By Dayangku Hidayatul
KUCHING, July 31: Before retiring after more than three decades in the police force, 79-year-old Agnes Ngata Layus spent years guarding communist detainees during one of Sarawak’s most challenging periods.
Hailing from Sri Aman, the veteran was among the few female police officers who served during the Communist Rebellion period, taking on duties that brought her deep into the realities of the conflict.
She joined the police force when she was 19 years old in 1968, where she was posted to Sibu in 1973 to guard communist detainees until 1990 after the establishment of the Rajang Area Security Command (Rascom).
“I joined the police force in October 1968. I went to Kuala Lumpur for training which lasted seven months. During that time, there was a killing incident in Kuala Lumpur, and my commanding officer instructed us to return quickly. We took a plane back. There were 25 of us from Sarawak.
“After returning to Sarawak, those from Kuching were sent to Kuching, those from Limbang went to Limbang, those from Miri went to Miri, those from Sri Aman returned to Sri Aman, and those from Bintulu went to Bintulu,” she said when met by reporters after the Sarawak-level Warriors’ Day 2026 Parade Ceremony at Dataran Perayaan Petra Jaya today.
She said she was the main female officer assigned to guard detainees, while other women officers mostly carried out office duties.
Agnes’ service took her from Sri Aman to Sibu, where she was assigned during the height of the communist insurgency. Before that, she had followed her superiors into the jungle in Sri Aman to help bring out communist members seeking to surrender.
“Whenever my officers went to Lubok Antu, Engkilili, and Pantu, I followed them. Many of them (detainees) eventually surrendered and returned to society as ordinary citizens,” she said.
Agnes said she continued to look after the former communist members at various locations, including the Sibu and Sri Aman police quarters, until the situation became peaceful.
At the same time, Agnes said she never faced major problems during her years of service.
“They were good people. Once they were arrested, they respected us. They listened when we advised them, and they expressed regret over what they had done,” she said.
She retired a few years ago, noting that more women are now joining the force compared to her time. — DayakDaily
