In 1941, with the impending arrival of the Japanese troops to the Malay Peninsula during the World War II, the British government had begun sending a large number of Indian troops to the Malay Peninsular and Singapore. It was estimated that were some 37 000 Indian troops stationed in these areas, making up roughly about the 40 percent of the total military strength of the British forces. However, the British-Indian troops stationed begun to experience various problems.