Where are the Hailam Cooks?

 

So, how did this question come about? At one of our monthly gatherings, a group of old timers (me included) were reminiscing about our life in Malaysia, fondly recalling our hometowns, friends and naturally, the discussion drifted to our favourite topic which is food! Suddenly one of the old timers looked at me and said, “Hey, where have all the Hailam cooks gone too?” Since I am the only Hailam in that group, naturally that question was directed at me. As we know, there are many Hailam great cooks, well known for their excellent Hainanese chicken chop, Hailam mee (noodles), Hailam chicken rice, Hailam steak, etc and on top of that, they make the best “Kopi-O” and I am talking about the aromatic black coffee with “oomph” and not the one with the condensed milk or any added milk. After giving some thought to that question, I finally replied “You are right, we don’t see many Hailam cooks nowadays”. The only one that I could think of that is making headway today is Adam Liaw who won the Season 2 MasterChef Australia. I believe his grandfather was Hailam. Come to think of it, Adam Liaw who lives nearby to me has got a bit of that Hailam feature, ie: the shape of his face and a prominent forehead! Other than that, he is about as Australian as you can get. So, in today’s post, I am going to pay tribute to all the Hailam cooks (including the restaurant captains and waiters) out there!

I will start by reminiscing about my hometown of Klang. As some of you know, my grandfather started a coffee shop called “Nam Chuan” at Tengku Diauddin (Jalan Tengku Diauddin) somewhere in the late 1920s. I have written a few articles on this previously, so I am not going to dwell on it here. As Nam Chuan was one of the very early Hailam coffee shops in Klang, many of the Hailams who worked in Nam Chuan later on went to open their own coffee shops and restaurants and achieved great successes in their own right. As some of you may know, most Hailams in the early days were either operating coffee shops or working as cooks or waiters for the “Ang Moh” (the colloquial term for Europeans in Malaya). One of the people who worked at Nam Chuan who did very well for himself was Ah Nam or fondly known as Bo Nam (the term “Bo” is an endearing term in Hailam when referring to someone who is close). Bo Nam together with another Hailam opened and operated a restaurant called Yang Jung in Port Klang. Restaurant Yang Jung was famous for its “Hailam Char Siew” (Hailam roast pork), “Hailam Ee Pew” (stewed fish stomach wrapped around some meat and cooked in a thick broth) and Hailam Mee (noodles) amongst others. Bo Nam started out as a helper in Nam Chuan and later on became an apprentice cook. Yang Jung certainly served delicious food and Bo Nam did very well for himself. His business partner who was also a Hailam wasn’t a cook but I remember him as one of the restaurant Captain (maitre’d) in another famous Hailam restaurant in Port Klang called Seaview. After Seaview shut its doors, he and Bo Nam started Yang Jung. Even though, Yang Jung was doing well but for some reason, it did shut its doors later on which was quite sad. Unfortunately, we have lost touch with Bo Nam and do not know what had become of him. However, I do remember in the last few years of Yang Jung operating, Bo Nam’s son took over from him as the cook.

Sticking with Port Klang, there were other wonderful Hailam restaurants and coffee shops such as Port View restaurant, Port Klang rest house, Deluxe, Mariner’s Club and who can ever forget the “Golden Hill” or popularly known as “Kim Sua” belonging to the Ngiam family. As a matter of fact, my brother and I went to the same school with the Ngiam brothers (children / grandchildren of the owners of Golden Hill). My late auntie whom we called Ah Mai lived a few doors away from the Ngiams. Golden Hill which was strategically located along the Klang-Port Klang boulevard (or known as “Persiaran” in Malay) had got a famous huge facade advertising a particular brand of battery (if I am not mistaken). The coffee shop was located at the corner of a row of shops where the first KFC restaurant in Port Klang is located (by the way, the KFC is still there!) Port View restaurant was another well-known seafood restaurant in Klang Valley. It was operated by two Hailam business partners whom we referred to as Uncle Lim and Mr Chew. Uncle Lim who was already in his 80s back in 1980 was a rather healthy man. He could walked quickly and unaided. He could climbed stairs without any help and had more energy than people half his age. One could never believed he was in his 80s with the way he moved and the abundant energy he had. It was rather rare back than for people to reach 80 and on top of that, healthy and energetic. We always joked with Uncle Lim that his secret to his long life is that he never eats his own food in the restaurant! The ever sporting Uncle Lim would nod his head and smiled, saying that his meal is always made up of plain rice porridge (congee) with salted fish and salted duck egg. Uncle Lim was a rather entertaining fellow who unfortunately passed away not due to an illness but due to a complication from an eye cataract surgery. In those days, there was no laser surgery and the norm was that you would be put under general anaesthetics (GA) for the cataract surgery. Unfortunately for Uncle Lim, he did not wake up from the GA. As for his partner, Mr. Chew, he was a much younger man and I remember him as a rather polite person. Besides its food, one of the added advantage that Port View had over its competitors was its location - water front. You could see people boarding and alighting from the boats at the jetty and you can also see the big cargo ships and cargo cranes at the Port, thus the name “Port View”. I could still remember the loyal staff of Port View, namely a Hailam fellow by the name of Lawrence. Lawrence started as a waiter and then went on to become the restaurant Captain (maitre’d). When Port View shut its doors, Lawrence went on to work for Uncle Lim’s son by the name of George Lim in a Western restaurant known as D’Tavern. Port View was famous for its seafood but the dishes that stood out for me were its “cold chicken”, deep fried crab claw, Hailam fried mee (noodles), Hailam fried rice and steam pomfret. The “cold chicken” was made up of poached sliced chicken resting in an agar-agar casing with slaw and thousand island salad dressing generously poured over and served cold. The “crab claw” was a dish that everyone craves for as the crab claw (the real crab meat not the artificial kind) deeply fried with a little bit of batter and served with its famous Port View Hailam Chilli Sauce. You can taste the authentic crab meat as it was not overpowered by the batter like what you would have today. Then we have the steam pomfret which was cooked just right but the best thing about this dish was the way it was served. One of the waiters would come with a fork and knife and expertly sliced the steam pomfret running a knife in the middle and removing the entire bone. After that, the waiter would use a spoon to splash the sauce / gravy over the meat. I could never get tired watching this spectacular scene. The Hailam fried mee and fried rice were usually served last as a filler for those who are still not full at that stage. An added bonus was the desert of ice longan juice with cubes of red jelly, almond and longan to end a wonderful meal. That was Port View restaurant for you.

Then we have the other Hailam seafood restaurants in Port Klang such as Sea View restaurant and Muara View. They served similar food like Port View but at a lower price. However, during Port View’s hey day, you can’t beat Port View when it came to seafood. However, the standard did drop after Uncle Lim’s passing. Sea View restaurant had an added advantage over Port View as it was located in a huge bungalow house with ample parking in its grounds.

Apart from the restaurants, we have the Hailam coffee shops such as Deluxe and Golden Hill. Deluxe was attached to a budget hotel located in a corner shop lot. It was famous for its chicken rice. It also served Hailam chicken chop but it wasn’t something I would order as it had too much tomato paste which gave an overpowering sourish taste. However, it did serve the Hailam butter and kaya (coconut jam) bread. At that time, they still had the thick fluffy bread which was served either steamed or toasted. The steamed Hailam bread was delicious as it was thick and fluffy while the toasted was perfectly charred using the traditional charcoal heating method. Then you have the Golden Hill which belonged to the Ngiam family. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to taste the food over there but from what I heard, they served some really good “Hailam kopi O”.  If I recall correctly, there was another Hailam coffee shop located under the bridge on the way to what is now known as Pulau Indah. I was brought there by a “Suki” (a fellow Hainanese) but I wasn’t very impress with its food. They offered the usual fare associated with Hailam such as chicken chop, Hailam Mee, etc but it wasn’t something memorable. To me, it was just passable. I believe the coffee shop is still operating. I have not been to Port Klang for almost a decade now but I do recall I used to go to a Hailam coffee shop which was located in a pre-War shop lot near the traffic lights diagonally from the Embassy Hotel (not sure if the hotel is still there). The coffee shop was operated by two sisters who were already quite elderly when I visited there the last time in 2010. It used to be my “go-to” place whenever I visited Port Klang. They served delicious home cooked food. I used to order their bitter-gourd shop, sambal sliced chicken, black bean sliced fish and either Hailam noodle or Hailam fried rice, sometimes both! The food was delicious and the price was very reasonable. I am not sure if the shop is still there. The sisters would have been quite old if they are still around.

The other places that I mentioned were the food outlets in the Mariner’s Club and the old Port Klang rest house which were independently operated by Hailams who used to work for the “Ang Moh”, therefore, they knew how to cater to the hotel guests which were mainly Europeans at that time. Apart from that, there was another place that I used to frequent. It wasn’t a restaurant or a coffee shop but rather a stall. They operated only at night near to the Deluxe coffee shop. It was operated by another Hailam family selling glutinous rice balls similar to “Tong Yuen”. I know I am going to get a lot brickbats for saying this but I am going to say it anyway. “Tong Yuen” is actually copied or derived from a Hailam delicacy called “Wa Kia Hor” (gluttonous rice ball served in a hot ginger broth. The word “Hor” in Hailam means soup) and “Wa Kia Ark” (glutinous rice ball served dry with a lot of peanuts crumbs and fine sugar splattered all over it). They were delicious. The stall only operates in the evening and it was not unusual to find a long line waiting for this delicacy.

As this post is going beyond my usual length, I am going to stop here and write further about Hailam cooks and food under Part 2 of this post. Meanwhile if you know of other places in Port Klang, do share in the comments.

WAR STORIES: The street smart kid in WWII Malaya

 

Here is another story about World War II in Malaya as told to me by a retired Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) senior officer. One day, the retired senior officer and I were sitting at our favourite watering hole and exchanging stories when all of a sudden, he said to me, “Do you know how I got into BRNC (Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth)?” I replied, “I have no idea. You must have got some “strong cables” (the colloquial term for important political or bureaucratic connections)?” The retired RMN senior officer responded, “I have neither. I came from a very poor family. My siblings are all illiterate except for me. I owed my education and career to my eldest brother” With that, he began his story:

“Even though my oldest brother was illiterate and not educated in the scholarly sense but he was street smart. When he was in his early teens, he was already supporting the family by working odd jobs and selling all sort of things that he could find or get his hands on. When the War came to Malaya, many people suffered financially and economically. Being street smart, he was determined to support his family. He braved himself by walking into the Japanese garrison asking for work. The Japanese army officers were taken by surprise to see a young boy who dared to walk into the garrison and seeking a job. Perhaps because they were impressed with his boldness and bravery, they hired him. My brother worked as an “office boy” running errands, sweeping the floor and making drinks for the Japanese officers. Because he was a hard worker, the Japanese sometimes would give him some extra rations like cigarettes, sugar, salt and rice. My brother would then take those rations and sell them in the black market. He made some handsome returns for those rations. As time goes by the Japanese became comfortable with him and sometimes would discussed sensitive matters among themselves in my brother’s presence. My brother began to notice lately, the Japanese were always talking nervously among themselves but were polite towards him. He also noticed that the Japanese were quick in selling off their rations and personal belongings. My brother thought this was rather odd. As my brother was illiterate, he wasn’t able to read the cables and tons of papers lying on the tables of the Japanese officers. However, being street smart and trusting his own instinct, he knew something was up and his instinct tells him that the War will end soon and the Japanese will not be the ones celebrating. Taking cue from the Japanese soldiers who were selling their rations and supplies, my brother did just the opposite. He went to the local traders and bought their rations, especially tin food, sugar, salt and rice with his Japanese Government issued “banana money”. He wanted to unload all of his “banana money” as he knew that the “banana money” will be worthless once the Japanese surrenders. Not long after spending all of his “banana money”, the Japanese did surrender. All of the traders who dealt with my brother and thought they made a “killing” from the sale, had tons of worthless “banana money” with them. After the Japanese surrendered, my brother being a shrewd person, decided to sell back the rations to the traders and earned himself a huge return. After the war, he went into trading and did very well. That was how he sponsored my studies at Victoria Institution and subsequently earned myself a place at BRNC”.

WAR STORIES: The Hailam and the sack of rice

 

Being half Hainanese (or colloquially referred to as Hailam), naturally, I am interested in anything to do with this clan in the Chinese community.  Recently, my father asked me, “Do you know once upon a time, a lot of Hailam men were marrying Hakka women in Port Klang. Do you know why?” I thought that was a loaded question as my father himself did not marry to a Hailam lady but rather to a Foo Chow lady from Sibu who is my mother! My father then gave me an example, “Look at See Ping (a friend of the family), his father was Hailam and his mother was Hakka and they used to live in Bagan Hailam in Port Klang”. See Ping was an old family friend who used to work in an insurance company and then later became the face of a rather popular chilli sauce widely sold in the Klang Valley known as “Uncle Tan’s Chilli”. All this while, I thought See Ping was a 100% Hainanese as he spoke the language fluently but imagine my surprise when I heard of this new piece of information. Back to my father’s initial question, I replied I didn’t and so my father began his story which dated back to the Second World War in Malaya. Before the War, there were many Hainanese men living in a place called Bagan Hailam (Hailam Village) in Port Klang. Many of those living there were either fishermen or seafarers. Therefore, their income was slightly better than most immigrants from China. On the other hand, the Hakkas at that time were quite poor, therefore to seek a better life, many of the women married to  Hailam men. I asked my father, “Didn’t these Hainanese men have wives and families back home?” My father replied, “Yes they did but it was common at that time to have a wife in a foreign country while still being married in China”. My father continued that many of them started having a “second family” in Malaya (as it was known then) while their “first family” was in China. See Ping was a product from one of those Hailam-Hakka relationships. Therefore, it is not surprising to find many of the descendants scattered all over Malaysia today that can speak both Hailam and Hakka fluently though the numbers are beginning to dwindle due to the increase in marriages beyond among the 2 clans.

Anyway, back to the story of Bagan Hailam - one day, during the Japanese occupation in Malaya, a trader from Bagan Hailam came to my grandfather’s house carrying a sack of rice. My grandfather was rather surprise to receive this precious gift. My grandfather thanked the trader profusely but the Hailam trader stopped him and said, “Don’t thank me. This is from your relative in Thailand”. My grandfather looked puzzled. We are in the midst of War and how on earth did a scarce commodity like a sack of rice landed in his doorstep, more so, when it came all the way from Thailand and on top of that, it was from a relative! The Hailam explained that as a trader and fisherman he was permitted by the Japanese to carry out his trade. He was allowed to move along the coast of Malaya all the way up to Thailand as Thailand being supposedly a neutral country during WWII was friendly towards the Japanese. When the traders were in southern Thailand, they came across a Thai merchant who was of Hainanese descent. The traders were glad to meet another Hailam in Thailand. The Thai merchant asked the traders which part of Malaya are they from. When they replied, “Klang”, the Thai merchant got excited and said, “I have a long lost relative who lives in Klang”. When the traders asked him “Where in Klang?”. He could not say as he lost touch with my grandfather. All he knew was that the relative lives in Klang. When they asked him for his name, he replied, “Tan Jin Ko”. The two traders looked as each other and nodded their heads. They told the Thai merchant, “We know this Tan Jin Ko. He is the President of the Klang Keng Chiu Hoi Kuan (Klang Hainanese Association)”. The Thai merchant was delighted to hear that. The Thai merchant asked a favour from the traders. He said to the traders, “I know there is a shortage of food supply in Malaya due to the War, can you do me a favour and deliver this sack of rice to Tan Jin Ko?” The Thai merchant knew this was a risky thing to ask as he only got to know the traders in such a short period of time and he wasn’t sure if they could be fully trusted. However, being bonded by mutual clan of being a fellow Hailam, he decided to risk it. The traders agreed and that was how the sack of rice landed on my grandfather’s doorstep. If you would like to read more about the story of my grandfather and WWII, you can visit here http://mediationskills.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-japanese-lady-who-saved-my.html

My experience with COVID-19

 

On 5th January 2022, I was added to the official statistic for the number of COVID-19 cases in New South Wales (NSW). How did that happened? Well, here is my story:

Since the middle of December 2021, the number of COVID cases in NSW have been increasing day after day. This was just a few days after the NSW government had eased COVID restrictions such as lifting of face masks wearing and abolishment of QR code scanning in non high risk places. In spite of the easing of these restrictions during that time, I noticed that many people were still wearing face masks regardless whether they were in indoors or outdoors. This could be due to either people were still worried about catching COVID or they just didn’t believe that the COVID situation was improving. On 22nd December 2021, I went in for my scheduled oral surgery to treat my infected jaw bone and bone grafting. The procedure took about 2 hours. For obvious reasons, I would need to unmask in that duration while undergoing the surgery and treatment. The recovery from post-surgery was quite uncomfortable. I had a big swell on the left side of my face. I was on antibiotics and painkillers (I rarely take painkiller unless it becomes unbearable and this was one of those rare moments). On 28th December 2021, I had my appointment to take my booster vaccine shot. My earlier intention was to do it some time in January 2022. However, since the government have reduced the waiting time for boosters as well as urging us to take the booster shots as soon as possible, I felt that I should comply and get it over with. I also got the assurance from my dental surgeon who advised that it was safe to take the booster shot a few days after my oral surgery.

On that fateful day, I went to the Sydney Olympic Park Vaccination hub. As it was just a few days after Christmas, I did not expect to see many people at the Vaccination hub. Boy, was I wrong! There was a long line and it was crowded at the Vaccination hub. However, kudos to the health staff, the process was very easy, well organised and efficient. When it came to my turn for the booster shot, the nurse went through a list of questions with me and then proceeded with the shot. I was asked to wait in the “observation area” for 15 minutes until one of the health staff releases me. There were quite a number of people waiting together with me. Looking around, I was thinking to myself, “Wow, if someone here is COVID POSITIVE, this would be a “super spreader” venue”. Anyway, when my 15 minutes was up, I was officially released and allowed to leave the “observation area”. Unlike my other two vaccine shots, I did not go home but instead went to have lunch with my 87 year old friend, Uncle Eddie Chin. We had a nice lunch and as usual, great chat. When I came home, I felt lethargic but I put that all down as “side-effect” from the booster shot. In the evening, I had the “chills” and felt my face was quite hot. Fortunately, it was just for a short while. The next morning, except for the soreness in my arm due to the jab and a bit of a scratchy throat, I was fine. By afternoon, the soreness was gone but I felt tired. Again, I just put that down to the “side-effect” from the booster shot. On 30th December 2021, my throat was still scratchy. Even though it was scratchy but it didn’t really affect me as it was hardly noticeable unless I really focus on it. I could also swallow without any difficulty as my throat wasn’t sore at all. That evening, my family and I were invited to a friend’s house for dinner. I didn’t eat very much but I was thirsty. When I came home, I was very tired. I went to bed early.

That night I had a mild fever and my throat was a bit dry which made it even more scratchy. On New Year’s eve, while everyone was out celebrating, I just didn’t have the mood to celebrate. I was still very tired. Again, I put that all down as “side-effect” from the booster shot. That night, I began to cough, had fever and my nose was runny. I took Panadol and the fever went away. However, the cough and the runny nose became worst. The next day which was New Year’s day, I was still very tired. I was feeling down and restless. I just wanted to lie down and go to sleep but couldn’t. As I was lying down and looking up the ceiling, all sort of things were coming into my mind. I said to myself, “this can’t be the side effect from the booster. I didn't have any side effect from my first two shots and also, it has been about 4 days now”. I asked my wife whether it is possible to buy a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kit since the test kits were sold out almost everywhere. By a streak of good luck and my wife’s sheer determination, she managed to get some RAT kits. I took the test and it immediately showed the 2 blue lines that confirmed that I am COVID POSITIVE. I didn’t even need to use the ultra violet light that came with the kit as the 2 lines were so clear and unambiguous.

I immediately called the NSW Health to self-report that I am COVID POSITIVE but the NSW Health person said that I need to do a PCR test in one of the test centres. This was before the NSW Government changed their rulings on self reporting using RAT kit. I informed the NSW Health person that most of the test centres have shut their doors due to the overwhelming number of people requiring such tests that put enormous pressure on the health system plus it was New Year’s day. The person still advised me to try somehow and meanwhile, to self-isolate except when going out for the PCR test. I immediately poured through the entire cyberspace to look for a test centre that would be opened. I didn’t mind traveling as I would be in a car. I finally found 2 places that indicated they would be opened on 2nd January 2022. On 2nd January 2022, my wife and I decided to get ourselves tested. My wife’s RAT result was inconclusive and decided to go with me  to take the PCR test. Meanwhile, my kids did their second Rapid Antigen Test and found themselves to be negative. We drove to the first test centre that I googled. As suspected, we were informed that they have stopped operating due to heavy stress on the health system. I told my wife, there is another test centre from my internet search that could still be operating but not to hold our breath. When we reached the drive-in test centre, I was happy to see a long line of cars queuing up! That means the drive-in test centre is operating! We decided to join the long queue. All in all, it wasn’t that bad as we were quite comfortable sitting in the car and it took us about 90 minutes to complete the PCR test. We were told to go home and to wait for the PCR test results.

I felt much more energetic but the cough was still there. However, I could feel the cough wasn’t as bad as before because I could now construct a full sentence without coughing. The rest of the day was uneventful. When night came, I noticed that my children who were isolated from us were coughing and I could see from afar that they were rubbing their eyes. I immediately suspected that they must have caught COVID. Since our RAT kits were quite scarce due to the overwhelming demand, my wife advised that the kids should do the Rapid Antigen test on Day 5 as they have just taken them this morning. I told my wife that I recognised the symptoms from my experience and to take the test again. My children took the Rapid Antigen test that night and both of them received POSITIVE results. When our PCR results came back, they confirmed that both my wife and I are COVID POSITIVE. So, we have now an entire household / family that was COVID POSITIVE.

When you have an entire household that is COVID POSITIVE, the first thing is to get yourselves organised. The advantage is that you do not need to isolate with each other anymore since everyone is COVID POSITIVE. Apart from that, we also removed our face mask. It is strange but somehow it felt good to be a family as a whole again. We could move about in the house without any restriction. It certainly felt good to be free again, although, it was a confined freedom! Our concern is now focus on how to replenish our food supply. Luckily, my cousin and my sister-in-law were able to assist but we didn’t want to bother them too much. We also used UberEats to order food delivery. However, many of the participating UberEats restaurants suspended their delivery service during that period. It was due to lack of workers and disruption in supply chain due to COVID and holiday period. During this period, essential goods were becoming scarce due to supply issues as many people either got COVID or were isolating due to being a close contact. When we managed to order from the restaurant, the serving had become noticeably smaller and the prices have also increased significantly. These are interesting times, we are living in.

On Day 3 after I have been tested COVID POSITIVE, all of the sudden, my sense of smell became  wacky. The 4711 cologne that I have been using for years had suddenly smelt strange to me. Even certain food which I am accustomed to and familiar with suddenly smelt alien to me. This took about 2 days before I regain my sense of smell again. By Day 6, I felt much better, almost to my normal self. I took the Rapid Antigen Test and was delighted when I found out that I was COVID NEGATIVE. The next day, I received a letter of release from NSW Health that allows me to leave isolation and to join the community once again.

Even though, I am now COVID NEGATIVE but it took me a while to regain my stamina and strength. I wasn’t the only one but many friends who got COVID experienced the same thing. Climbing uphill or walking for a long period of time became a huge task. I was able to walk 10km a day without any problems but after having COVID, walking even 5km became an arduous task. I decided to take things easy and not to push it. Listen to your body. If you are tired, REST, and if you are able, WALK. I did that for about a month. I am happy to report that recently, I completed a 12.7km without even realising it. I hope that I am back to normal but like many doctors say, it is still too early to tell what is the long term effect of COVID. My advice is not to sweat over it but to take each day as it comes.

Age vs Goals

It is interesting to note how the perception of our goal changes when we aged. From 4 years old to mid teens, we have a perception of what we call as “fantasies”. We “fantazise” ourselves as superheroes. We wanted to save the world and the universe. We wanted to stop bad guys and get rid of all the villains. In a fantasy world, nothing could stop us from doing whatever we felt was right and just. Then we grew into our mid teens, from 14 to our mid twenties, we have our “dreams”. We “dreamt” to be the CEO of a well known corporation or being the nation’s leader or even being a famous actor or celebrity. When we are at that age, our rational mind tells us that “dreams” are achievable with a lot of hard work whereas “fantasies” are not. When we reach our late twenties and leading to early forties, we have “ambitions”. We began to have attainable goals such as being the Head of our Department or a Manager in a company or a Principal of a school. These are our ambitions where with some efforts and hard work, we know they are attainable and achievable. When we come to our fifties and above (my group), we become “realists” where we are conscious of our own limitations and doing what we are capable of. We cannot, of course, discount the fact that there are people in my age group that are still living in a “fantasy world” or a “dream world” or an “ambitious world”. There is nothing wrong imagining yourself living in those worlds, however, just make sure that your feet remain grounded as we can’t go against the order of nature. Being a realist at my age means able to wake up each day, able to stay healthy both mentally and physically, able to meet up with friends and able to eat and drink without being assisted. That, my friends, are life’s true blessings!

Silver lining in the Pandemic

With the lockdown still in place in most places and the pandemic still being declared globally, COVID-19 has caused a lot of hardships but at the same time, there are also some positives that can be derived from the current situation. As nasty as  the COVID-19 may be, I would also like to think that it is a way of “mother nature” telling us to re-look at ourselves, at our surroundings (ie: our environment) and to re-adjust our lifestyle or perhaps even to slow down in this fast moving world. If you look at our lifestyles 6 months ago and compare them to now, we can see that many of us are not only learning the phrase “taking it easy” but also to practise them as well. We are also beginning to appreciate life by taking the time to admire our beautiful surroundings. Suddenly the air that we breathe is becoming fresher, we are calmer and more patient. The pollution and noise have been reduced and the roads are a lot less busier. I can’t help but to imagine whether this was how life used to be in the old days? We also began to notice the small changes taking place all around us which we normally ignore or didn’t even give two hoots about it. I have also noticed that people are now more discipline (ie: queuing up wherever they go AKA “social distancing”) being more hygienic (ie: washing their hands often and wearing masks). People have also learned to respect each other’s personal space - something that many of us have been advocating for many years but never seem to make any headway until now! I hope you will be able to appreciate and see a silver lining in this situation we are all in and make the most out of it.

Malayan Emergency (1948-60)

The Malayan Emergency (1948-1960)

(A lecture given by Seumas Tan on 5th May 2018

at the Military History Society of NSW)

The Malayan Emergency or “Darurat Malaya” in Malaya was formally declared in 1948 by the British. However, in actual fact the insurgency happened a lot earlier than that. In order to understand the insurgency, we need to look at who were the early insurgents?

The Early Insurgents

The early insurgents in Malaya were mainly made up of ethnic Chinese who all had one thing in common - they were all anti-Japanese. Strong anti-Japanese sentiment could be felt in Malaya as early as 1930s when the Japanese Imperial Army invaded Manchuria. There were many anti-Japanese activists during that period and amongst them was my grandfather, Tan Jin Ko.

Tan Jin Ko

 Tan Jin Ko - my grandfather

Tan Jin Ko was a Chinese community leader and the President of the Hainanese Association. He came to Malaya as a stowaway from the island of Hainan in China at a very young age. He didn’t have much education but he had a gift - he was a natural linguist who could picked up languages quite easily. He taught himself to speak the Malay language (the local language in Malaya / Malaysia) and was able to read and write “Jawi” (Arabic scripts). Due to the fact that he was able to communicate well with the local Malay community, he got a job in the “istana” (palace) working for the Sultan of Selangor (one of the state Rulers in Malaya / Malaysia). He became the Sultan of Selangor’s personal driver and mechanic. Due to his close relationship with the Sultan, he also became an unofficial interlocutor between the Palace and the Chinese community.

When the anti-Japanese sentiment began to spread to Malaya, my grandfather who by then had become a Chinese community leader was very active in raising funds to support the resistant fighters in China. Unfortunately for him, when the Japanese occupied Malaya, he was betrayed by a member of the community. He was detained and tortured by the Kempetai. He had never fully recovered from the injuries and died after the War. Tan Jin Ko wasn’t a Communist member but he had the same anti-Japanese sentiment as the Communist members in Malaya at that time.

The early insurgents were patriots

The early insurgents were trained by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) led by Colonel Freddy Spencer Chapman (author of “Jungle is Neutral”) who was part of the “stay behind force” in Malaya. The objective of the “stay behind force” was to train and assist the resistant fighters after the fall of Malaya to the Japanese Imperial Army. The majority of the resistant fighters were from the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM). They were trained in sabotage and guerrilla warfare which proved to be useful to the insurgents later on. They used these skills extensively against the Malayan Government during the Emergency.

The resistant fighters formed the “Malayan People Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA)” which later evolved and became the “Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA)”. The MNLA was the military arm of the CPM. The MPAJA was highly looked upon by the British army. One British General described the MPAJA as “disciplined people who had great seriousness of purpose”.

Besides the MPAJA, there was another group of resistant in Malaya known as Force 136. Force 136 in Malaya was formed by John Davis and Lim Bo Seng (a hero to many Singaporeans until today). Many people see Force 136 as guerrilla fighters but in actual fact, they were not. It is my personal opinion that the Force 136 acted more like an intelligence unit that was set up to gather information, recruit informants, provide logistics support and to encourage resistant against the Japanese Imperial Army. Interestingly enough, the members of Force 136 were not referred to as soldiers or fighters, they were simply referred to as agents. The MPAJA worked closely with Force 136 throughout the Malayan Campaign.

End of Japanese Occupation

When the Japanese surrendered on 15/08/1945, an “interregnum” followed in Malaya. An “interregnum” here would be the period between the time the Japanese surrendered and when the British Military Administration (BMA) took over. During this period of uncertainty, the “law of the jungle” came into force. The MPAJA was busy seizing controls of territory across Malaya and punishing “collaborators” of the Japanese regime. Eyewitnesses mentioned that the MPAJA was even more ruthless than the Japanese. Racial tension was also high because many local Malays who worked for the Japanese were summarily executed by the MPAJA.

Return of British Rule

The British formally took control of Malaya on 12/09/1945. The British army knew about MPAJA’s actions but chose not to take action against the MPAJA. Instead they restricted the MPAJA to certain areas. There could be a number of reasons as to why the British chose not to take action against the MPAJA. It is my personal opinion that the British at that time still viewed the MPAJA as a “friendly force”, therefore, they didn’t want to start another conflict so early as the Malayan Campaign had just ended. They allowed MPAJA to remain armed until negotiations were finalised for their disarmament.

Disbandment of MPAJA

The MPAJA was formally dissolved on 01/12/1945. A gratuity sum of $350.00 (Malayan dollars), which was a lot of money then, was paid to each disbanded member of the MPAJA. The disbanded member was also given the option to join civilian employment or to join the Police or the local Regiment. A total of 5,947 weapons were handed in by 6,800 guerrillas. However many of those who surrendered the weapons were not Communists but people who had resentment towards the Japanese. The British became suspicious when they examined the surrendered weapons and discovered that the weapons were in actual fact, old weapons. This suspicion was confirmed when one day the British army while in its routine patrol stumbled upon an armed Chinese settlement. The Chinese insurgents immediately fired at the British. One of the Chinese insurgents was killed in the incident. It is my humble opinion that if it had been one of the British soldiers killed, the Emergency would have been declared much earlier.

The mindset of the insurgents - why were they creating havoc?

Many people would think that when the War had ended, peace would be restored and there would not be any further conflict or suffering. Unfortunately, when it came to Malaya, the Communist had different ideas. Based on my research, I would submit the following as to why the Communist wanted to create disturbance in Malaya:

1.     The Communists were anti-Colonial. They did not like their country occupied by another country. First it was the Japanese and now the British. The little “freedom” that they enjoyed during the “interregnum” had come to an end when the British returned to Malaya.

2.     The Communists felt that they should be rewarded and given a bigger role in governing the Country as they were the ones that helped the British to defeat the Japanese.

3.     The Communists believed they had the support from the locals in getting rid of the British. The Communists thought the strong support that they received from the locals during the Japanese occupation would also apply to the British occupation of Malaya.

4.     The Communists wanted to create an incident that would show the British that the Communist was a force to be taken seriously, thus we have the first incident that led to the declaration of Emergency.

The First Incident - The Sungai Siput incident (Elphil Estate)

The first shots of the Malayan Emergency were fired at 8.30am on 16/06/1948 at Elphil Estate. Three European planters were killed. They were Arthur Walker (50 years, manager of the Estate), John Allison (55 years) and Ian Christian (believed to be in his early 20s). They were executed by 3 young Chinese insurgents. Two days later (18/06/1948), the British declared Emergency in Malaya and the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) was outlawed. The Police was given power to arrest and detain the Communists.

On January 1949, the CPM formed the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and started guerrilla warfare which they learned from the British SOE during WWII. The guerrilla warfare involved guerrilla tactics, sabotaging installations, attacking rubber plantations and destroying transportation and infrastructures. The CPM was led by the Secretary General, Chin Peng.

Chin Peng

Also known as Ong Boon Hua was born in Sitiawan, Malaya. He was awarded the Burma Star and the OBE but the awards were revoked later on. From a hero during the Malayan Campaign, Chin Peng became “Public Enemy No. 1” after the War. Chin Peng was described as a ruthless person and the brain behind the CPM and the insurgents.

Interestingly enough, Chin Peng did not start out as a Communist. He started as an anti-Japanese activist during the Malayan Campaign. Contrary to what most believed, Chin Peng was not educated in Chinese but was in fact, educated in English. It was reported that he was given the opportunity to continue his further education in Chinese in Singapore but he refused. Instead, he opted to stay on in Malaya to continue his education in English.

Chin Peng was admitted as a member of the CPM in January 1940. He received training in guerrilla warfare from the British SOE and because he spoke English well, he became a liaison officer between the MPAJA and the British Military in South East Asia.

I have never met Chin Peng in real life but my former colleague did. He was Chin Peng’s lawyer when Chin Peng filed an application in Court to challenge the Malaysian Government’s decision to bar him from returning to Malaysia. When I asked my colleague, “what was Chin Peng like as a person?” My colleague replied, “He is like an old Uncle. A polite, friendly and soft-spoken man”. My colleague’s description of him was very different from the person I read about in history books. In history books, he was described as ruthless and merciless.

When the attack from the insurgents became more rampant, more brutal and more aggressive, the British had to react fast and that was when they brought in Lieutenant General Sir Harold Briggs.

Sir Harold Briggs / Briggs Plan

Sir Harold Briggs was a British Senior Military Officer who served in WWI and WWII. He was well liked by Field Marshall William Slim who described him as a “good commander who made very few mistakes”. Sir Harold Briggs retired in 1948 but was recalled to resume active duty by Sir William Slim who was then the British Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Sir Harold Briggs was appointed as the Director of the Operations in Malaya to fight against the Communists. He created what was known as the Briggs Plan.

The objective of the Briggs Plan was to cut-off the insurgents’ resources that came mainly from civilian support (Communist’s sympathisers). In order to do this, Briggs introduced the following:

1.    Briggs created “New Villages” (it’s known as “Sin Choon” in the Hokkien Chinese dialect). The objective was to separate and isolate the Communist’s sympathisers from the insurgents. The creation of “New Villages” was very effective as the Government managed to cut the supply of food and intelligence given by the Communist’s sympathisers to the insurgents. Many years later even Chin Peng admitted that the Communists were starving when Briggs Plan was implemented. Any area that had Communist activities or believed to have Communist supporters would be classified as a “Black area”. The area would be reclassified as a “White area” when there were no longer any Communist activities or supporters.

2.     Briggs introduced Identity Cards (IC) for all Malayans. The purpose of the IC was to distinguish between bona fide Malayans and the insurgents. The early IC had the particulars of the card holder and his/her thumbprints. Today, Malaysians still carry their ICs wherever they go. The IC today is much more sophisticated that has an embedded chip that contains encrypted information and the IC can also be used as a debit card.

Even though, the Briggs Plan was introduced by Sir Harold Briggs but it was in fact implemented by Field Marshall Sir Gerald Templer. The reason was because Sir Harold Briggs became sick and had to return to UK. Sir Harold Briggs died in Cyprus in 1952.

Field Marshall Sir Gerald Temple

Sir Gerald Templer had a distinguished military career and subsequently became the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1955-58) after serving in Malaya as the British High Commissioner from 1952 till 1954. The role of the British High Commissioner in Malaya then was not the same as the role of the British High Commissioner as we know today. The British High Commissioner then was basically the defecto Head of State with wide executive powers. The reason the British gave the name “High Commissioner” and not as “Head of State” was because they didn’t want the title to be seen as usurping the status of the Sultans in the Malay States.

Sir Gerald Templer was a brilliant commander who looked at things from different angles. He was the one who successfully implemented the Briggs Plan and added his own aggressive strategies. He used psychological warfare where he was reported to say, “The answer lies not in pouring more troops into the jungle, but in the hearts and minds of the people”. It was reported that in “winning the hearts” of the people, Templer himself learned the local language and culture to gain the support of the people. Templer demanded that the newly built villages where the ethnic Chinese settled away from the jungles (ie: away from the Communists) should look more inviting rather like detention camps. To further gain the “hearts and souls” of the non-Malays, Templer fought hard to grant Malayan citizenship to over 2.6 million Malayan residents, of which 1.1 million were Chinese. Templer wanted to seek “political and social equality for all Malayans”, something which the CPM wanted to do.

In order to flush out the insurgents, Templer introduced incentive schemes for rebels who surrendered. At the same time, Templer also took drastic steps to fight insurgency by imposing strict curfews and tight control of food supplies. Templer ordered that all crops grown by the Communists to be sprayed with herbicide and destroyed. The methods carried out by Templer were effective as the CPM relocated its headquarters to Belong, South Thailand in 1953.

When Templer left Malaya in 1954, the situation had stabilised. However, Templer did not allow complacency to occur in his Army and the Government. Before Templer left Malaya, he declared, “I will shoot the bastard who says the Emergency is over”. One of the main reasons why Templer was brought into Malaya as the British High Commissioner was because of a very dark event that took place earlier - the assassination of Sir Henry Gurney.

The assassination of Sir Henry Gurney

Sir Henry Gurney was more of a civil servant rather than a soldier. He was a Colonial British administrator. Sir Henry Gurney was appointed as the British High Commissioner in Malaya on 01/10/1948 which was barely a few months after the Emergency was declared. He was assassinated on 06/07/1951 while on the way to Fraser’s Hill. Fraser’s Hill is a beautiful hill resort which is about 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. Sir Henry Gurney was travelling in his official car (a Rolls Royce Silver Wreath) with his wife, private secretary Dennis Staple and a local Malay driver. His car was escorted by a Land Rover with 6 Malayan policemen sitting at the back, a police radio van and an armoured scout car. There was a total of 13 policemen led by a senior British police officer by the name of PM Brodie. They were equipped with one Bren, .303 rifles and revolvers. While on the journey to Fraser’s Hill, the police radio van broke down. Henry Gurney insisted that they would proceed without the police radio van. The Rolls Royce and the Land Rover went ahead leaving behind the armoured vehicle and the police radio van. By the time, the armoured vehicle caught up (PM Brodie estimated it was 2 to 3 minutes later), the ambush had already occurred. Five of the six Malayan policemen were wounded and the driver was killed.

Henry Gurney saved his wife by pushing her down from the seat. He opened the door and walked towards where the guerrillas were firing. In other words, he sacrificed himself for the safety of his wife and those in the car. Henry Gurney thought the Communists were aiming for him but in truth, the Communists didn’t even know that Henry Gurney would be travelling to Fraser’s Hill on that day. Their initial objective was to ambush supply trucks, looking for food and supply but when they saw the Rolls Royce approaching with its Union Jack flag waving, the Communists knew they hit the “jackpot”.

The assassination of Henry Gurney had shocked everyone, especially the British. This led them to bring in Field Marshall Sir Gerald Templer as the new British High Commissioner in Malaya. Due to the effectiveness of Gerald Templer’s methods, the CPM wanted to seek a peace negotiation which led to the “Baling Talks”.

The Baling Talks 1955

Apart from the effectiveness of Templer’s methods, the CPM realised that the local Malayan politicians had achieved more for the independence movement since 1948 than CPM. There was also a reduction in support from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the then Soviet Union who viewed the armed struggle in Malaya as untenable. This led to Chin Peng writing to Tunku Abdul Rahman who had at that time just been elected as the Chief Minister of Malaya. The Tunku (as he was fondly known) subsequently became the first Prime Minister of Malaysia and is known as the “Father of Independence”.

Two preliminary meetings (similar to the preparation of the inter-Korea summit recently held on 27/04/2018) were held to prepare for the actual Peace Talks. The following were agreed by both the Government and the CPM:

1.     That the Peace Talks would commence on 28/12/1955 at a local school in a place called Baling.

2.     The security procedures to be applied- the Government would secure an area called Gunung Paku for Chin Peng and his delegation to reside for the entire duration of the negotiation. Gunung Paku is near to the venue where the Peace Talks would be held. The Government was also responsible to bring Chin Peng and his delegation safely to Baling and then to return them to Gunung Paku upon the termination of the Talks.

3.     The Government had agreed to give CPM an amnesty for the duration of the talk and for a 10 day period following cessation of the talks should they fail. A guarantee was given that the Communists would not be pursued until the period had elapsed.

4.     The Government had agreed to supply Chin Peng and his delegation with daily rations such as rice, sugar and the usual army rations for the period of the talks and 10 days after that.

John Davis (formerly from Force 136) whom Chin Peng trusted and knew from the Malayan Campaign would be used as an “insurance” to ensure Chin Peng’s safety. John Davis had escorted Chin Peng out from the jungle to attend the Peace Talks. He stayed overnight with Chin Peng and even accompanied Chin Peng some distance into the jungle when the talk failed. This gave Chin Peng some comfort  that the British was not going to shoot him when the Peace talk failed. There was a strong trust and bond between both of them. This trust and bond did not only exist between Chin Peng and John Davis but also with Colonel Spencer Chapman. Jolly Cho who secretly supplied Spencer Chapman with food during the War once told my father that when he visited Spencer Chapman in the UK after the War, he asked Chapman if he would come back to Malaya and fight against the Communists. Spencer Chapman’s reply was that “I cannot fight against the people that I fought with during the War”. There was certainly greatly loyalty amongst comrades, whichever side they may be in.

The Peace Talk took place on 28/12/1955 at a Government English School in Baling. The talk lasted more than 8 hours which was spread over 2 days. The CPM was represented by Chin Peng, Rashid Maidin (the Malay representative of CPM) and Chen Tien (head of CPM’s Central Propaganda Department). The Government was represented by Tunku Abdul Rahman (Chief Minister of Malaya), Tan Cheng Lock (President of the Malayan Chinese Association) and David Marshall (Chief Minister of Singapore). Based on my experience in dispute resolution, allow me to give my analysis on the Baling Talks:

1. Common ground: In dispute resolution, we always seek common ground where both parties can agree either on an idea, belief, issue or subject. In the Baling Talks, Tunku Abdul Rahman started well by saying “colonialism must end and that this Country must be given freedom”. The Communist shared the same belief as the Tunku. The Tunku then went on to say that he is not a “spokesman for the British Government or a running dog”. He called himself as the “servant of the people”. This further endeared him to the Communist.

2. Know your opponent: One of the important things in dispute resolution is always know who are your opponents. Things started to go downhill, when the Tunku started talking   about democracy and praised his political party for fighting for independence without resorting to physical conflict. The Tunku had urged the CPM to accept the amnesty so that everyone would be pardoned. It is my personal opinion that whenever someone starts preaching democracy to a hardcore Communist, the person should know that he/she would be in trouble. Whatever rapport the person had built earlier would have gone down the drain.

Chin Peng explained he had not come to argue questions of ideology but to seek peace. Chin Peng explained the CPM rejected the amnesty because it did not permit the Communists to “enjoy equal status” where the Communists would be able to fight for independence by Constitutional means. The Tunku replied that the amnesty was to help the Communists to “regain their normal position in Society” and nothing more.

There was one important question asked by Chin Peng that I felt was to test the Tunku’s allegiance to the British. The question posed to the Tunku was “whether any decisions made at the meeting need to be approved by the British Government?”. If the Tunku replied, “yes”, then it would be clear that Tunku was still subservient to the British Government but if Tunku said, “no”, then this would prove that the Tunku’s Government could indeed act independently. The Tunku’s actual reply was “If I decide and Mr. Marshall (Chief Minister of Singapore) agrees with me, that will be all”.

The sticky point in the Baling Talks was the recognition of CPM which the Communist wanted but rejected by the Government. Ultimately, the talk failed. Chin Peng and his delegation had to return to the jungle accompanied by John Davis. Dennis Wombell (a former Platoon Commander 2, Police Field Force) in his diary noted that he saw Chin Peng walking towards the border of South Thailand. He made a note to himself that this is where he is going to hunt Chin Peng after the amnesty period had ended.

Subsequently, the CPM had requested for more negotiations but this was rejected by the Government. When Malaya achieved its independence on 31/08/157, the support for the CPM had already dwindled.

The Bukit Kepong incident (“The Malayan Alamo”)

The Bukit Kepong incident also known as “the Malayan Alamo” took place on 23/02/1950 between the Malayan Police and the CPM. Bukit Kepong was a small remote village located in the state of Johor. It comes under the district of Pagoh which consists of a collection of towns and villages. At that time, Bukit Kepong had a small wooden police station with a strength of 25 policemen including auxiliary policemen (part-time policemen). The police team was headed by one Sergeant Jamil Mohd Shah (No. 3493).

The battle began at 4.15am where the Police were attacked by 180 insurgents led by Muhammad Indera. The Police were outnumbered and outgunned by the Communists (automatic weapons vs rifles and shotguns). The insurgents had repeatedly asked Sergeant Jamil to raise a white flag and surrender but he refused. As a result, 25 people from the Police Station were killed against 40 insurgents who perished in that massacre. The 25 people comprised of 14 policemen, 2 civilians, 5 auxiliary policemen, 2 ladies who were wives of the policemen (the wives were executed in cold blood) and 2 children. The Police Station was burned down by the insurgents. Some of the people from the other villages tried to help but to no avail.

The OCPD (Officer in Charge of the Police District) of Pagoh at that time was JJ Raj Jr,  who later became a Commissioner of Police and was bestowed the title “Tan Sri” (an equivalent of a Lordship in the UK) by the Yang DiPertuan Agong (the Monarch and Head of State of Malaysia). Some people have questioned whether the OCPD of Pagoh could have done more to protect Bukit Kepong. My reply to those people is that I have known Commissioner of Police (Rtd) JJ Raj Jr for many years and I had the privilege of serving with him in the Council of the National Shooting Association of Malaysia for 20 years. I am proud to have him as a colleague and a friend because he is an honourable man full of integrity and great leadership. We must also keep in mind, that JJ Raj Jr was made an OCPD in 1950 when such senior position in the Police Force was rarely given to an Asian. His capabilities must have impressed the British Officers who put their trust in his leadership and decision making. I have no doubt whatsoever that if he had to give his life to defend Bukit Kepong, he would. I visited Commissioner of Police (Rtd) JJ Raj Jr in his home recently (Dec 2017). He is now 96 years old and I took the opportunity to ask him about the Bukit Kepong incident. He agreed to share with me his recollection of the incident.

10.      Recollection from Commissioner of Police (Rtd) JJ Raj Jr

Commissioner of Police (Rtd) Tan Sri JJ Raj Jr and me

 Commissioner of Police (Rtd) JJ Raj Jr related the following to me:

At that time, I was the OCPD of Pagoh district. The police received intelligence that the Communist wanted to take over a police station to boost the morale of its people. At that time, the Communist took a heavy beating, therefore, they wanted to create an impact to show that they were still a force to be taken seriously. At the meeting with the Johor State Police Chief, we looked at a number of possible police stations that might be attack by the Communist. Bukit Kepong wasn’t one of them because it was too isolated and remote. We felt it wasn’t important enough to the Communist. However after the meeting, while in my car back to the office, I felt uneasy and needed to visit Bukit Kepong. I went the next day with a squad of 1 Corporal and 9 Constables.

We travelled in a truck along the winding road of Lenga (a small town) and then proceeded in a police marine boat to Bukit Kepong. It took us about 3 1/2 hours from the Pagoh Police Headquarters to Bukit Kepong. I later learned (after the Bukit Kepong incident) that the Communist insurgents saw me and my squad in the boat but for some reason, they didn’t fire at us. It would have been easier if they would have fired at us and leave Bukit Kepong alone. Upon arriving at Bukit Kepong, I inspected the security in the area and was satisfied with the overall arrangement.

I asked JJ Raj Jr what he thought of Sergeant Jamil who was featured as a hero in many local history books. He replied, “He was just an ordinary policeman. When I met him, there wasn’t anything special or significant that stood out that made me take notice of him. A very unassuming fellow. However something that struck me rather strange on that day was that as I was leaving, they (the Bukit Kepong Police team) came to the jetty to see me off. I told Sergeant Jamil, “Berjaga-jaga” when means “be careful” in Malay. Sergeant Jamil replied in Malay “Biar putih tulang jangan putih mata”. It is a Malay idiom which means “Death before dishonour”. He gave me a smart salute for a very long time which I found rather strange. That was the last I have seen Sergeant Jamil. The attack of Bukit Kepong happened later that night. The last survivor of the actual Bukit Kepong attack died 2 years ago. I am now the only one left who had ties to the incident”.

Even though, the Malayan Emergency was declared as over in 1960 but the fight against the Communist insurgents did not end there. It only ended in 1989.

Peace Agreement of Hat Yai (1989)

The Peace Accord was signed on 02/12/1989 signifying the end of the Communist Insurgency in Malaya. The Peace Agreement was signed by the CPM because the CPM’s position by then had weakened (no more issues to pursue) plus they suffered heavy losses, therefore, they were forced to negotiate.

The deal was brokered by the Thai authorities as most of the CPM members were living in Southern Thailand. The Peace Agreement requires the CPM to cease military authority, destroy the weapon and pledge loyalty to the Yang DiPertuan Agong (Malaysian King). Only 330 former CPM members were allowed to return to Malaysia even though the Accord provides the Government’s guarantee of safe return to Malaysia for those who lay down their arms peacefully. After 40 years, 5 months and 26 days, the CPM insurgency finally had come to an end.

Reference and further reading:

R. Thambipillay, The Last Post - Story of the Emergency & Commemorative Events (1948-1960), published by R. Thambipillay (2011)

Margaret Shennan, Our Man in Malaya - John Davis CBE DSO, SOE Force 136 and Postwar Counter-Insurgency, published by Monsoon Books Singapore (2014)

Chin Peng, My Side of History, published by Media Master Singapore (2013)

J.J. Raj Jr, The War Years and After, published by Pelanduk Publications, Malaysia (1995)