Mission: Bringing Remains of Iban Warriors Home

Nov 6, 2008
I was alerted a week before the launch of my book by the Chief Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud. I prepared the necessary letters and documents that I wanted to hand over to him, including the shocking photographs of the grave. The Chief Minister was supportive of my suggestion to bring back the remains of the Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers and rebury them in a Heroes’ Grave in Kuching. However, there is a big BUT – All the next-of-kin (NOK) must give their written consent for the remains to be exhumed and reburied in Sarawak.

Nov 11, 2008
I emailed the list of Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers killed in action and the locations of their graveyards to the Head of Armed Forces Veterans Department, Sarawak Branch, for him to trace the relatives.

Nov 12, 2008
I extended a copy of the letter I gave to the Chief Minister to the Director of Veterans Affairs in KL and at the same time requesting for Ungkok's grave to be relocated to a more respectable location.

Nov 18, 2008
Mej Suhaila from Jabatan Hal Ehwal Veterans ATM (JHEV) called me this morning to say that they have received my letter. They were thankful and were surprised to see the grave by the roadside. They didn’t know anything about it and nobody had talked about it either. They will try to locate the next-ofkin and in the meantime, find out about relocating the grave to Taiping or Batu Gajah.

Dec 2, 2008
Apparently, the location of Ungkok’s grave was raised by the Malaysian Historical Society, Kedah Branch on April 17, 2006. In replying, Malaysian Ex-Services Association, Sarawak Branch gave the name of his nearest NOK to the society.

As I do not have access to correspondence thereon, I do not know what transpired between the two organisations.

Anyway, two years had gone by and the grave is still where it was.

Today, I called Major Suhaila of Jabatan Hal Ehwal Veteran ATM on the outcome of the letter I sent them earlier on. She told me they have located the nearest NOK, (the same name given to the Historical Society Kedah Branch two years ago).

They have instructed the Sarawak Veterans Affairs director, Major Monday, to contact the NOK and inform her of the situation and seek her approval to relocate the grave to a more respectable location. I had suggested Batu Gajah or Taiping, where his comrades were laid to rest. LCpl Ungkok died a bachelor.

January 6, 2009
I called a Veterans Affairs staff to check up on the progress...

The attempt to trace his NOK has hit a snag. The NOK identified by the Ex-Services Association of Sarawak could not be found.

I asked them what happens if no NOK is found? They said they will seek the advice of the Kedah State government on the next course of action.

So, it looks like LCpl Ungkok's case and the plan to bring back the remains of the Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers buried in Malaya and Singapore will take a long time to materialise.

Feb 3, 2009
I received an email from the Secretary General of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) sympathising and expressing their shock at seeing the graveyard of LCpl Ungkok ak Jugam by the highway in Kedah.

It is a most welcomed email from the right organisation. SADIA can apply more pressure on the Sarawak Government, JHEV and PBTM to take a more positive and urgent approach in solving and handling the case.

Feb 5, 2009
I received the good news today from Major Monday that he has obtained the consent letter from the NOK of LCpl Ungkok ak Jugam (Irene).

The letter has been forwarded to Headquarters in KL for further action.

I immediately called Major Suhaila, and told her that I would like to be around when they exhume the grave. She agreed.

I'm so glad the case is solved. The next course of actions are just procedural and administrative.

I felt a load off my shoulder.

Thank you Major Monday and Major Suhaila for helping out. LCpl Ungkok’s soul will finally find a respectable resting place where he could rest in peace.

About the Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers

In 1948, at the beginning of the Malayan Emergency, groups of Iban trackers were recruited to help in the defence against the Communist Party of Malaya. These Iban trackers were organised into a regimental formation as the Sarawak Rangers in 1953.

The Iban Trackers and Sarawak Rangers served with distinction during the First Emergency in Malaya, alongside the Commonwealth Forces. In 12 years of fighting the insurgency war, their casualties were exceptionally low – only 20 killed in action and 25 wounded. Their uncanny tracking skill and prowess in the battlefield had earned them worldwide recognition.

Their qualities and the number of bravery awards they received from the British Government spoke for them. They died fighting for a cause – helping the Commonwealth Forces fight the communist terrorists to prevent Malaya from falling into their hands from 1948 to 1960.

They served with distinction and displayed their uncanny tracking skill and unparalleled courage. They were acknowledged by Sir Gerald Templer as the world's best. Between them, they earned numerous bravery awards and medals, including the highest ever given to a civilian. Tracker Awang ak Rawang was awarded the George Cross, an equivalent of a Victoria Cross, for saving a British soldier in the face of enemy fire.

Their graves are scattered all over Malaya, with two in Singapore.

GENERAL SIR WALTER WALKER, who has died aged 88, was an outstandingly successful commander during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s and as Director of Operations in Borneo between 1962 and 1965; later, he courted controversy by setting up Civil Assistance, a voluntary organisation which attracted 100,000 members.

Walker was one of the first to identify the importance of helicopters in modern military operations. "In Borneo," he reckoned, "one SAS squadron with helicopters was worth ten infantry battalions to me." Denis Healey, who became Secretary of State for Defence in 1964, considered that the Borneo campaign would be recorded as "one of the most efficient uses of military force in the history of the world".

Yet the qualities that made Walker so effective in the field - clarity of vision, single-mindedness of purpose, fierce insistence on discipline, fearlessness in the face of both the enemy and his superiors - also ensured that he was a highly controversial figure.

In the early 1960s his efforts to defend the Gurkhas against plans to reduce their numbers were so forceful that he was threatened with a court martial and - under threat of losing his command in Borneo - forced to apologise to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

In 1974 he was accused of attempting to form a private army to combat the dangers to Britain which he discerned both from without and within. The charge was absurdly exaggerated; it is undeniable, though, that he was rarely capable of trimming his views, compromising his principles, or entertaining the notion that he might be mistaken.

Walter Colyear Walker was born in India on November 11 1912, the second of four sons (there were also two daughters) of Arthur Colyear Walker, an Assam tea-planter and soldier. Family connections with the Army and India went back several generations on both sides of the family.

Walker's character was well defined even in his schooldays, at Blundell's, near Tiverton. "When I became head of the school's day boys," he recorded in his autobiography Fighting On (1997), "I found them to be a motley bunch of idle, unpatriotic, unkempt, and 'couldn't care less' type of youths. I decided to straighten them out . . . "

Walker went on to describe how he became "a tiger of a boxer" and decided "to sort out the school bullies, who received a straight left to the nose or an uppercut to the jaw if they insulted me, tripped me up or ruffled my hair etc". The headmaster, however, felt obliged to point out to him the difference between driving and leading.

Walker went on to Sandhurst with the aim of obtaining a commission in the 1/8 Gurkhas, which his grandfather had once commanded.. He settled quickly into the discipline and austere atmosphere of the Royal Military College, though he privately doubted the wisdom of allowing so much time to be spent cleaning weapons and so little on firing them. He would have preferred to spend less time on drill, and more on weapon training, tactics, military history and map-reading.

After a short attachment to the Sherwood Foresters, Walker joined the 1/8 Gurkhas. He had the first of his many narrow escapes from death in the Quetta Earthquake of 1935, before his battalion moved up to Razmak for operations against the Fakir of Ipi. In 1939 he was recommended for a Military Cross but did not receive it as the District Commander had just approved an MC.

One day on the frontier Walker had to retrieve some dead Sepoys from an ambushed piquet, whose commander had disobeyed strict instructions. The corpses had all been horribly mutilated; and for Walker this was a lesson, which he never forgot, on the importance of meticulous discipline. He was mentioned in dispatches twice during this campaign.

In 1942 Walker attended the Staff College at Quetta, which had then decided to pay attention to the Far East rather than to the Middle East as before. In 1944 he took over command of the 4/8 Gurkhas, who had been involved in heavy fighting in the Arakan.

The story of how he revived the morale of this battle-weary battalion and in two months of exhaustive re-training transformed it into the most effective fighting unit in the division has been told in A Child At Arms (1970) by Patrick Davis, who served as a subaltern in the battalion. Walker applied the lessons that he had learned in Waziristan, particularly in relation to ambush techniques, of which he became the supreme exponent. His abrasive manner and his painstaking attention to detail won him enemies, but in the ensuing battle with the Japanese the 4/8 acquitted itself brilliantly. During the Burma campaign Walker was again mentioned in dispatches and was also awarded the DSO.

After a short period on the Staff at GHQ Delhi (where he worked closely with Wavell and Auchinleck) Walker became GSO1 in Kuala Lumpur. He was given the task of training "Ferret Force", which consisted of British, Gurkhas, Chinese, Dyaks, and ex-Force 136 soldiers.

In 1948-49, as outbreaks of Communist terrorism increased in Malaya, Walker commanded the Far East Land Forces Training Centre, establishing what later became the Jungle Warfare School at Kota Tinggi. For this work he was appointed OBE.

Next, in 1950, he took over command of the 1/6 Gurkhas. Walker went into the jungle with each company to determine where the mistakes were being made. He then withdrew the battalion from operations and again put them through the ruthless re-training that he had developed in Burma. After that he once more achieved startling results in jungle operations.

The high standards that Walker demanded from his officers and riflemen became the yardstick in all the Gurkha regiments, greatly enhancing their reputation as the British Army's best jungle fighters. Nowhere was this better displayed than in the execution of Walker's Operation Tiger in 1958, when his 99 Gurkha Brigade eliminated the last 100 communist terrorists operating in Johore State.

Ten-day ambushes, laid on the basis of Special Branch information, became the norm, and Walker once ordered an ambush group to stay in position for 28 days. "My Special Branch man," Walker later declared, "had guaranteed the CTs [Communist terrorists] would come and after 28 days they came - and were killed in the swamp." For his work in Malaya Walker was twice mentioned in dispatches, awarded a Bar to his DSO and created CBE.

On his return to Britain he faced a different battle in Whitehall, where the government was reducing the size of the Army, a policy which would involve cutting Gurkha numbers by half. Walker, now a Major-General, did not hesitate to call this "a betrayal".

His campaign to retain Gurkha fighting strength was interrupted when he was made Director of Operations in Borneo from 1962 to 1965. Here, his versatility in fighting a defensive war with Indonesia along a 1,200-mile frontier with limited resources showed him to be a field commander of genius.

Many of the tactics he employed - using four-man SAS patrols as his "eyes and ears" to give warning of border incursions, flying in howitzers by helicopter to provide support fire for forward company bases and, above all, his "Claret" operations - broke rules but were devastatingly effective.

His Claret raids into Indonesian territory, planned and executed to inflict decisive but limited damage to the enemy's forward bases, only became public knowledge a decade after the event.

Walker's great slogan was "Jointmanship". He succeeded in making all the services work together, and with the local population. Though a martinet, he became known as a "soldier's general", and the best there was. To the Gurkhas, in particular, whose talents he used to the full, he was nothing less than the hero of the age.

With Whitehall it was a different story. He felt, with some cause, that his championship of the Gurkha cause was held against him - but then he made no effort to tread lightly on toes, however high in authority.

Although both the C-in-C Far East and Earl Mountbatten had recommended Walker for a knighthood, the Army Board did not approve and he did not get it. A proposal for the CMG was also rejected, though he was appointed CB in 1964.

In 1965 Walker became Deputy Chief of Staff, Army Land Forces Central Europe, in which post he supervised the removal of AFCENT to Brunssum, in Holland, after General de Gaulle had withdrawn France from Nato. Next, from 1967 to 1969, he was GOC Northern Command, at last being appointed KBE in 1968.

His final post was Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe from 1969 to 1972. Once more he found his subordinates, and his allies, less dedicated to their tasks than he would have wished. His command was marked by some stormy occasions.

After Walker retired from the Army in 1972, he continued to express extreme concern (often in letters to The Daily Telegraph) about the dangers to Britain. At home he discerned, not least in trade unions, "the Communist Trojan horse in our midst, with its fellow travellers wriggling their maggoty way inside its belly". For wanton lawbreakers, Walker favoured the re-introduction of corporal punishment.

Abroad, Walker warned, the Soviet empire was waiting for its moment to strike. In addition he deplored the hostility shown to Ian Smith's rebel government in Rhodesia, and attacked what he considered the feeble policy adopted towards the IRA, which he saw as a Marxist organisation inspired by Russia. "Northern Ireland should now be declared a proper operational area, or even war zone," he reckoned, "in which would-be murderers caught carrying or using arms would be subject to summary trial and execution."

In an interview in the Evening News in 1974 he raised the possibility that the Army might have to take over in Britain. Soon afterwards, claiming the encouragement of (among others) Admiral of the Fleet Sir Varyl Begg, Marshal of the RAF Sir John Slessor, and Michael Bentine, the former Goon, Walker set up an "anti-chaos" organisation, known at first as Unison, and later as "Civil Assistance".

The proclaimed aim was to create a force of "trustworthy, loyal, level-headed men", who would be ready to ensure the continuance of essential services should public order break down - as Walker considered all too likely. Though he named Enoch Powell as the right man to lead the nation, he insisted that his movement existed only to support the properly constituted authorities. There was no question of anyone being armed.

By the end of August 1974 100,000 people supported his movement, and Walker spoke of the numbers rising to three million within another month. But Civil Assistance was fatally easy to mock. Journalists wrote of Lambrook-les-Deux-Eglises in reference to Walker's home in Somerset, and in the Telegraph Maurice Weaver fashioned a masterpiece of mockery from the leader's own remarks. Britain survived; Civil Assistance petered out.

Walker persisted in his jeremiads, proclaiming in 1977 that the West's only hope of salvation lay in the neutron bomb. He undertook extensive travels to lecture on the perilous world situation - above all to South Africa, which he visited six times, and to Pakistan, where the President, General Zia, was particularly friendly. Walker published two books, The Bear at the Back Door (1978) and The Next Domino (1980).

But in 1985 Walker's active career was virtually ended when two botched hip replacement operations by Army and RAF surgeons left him in terrible pain. He faced this disaster with courage. The only consolation was that he received £130,000 in damages from the Ministry of Defence.

Even in extremis his views remained as forthright as ever. The claim of homosexuals to equal treatment caused him especial distress. There could be no place for such people - "who use the main sewer of the human body as a playground" - in the armed forces. His own recreations were listed in Who's Who as "normal". Walker married, in 1939, Beryl Johnston. She died in 1990. They had two sons and a daughter.

By the way, both sons were my contemporaries and were commissioned into the infantry, one in the Gurkhas and the other in the Royal Greenjackets.

Kind regards,

Douglas

The Defence Ministry should have granted Capt Mukhtiar Singh an opportunity to plead his case before he was denied his pension 30 years ago, said lawyer Ram Karpal. This, he said, was in line with the General Orders, which public officers, including servicemen, are subjected to. The General Orders, he said, specifies that government servants have the right to put in representation before they are subjected to any action. “For example, if a policeman is found guilty of committing a wrongdoing, he is allowed to defend himself before he is stripped of his pension. “Was this man (Mukhtiar) ever given the opportunity to do so? This is the question that has to be answered by the ministry,” he said.

Mukhtiar was denied his pension on a technicality after he had failed to attend the “Platoon Weapons” and the “Young Officers Tactics Course”, deemed compulsory, prior to his retirement from the army. Yesterday, the ministry issued a statement, clarifying that Mukhtiar was ineligible for pension as he had not served the required years of service. “The ministry has no right to tell him that he has no right to a hearing. If you want to deprive a man of his right to a livelihood, in this case, his pension, the least you can do is grant him an opportunity to be heard,” he said.

Ram said legal aspects aside, the authorities should also address the moral issues at hand. “This is the most obvious of moral cases. People appear to have lost sight of the simple question, which is: does he deserve it? “He served the nation for 30 years, and is certainly more deserving of it than most people.” The Malay Mail

More of Captain Mukhtiar Singh in the news. Not that many soldiers or police can be this many times in the news. These news covers all his actions and his squad.

Born in India in 1932, he came to Malaya in 1939 to attend school and live with his grandparents, though his parents remained in Punjab. However, his education came to an abrupt end when the Japanese invaded the country in 1941. When the British came back, Mukhtiar was back at school, but not for long either. His uncle who worked as a watchman on Wilkinson Process in Batu Caves told him that the company was looking for another watchman. "You can go to school in the morning," his uncle told him, "and be a watchman at night." So he became a partime watchman and when the Emergency was declared in 1948, he and the five other watchman were recruited and given arms to protect the English owned company. " I pleaded with the police as I did not want to take the job because I wanted to continue my education, but the Kepong OCPD then, an Englishman, told me that the security of the nation was more important than my education. " So there I was, a young man of 16, given a gun and designated Special Constable," he said. Two years later, Mukhtiar received a letter from Punjab that his mother was seriously ill. By the time he got back to his village there, his mother had died. He did not want to remain in India and so two months later he was back in Malaya. "I was cycling along Ipoh Road one day when I was spotted by a Mr. Swan who was then the big man in Wilkinson Process. He wanted me to resume my old job but I refused and insisted I was going back to school. The following day, I was summoned to the OCPD's office where I was told that if I refuse to become a Special Constable, I would be drafted in national service and sent to Kulai for training. So I became a Special Constable again and three years later, the education bug bit me again.

I reported sick regularly in the hope that I would be discharged. I was sent to the hospital where Dr Latiff (the father of the former Datuk Bandar, the late Tan Sri Yaacob) examined me and told my superiors that there was nothing wrong with me. My superiors said I would be put in the guard room if I ever reported sick again," Mukhtiar said with a tinge of mischief in his eye. He accepted the fact that his future was with the police force and learnt to live with it. The following year, he was appointed Temporary Inspector and worked at various police stations. When the emergency ended in 1960, he was still a Temporary Inspector attached to the Bentong police station on a month - to- month basis.

During one of the many anti-terrorist operations, he had come to know one Ungku Nazaruddin who was then the Commanding Officer of the 4th Malay Regiment. By then, the Malaynisation of the army had taken place and the CO had become General Ungku Nazaruddin. Mukhtiar then joined the army as an instructor with the rank of sergeant and in 1966 was commissioned Second Lieutenant. When he retired in 1978 he was holding the rank of Captain.

Although the fight against the terrorists in the dense jungles took place some 30 years ago, Mukhtiar distinctly remembers every moment of his encounters with the terrorists. On one occasion he had to put down his arms and face an armed terrorist just to "show him that I meant every word I said." That was on Jan 2, 1958, when he had shot and injured Yap Keow Sin, a state committee member of the outlawed Communist Party of Malaya.

A chance encounter with a group of CTs in the jungle of Rawang resulted in a gun - battle and Yap who had a $20,000 reward on his head, shot in the arm, retreated to his camp closely pursued by Mukhtiar. The police surrounded the camp and one of them shouted to Yap to surrender. "How can I be sure that I will not be harmed if I surrender," came the voice from the camp. Mukhtiar told him that he would go in unarmed to meet him and he can officially surrender to a police officer.

"I put my gun down and walked towards the camp." Yap gave himself up and said: 'Lu Menang, Saya Kalah'. On another occasion, on Christmas Day in 1955, Mukhtiar was alone on reconnaissance in Sungei Buloh, near Kuala Lumpur, when he found himself confronted by two armed terrorists. He opened fire immediately wounding one, who escaped in the jungle. Seeing the other bring up his gun to fire, Mukhtiar opened fire agin, killing him instantly. Three hours later, the wounded terrorist, CPM district committee member Ho Keng Meng gave himself up to to labourers of Pilmoor Estate. Today,

Mukhtiar is a contented family man with children, but it was different when he married Pritam Kaur in March 1959. Four days before the wedding the headlines of an article in the straits times read: Bandit Fighter weds on Sunday and after the the marriage, the headline read: Police hero married according to sikh rites
The guest of honour was none other the then Commissioner of Police Mr CH Fenner, a great honour for a junior police officer whio was forced to put the nation before his education so that citizens like us could continue living in peace and harmony.

Click on clippings to enlarge. More to follow.

Like all of his colleagues who retired before 1997, when the Brigade of Gurkhas moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to Britain, Lal Bahadur's connection to the UK was deemed too tenuous for him to be allowed to live here – a judgment overturned this week by Mr Justice Blake. But Lal Bahadur voiced no sense of grievance. He was simply happy to be hosting a young Englishman in his hut.

In Nepal, the Gurkhas are a caste apart. Their numbers are drawn from several ethnic groups who live in the Himalayan foothills, making up much of the country's population. To other Nepalis, the families who serve in the British Army are known as "Lahures", after the city of Lahore, in modern Pakistan, where Nepali men went to join the British Indian Army in the 19th century.

The British started recruiting Gurkhas after they fought the East India Company to a standstill in the Anglo-Nepal war of 1814-16. In the 20th century, they fought almost everywhere the British Army went.

They were in the trenches of the First World War in France and Gallipoli, and with Lawrence of Arabia in the desert. In the Second World War they fought in North Africa, Europe and most famously in the horrific campaigns in the Burmese jungle, where they excelled at guerrilla warfare. Nine thousand of them died, and more than 2,700 were decorated for bravery. Their officers believed that their hardiness, discipline and courage made them among the finest infantry in the world.

When walking in the hills, signs of the Gurkhas' pride in this tradition – which has continued in recent years in Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan – are everywhere. In villages and towns, old soldiers decorate their houses with crossed khukuris – the common household tool they have made famous as "Gurkha knives" – with their regiment number beneath.

Once, on a hilltop facing the Himalayas, two days' walk from the nearest road, I came on a monument to a man who had died in the village below. It was decorated with two crossed khukuris and the figure II, for the 2nd Gurkha Rifles. Perhaps, if he was old enough, the man was among those captured by the Japanese when both battalions of the regiment were trapped as Singapore fell in 1942.

Not long before I met Lance Corporal Limbu, another man known as "VC" had died in the nearby town of Dharan, which was built around an old British army depot. He, too, was a local celebrity, and the townspeople filled the streets for his funeral.

Naik (the equivalent of "corporal") Agansing Rai won his VC fighting the Japanese near the India-Burma border in 1944. "Under withering fire the naik and his party charged a machine gun, he himself killing three of the crew," his citation reads." The first position having been taken, he then led a dash on a machine-gun firing from the jungle, where he killed three of the crew, his men accounting for the rest. He subsequently tackled an isolated bunker single-handed, killing all four occupants. The enemy were now so demoralised that they fled and the second post was recaptured."

Such tales of valour have spawned a whole genre of military histories, often written by retired British officers. They have also been used as propaganda: during the Falklands War, a photo of Gurkhas queuing at a grindstone to sharpen their khukuris was released to the Chilean media. As hoped, it found its way to Argentina.

But the Gurkhas pay a price for such a reputation. So strong is their bond with Britain that they often fail to reintegrate into Nepalese life. Although they are admired within their own communities, many Nepalis regard them as half-foreign. Most have learnt useful skills, but rarely find employment in Nepal. Many set up their own businesses, or take work in shipping or in troublespots abroad.

In view of all this, the ungenerous policy of the British government became increasingly unpopular and embarrassing. As the Gurkha rights movement developed over the last decade, the Ministry of Defence quibbled. Retired servicemen formed organisations to press claims for better pensions, terms of service that matched other soldiers, and the right to settle in Britain when they retired. They took the MoD to court again and again, and in most cases they won.

The MoD repeatedly offered limited concessions that were rejected by veterans. In 2006, it was said that Gurkhas could settle in Britain, but only if they had retired after 1997. Under public pressure, the Home Office began allowing "pre-1997" Gurkhas to settle in Britain, but only if they could get here first. As the farce continued, the British embassy in Kathmandu started refusing even tourist visas to veterans, because they knew the Home Office would let them stay.

As Gurkhas typically retire at 35, most of the men who take advantage of the new ruling will still be of working age. But it will be of little help to those living in the greatest hardship. During the Second World War, tens of thousands were recruited, then discharged when peace came. Those who are still alive, well into their eighties, live in villages across the hills, often without access to roads, water or electricity.

I met one such man at the Hindu temple in Dharan. His wife was sick, and he could not afford medicine to treat her. In his ragged clothes, he had come to sacrifice a chicken and pray for her recovery instead.

There are around 10,500 old men like him who were honourably discharged, but did not serve long enough to qualify for a full pension. They receive a "welfare pension" of £24 a month from the Gurkha Welfare Trust, which relies on private donations. This goes further in Nepal than it would in Britain – but it is not enough. For these men, even a bus to town can be a crippling expense. Flying to Britain would be out of the question, even if they wanted to.

There are also longer-term problems. Some British officers complain that if the Gurkhas keep suing the MoD and winning better pay and conditions, they will price themselves out of the market.

For its part, Nepal's Maoist government has said it would like to stop foreign military recruitment, but only once Nepal's economy can support its own people. Yet while young British men continue to shun the army, leaving it perpetually below-strength, and while Nepal remains mired in crippling poverty, neither outcome seems likely.

Indeed, this year, as every year, at least 14,000 young men will be starting their training up in the hills, hoping to win one of the 230 jobs available each recruitment season. Despite its complications, the relationship between the British and the Gurkhas looks set to last well into its third century. The Telegraph

After having served 4 years in the 1st Rangers Lance Corporal Sigai anak Nawan, was posted to the 5th Brigade in Sabah doing general duties.. He continued doing this for another two years. As he felt he needed challenges he applied to join the Special Forces at the end of 1970. After successfully completing his Basic Commando and attaining the coveted Green Beret, he was posted to X Squadron of the Special Forces. His first operation as a full fledged Commando was in the jungles of the Kinta Forest Reserve in Perak. His Troop Leader was Lieutenant Yap Poh Meng (200516). This troop was ordered to assist the 4th Ranger’s which was conducting operations in the same area. This troop was tasked to support the 4th Ranger’s unit commanded by Captain Mohana Chandran a/l Velayuthan (200402) who had made contact (clashed) with the enemy (Communist Forces). They were flown in by air from Tambun Camp, in Ipoh. There were ten of them who were dropped off at the vicinity of the contact. They abseiled into the area using ropes from the helicopter.

Once on the ground they were instructed by Lt. Yap to look for the enemy and also to look out for Captain Chandran’s body, who had been killed in the contact, along with the wounded of 4th Ranger’s. They successfully found the body of Captain Chandran and the wounded of 4th Ranger’s. After that, they were extricated from that area and inserted for another operation in Bukit Condong.

After the operation in Bukit Condong whilst in Tambun camp, they had to deploy to Lasah, an area in the north of Sungei Siput. This was an unforgettable operation for Sigai anak Nawan, as that was the first time ever, he got into grips with the enemy, it was a very fierce fire fight. Two Commandos, who were his close friends died in this fight, they were 19151 Trooper Rasli bin Buang and 20677 Trooper Sharif bin Hadis who died on the way to hospital due to his wounds.

Yankee Squadron under the command of Major Ghazali @ Abdul Rahman bin Ibrahim (12264) was tasked to assist a Ranger and a Royal Malay Battalion, who were on operations in the state of Sarawak. Sigai was actually a member of X Squadron but was attached to No.5 Troop of Y Squadron which was commanded by Captain Hamid bin Kusrin for this operation. 13852 Warrant Officer 2 Johari bin Hj. Mohd Sirat was the Troop Sergeant with the Section Commanders being 14666 Sgt. Selamat bin Hj. Abd Rahman for No.1 Section, 15502 Sgt Nayan bin Tak for No.2 Section and 11292 Sgt Muhamad Taib bin Husaini for No.3 Section. Sigai was in Section No.1 which was under the command of Sergeant Selamat, he was assisted by 928519 Corporal Entabah anak Ubok, 18799 Lance Corporal Mohd Ali was in charge of the support weapons group within the section.

On the 9th of May 1972, Sigai’s Troop which was in Camp Pagar Ruyong, Sibu was deployed to Nanga Dap in a Navy boat. The Troop moved from the naval base at around 1700 hours and actually arrived at Nanga Dap at midnight. On the 10th of May 1972, they moved from Nanga Dap to Ulu Dap. After walking for around 3 hours, they came across a recently abandoned enemy camp. While they conducted a search within the abandoned camp they camp across a live chicken, which they immediately slaughtered for their next meal. They also found packs of assorted cakes strewn over the place. The enemy must have celebrated the Chinese festival of Cap Goh Mei at this location.

On the 11the May they continued tracking the enemy, when they stopped for lunch at one of the tributaries about 1 mile from “Rumah Panjang Ubong”(name of long house). Before the men went into an all round defence position, Sigai approached Captain Hamid informing him that he was going to conduct a reconnaissance around the pepper plantation which was nearby. As he went on the trail he bumped into a pile of bamboo which was laid on the track, the track was deliberately blocked. He felt that in this part of Sarawak, this bamboo piled up high was not right. Curiosity got the better of him. As he arrived at the edge of the pepper bed, he found a pineapple fruit which has just been peeled, half of it had been eaten. Seeing this he cautiously moved forward. He was closely followed by 207206 Trooper KandasamyAL Maniappan, a fellow Commando. Sigai edged forward, he was in a place where the undergrowth separated the pepper bed from another plot of unkempt rubber. Trooper Kandasamy at that moment in time had the urge to take a “leak”. As he was urinating at the foot of a rubber tree, a shot rang out. Trooper Kandasamy yelled out that he was hit. Sigai rushed to Trooper Kandasamy. Sigai realized that Kandasamy was not shot, when he neared him, the tree splinters resulting from the shot had slammed into him. The enemy had fired this one shot and fled.

Sigai handed over his SLR (Self Loading Rifle) to Trooper Kandasamy and swapped it for a Sterling Sub Machine Gun, telling Kandasamy to stay put and wait for the rest of the Troop. Alone he descended from the hillock, to climb another hill in front of him. As he was climbing the hill he heard some more shots being fired by the enemy at Trooper Kandasamy. Trooper Kandasamy was returning the fire too, towards the enemy.

As he reached the lower slope of the hill, he saw a group of Communist Terrorists who were many in a state of confusion trying to pack and leave the area in a hurry. Sigai fired at one of the enemy who was rushing towards him. That was the enemy sentry who had fired at Trooper Kandasamy. He also opened up on the rest of the enemy.

He was tense and thoughts were running wildly through his head. He completely forgot about the grenades he was carrying. Had he thought about his grenades he could have wiped out the whole lot of them as they were bunched up. Trooper Ismail came running to join Sigai in the firefight. Both of them engaged the enemy in an intense firefight. The rest of the Troop rushed down to join in the fight. They had gone to the left of the hill, the Troop failed to effectively engage the enemy as they had arrived a bit late. The enemy managed to escape. When a search of the area was conducted, one dead enemy was found. This dead enemy was the sentry who had opened fire at Kanadasamy who was taking a leak at that moment in time. He was the enemy shot dead by Sigai. Another enemy dead was found at the foot of the hill. Two weapons and a large amount of ammunition were recovered.

On the track heading toward the Long House Ubong , on the left of the hill, around 59 booby traps were recovered, these were planted in the ground, forward of the enemy’s location. The enemy did not expect the assault to swing in from the rear. Had the Troop used this approach, the casualties on the Commando side would have been many. Captain Hamid to avoid casualties called off the pursuit. They then requested the help of members of the 16th Royal Malay Regiment who were operating in the vicinity, to evacuate the bodies of the dead enemy. The two dead enemies were evacuated by a helicopter from the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Along with this evacuation Sergeant Selamat too was evacuated as he was struck with a very high fever.

At around 1500 hrs the Troop left the place to conduct a follow up. The Troop was split into 3 groups, into their respective sections. As Sergeant Selamat had been extricated, the command of Section No.1 was taken over by Corporal Entabah, Captain Hamid was with this Section. Others in this Section were Sigai, Lance Corporal Mohd. Ali, 17593 Trooper Mohd Akhir bin Jaafar, 21739 Trooper Johari bin Harun, 22958 Trooper Budin bin Laham and 22784 Trooper Mohd Noor. The Troop Sergeant, moved with the section headed by Sergeant Mohd Taib. On this follow up they came across a large enemy camp which had been abandoned late in the evening.

As it was getting late and dark Captain Hamid ordered them to base up not far from this enemy camp. On the morning of the 12th May 1972, they continued with their follow up. They followed the trail left by the enemy until late in the evening. They had by then reached the upper part of the river Dap, where they found that the enemy had split up into small groups, seen by the signs left behind.

In the morning they followed these tracks up to a hill, where Sigai found a fresh sign that the enemy had only recently passed there. He found a beaten track where the root of a tree was oozing with it’s sap. The beaten track indicated that there could have been 3 of the enemy. Sigai reported this to the Captain, who ordered them to and have their food, to regain their strength as they had not eaten for a long period. This was in the eventuality they had to fight the enemy, and they needed their strength.

Whilst some of them were cooking, Sigai reminded Captain Hamid and the rest to be on alert, as the day was the anniversary of the 13th May incident where a racial riot had occurred in Kuala Lumpur. As an Iban, Sigai had very strong beliefs pertaining to dreams he experienced. He felt strongly as the previous night he had a bad dream. After all had eaten Captain Hamid instructed Sigai to lead and follow the trail of the enemy. Sigai followed the trail he had earlier discovered. At the summit of the hill he heard loud voices. He quickly took cover behind a log which lay in his path. He was amazed and shocked to see a group of the enemy at the bottom of the hill. The enemy had assumed that the Commando Troop would not be able to track them down as there was thick undergrowth between their previous location to their current location..

He very slowly retreated to the rear and informed Corporal Entabah and Trooper Budin who were nearby, Budin was instructed to go and call Captain Hamid and the rest of the Section. Corporal Entabah and Sigai slowly retreated even further so as not to be detected by the enemy.

When Captain Hamid arrived, Sigai asked the Captain, his attack plans. Captain Hamid decided that Lance Corporal Mohd Ali, Mohd Akhir and Johari to be on the left flank with the Light Machine Gun. Corporal Entabah and Mohd Noor to be on the right flank near the river. Sigai and Budin to follow him as the assaulting force. The attack was to be conducted downhill. Sigai objected to this plan, he asked how 3 of them would be able to succeed as they did not have any heavy weapons. The Captain was armed with an AR15, Sigai was with an SLR and Budin was with a Sterling Sub Machine Gun. The Captain brushed of Sigai’s objections saying that they had an element of surprise. The rest of the cut offs at the flanks will kill off the panic stricken and fleeing enemy. Captain Hamid in his quick orders failed to think of the low ground where the LMG and group were taking up position. As that group would not be able to see the enemy and would not be able to bring effective fire to bear on the enemy.

Sigai was adamant that all of them attack from uphill, that Johari can fire his M79 directly at the enemy, with LCpl Ali’s group giving supporting fire from up hill. Captain Hamid again instructed Sigai to recon the enemy location one final time. He moved out with Budin, moving to the log across the trail where he first came upon the enemy. They counted the number of enemy located there; there were 25 of the enemy. They also saw that the enemy’s support weapon was placed facing uphill towards Sigai and group. He went back and reported to Captain Hamid, who told him that, the more enemy there is all the better for them. He too wanted to take a look by himself. He came back and Sigai asked him his decision, he wanted to follow his initial plan per his orders. So they ended up waiting for Mohd Ali and his group to take up their positions. Meanwhile all of them were anxious and getting restless waiting for the orders to start the attack. They were waiting for the two groups to take up positions. The two groups had already left for twenty minutes and still there were no orders from Captain Hamid to attack.

Meanwhile Mohd Ali and his group who were carrying the LMG, tried to edge closer to the Enemy from an adjoining smaller hill, unfortunately for them, the Enemy Sentry detected their presence. He fired in the direction of Lance Corporal Mohd Ali. LCpl Ali was hit along with the LMG , which was disabled. Sigai, Budin and Hassan were still waiting for the orders impatiently for the word ‘go’ to open fire to begin the assault. They daren’t open fire as Captain Hamid promised each of them a Court Martial if they opened fire without his orders.

He was sitting there smoking one stick of cigarette after another. He did not completely finish one cigarette he pulled out another. The pressure on him was great, as the enemy outnumbered his men.

Sigai seeing his Troop Commander in this stage said, “We entered this jungle to look for the enemy. Now we have come across the enemy you do not allow us to shoot and kill the enemy. How has it come to this? It is better not to have entered into this jungle. It is better for me to quit being a soldier.” He let it all out. This was related by Budin who was beside Sigai. After which he heard Sigai swearing in the Iban language which Budin did not understand. At that moment they heard shouts that Ali was shot, the shouts were repeated.. This was yelled out by Trooper Mohd Akhir amidst heavy automatic fire. Sigai, hearing that Ali was hit along with Budin came downhill firing in the direction of the enemy. On hearing the returning of fire from Siagi and Budin the enemy fire became erratic and wild. They were far in front, away from Captain Hamid’s position. Trooper Sigai could not take it anymore, he shouted at the Captain, “Sir, if you do not move forward, I will shoot you, sir!” After that the Captain came forward. The fleeing enemy started mocking them. They were numerically more than the Commandos, and very well entrenched. The only support weapon they had, carried by Lance Corporal Ali was damaged. Even if used it would be ineffective as it was on low ground. Sigai ran towards Ali’s position, even as Captain Hamid objected to his actions, the Captain was actually angry with Ali for not firing the LMG.

As soon as Sigai arrived at Lance Corporal Ali’s location, he found that Ali was hit by the enemy’s fire. Sigai handed over his weapon to Trooper Mohd Akhir. He gave Ali first aid and moved him to a more secure place. He then removed Ali’s webbing which contained ammunition for the LMG. He took a look at the LMG, the magazine was damaged. He replaced the magazine with a fresh magazine. With this he started firing at the enemy, at the same time moving to higher ground. This caused the enemy to flee their position. After the enemy had fled, he went down hill to gather around with the rest of the Troop. He found that Captain Hamid was on the radio trying to call for artillery support.. Sigai asked him,” Sir, what are you doing, how are you going to contact anyone without an aerial.” Sigai helped Captain Hamid to fix the aerial to the radio. Captain Hamid managed to call for artillery fire, it was not effective as by then the enemy was too far away.

As the jungle they were in was dense, the landing point they constructed was not spotted by the pilot of the helicopter, it was also too late in the evening. Lance Corporal Ali who was wounded could not be extricated that day. He died at 2000 hrs that day due to the loss of blood. Sigai, felt that all these would not have happened if Captain Hamid had only listened to his advice.

901370 Trooper Sigai anak Nawan was born on the 6th July 1944. He was from Rumah Kasau, Nanga Mujan, Batang Ai, Lubuk Antu, Sarawak. He was the eldest in a family of 11 siblings. His parents were Mr. Nawan anak Kasau and Mrs. Tau anak Ngindang. As Rumah Kasau was too far in the interior, the British at that time made them move to Rumah Bunjai in Kampung Sebandi, Lundu when he was 5 years old. He derived his early education at Christ Church School, Stunggang, Lundu. He schooled until Standard 6. His early years were like other youths of his time, which were tapping rubber, helping his family to tend the farm, trading at the Indonesian border, working at the harbour in Miri. On receiving encouragement from his Uncle, Warrant Officer 2 Ninkan anak Kasau and his interest in the military he joined the profession of arms on the 22nd June 1964. He did his recruit training at the Gurkha camp in Sungei Patani. After pasing out he was posted to the 1st Battalion of the Rangers in Ipoh.

Trooper Sigai was a man of exceptional bravery, who always led on patrols while on operations, as related by Sergeant Budin. Even though only a mere Trooper, he acted with great responsibility and did not care for his own personal safety. With this he was awarded the “Pingat Gagah Berani” by the King, His Royal Highness Al-Sultan Almu’tasimu Sultan Badlishah on the 5th June 1974 for valour beyond the call of duty. He received this award on the parade ground of Sungei Besi on the occasion of the conferring of colors to the 9th Battalion Royal Malay Regiment on the 22nd March 1975. He left the service after 10 years of service. He joined the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation as a Security Guard, in Bintangor, Sarawak.