BY all accounts, this year’s Merdeka celebration was one which thrilled the crowds.
There was the usual parade and showing off of the nation’s assets, but added to that was a theme, which showed how the nation had progressed from the day Malaya gained independence from its British colonial masters, through the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, and to the present day.
Those interviewed by various news organisations — young and old — were appreciative of the thought process that went into planning the celebration.
The young told of actually being able to learn about Malaysian history and the struggle the older generation had to go through, while the older ones among us said they were transported back in time to yesteryear and beyond.
One particular part of the celebration, which received considerable attention, was when the exploits of the so-called “F Team” was brought to the fore as part of a pantomime.
Hitherto unknown to the vast majority of Malaysians, at least until last year, the F Team was a secret part of the already-secretive Special Branch.
Officially known as E3F, the team comprised fewer than 200 members of Special Branch, who were active in the war against the communist threat in the 1970s and 1980s.
In a shadow war against the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), F Team members worked undercover and went deep into the jungles of Malaysia on covert missions, which until last year, were highly classified.
In fact, until the government declassified its files last year, all but a few Malaysians had not even known about the existence of F Team. An amazing feat, when you think about it actually, as even wives and family members were left in the dark — such was the level of secrecy.
The team was formed in 1971, long after the Malayan Emergency had ended in 1960, due to the rising threat the CPM was beginning to pose again.
Armed CPM squads, acting from their base in Thailand, began crossing the border into Malaysia. According to intelligence reports, the communists’ 8th Regiment, in fact, had crossed over from their base in Sadao to Gubir in Kedah.
In March 1971, an elite team was formed, which later became known as the F Team.
The team’s original purpose was to provide intelligence in communist hotspots, but as time went by, the government and the police force decided to expand its capabilities and manpower.
Jungle bashers like VAT69 commandos and police field force members were soon added to the roster. And, the team was boosted by the recruitment of “surrendered enemy personnel” (SEP) and “captured enemy personnel” (CEP), much like what was done during the Emergency.
These SEP proved invaluable as, being former CPM combatants, they knew how communist squads operated.
Among the notable operations, in which Team F took part, was Op Kelong in 1977, when they arrested two armed communist terrorists (CTs) and accepted the surrender of 14 others in less than a week; Op Ular in 1984, where a handful of F Team members ambushed and killed four CTs and wounded another (the fifth was killed the next day by rangers who followed his blood trail).
That same year, after 11 months of going undercover as a rubber plantation worker, an F Team member led three female and two male CTs into an ambush, which saw four of them killed. The fifth CT, a woman, managed to escape.
In Op Pancing in 1988, two F Team operatives posing as workers at a fish pond for two months managed to kill three CTs and capture two more, seizing a large cache of weapons and ammunition in the process.
Also, in 1988, Op Ta Loong was launched. The operation was one of the biggest successes in police force history, with more than 80 CTs captured, including the leader of the communist 6th Assault Group, a CPM central committee member.
F Team was also involved in aiding government operations in the surrender and laying down of arms by the North Kalimantan Communist Party in Sarawak in 1990.
In 1995, six years after the signing of the Hat Yai Accord between Malaysia and the CPM, F Team was officially disbanded. Their records, however, would remain classified for more than two decades after.
Stories of exploits, such as those from members of F Team, and indeed, other members of the security forces involved in operations past, are a treasure trove of sorts.
For those who do not know Malaysia’s history, they serve as a lesson in what it took for us to get to where we are now. Even those who lived through those times may not know the full story.
But it is not just retired members of security forces who have stories to tell. The elders among us — whether they be former soldiers, policemen, civil servants or private citizens — can help us understand much. We can learn from them.
So, the next time you see a wizened elder walking amongst us, maybe take some time to listen to his or her story. Even if you don’t learn from it, you may at least be entertained by it.
The writer has more than two decades of experience, much of which has been spent writing about crime and the military. A diehard Red Devil, he can usually be found wearing a Manchester United jersey when outside of work.