In January 1942, the 44th was transferred to Malaya Command which was giving ground to a strong Japanese force that had invaded Malaya the previous December. During the campaign on the peninsula, the brigade was involved in the Battle of Muar. After the withdrawal of British Commonwealth forces across the Johore Strait to Singapore, the brigade was briefly placed under the command of the Australian 8th Division in February 1942 and assigned to defend an area around the Causeway. The Japanese launched an invasion of the island on 8 February. The brigade took part in the subsequent fighting, but after a week surrendered to the Japanese along with the rest of the garrison on 15 February.