BULLET marks still visible on the walls of a longhouse in Kampung Mujat, Serian in Sarawak, bear silent witness to the terror felt by residents during the Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation (aka Konfrantasi) in the 1960s.
Six decades have passed since the conflict following Indonesia’s opposition to the formation of Malaysia in 1963, but the memories remain vivid for Biat Tajap, 74, who was just 10 years old at the time.
“Before the confrontation, life was normal.
“Suddenly, Indonesian soldiers came and fired from behind the village.
“I was still in school back then. I was so frightened whenever I heard gunshots at night,” the father-of-five told Bernama.
The village, established in the 1930s by residents who are mostly Bidayuh Bukar-Sadong, sits close to the Malaysia-Indonesia border in Borneo.
It was one of the places greatly affected by the conflict which officially ended in August 1966 with a peace treaty.
Biat shared a memory of a woman fleeing with her baby amid shooting and she miraculously survived.
“For safety reasons, almost everyone abandoned the longhouse to live in the jungle.
“We stayed in tiny huts. The longhouse was practically empty.
“All of us kids were terrified. None of us dared to play outside with our friends.
“We just hid in the jungle, keeping really quiet inside those huts,” he recalled.
He said they lived a life filled with constant fear and that food was scarce.
“We used river water for cooking and drinking.
“For food, we ate whatever we could find – wild tubers, sago, bamboo shoots, whatever was in the jungle.”
When the confrontation started to die down in 1965, small groups of villagers started to slowly return home.
Kampung Mujat and nearby villages like Kampung Mongkos later became staging grounds for Malaysian and British troops patrolling the border to stave off incursions.
Looking back, Biat said the experience taught the villagers just how precious peace was.
“Six decades ago, we lived in dread of gunfire,” said Biat, “but today residents on both sides of the border celebrate their ethnic and blood ties.”
“We’re all relatives, really.
“The people here and across the border have always stayed on good terms.
“Even now, we still meet, especially during Gawai and family gatherings,” he added.
