing, social activities, Islamic institutions and religious, cultural and literature. Therefore, all these scenario in terms of rational was far from real. The language of visual with rhetorical and metaphor message by Japanese authority has become one of the strongest medium of communication in that era. This is how Nippon in Malaya change local mind set especially Malays from resistance to support.