Ex British Malaya soldiers awarded for their service: KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — The British Malaya forces, comprising members from various local communities and the soldiers from Britain, Australia and New Zealand, so far were considered forgotten heroes. This despite the fact they had put their lives in line for the sake of national security from 1947 and 1971 when Communist insurgency was at its peak. And after Merdeka, the team of soldiers who were part of the Commonwealth Armed Forces continued to play an important role. They were the ones responsible in the strengthening of the Malaysian Armed Forces during the post Merdeka period especially in terms of expertise for the setting up various divisions. After five decades, the deeds of some 30 of these unsung heroes have finally been recognised with Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM), with those still living or their widows receiving on their behalf. The award is a special recognition from the government for the ex-British Malaya Armed forces members and was presented at an event to hand over welfare assistance for the former soldiers by the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League United Kingdom (RCEL), as well as the annual meeting of the Malaysian Ex-British Army Association (PBABM). The nation’s pillar of strength Among those who received the honour at a modest ceremony held at the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kampung Baru here include, albeit posthumously, was David Sta Maria who had served in the British Malaya Army. A native of Melaka with Portuguese ancestry, David Sta Maria, who passed away 10 years ago had served the army for a long time. He was represented by his widow, Julia De Roche, 78, who received the award from the Armed Forces’ Veteran Affairs Department Director General Maj Gen Datuk Zulkiflee Mazlan. Julia, who appeared jovial at the start of the event was seen quietly wiping away tears when her husband’s name was called out during the award presentation. David had served the British Malaya army for 21 years, from 1950 till 1971. Other recipients for the awards were four Eurasian brothers from the noted Jeremiah family from Georgetown, who had served both in the air and military forces between 1947 and 1968. They were George Henry Jeremiah and Emile Francis Jeremiah, both now residing in Taiping, Randolph Stephen Jeremiah from Klang, and Clive Arthur Jeremiah from Johor. Their ages now range from 81 to 88 years. All were said to have been elated with the awards and had been raring to make it to Kuala Lumpur despite the challenges of traveling at their age. However, only George and Randolph made it to the event while their two other brothers were unwell and could not make it to the ceremony. The unique part of the Jeremiah family is that almost all the boys in the family had been in the armed forces. Seven of the nine boys in the family had all joined the Commonwealth forces and were based either in Singapore or London. A special moment Receiving honour for a service rendered with dedication more than half-a-century ago is certainly a major event in the life of a senior citizen. Hence, it was no surprise to see one recipient, Baldwin H. Miranda, 73, bringing almost his entire family, comprising his wife, three children and two in-laws, to celebrate the special occasion. Miranda began his service at the age of 14, just like most other ex British soldiers. He was in the force for 18 years, until the final days of the team that was disbanded in 1971. Meanwhile, President of PBABM, Che Onn Neamat, said another 18 Malay veterans and widows as well as six Chinese veterans also received the honour. Taking pride in the fact that people from different communities and backgrounds had once fought side-by-side, Che Onn expressed a little concern about the current generation. He pointed out that most of them were polarised to the extent that the government had to take the initiative to bring them back together. “The concept of One Malaysia has been in our existence for a long time, indeed our sense of unity and cooperation had been natural without much heed given to the differences in our religious or racial backgrounds.” Che Onn also believed that the main contributor to the harmony and unity in the forces those days had been the highly disciplined education environment. They underwent rigorous training including having to speak English throughout their period of training at the Army Boys Trade School in Singapore and up to the end of their service. RCEL’s welfare assistance Meanwhile, two more veterans with the record of being the longest serving members—Capt Mohamed Mansur Desa, 83, and Zain Che Mat, 78, -- both of whom had respectively served for 20 and 19 years, received not only the PJM awards but also welfare assistance from RCEL. The RCEL also presented cheques to 18 other veterans. Che Onn said that the RCEL was a voluntary organisation that used funds raised during the celebration of the Poppy Day or Remembrance Day with contributions coming from veteran associations worldwide to assist veteran British soldiers. Both the PJM awards from the government and the welfare assistance from RCEL reflect the deep appreciation of the soldiers who had served the country well and those who had fought in the defence of the British empire before and after Independence. Meanwhile, Che Onn said the welfare assistance would be given on a yearly basis following an assessment of the eligibility of the ex armed force personnel. “This is one of the main roles of the association, where it will assess and ensure that those who qualify, get the help,” Che Onn said, adding that RCEL’s contribution to 20 Malaysian veterans this year had amounted to RM29,517. He said the RCEL headquarters had also further approved welfare grants for another 20 Malaysians as well. This is a significant figure and marks the success of the association in its quest to track around 1,100 former servicemen or their wives within the ages of 70 and 90. He was also certain that many more veterans could be traced and urged those who know of any former British soldier, including members of the Sarawak Rangers, to come forward and get in touch with him either by sending an email to onn1941@gmail or write to P.O Box 35, Gombak, 53800 Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama dlvr.it/3y4hQM
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 10:33:01 +0000
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