KUALA NERUS: Memories of the horrific experience of stepping onto a booby trap filled with sharp objects remain fresh in the mind of ex-soldier Othman Bashah Saleh (pic).
He shattered the bones of his right foot in the incident that left him with an 8cm scar.
Since then, he has had pain from his feet up to his waist, especially during wet and cold weather.
“It has been 48 years, but it feels like yesterday,” said the 74-year-old.
Othman Bashah was patrolling in a forest in Baling, Kedah, when he fell into the trap set by the communists in 1974.
“The booby trap was made of cans filled with sharp objects such as glass and nails. I did not feel the pain when I stepped on it and continued fighting with the communists.
“Later, a teammate noticed that the shoes I was wearing had split in half. “It was after taking off the shoes and seeing my foot covered in blood that I felt the pain,” he told Bernama at his home in Seberang Takir near here.
Othman Bashah said this was not the only unforgettable experience.
In 1977, he witnessed his platoon chief, a young lieutenant whom he called Tuan Hamid, being shot from close range by the communists.
“We were looking for water in Gunung Bintang (on the border of Kedah and Perak) when we bumped into a group of communists eating durian,” he recalled.
He said the communists started firing upon seeing them, and the bullets hit Hamid and another soldier behind him.
“I dropped to the ground,” he said, adding that a communist member was also shot dead.
Othman Bashah said people, especially youngsters, should not be too preoccupied with the distractions of modern times, adding that they should strive to serve the country.
“When I was young, joining the army to eliminate the communists after the country gained independence was a way to serve the nation,” said the veteran who had served in the army from 1970 until 1990.
The senior citizen, who receives a monthly pension of RM900, is now working at a food stall for a daily wage alongside his wife, Noriah Mohd Kassim, 73.
