KLANG: A military veterans association has compiled a book featuring firsthand accounts from former soldiers of all races, chronicled in a paperback aptly titled Memoirs: Malaya and Borneo at War.
Malaysian Armed Forces Chinese Veterans Association (MACVA) secretary CPO (Rtd) Ho Weng Kong hopes the book will also dispel the assumption by certain quarters that the non-Malays did not serve in defending the nation.
“We are colour blind in the armed forces and all races have equally contributed towards protecting and serving King and country,” said former navy man Ho, 65.
He said it took about a year to produce the book, with stories compiled, researched, referenced, and diligently edited by a team led by former army surgeon Lt-Kol (Rtd) Dr Liew Ngoh Chin.
MACVA treasurer Lt (Rtd) Mary Koh, who was also with the navy, said the book is scheduled to be launched on June 1 by three very distinguished veteran military officers – former chief of defence forces Jen (Rtd) Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, the navy’s first Malaysian chief Rear Admiral (Rtd) Tan Sri K. Thanabalasingam and the air force’s first non-British chief Air Vice-Marshal (Rtd) Tan Sri Sulaiman Sujak.
Koh, 65, concurred with Ho that the book is timely in highlighting how all soldiers stood together to safeguard the nation’s security and sovereignty with their lives.
“We did not see each other differently in the armed forces. We were all one and we had the same responsibility to protect the people, the country and the nation’s sovereignty,.
“It is very sad and disappointing to know there are some who believe we had not contributed towards the defence of the nation, more so after what we had gone through to serve the King and country,” she added.
Among the interesting narratives in the book was one by the army’s Lt-Kol (Rtd) Tan Siew Soo, 87, on the Kalabakan incident near Tawau, Sabah, following the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
“The attack on Kalabakan by the Indonesian Border Terrorists was the first major intrusion into Sabah during the Indonesian Confrontation,” narrates Tan who had also served two tours in the UN Congo peacekeeping mission during his military tenure.
Kapt (Rtd) Kung Boon Chin, 76, also formerly from the army, talks about the military’s canine unit in his capacity as the first trainer of the nation’s pioneer military war dog unit.
“Some of the pioneering dog handlers were Malaysian Indians.
“They were delisted from the British Army,” wrote Kung, adding that personnel from the Sarawak Trackers unit as well as the Malaysian Ranger Battalions were also absorbed into the unit.
In the book’s forward, former armed forces chief Jen (Rtd) Tun Mohamed Hashim Mohd Ali said not many of the veterans, who had served in the Malayan Emergency and Indonesian Confrontation, were still alive to tell their tales.
He said those who are still around are octogenarians, nonagenarians and centenarians.
“At that age it becomes difficult to recollect the past, unless they have it written somewhere,” he said while lauding the MACVA’s initiative to record military history.
Mohamed Hashim said “this part of history” must not merely be confined within the military but also “trickle down to form a chapter” in school history books.
“It should inform and inspire the younger generations. Lest we forget,’’ Mohamed Hashim added.
