Serving the Queen and Peacekeeping: 2623 Pte. Subran Bin Haji Abdul, Malay

[azyeoman]

This is an edited article from one that I wrote for the JOMSA.  Although this would go very well under in another part of this forum, I thought it would be appropriate to put it here as the group has a named GSM 1918.

 

Africa is the second largest continent and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the third largest country in it, and it has the eighth longest river, the Congo from which its name is derived.   It has seen, and continues to see, some of the worst atrocities that man can do to man.  When most people think of the Congo in the 60s, they think of mercenaries like Mad Mike Hoare and Patrice Lumumba or perhaps they remember Dag Hammarskjold, the Swedish diplomat who served as Secretary General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his ill-fated plane crash on his fourth trip to the Congo in September 1961.  Hammarskjöld had learned about fighting between "non-combatant" UN forces and the Katangese troops of Moise Tshombe. He was flying to negotiate a cease-fire on the night of 17–18 September when his Douglas DC-6 airliner mysteriously crashed in Northern Rhodesia or Zambia as it is known today. Hammarskjöld and fifteen others died in the crash.

This medal group was offered by a Canadian dealer and I found it very intriguing due to having lived and worked in Zaire or now what is known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  (Figure 1) Only the General Service Medal (GSM) 1918-62 with Malaya clasp is named to 3623 Pte. Subran Bin Haji Abdul Malay but in the initial position on the bar is the Malayan Federation Dedicated Service Medal 1960; essentially a long service and good conduct medal and the last medal on the right is the United Nations Medal with the original first style ribbon and “Congo” clasp.

 

The Malaysian Dedicated Service Medal Pingat khidmat Berbakti (PKB) is a single class 35cm medal minted in silver.  It was instituted by King Kisam ud-din Alam Shah on July 29th 1960 as a reward for members of the uniformed service and those attached to the Malaysian forces in recognition of active service, particularly during the emergency.  The obverse has the arms of Malaysia consisting of a shield guarded by rampant tigers. The shield is topped by a crest consisting of a crescent with a 14-pointed "federal star", and includes the country’s motto, “Unity is Strength” in English and Arabic within the below banner.  Below that khidmat Berbakti (Service Dedicated) is written in curved Arabic Script.  The escutcheon or shield, serves as a representation of the unified states under the Malaysian federation.  The upper portion or chief of the shield contains five krises (asymmetrical daggers used in SW Asia) representing the five former unfederated Malay States of Johore, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis. The remainder of the shield, is divided longitudinally between the former Federated Malay States, Penang and Malacca, is now divided into four sections:  In left from the observer's point of view (dexter) section is the Pinang palm along with the Penang Bridge representing Penang.  To the right from the observer's point of view (sinister) section is the "Malacca" tree representing Malacca.  The reverse depicts the Malayan Peninsula and is centered between two fern leaves to the right and left.  The right fern leaf is top to bottom and the left is the reverse.  The suspension is two crossed fern fronds with a stylized bar with a curlicue scroll on a pebbled background. It is 4mm x 37mm wide. The 35mm ribbon is unwatered and is jungle green with a central yellow strip (4mm) and flanked by light blue (5mm) side stripes.

The GSM 1918-62 is the fifth of six types with the Elizabeth II D: G: BR: OMN: REGINA F:D: and the left profile of Elizabeth II wearing a small crown.  This obverse was only used from 1952 to 1954.  The reverse consists of a standing figure of Victory in a Greek Helmet and carrying a trident, bestowing palms on a winged sword.  The suspension is stylized and the medal rotates within it.  The clasp has “Malaya” centered on a pebbled background and the entire medal is suspended from a royal purple ribbon with a dark green central stripe of 5cm.   The “Malaya” clasp was issued from June 16th 1948 to July 31st 1960 to a myriad of regiments and exotic colonial units of which the local regiment, the Malay Regiment was one.  For an excellent but incomplete listing, look at British Battles and Medals by Hayward, Birch and Bishop and published by Spink in 2006.

The last medal is the bronze United Nations (UN) Service Medal with the UN wreathed globe emblem surmounted by the letters UN on the obverse.  The reverse has “IN THE SERVICE/OF PEACE” centrally inscribed.  It is suspended from a loop and hangs from a darker than the usual UN light blue ribbon with two white 2mm stripes set 5mm from the edges.  A 15mm x 5mm bronzed bar with “CONGO” is attached to the ribbon by two prongs pushed through the ribbon and splayed outwardly to hold the bar securely.
 

  

Figure 1                                                                                                     Figure 2

The medals are mounted as worn loosely on a British style broach.  The UN medal was issued for deployment to the Republic of the Congo from July 1960 to June 1964.  The following thirty-one countries participated: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Ceylon, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Liberia, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Sweden, Tunisia, United Arab Republic and Yugoslavia.  The DRC supplied troops in the last year of the mission too.  In 1961 the maximum strength of the ONUC was 19,828 military observers.  By the time the mission left in June 1964 there had been 245 ONUC military fatalities and five international civilians.  The cost of the total mission was $401 million.  A new UN Service Medal with a different ribbon (figure 3) replaced the medal shown in figures 1 and 2 and the Congo bar was discontinued.

 

Figure 3

 
The Malay Regiment in the Emergency

On 5 September 1945, a month after the British reoccupation of Malaya, the Malay Regiment was revived, with its members consisting of veterans from World War II.  The British Military Administration (BMA) recommended a quick reconstruction of the Malay Regiment, and decided against opening recruitment to all races, which would have created a racially integrated regiment, along political lines fusing the states of Malaya. A multi-racial Malay regiment was seen as a potential unifying force in post war Malaya and the BMA was either ambivalent or thought the idea might be counter to its interest. This proposal met bitter opposition from Malay Rulers and the population at large, as it was seen as a British effort to erode Malay supremacy, which was a key feature of the Malayan Union.  So, by mid-1946, the idea of a non-multi-racial Malay regiment had been dropped. In the end, the Malay Regiment, made up of all Malayans, became part of a division in the Federation Army, which freed British regiments for other strategic duties and by mid-1948, there were only three British battalions left in Malaya.   More local regiments needed to be raised to accomplish this and the Overseas Defense Committee endorsed a gradual expansion of the Malay Regiment to six battalions for national security by 1950.  This national security would be truly tested in the Malayan Emergency.
The Malayan Emergency

The Malay Regiment also played a major role against the Communists during the Malayan Emergency when eventually seven battalions served during the Emergency.
In 1960, the regiment gained the 'royal' prefix becoming the Royal Malay Regiment and by 1961 had 11 battalions, of which some would go to the former Belgian Congo, which later became Zaire and is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The Malayans joined 30 other countries in this large mission to the Congo; only 19 countries had participated in the Korean Conflict. In order to understand why the UN and Royal Malayan Regiment became involved in the Congo, it is necessary to understand the history that made it such a volatile country ripe for a civil war.

The Malayan Special Forces in the Congo

The Belgian Congo had been the personal domain of King Leopold II for many years in the 19th century.  Under his reign, The Belgian Free State was free in name only and blood ran freely and human rights were non-existent, so much so that by 1900 the world was clamoring for changes due to the harsh and inhuman treatment of the indigenous people.  Under international pressure, Belgium annexed it in 1908, which started the 52-year history of colonization. Eventually In the early 1950s the Belgian government came under increasing pressure to grant independence to the Belgian Congo. Belgium had ratified article 73 of the United Nations Charter, which advocated self-determination, and both The United States and The Soviet Union put pressure on Belgium to reform its Congo policies. The Belgian government's response was dismissive and there was even a Thirty-Year Plan for the Political Emancipation of Belgian Africa published by a professor that showed the attitude of the Belgians. The Belgians assumed it would take at least thirty years to create an educated elite who could replace them in positions of power. The Belgian government did not like the plan because it meant eventually giving up the colony, whereas the liberals (évolués) were suspicious of the plan because it meant that Belgium would still be ruling Congo for another three decades!  This plan was never made official and all political efforts were hampered because Belgium had never actually made any plans for Congolese independence.  The Belgian concerns were understandable; but do to their own making, as at the time, there were only nine university degree holders, and no Congolese in the entire military who held a rank higher than a sergeant; the lowest of any colony in existence.
By early 1959, much of the lower Congo was out of Belgian control. The Belgian authorities prohibited an independence party from meeting and arrested a prominent dissident and this caused widespread rioting in the capital Léopoldville in January 1960. Shortly there after, the Belgian government announced constitutional reforms intended to bring Congolese advisors into the government, and indicated that the process would eventually end with independence; the Belgians hoped to satisfy the demands of the more moderate Congolese and marginalize as well as neutralize the extreme nationalists by promising eventual independence. The end result was not what was intended. There was a huge surge of political activity, over fifty political parties were registered, nearly all of them based on tribal groups. Nationalist demands grew more extreme as parties competed with each other. There was further rioting in Stanleyville in October after a more arrests.  The Belgians then promised full independence by June 30th 1960.  A treaty was signed and two bases were ceded to the Belgians for maintaining security, and the 25,000-member Congolese Security Force was trained and led by Belgian officers.  Despite this, the force mutinied to get higher pay and benefits.  Fighting accompanied by looting and violent attacks against Belgians started and spread to other areas of the country.  The President refused the request of the Belgians to use their own troops to quell the riots and violence and by July things had really got out of hand and the Belgians ordered their troops without Congolese agreement to restore law and order and protect Belgians.  On the very same day, Katanga Province, which was the richest province due to its minerals.  The next day, July 12th 1960, the Congolese government requested UN assistance.  On July 14th the Security Council adopted Resolution 143.  Initially the United Nations Operations in the Congo (ONUC) ensured the withdrawal of Belgian forces and assistance in maintaining law and order and providing technical assistance, but later maintaining territorial integrity and political independence was added.  This was important as there were all sorts of foreign military, paramilitary, mercenaries and advisory personnel who were not under UN command.  The country was declared secured four years later in June 1964 and the UN had succeeded in reuniting the country under an established and stable government and restoring law and order.

    The first contingent of 4,000 UN forces in seven battalions arrived, but it was not large enough to provide enough protection and stop the widespread violence so the force was increased. The 4th Bn Royal Malay Regiment arrived in the Congo in 1960 and was commanded by Lt. Colonel Ungku Nasarudin.  Eventually the 6th and 7th Battalions served with the 2nd Bn being the last to be deployed and leaving UN command on April 28th 1963.  There was much fighting and the West was appalled and the atrocities that happened.  The Royal Malayan Regiment was directly involved in one of them, which still stands as a horrific example of inhumanity and inexcusably bad leadership.  One man stained the regiment’s good record for hard soldiering in WWII and the Malayan Emergency.  This is the story of that incident and the medal in figure 1 that was issued to those who were there.

 

The incident that could Have Been Avoided

The following events took place when the 6th Bn Royal Malay Regiment (6 RMR) was deployed to the Congo.  They were tasked as peacekeepers from April 1961 until January 1962.  A Squadron, 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment were stationed in Goma, Kivu Province, Congo. The Squadron was initially deployed at Bukavu for a while, after which it was flown to Leopoldville and then on to Stanleyville.  Lieutenant Colonel Roger Nixon commanded the Regiment. The Regiment was part of the Malayan Special Force (MSF), under the United Nations banner.  2Lt N.H Siebel was a Troop Leader in A Squadron, 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment.  Major Lakhbir Sing Gill commanded the Sqd and the 2IC was Captain Maurice C.S. Lam. 

After serving for some time in Bukavu, 2Lt N.H. Siebel was detached from A Sqd and placed under command of B Co of the 6 RMR which was located at Kindu.  Kindu is roughly 300 KM WSW of Bukavu and today the airport is still functioning.  It’s possible to find a nice Google map of the site where this incident took place.  His task was to reinforce the defenses of B Co of the 6 RMR, which had been stationed there since July 1961.
Port Kindu Empain was a major town in the main district of Maniema. Kindu was an important to rebels as it was located strategically. It was also a place that was unsafe for UN Forces. A Nigerian convoy had been ambushed, and one Nigerian officer, a Lt. Ben was killed on February 3rd 1961.  The Congolese Rebels ripped out his liver and ate it raw before throwing his body into the Lualaba River.  The rest of his remains were never found.  When the Nigerian forces left, Kindu was taken over by the Malayan Special Force (MSF).  Its duties were to save the lives of the non-Congolese victims of the rebels. Law and order and peace were installed when the MSF arrived. The Troop was equipped with four Ferret Scout cars, manned by seven men, who had been flown in from Bukavu.

A Major Daud commanded B Co 6 RMR. He was assisted by Capt Idrus bin Maaris, Lt Zubir bin Idris and 2Lt Aboo Samah bin Aboo Bakar who later became a four star general and was appointed Force Commander of UNOSOM 2 in Somalia.  B Company 6 RMR was tasked to guard the Kindu airport from being taken by rebels. This was important as the UN needed and used the airport for its mission. The company had been at Kindu without support for several months. The Commander of the MSF, Brigadier Abdul Hamid bin Bidin, decided to reinforce the company with a troop equivalent to an infantry platoon from the 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment. It turned out to be a very good and important decision. The Officers of 6 RMR and 2Lt Siebel along with his men stayed at the airport. The OC of B Co 6 RMR managed to acquire an isolated bungalow approximately one kilometer away from the airport. This bungalow had been converted to the Officers Mess. 2Lt Siebel, four Officers and section of soldiers from 6 RMR billeted there.

2Lt Siebel did not feel easy staying isolated and with only a small force. So he had one Ferret Scout car stationed there, in the event he needed it or if hostilities broke out. The Commander of MSF, Brigadier Abdul Hamid bin Bidin, decided to further reinforce Kindu Airport with A Sqd of the 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment that had been deployed in Leopoldville.  it was commanded by the 2IC, Captain Maurice Lam. The other Troop Leaders were 2Lt Mike Chong Boon Tuck who arrived by riverboat from Leopoldville and 2Lt Low Tung Yeow who flew in with a two UN aircraft mission.  The aircraft were crewed by 13 Italians of the Italian Air Force. The aircraft landed at Kindu Airport in the afternoon on 12 November 1961.

After all the personnel and equipment had been off loaded from the aircraft, the Italian aircrew took a break.  Lt Zubir, the President of the Mess Committee, had lunch prepared for delivery to them at the airport. However, the CO of B Co 6 RMR ordered that the Italian airmen be brought to the mess for lunch. Lt Zubir realizing the danger the Italian airmen would be in, recommended otherwise to the CO. The Congolese hated all white men and Lt. Zubir was not at all easy allowing the white Italian airmen to leave the safety of the Airport. The CO of B Co nevertheless insisted that they be brought by vehicles to the mess and for Lt Zubir to have lunch prepared for them.
Thus, while the rest of the troop was still unloading equipment and materiel, 13 Malayans led by Capt. Maurice Lam and the 13 Italian Airmen left the Airport, to have lunch at B Co, 6 RMR’s Officers Mess.  Lt. Zubir had to return to the airport for additional supplies as there was not enough food or drink at the Officer’s Mess.

    While the Italians and Malayans were chatting, sipping their drinks waiting for Lt Zubir to return, a group of rebels from the Congolese Army suddenly surrounded the Officers Mess. The situation turned bad and chaos and confusion reigned for the rest of the day. The Congolese Army Rebels ordered everyone to lay down their arms and hand over the 13 Italian airmen to them. The Congolese probably thought the Italians were Belgians, and the Congolese hated Belgians, their former Colonial masters. When Capt Maurice Lam saw the events, he ran to the rear of the Officers Mess to get 2Lt Low and 2Lt Siebel.

Rounding the corner, Captain Maurice bumped into 2Lt Low, who was in the midst of setting up his tent and 2Lt Siebel.  2Lt Low who had just arrived minutes before, was also very uneasy, as he too realized that the Mess was quite far from the Airport.  Furthermore, earlier in the day, he had berated 2Lt Siebel on the condition of the Ferret Scout car that was stationed at the mess, as it was very dirty.  Capt Maurice immediately ordered the lieutenants to mount their vehicles. 2Lt Low asked why, to which Capt Maurice responded by telling him to shut up and just obey his orders.  2Lt Siebel quickly slipped into the driver’s seat while 2Lt Low took up the turret position as the vehicle commander. When 2Lt Low looked to his right, he was shocked to see about 40 to 50 rebels who were equipped with assorted automatic and semi-automatic weapons. Some rebels even had spears and others had bows and arrows. Some were wearing animal skins.   All of them were in front of the Mess, and they were surprised when they saw 2 Lieutenants Low and Siebel roaring towards them in their Ferret Scout Car.

Nearing the front of the Mess, 2Lt Low saw that the rebels were attacking and beating the Italian Airmen with rifle butts and they were being stomped upon. He quickly cocked his machine gun in the turret and aimed it at the rebels. At that moment, the Co, Major Daud of B Co 6th RMR yelled at him not to fire at the Congolese. He also ordered 2Lt Low to come down from the vehicle, to which Low replied to the Major, that in a situation like the current one he could not abandon his vehicle. The Major responded by saying, "You get down this instant, this is an order from me. I am your Commander here". 2Lt Low had no choice but to obey him.
Captain Maurice, who was on foot, seeing the commotion between the CO of B Co, 6 RMR and his Troop Leader 2Lt Low, countermanded the Major’s orders, ordering 2Lt Low to get back into his vehicle and to go back to the camp at the Airport. He further ordered Low to go back and bring the whole troop of Ferret Scout cars and to inform the men to be ready for combat. As they were about to leave the Mess, 2Lt Siebel who had difficulty driving the scout car asked 2Lt Low to switch places.
By now, there were quite a number of the rebels around the Scout car. When they saw 2Lt Siebel, they got excited, for 2Lt Siebel (who was Eurasian) looked like a white man. They clambered up the Scout car and started striking him. He got into hand-to-hand combat and was struggling with them. 2Lt Low managed to speed off and 2Lt Siebel managed to restrain and hold on to one of the rebels. He was handed over for confinement in the guardhouse at the Airport. Then 2Lt Low put his Troop on standby while 2Lt Siebel took his whole Troop to the Mess, along with the some members of B Co 6 RMR under Lt Zubir.

    While the events were happening, Lt Zubir had left the Officer’s Mess for about an hour in order to get more food and drink.  As he headed back towards the mess in his Land Rover carrying food, he saw the large number of Congolese Rebels surrounding the mess.  There were too many, and he was not allowed to enter the compound so he went back to the camp at the airport. Upon reaching the camp, he organized and placed his men on standby.  Then he made plans with 2Lt Siebel who had two Scout cars to retake the Officer’s Mess, which was now in the hands of the Congolese Army Rebels.

Seeing the approaching force of Lt Zubir, some of the rebels abandoned their positions, but some remained in their positions. As he approached the mess, Major Daud ran towards him, and ordered Lt Zubir and his men to return to the camp. He explained that he did not want a battle to breakout between the MSF and the Congolese Rebels who had overrun the Mess. He said he would solve the problem, with a very heavy heart Lt Zubir returned to the airport camp.  During all of this, the CO did see 2Lt Siebel.
Undaunted, 2 Lt Siebel continued advancing towards the Mess with his two Armored Ferret Scout cars. He had already given instructions to the rear scout car to provide covering fire if the Congolese brought fire to bear upon him. This arrangement was reciprocal. He approached the Congolese with his hatch locked down, as the Congolese were behaving very wildly and raged uncontrollably. He placed his Ferret scout car in front of the Congolese Truck carrying the 13 Italian airmen who the Congolese had abducted to block them. The other Ferret Scout car went behind the truck to make escape impossible for the truck carrying the Italians airmen. The Congolese were taken aback and were afraid of the Ferret Scout cars and the men manning them.

The situation was exacerbated when Major Daud came up to 2Lt Siebel's vehicle. He was followed by a group of rebels. The rebels who had followed him started climbing up 2Lt Siebel's car. Very loudly the Major started berating 2Lt Siebel, saying that they were not sent to the Congo to start a war and If the rebels wanted to take the Italians, then let them do so.

Major Daud had abandoned his duty of protecting the airmen and had placed them in danger by ordering them to be brought to the mess in the first place and now had allowed them to be captured by the rebels. Major Daud then further disgraced himself by ordering all the Officers and men at the mess to surrender their weapons to the rebels who had surrounded them, which they did sheepishly.

Capt. Maurice Lam arrived in the nick of time, accompanied by another troop leader and countermanded Major Daud’s orders and said that the Major’s orders were not be obeyed by the officers and men of A Sqd, 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment, in reference to surrendering their weapons. 
2 Lt. Mike Chong who was nearby clearly reported this statement.

Major Daud started banging his hand on the outside of 2Lt N.H. Siebel’s Armored car, shouting for Siebel to come out. The continuous thumping of the Major made him come out, and immediately the Congolese went for him thinking he was a European too. They started beating him up. He was quite a distance away from Capt Maurice. At the same time Major Daud allowed the truck with the 13 Italian Airmen to leave the area. 2Lt Siebel managed to escape and returned to the airport camp and eventually the rest of the officers joined him.  After a few hours groups of Congolese drifted in and surrounded the Kindu Airport.

Angry by the entire situation, Capt Maurice went to the B Co ^ RMR signal center at the airport to send a message to MSF headquarters in Bukavu. As the signaler was sending a Morse code message that the rebels had captured the 13 Italian Airmen and that the Kindu airport was being surrounded, Major Daud entered and ordered the signaler to stop transmitting. As a result, HQ received only half of the message.

Next Major Daud also ordered that the Congolese captured by 2Lt Siebel be released. They had no choice but to release the prisoner. The Congolese further demanded that all four Ferret Scout cars belonging to A Sqd and the two Italian aircraft be handed over to them. The Major ordered Capt Maurice to do so.  Capt Maurice defied the Major’s orders, saying that it was an illegitimate order. Further he told the Major and the Congolese, that they would fight to their last drop of blood if the Congolese attempted to capture the Armored vehicles or the two aircraft and in less than eight hours all the men (MSF) were dug into defensive positions around the airport, with the Congolese surrounding them. In order to persuade the Congolese to release the 13 Italian Airmen, Capt Maurice Lam demanded them to release the Italian Airmen, or face a full-scale attack by A Sqd, 2nd Reconnaissance Regiment that would be led by him.

Unfortunately, due to Major Daud, there were still no radio communications between the MSF HQ in Bukavu and Kindu as Major Daud was preventing communications between Capt Maurice's group and MSF HQ. MSF HQ sent an aircraft to conduct aerial reconnaissance. The pilot of the recon aircraft saw the UN flags flying, and the armored vehicles in good condition, so the situation on the ground looked normal, and he did not report that anything unusual was happening in Kindu.  Strangely, there is no record of attempts to contact the 13 missing Italian Airmen by the Italians themselves.

Eventually, three days later, a Lt Col from the UN Air Force came to Kindu, to get detailed information on the events there. After grasping the true situation on the ground in Kindu, UN HQ was informed. It was decided that an air and land attack was to be conducted on the Congolese Army Rebels who were located at three different locations. The attack by a land route was to be conducted by the MSF and the air attack by member nations of the UN who were there. The MSF were ready to conduct the attack under the command of Capt Maurice Lam.

For the aerial attack the jets of the Indian Air Force were to be used, they were Canberra bombers. They were to conduct three sorties on the three different locations. At the last minute the plans to conduct these large-scale attacks on the Congolese Rebel Army were cancelled. Communications between MSF HQ and Kindu were reestablished. The MSF Brigade decided to reinforce Kindu with two additional rifle companies from the 6 RMR. The two Companies were flown to Kindu under the command of Lt Col Syed Mohammed bin Syed Ahmad Alsagoff. Lt Col Syed relieved Major Daud of B Co, 6 RMR of command. The Congolese who had surrounded the Airport for ten days withdrew after the reinforcements had arrived.

When the Congolese Rebels had Kindu airport surrounded many of the local Belgians fled for their lives into the Air Port for protection. They informed the Malayans that the 13 Italian Airmen had been shot dead.  Later it was learned that their bodies had been butchered and sold as meat at the Kindu market. This information was corroborated by two UN liaison Officers, who were ordered by Major Daud to find out the situation of the unfortunate 13 Italian Airmen the day after their capture.

On the day the Congolese took the 13 Italian Airmen, there was a massive celebration in Kindu by the Congolese. They were overjoyed on capturing the Italians, who they had mistaken for Belgians. They continuously fired their weapons in the air in celebration. The firing went well on into the early hours of the morning.
When compared to the epic 1942 last stand of the regiment at Bukit Chandu (Opium Hill) during the Japanese invasion of Singapore, the incident of November 12th 1961 was one of the most disgraceful incidents in the annals of Malaysian Military History.  At the center of the controversy was the action of Major Daud, the CO of B Co, 6 RMR. Things would have turned out different if the officers of B Co had seized the initiative from their CO.   It has been reported that a few days later, when the Italians heard about it, the Malayan Embassy in Rome was stoned.

As a result, all Malayan troops were relieved of frontline duties and placed on rear echelon duties, such as guarding ammo dumps and key installations. In one stroke disgrace had descended on the whole Malayan Special Force. The rest of the UN Forces, lost their respect for Malayan Troops and no longer trusted them. What happened then might have been forgotten or swept under the carpet but is etched in the memories of the survivors and kept alive in the annals of history.
Capt Maurice Lam and 2Lt N.H. Siebel disobeyed the orders of their senior officer, and disobeyed him to preserve the honor of their unit. They saved the lives of their men and equipment and the four armored Ferret Scout cars and two aircraft.  Had they followed the orders of Major Daud, all would have been taken by the Congolese, and what might have resulted would have been even more tragic.

Both Captain Maurice Lam and 2Lt N.H. Siebel were bestowed the “Pingat Gagah Berani” (PGB) for valor by the King, His Majesty Tuanku Syed Putra ibni Al-Marhum Syed Hassan Jamalullai at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Hall in Ampang, Kulau Lumpur on the June 5th 1963.

 

Works Cited 
Borts, Lawrrence H. United Nations Medals and Missions: The Medals and
        Ribbons of the United Nations.  MOA Press: Fountain Inn, 1996.

Buyers, Christopher. “The Royal Ark: Royal and Ruling Houses of Africa, Asia,
       Oceania and the Americas.”  Web. Sept. 2010.

Gaszewski, Lukasz.  “Decorations and Medals of the Federation of Malaysia.”
        Web. 26 Apr. 2010.

Hayward, John, Diana Birch and Richard Bishop. British Battles and Medals.
         Spink: London, 2006.

Mussell, John W. ed. The Medal Yearbook 2011. Token Pub. Ltd.: Sparkford, 
          2011.
Noronha, R. S.  Personal letter.  Web.  3 Oct. 2006.

Pitta, Robert.  UN Forces 1948-94. Osprey Military: London, 1994.
 

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by azyeoman
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