“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.”
“Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace,
for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended anything successfully, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man." “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
I AM glad that the Government has finally recognised Awang anak Raweng’s contribution to the nation (NST, Aug 30). The George Cross, awarded by the British Government for his bravery while serving as a tracker with a British battalion during the Emergency, is second only to the Victoria Cross. However, the George Cross is only given to civilians for acts of valour during war.So, why was Awang awarded the George Cross and not the Victoria Cross although he was a tracker attached to a regular British battalion on operation in the terrorist-infested jungles of Kluang? Awang was a civilian whose service was born of necessity rather than a requirement.Iban trackers were used extensively during the Emergency, as they have an acute sense of the jungle and can smell out the enemy. At the onset of the Emergency in 1948, they were attached on an ad hoc basis to infantry units in Malaya. In 1953, they were inducted into the Sarawak Rangers (Malayan Unit) and received formal military training in Port Dickson before placement in regular units. When Malaysia was formed in 1963, these trackers were transferred to the ranger battalions as regular soldiers. Two Ranger battalions were formed the same year. Some of these soldier- trackers went on to gain prominence while serving in the First Battalion Royal Ranger Regiment. Although he is said to be 76 years of age, Awang, I believe, is much older. The Ibans, especially those in the interior of Sarawak, then did not report births or deaths. Most of them who became trackers or joined the army had only sworn an oath as to their age. Some were much older than the mandatory age limit of 18 to 25 years. Awang’s belief in his talisman is legendary among the Ibans. One of my platoon sergeants, Embau, believed that his old singlet was his "protector" and he would wear it whenever out on patrol. Dreams, too, have an effect on them. A bad dream is detrimental to the whole patrol as the men will not go out the following day believing that evil may befall them.Such is the quality of the Ibans, for they make good soldiers. And it is of people like Awang that an independent nation like ours should be proud. Although his deed was recorded at a time before Independence, we should not dismiss it as merely a colonial responsibility. His action contributed to the decline of terrorist activities in the Kluang jungles. LT-COL (Rtd) FATHOLZAMAN BUKHARI Ipoh The details indepth here....
