WE somehow gave scant thought to Indonesia’s Konfrantasi and the security situation in our northern borders with Thailand when we were cadet officers at the Federation Military College (FMC), Sungai Besi, in 1965.
Even the instructors made little reference to these in their lectures or during our field training. It seemed that such information was best kept secret and denied to those not required to know.
Our surroundings, training and development activities at FMC brought forth many revelations. The orderly layout of the college and its regimented atmosphere were the first of many that impressed me.
Then, of course, came the military training — interesting, beneficial and risky. It had ways and means of embedding and inculcating values, knowledge, skills and attitude into impressionable people of whom we were then.
The training came on strongly to state how crucial it was to always have a clear direction when pursuing any endeavour. That while loyalty to king and country was paramount, it must also be similarly demonstrated in all its manifestations to all of one’s comrades, subordinates and even kin.
That it is always stronger and better to work on things together and not otherwise. That as military officers and gentlemen, we were also to be servants to help and lead others.
We quickly realised the presence of four orang putih as our superiors and instructors.
They were Lieutenant-Colonel Grove DSO, the commandant of FMC; a major as the officer commanding cadet wing; a warrant officer (WO2) as the company sergeant-major instructor (CSMI); and, WO1 Tomlinson as the regimental sergeant-major (RSM).
The CSMI became unforgettable after he demonstrated how to plunge a huge bayonet into the enemy’s abdominal area from the rear during a weapons training class.
The RSM was also not easily forgotten. He had the sole privilege of screaming his commands during our early morning muster parade. He was a huge and rotund man, who tried his best to shout the words of command in Bahasa Malaysia introduced in that year.
The commands came out in his peculiar English two syllable manner, Tandap! for the actual word of command of Penanda! (Markers! in English).
This command was quickly recognised and remembered by all since it was also the first word of command from him for the day. I believe that the cadets designated as markers would have executed the movements correctly anyway even if he had shouted unintelligibly the word “Bingo!”
All four showed what a soldier should be like and what professionalism was all about.
They managed and treated all of us as equals. I must confess that my earlier disdain for the ways of the orang putih began to subside considerably by the time of our commissioning and posting to the 7th Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment, at the end of August that year.
As young officers, it was mandatory that we quickly read the battalion’s standard operating protocols, and the regular intelligence reports and summaries. These quickly revealed the fact that the military threats emanating from Konfrantasi and the communist terrorists (CTs) at the Malaysian-Thai border were serious and worrying.
Our military forces and other security units were deployed all over the country to contain and counter these threats.
In fact, by that time, the 7th Battalion had deployed its subunits to Kuala Selangor and the surrounding coastal areas.
That was how I got to Bukit Melawati, staying just below the lighthouse in Kuala Selangor, and later on to Pulau Ketam, off Klang, to stay with the fishermen in their village. Although the deployment lasted for only a couple of weeks, it allowed me time to know Pulau Ketam, and the small quiet town of Kuala Selangor.
There, I frequently went across Sungai Selangor on the ferry. The bridge to cross Sungai Selangor was not yet built then, and in its place, was a pontoon ferry to transport vehicles and people across.
This deployment also revealed the large number of various troops — regular infantry, territorial and local defence corps (LDC) personnel, and policemen — spread all over the coastlines to deter and respond to any infiltration or invasion from across the straits.
The territorial and LDC units, made up mainly of volunteers from the teaching, administrative and other civilian professions, did commendable work in guarding vital points, such as water treatment plants and broadcasting stations, in the country.
Such things were unknown to me then, and I suspect the majority of the public is not even aware of it to this day.
War, conflict and any state of instability or insecurity are always not good to any country’s image, wellbeing and progress. Such situations are, therefore, often not publicised.
Subsequently and not unexpectedly, the battalion was deployed to Tawau, Sabah, early in 1966. The main area of responsibility was Pulau Sebatik.
The international boundary with Indonesia still runs smack in the centre of the island, dividing it into two and making it an infiltration hot spot by both Malaysian and Indonesian forces.
The operational concept there was, in essence, a combination of semi-conventional, with fixed defended positions along the boundary as well as guerilla warfare. At times, we traded artillery and mortar fire with each other, thus making deployments in certain position even more stressful and scary.
The Konfrantasi part in Pulau Sebatik will be mentioned in an upcoming piece. But, for now, it is only left to state that there were many among us who got the “call to arms” and to serve the king and country in times of need.
In the past, the actual details of this service were always kept under wraps for a good variety of reasons.
And thus, little was known about the trials and tribulations that the soldiers faced in upholding our freedom and defending the country. These were numerous, but thankfully, all of them were negotiated and overcome.
Soldiers never hold any grudge against anybody for not following in their footsteps. This runs counter to a soldier’s oath and professional ethos.
On the other hand, soldiers are proud to be given the honour and privilege to serve in the military, while others prefer to pursue their own courses.
They also acknowledge and are thankful that a host of others — parents, siblings, relatives, elders, public functionaries — have always provided them with immeasurable support to enable them to succeed in their duties.
Their satisfaction in the past, present and future is to see that peace, security and progress in the country continue. Merdeka!
This is Part 2 of 4 of the writer’s Merdeka reminiscences for the My Country My Nation series.
LT - Gen (R) Datuk Seri Zaini Mohd Said , a former army field commander and recipient of the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa, Malaysia’s highest gallantry award, is well known for his role during the Al-Maunah siege in Sauk, Perak, in July 2000. He can be reached via panglima_sauk70@hotmail.com