There was this Staff Sergeant Azman Mohamad Tahir from the Malaysian Special Forces Regiment from Malacca and Corporal Ghani anak Binjoi from 6th Rangers who was from Kampung Koran Mawang in the district of Serian. There were two companies from 6th Rangers and a Troop of Special Forces guys attached to 7th Rangers (Mechanized). Corporal Ghani had a wife whose name was Dora anak Buki, both of them were blessed with 3 children, one aged 6 years old, another aged 3 years old and the youngest 7 days old, born about 7 days ago on the day Corporal Ghani went on this patrol.

Image: The view from K4

The man who led this patrol was an Italian Colonel., he was Colonel Fulvio Vezzalini. In conducting patrols for information gathering and intelligence there were restrictions; UN patrols could not go beyond Bakara market, the site of “black hawk down”.

Beyond that no UN personnel were allowed to conduct patrols as there were many armed militia consisting of the Hawadle and Habar Gidir clans. Both of them being rival clans, clashed constantly. More so the Habar Gidir clan was jealous that the building rented by the UN for Malaysian soldiers was from the Hawadle. The Hawdle got paid by the UN and the Habar Gidir was not.

This particular Italian Colonel was born in Mogadishu; Somalia was previously colonized by the Italians. He wanted to visit the Matchstick Factory which was far beyond Bakara market. It was definitely a no go zone for UN Troops. The Italian Colonel wanted to visit the place of his birth, the place where he grew up. The convoy moved slowly, it drew the attention of the Militia there. The first group of Militia that spotted the convoy alerted the rest of the militia strong points.

It was about 0900+ hrs when Major Len noticed a UN convoy of soft skinned vehicles (non-armoured) passing his location which was K4. He rushed down to check with his sentries whether the boys in that particular patrol were his. The sentries confirmed to say that they belonged to Bravo Company of 6th Rangers. They could specifically identify Ranger Martin as he had waved to them as he was passing. Continued here.....

When soldiers of mixed Corps participate in a parade, the commander of the parade gives honour to the senior inspecting officer with a war cry. This is one of the many protocols followed on parade. The commander will give the command to "kaleh senjata", on this command the rifle barrel is pushed to the left by the right hand and the left hand grabs the barrel of the rifle. Thus freeing the right hand of the soldier. They remain in this position until the commander yells the "Army War Cry" which is "Gempur!". The men behind him yell with a resounding "Wira!". This is done three times. Each time they yell"Wira!", their right clenched fist is raised up and brought down. It is to honour the most senior officer who takes the salute. This is done by soldiers in battle to strike fear in the hearts of this nation's enemies. In the Rangers, they have their own war cry. The Rangers on parade will have their commander shout "Agi Idup!", a resounding response is given, "Agi Ngelaban!" Which means, "while there is life there is fight". Likewise 3 times.

In Ijok they bastardise the Army's War Cry, "sedia gempur". Where on earth are the nations enemies in Ijok.? As far as alot of us can see there are none, only our very own Malaysians. They are the leaders of the opposition. They are not foreigners. Please grow up and stop intimidating Malaysians with "Sedia Gempur!". It sounds very "Thuggish" when civillians yell war cries. They have not experienced flying bullets and explosions, so that's why they can use that, in peaceful Ijok. I doubt they would be yelling that war cry in a battle zone where the real enemy fights back. Anway this is food for thought, whatever happened to this endearing and nice sounding slogan "Bersih, Cekap, Amanah or the Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang.......I know, I know, you guys out there would like to change that with your own words for example............."Temberang" and so forth. I guess that does not carry any weight anymore, as no one believes in it after being hood winked for awhile since 2004. People of Ijok, go forth today and make your right choice.

A month after completing the course we were on our way to the famous Indonesian city in West Java. Two days after we arrived in the RPKAD Training Centre, Batu Djardjar, we were taken to the jump tower to undergo our first test. We were told to climb up the 150-foot tower without any safety harness, just our bare hands and pure guts. Being the lone officer, I was asked to lead the pack.

All of us survived this first test. It was very encouraging indeed The next three weeks, we were given lessons on ground training, breaking falls and parachute handling techniques. We were taught techniques to read wind speed and tracking. We were given lessons on ways to fold our parachutes and how to conduct safety checks. These lessons were to instil confidence in our equipment.

The conditions of the Indonesian aircrafts were the real reason. Delays were caused by mechanical problems which were the bane of the Indonesian Air Force. Exercises, however, went on smoothly with the exception of the waiting game, which we endured almost every other day.

From Day One, the whole intake of about 250 students suffered between 20 to 30 casualties, all from the Indonesian side. They all failed the 20 km run and were dismissed or RTU (returned to unit), in military parlance. We were not allowed to drink a single drop of water while on the march and not a drop immediately after we finished. Before the march were told to open our water bottles and pour the water to the ground. In full........

Among signs of health in the Royal Malay Regiments battalions, which were quickly sent to Borneo, was pride and an eagerness to be given the positions of danger and honour. Thus, the 3rd Battalion went to Tawau, where threat from Indonesian regulars and the large Indonesian immigrant population was real, and the 5th went to the First Division, at the opposite end of the front, to join the Royal Marines defending Kuching.

The Malays showed some of the failings of young, inexperienced soldiers anywhere. The business of war seemed romantic, particularly now that they were defending what some of them regarded as their very own empire.. Their pride was reflected in their dress. The baggy jungle green denims and round, wavy-brimmed hats with which they were issued-clothing designed specifically for ease of movement and camouflage in the jungle- were not to their liking and they tailored their shirts to fit their chests, tapered their trousers and cut back the brims of their hats, binding the crowns with their regimental colors. They were fastidiously clean, using talcum powder and hair oil and totally disregarded Walker’s (General Sir Walter Walker-Director of Operations) instructions that soldiers in the jungle must live like animals. The Gurkhas said that they could smell the Malays toiletries a mile away. Continued here....

For the Indians, Chinese and Malays in Ijok, please think like Malaysians. It does not matter if PKR is represented by a Malay, he will still represent you too. Not the race, how he serves you, counts! A friend passed this article to me. He got it from someone. I do not know who? Think for the long term and your future about your votes, it is time to remove this officially sanctioned oppression.

Do you think just lamenting and continuing to be passive by voting for MIC and the rest of Barisan candidates in the coming election will help the situation? Indians who are better off may only think of their own "comfort zone" and insulate themselves from the Indians suffering because the latter are from a "lower class".

You can allow the fate of these poor Indians to deteriorate but sooner or later you or your children or close friends will be "trapped" in a situation where you will have to beg for the good will of other communities for your salvation. Make the plans for the community now or pay the price in the future. Don't give excuses because there are genuine and sincere Indian community leaders in NGOs that are fighting hard, eg. Hindu Sangam, to save wanton destruction of temples and Indian society and culture. Being afraid to speak out to your friends and relatives to come together for the sake of Indians in the country is not going to help or protect you. It will only prove that you do not care and when the dire results of destructive marginalisation of Indians does prove itself to you as an individual or your family, it will be a hundred times harder to put your head above the murky waters!! Think hard and act now if you care!

For all Indian voters in IJOK,the Portugese came and had a war, but they become bumiputras but the Indians and Chinese slog till today and are still .. what ? And now the latest version.......

The Govt's announcement (26th February 2007 ) of its intention to build schools for 34,000 Indonesian children was applauded by the Indonesian Govt who called Malaysia its "very good friend". Not only do we provide jobs for MILLIONS of Indonesians, we will also provide quality education for free with better facilities than they enjoy back home in Indonesia .

To me, this is somewhat a surprise. The 9th Malaysia Plan provided no allocation for the building of any more vernacular Chinese and Tamil schools and when MCA youth officials questioned the absence of allocation, UMNO youth's Datuk Hashim Bin Suboh from Perlis (at the last UMNO Gen Assembly) asked Datuk Hisham what he was going to do next with the Keris now that he had unsheathed it, kissed it and waved it about. He was suggesting that the MCA's demands for the construction of Chinese schools be handled by more than just verbal debate. Continued here......

29 October, 1962-Violation.
An Indonesian gun-boat was sighted by a Malayan Marine Police launch PC 12 within Malayan territorial waters in the Tanjong Piah area at 10.15 p.m. The Indonesian gun-boat was towing a smaller boat believed to be Indonesian. It had no identification number.

31 October, 1962.
A Malayan Marine Police vessel PC 13 sighted an Tndonesian gun-boat within Malayan territorial waters, l plus miles off Tanjong Piah, at 11 a.m. The Malayan Police ordered the gun-boat to leave the area. At first it ignored the order but later it left for Pulau Karimun, Indonesia. Tt did not show any identification number.

31 October, 1962.
The Malayan Police sighted an Indonesian BT boat alongside a Malayan Kelong No. 156 off Tanjong Piah at 1 p.m. The BT departed at high speed into Indonesia waters on being chased by the Malayan Police. It did not show any identification number or fly any flag.

2 November, 1962.
Police boats P 2 and BP 9 sighted an Indonesian BT boat attempting to enter Kukop Straits in Malayan territorial waters at 1.30 p.m. Photographs were taken by P 2. The BT departed towards Karimun Islands after passing the Malayan Police vessels. As can be seen from the photographs, no identification numbers or national ensign were shown and the BT’s gun was manned. This was a standard class of BT gun-boat.

4 November, 1962.
Kapal Di-Raja Langka Suka of the Royal Malayan Navy sighted an Indonesian BT boat within Malayan territorial waters, in a position 2 miles from the coast, south of Tanjong Piah (south-west Johore) at 9.30 p.m. The boat did not display any navigation lights. Kapal Di-Raja Langka Suka ordered the BT to leave the Malayan waters. Then the Indonesian Commander complied. The gun-boat withdrew to the border of Malayan territorial waters but made several attempts to re-enter for the next four hours. It eventually departed towards the Karimun Island, Indonesia. This vessel was clearly identified as a BT Class vessel of the Indonesian Customs which had deliberately covered her numbers with the intention of foiling any attempt at identification.

5 November, 1962.
A Royal Malayan Navy craft, Kapal Di-Raja Langka Suka sighted an Indonesian BT Class vessel in Malayan territorial waters, 2 miles west of Pulau Pisang at 3.30 a.m. The gun-boat made off towards Indonesian waters on being chased by the Malayan Navy ship but later returned twice at speed, each time being headed off by the Malayan vessel Kapal Di-Raja Langka Suka. The Indonesian craft was positively identified as a BT Class boat.

13 November, 1962.
A Malayan Police boat P 5 sighted a BT boat flying the Indonesian flag, 2 mile off Tanjong Piah. The vessel left Malayan territorial waters on being recognised.

13 November, 1962.
At about 12 noon an armed Indonesian gun-boat of the ET Class flying an Indonesian flag, was sighted at Tanjong Piah area in Malayan territorial waters. It did not remain very long. Location of indent was: Tanjong Piah. Bearing 345 ‘, distance 4 miles. Description of Indonesian gun-boat. It was grey in colour, unnumbered and had cannon mounted on the forecastle covered with canvas. The length of the boat was about 80 ft. Description of crew. No crew was seen on deck.

By end of 1968 the battalion moved to Kuching for a ninemonth unaccompanied tour of Sarawak. Those days units were shipped between West and East Malaysia for short operational stint. Families were left behind in the camps. Captain John Harvey, my company commander, left for England after having completed his tour of duty in Malaysia. He was replaced by Captain Samad Ayob. Barely a week after we arrived at Balai Ringin Camp we were assigned to a commando detachment (troop) under Captain Chua Hong Kang. Our first mission was to go across the Indonesian border to attack a Communist Terrorists (CT) camp located inside one of the many caves within the Idai Complex. The terrorists, according an informer, were estimated to be around 120- strong. That evening we bade farewell to our colleagues. Wewere transported, under cover of darkness, in military vehicles to a place called Lachau. It was a frightening moment for an inexperienced soldier like me and many shared my fear too but we were excited, nonetheless. We were confident of attacking the camp successfully and were prepared for some casualties.

We started at midnight, scaling up the mountain range somewhere near a small village at Lachau and cutting across into the Idai Complex. We were instructed specifically not to follow track used by the locals to avoid detection. It took us almost 3 days non- stop walking to reach the location. We split into small groups to detect signs on the ground. There were numerous footprints but we could not differentiate between friends or foes. All of sudden we received instructions to pull out immediately. We were given a fixed period to clear the area. The Indonesian Army would fire their guns into the area subsequently. Minutes later we heard the sounds of helicopters coming to pick and move us to an undisclosed location inside the Malaysian border.In full here....

15 April. 1961.
The Malayan Marine Police was informed that an unnumbered Indonesian gun-boat, grey in colour, was chasing two motor vessels Nos. PP 1229 and Xl8 which were loaded with rubber, within Malayan territorial waters in the vicinity of Tanjong Piai, about one mile away from Malaya’s nearest shores (i.e. at a point between Pulau Kukop and Tanjong Piai). The two vessels were registered in Indonesia. When the Marine Police arrived on the scene the Indonesian gun-boat was in the act of rounding up those vessels whose crew it is believed, had already escaped by then in an unidentified speed-boat heading for Singapore.

11 August, 1961.
At about 10.30 a.m. a Malayan police boat PC 13, while on patrol, sighted an Indonesian gun-boat from the direction of Singapore heading towards Tanjong Piah. At that time an Indonesian cargo-boat No. S 14-3474 which was fully loaded with rubber was in the area, about half a mile from the shore of Tanjong Piah. The Police boat raced up to the cargo-boat but the Indonesian gun-boat was faster and reached it first. However, before the Indonesian gun-boat went alongside the cargo-boat, three of its four crew escaped in a speed-boat and went up to the Malayan police boat. The Malayan police boat managed to close up to about 20 yards from the gun-boat and challenged it. The Indonesian ignored the warning and towed the cargo-boat away in the direction of Pulau Karimun and disappeared beyond the limits of the Malayan territorial waters.

10 September, 1963.-Piracy.
At 6.30 a.m. an Indonesian vessel approached a motor boat (inboard engine) No. SMF 436 (towing an outboard motor boat) manned by a crew of two male Malayans off Tanjong Balau. After hearing shots from the Indonesian vessel the two Malayans fled to the nearby beach of Tanjong Balau. Four Indonesians from the vessel dressed in grey uniforms and armed with sten-guns gave chase in their speed-boat. Failing to catch up with the two Malayans the Indonesians went away taking with them the outboard motor and three jerrycans of petrol. The location of the incident was within Malayan territorial waters. The bearings were:
Latitude 01” 37’ 08 sets. North.
Longitude 104” 15’ 42 sets. East.
Estimated loss sustained was $1,119.50.

27 October, 1962.
On this date Kapa12 Di-Raja Temasck and Sri Perak of the Royal Malayan Navy sighted an Indonesian BT craft within Malayan territorial waters about 24 miles from Kukop (south-west Johore) towing an unidentified craft at 3.30 p.m.
The bearings were:
Latitude 1” 19’ North.
Longitude 103” 22.5’ East.

The BT craft made off towards Karimun Islands (Indonesia) on sighting the RMN ships, and due to speed advantage, an interception was not possible. The Commanding Officer of TEMASEK learnt from a Malayan police vessel PC 12 which was in the area. that the craft towed away was an Indonesian cargo-boat engaged in the barter trade. The Indonesian gun-boat had refused to leave Malayan territorial waters when ordered by PC 12. The crew had pointed a machine-gun at PC 12 and replied to questions with insulting gestures.

28 December, 1963,
At 11.45 hours (Sabah time) Mitchell 825 bomber bearing registrationNo. 473 escorted by two Mustang F51 fighters flew over WALLACE BAY from North and West to South West, at a height of approximately 300 feet. All three aircraft bore Indonesian air force markings. At 13.00 hours, a Mitchell B25 bomber with Indonesian air force markings flew over BAR10 in the Fifth Division of Sarawak from North to South at an estimated height of 2,500 to 4,000 feet.

29 December, 1963.
At 09.20 hours, two aircraft-noted as almost certainly Mitchell I325 by observers-flew over BAR10 in the Fifth Division of Sarawak at a, height of 8,000 to 10,000 feet. The way was clear and cloudless and no other aircraft was known to be at the vicinity. At 09.40 hours, another aircraft-again believed to be almost certainly a Mitchell B25-circulated over BA KELALAN in Sabah at a height of approximately 300 feet.

On the 23rd of January 1964, close to Sabah in the Sarawak Fifth Division, a ten men patrol of the 1st Royal Leicesters under Lt Michael Peele attacked 40 Indonesians as they were having their lunch in a clearing north of Long Miau. The patrol had been directed into the area after Sergeant Bob Creighton of D Squadron, 22 SAS had picked up the tracks of military boots. Peele’s attack killed 5 of the enemy and forced the rest to flee for their lives, abandoning half a ton of arms and ammunition. When Sergeant Creighton searched the site he found two survivors, who confirmed that the group had been intending to cross into Brunei.

Image: Sergeant, Indonesian Airforce paratroops 1964 (PGT). Indonesia's original airborne unit-tracing their lineage to a handful of anti-Dutch guerrillas who jumped into Kalimantan in October 1949 - the Pasukan Gerak Tjepat or Fast Moble Force saw action in the 1950s-60s against anti-government rebels, before being committed to both airborne and seaborne insertions during the Confontation in 1964. By the next year the PGT had three battalions, headquarters at Bandung, the force was later redesignated KOPASGAT and finally PASHKAS-Air Force Special Forces-in 1983. This image taken during the 1960s show this one piece camouflage overall based on the US M1942 jungle suit with four external pockets. The squashed looking field cap in drab herringbone twill seems to have been common. The insignia worn here on barracks dress were not displayed in the field. The Air Force Special Forces left shoulder patch, the PGT title in black and yellow on the right breast and yellow metal Air Force parachute wings on the left. Rank was Dutch style, worn on shouldr strap slides. In the field, webbing equipment was of US M1956 pattern and the standard personal weapon was the 7.62mm NATO FN-FAL rifle.

In a small scale but tough operation in early January men of the 1/7th Gurkhas and the Special Branch co-operated in exterminating a group of 23 Indonesians commanded by an Indonesian Sergeant, who had landed by boat in the mangrove swamps of an estuary in eastern Sabah. Realising that their landing had been compromised, they split up, one group of seven was destroyed by Gurkhas led by Major D.O’ Leary, operating from a requisitioned launch with the apt name’ The jolly Bachelor’. 3 Gurkhas were wounded, the payback was 3 dead Indonesian raiders, two wounded enemy along with one captured. The weapons recovered were one LMG, a Sten and two Armalite rifles. The remainder of the Indonesian group was later captured hiding like rats, on a stolen fishing boat.

Talks in Bangkok, Thailand, between Malaysia and Indonesia under United Nations chairmanship produced a truce which lasted from the 25th January until the 6th March 1964. Foreign Minister Subandrio insisted that all infiltrators , cross border raids were the work of local volunteers, beyond the control of Djakarta. Tun Abdul Razak representing Malaysia, insisted that all infiltrators should be withdrawan before substantive negotiations could start.

The talks dragged on, but by the first week of March three groups of between 30 and 50 Indonesian raiders had crossed the borders into the First Division at Lundu at the end of January, at Bau on the 21st February and at Rassau on the 6th March 1964. On each occasion they were confronted by 42 Commando or 1/2nd Gurkha Rifles. They always suffered casualties and withdrew. Source : Britain's Secret War by Will Fowler.

................which the mainstream media in Malaysia or elsewhere ignores. Remember the Perdana Global Peace Forum, which the moonbats conveniently forgot to mention, the atrocities perpetrated by other than coalition forces, these atrocities pale in comparison. You know 'double standards ' being a norm with our ex PM. "When they cook a dish in the Middle East, it is traditional to put the meat on top of the rice when they serve it. They kidnapped a woman’s baby in Baghdad, a toddler, and because the mother was unable to pay the ransom, they returned her child – beheaded, roasted and served on a mound of rice.

"The infant’s crime was to be an Assyrian, but this story, reported by the Barnabus Fund, went unnoticed in the West, like so many other horrific accounts of Christian persecution in Iraq. The Assyrians are one of the world’s oldest civilisations. Their empire collapsed in 612 BC after four and a half millennia of civilisation; Rome was still a village and the Angles and Saxons were a thousand years away from forming a partnership. Iraq’s Assyrian Christians face extinction four years after the toppling of Saddam", says Ed West. Read the whole article from the Catholic Herald here...

Here is a blog on that The Christian victims of Iraq.