Senoi Praaq Orang Asli from the Third Battalion of General Operations Force (GOF) are well-known for their agility, advanced jungle skills, fearlessness and courage when facing the enemy.
Solely composed of the Orang Asli community, the unit was established in May 1956 in Kuala Lumpur with a strength of 10 Orang Asli, who had been actively involved in dealing with terrorists and communists who had either been arrested or surrendered to the authorities.
Their main task at that time was to carry out surveillance deep in the jungle to obtain intelligence and carry out operations in the Orang Asli villages to win their hearts.
As a result of the operations, this group successfully attracted 30 Orang Asli youths to join the unit.
Senoi Praaq was nicknamed "The Silent Killer" by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and was used secretly in Laos.
When the United States fled Laos, they were left alone. The Senoi Praaq unit successfully returned to Malaysia while fighting enemy elements along the way.
The Third Battalion GOF camp here began operations on Feb 8, 1984, after all the administrative functions of the 20th Battalion of the Forest Police Force (FPF) headquarters were transferred to the camp.
Following the downsizing and merging of Police Field Force Battalions throughout the country, on Jan 1, 1993, the 20th FPF Battalion was re-designated the 3rd FPF Battalion, which involved changing the 'Maroon Beret' to the 'Blue Beret'.
Then, on Nov 1, 1997, the name FPF was changed to the GOF.
On Wednesday, Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah officiated the opening of the Third Batallion of GOF here.
Accompanied by Raja Permaisuri Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim, Sultan Nazrin was welcomed by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani and Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
The guests were also entertained by the Senoi Praaq War Legend performance, the Warisan Peribumi Pertiwi poem and the parachute performance by VAT 69 Commando.
Led by commanding officer Superintendent Azhar Hashim, the Senoi Praaq team currently has 27 officers, 430 Orang Asli policemen and 21 other personnel.
In his speech, Acryl Sani expressed his gratitude to the federal and state governments for ensuring that the Third Battalion GOF underwent a transformation process to develop its infrastructure in line with the changing times.
He said the process of re-upgrading the camp involved two phases of construction costing a total of RM322 million.
"The construction of facilities at this camp is proof of the government's high commitment to support the efforts of the police to further strengthen the force's security plan to protect the people and maintain the security of this beloved homeland.
"The infrastructure and equipment in this camp create a more conducive work environment, thereby improving the morale of its people to provide the best service to the community," he said.